From government documents from a recent request under the Freedom of Information Act, the authors have found that the secret agencies of the government have influenced over 1,800 movies and TV shows. They conclude their report with this statement:
... we are looking at a vast, militarised propaganda apparatus operating throughout the screen entertainment industry in the United States.This is only one component of the full-spectrum ideological dominance that has proved so effective in the shaping of Americans' consent to many of the outrageous crimes perpetrated by the US Empire. These secret agencies of our masters in the ruling capitalist class have not only spied on the communications ranging from ordinary Americans to the the communications of political leaders of many countries, but have through their subversive activities overturned governments that they don't like causing horrific consequences for many millions of ordinary people as we have witnessed recently in places like Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and Syria--to mention only a few.
It is not quite an official censor, since decisions on scripts are made voluntarily by producers, but it represents a major and scarcely acknowledged pressure on the kind of narratives and images we see on the big and small screens.
In societies already eager to use our hard power overseas, the shaping of our popular culture to promote a pro-war mindset must be taken seriously.