Hollywood often plays role of propagandist

"The Pentagon is hard at work participating in a number of movies that
will deliver its message on the legitimacy of the war and its own
conduct in Iraq."

By JONATHAN TURLEY

With the reality of entrenched opposition in Iraq resulting in
increasing U.S. fatalities there, the opposition at home to the
occupation is hardening by the day. The military appears to have come up
with a solution: Change reality.

In what has been described as a "Pentagon infomercial," the Defense
Department has hired a former producer of the TV show "Cops" to film
postwar Iraq from its perspective. Though producer Bertram van Munster
has denied that he is shooting a propaganda piece, it is clear that the
Pentagon is gearing up to frame its own account -- and history -- of the
Iraq war.

The Pentagon has a long history of propaganda efforts. Indeed, the
Pentagon is hard at work participating in a number of movies that will
deliver its message on the legitimacy of the war and its own conduct in
Iraq.

Some of these efforts are already the subject of controversy. For
example, military and intelligence sources framed an account of Pfc.
Jessica Lynch that was almost entirely manufactured for public appeal.

With a headline proclaiming that Lynch was "fighting to the death," the
Washington Post cited military sources to give a breathless account of
how the supply clerk fought Rambo-style in close combat until she was
wounded and captured. The tale of her rescue was equally breathless and
equally false -- based on an edited Pentagon video showing Special
Forces giving the appearance they were under fire as they whisked away
the heroine.

It now appears that Lynch may not have engaged the enemy at all; she was
not shot and stabbed; and there was no hostile fire (or any hostile
forces) at the hospital. Even so, a "Saving Private Lynch" TV movie
project is slated, with the account supported by the Pentagon. Other
projects are also in the works.

Most Americans are unaware that the U.S. military routinely reviews
scripts that might require Defense Department cooperation and that the
Pentagon compels changes for television and movies to convey the
government's message.

Although rarely publicly acknowledged, major films have been rewritten
to remove negative but historically accurate facts to present a more
positive military image. This work is done by a team of military
reviewers "embedded" in Hollywood. Most recently, the military quietly
worked on a script for the television program "JAG" to present its
controversial military tribunals as something of an ACLU lawyer's dream.

This work thrives in the shadow of the First Amendment. Though the
Constitution generally bars the government from preventing or punishing
free speech, it is less clear about the degree to which the government
may assist speech that it favors. To that end, the military uses access
to military units, bases and even stock military footage and open areas
such as the Presidio to force prepublication review and script changes.
This access is vital for many films on military subjects, so producers
yield to the demands.

Phil Strub, the head of the Pentagon's liaison office, recently revealed
this criterion for getting approval for a film as "accurate": "Any film
that portrays the military as negative is not realistic to us."

"Apocalypse Now" was viewed as "not realistic" because of negative
scenes about Vietnam (and its makers were denied any assistance or
access), while the producers of the recent film "Windtalkers" yielded to
Pentagon demands for script changes. For example, the original script
featured a Marine called "the Dentist" who methodically removed the gold
in the mouths of dead Japanese -- a practice known to have occurred
during World War II. The military objected and the scene was eventually
removed, as was a scene of a Marine killing a surrendering Japanese
soldier.

Viewers, of course, are never informed that the movies were subject to
military revision or censor. This is essential in the propaganda
business. The degree to which a message is absorbed by a viewer depends
in large part on his or her initial resistance or skepticism. By
ensuring the propaganda value of films that are ostensibly the work of
independent producers, the role of military censors is hidden from the
viewer. Congress should act to prohibit the Pentagon from editing
scripts and punishing producers who do not yield to their changes.

Jonathan Turley is a George Washington University law professor.