-Caveat Lector- >The US cable television channel American Movie Classics (AMC), devoted to >broadcasting Hollywood films of the past, aired its own special on December >4. Into the Shadows: The CIA in Hollywood is as revealing for what it omits >as what it presents. From its title and the breathless quality of the >narration, the viewer might have reasonably expected an expos� of the filthy >deeds of the spy outfit and its connections to the American film industry.
Maybe I'm more jaded, but I didn't approach viewing this show with those expectations; indeed I figured that it would only show what the CIA wanted it to show... And maybe because I had lower expectations than the author of this article, I wasn't as disappointed in it as the author... Indeed, I found it interesting for what it DID reveal, things which the author of this article seems to have missed, or perhaps chooses to ignore... >Instead, however, the show, with its pseudo- film noir veneer, essentially >depicts the CIA as a life-saving, humanitarian entity. I didn't get that impression...at least, not for the totality of the documentary.... >The program amounts >to little more than a propaganda piece to improve the agency�s image at a >time when it is playing a central role in the US war drive. Indeed the show >might rightfully be considered an element in one of the agency�s own >�disinformation� campaigns. Interesting...what *I* took away from the documentary is just how much they admitted that the CIA controls Hollywood, down to choosing the storylines that will get financial backing from the major studios... >Against a background of �suspenseful� music, the narration, read by >prominent liberal Democrat actor Alec Baldwin, Yes, I thought it strange that Baldwin was not only chosen, but agreed to do the project; so what can we conjecture regarding THAT? ;-) >The program is more or less given over to Tony Mendez, introduced as the >former CIA chief of disguise. Needing some Mission Impossible -style help in >the 1960s, Mendez approached Disney Studios, founded by right-winger Walt >Disney, and enlisted the help of an award-winning makeup specialist, John >Chambers. Okay, here the author is combining 2 separate things...and also forgets (or ignores) something else... First off, the documentary made it a point to show that the CIA has a long-standing relationship with the Disney Studios, going back to the CIA's precursor, the OSS, and their relationship with Disney in WWII; apparently that relationship has NEVER been broken since... John Chambers did NOT work for Disney; he was the freelance (not attached to any one studio) designer of the prosthetic devices of the original "Planet of the Apes" movies, and indeed he won an Oscar for his work. He helped design prosethetic disguises for the CIA, but as Mendez pointed out in the documentary, this had limited success, because it is one thing to design a device that will only be seen from one camera angle under strictly controlled lighting and which will take hours to apply to an actor beforehand, and to design a device which by necessity (to save an agent's life) will need to be put on in only minutes or even seconds by someone untrained in makeup techniques, and to be seen from all angles and in a variety of light.... >The show provides only two or three examples of these missions. In one case >Hollywood talent was used to effect the 1979 escape from Iran of six >American diplomats. The latter had taken refuge in the Canadian embassy >during the student takeover of the US embassy following the overthrow of the >shah. Every detail of this rather trivial enterprise is discussed. Which did NOT involve prosthetic makeup, indeed any makeup at all; it was all accomplished via setting up a fake production company which supposedly was scouting out locations for a new movie to be filmed in Iran...the 6 diplomats were provided with papers which established them as members of the team doing the scouting for the film. The author ignores what I found most intriguing -- that the time from the initial idea of establishing a fake movie production company, to actually having it physically in place ONLY TOOK 3 DAYS! The office space was available, phones in place, electricity and water turned on in the office, ads already showing up in Variety, letterheads and business cards with the fake company's name and logo already printed, all in only 3 days time; also other paperwork put in place that would show that this fake company had 'actually' been in existence for a longer period of time, at least a couple of months. In other words, they were able to create the ILLUSION that there not only was an actual movie production company, but that it had been in existence for at least a couple of months, and were able to get it all together in only 3 days time... That was back in 1979...how much easier do you think it is TODAY, with modern technology (including the Internet), for the CIA to pull off a similar illusion? Hmmmmm> ;-) >No >mention is made, of course, of the bloody repression carried out by the >secret police, the notorious SAVAK, which the CIA helped set up and train, >under the shah�s regime. Actually there was, but it was only in passing and was easily missed... >In order to appease the angry Iranian populace and perhaps win the release >of the American hostages held by the students, thought was also given at the >time to a scheme to fake the death of the shah, who was in the US undergoing >cancer treatment. An individual was hired and work was done to prepare him >to impersonate the shah. The �fake shah caper� came to naught, Because for some reason President Carter nixed the deal... But the author misses the bigger point... If this could be done with the Shah of Iran -- and the guy DID look convincing, based on photos and videos shown in the documentary -- it could be done with anyone... And again, this was more than 20 years ago...how much easier would it be to effect the same illusion today, with the use of modern technology? How many fake versions of President Bush may be in existence? Or fake Osama bin Ladens? (keep that question in mind if suddenly a video of 'bin Laden' being 'shot' by one of his 'sons' surfaces; indeed, keep that question in mind regarding ANY of the 'bin Laden' videos that makes it to the mainstream media).... > In a cursory review of the postwar period, the program notes that President > Eisenhower set up a department of �psychological warfare� which availed > itself of the talents of screenwriter Howard Hunt, among others, who was > later to become a Watergate burglar. It also reveals, significantly, that an > unnamed CIA mole was charged with changing Hollywood scripts during the > 1950s and removing any portrayals of Americans as �racist, drunk or > trigger-happy�! This is passed over rather quickly. Perhaps; but what the author seems to have missed (or is ignoring) is the fact that this relationship HAS NEVER ENDED, and that scripts STILL have to pass CIA approval.... > Into the Shadows unwittingly reveals the astonishingly low level of > principle and morality that dominates the Hollywood scene. Was there EVER any question in that regard? Hollywood has ALWAYS been about the bottom-line, and the easiest way to make a buck. If that means going to bed with TPTB while spooning pablum that the general masses will flock to, so be it... >Fittingly, all >the �artists� interviewed for the program were creators of dreadful >films�Pearl Harbor, Independence Day, Die Hard, Armageddon, The Patriot. I don't know, I definitely wouldn't call The Patriot "dreadful", and perhaps while maybe not classics in the mode of Casablanca or The Maltese Falcon, I did find both Independence Day and Armageddon enjoyable for the type of films they are... Keep in mind that it takes YEARS to get a film from initial concept to release in theaters...which means that the current crop of films which are pushing war themes were started years ago, and weren't thrown together post-9/11...which means that 'someone' decided at that time that there would be a 'need' for these types of films to be released in late 2001 and early <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
