Roger Stahl
Description
Militainment, Inc. offers a fascinating, disturbing, and timely glimpse into the militarization of American popular culture, examining how U.S. news coverage has come to resemble Hollywood film, video games, and "reality television" in its glamorization of war. Mobilizing an astonishing range of media examples - from news anchors' idolatry of military machinery to the impact of government propaganda on war reporting - the film asks: How has war taken...
Description
In recent years, weapon-cam footage from distant wars has invaded the screens of civilian life. Now the crosshairs of the drone, smart bomb, helicopter gunship, satellite, and sniper scope have become a dominant window through which we see and "experience" war. Drawing from his book on this phenomenon, Dr. Roger Stahl traces the origins of this targeting footage and explores how it has been used to shape the public image of war in the twenty-first...
Description
If you’ve seen "Top Gun" or "Transformers," you may have wondered: Does all of that military machinery on screen come with strings attached? Does the military actually get a crack at the script? With the release of a vast new trove of internal government documents, the answers have come into sharp focus: the US military has exercised editorial control over thousands of films and television programs. Propelled into a field trip across America, media...
Description
Video games like Modern Warfare, America's Army, Medal of Honor, and Battlefield are part of an exploding market of war games whose revenues now far outpace even the biggest Hollywood blockbusters. The sophistication of these games is undeniable, offering users a stunningly realistic experience of ground combat and a glimpse into the increasingly virtual world of long-distance, push-button warfare. Far less clear, though, is what these games are doing...
