How we learned to believe the US military
At a recent screening of the documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy, after the film ended, the director Abby Martin opened the floor for questions. I asked the first one.
One moment from that Q&A stuck with me enough that I clipped it and posted it to Substack.
That short exchange is what this article grows out of.
Documented policy
According to research from communication scholar Tanner Mirrlees, more than 2,500 war-themed movies and television programs have been produced with Pentagon assistance over the past century.
That assistance can include:
Access to military bases
Use of aircraft, ships, and equipment
Technical consultants
Coordination with military public affairs offices
In exchange, production teams often agree to script revisions that align with military objectives.
Mirrlees describes this system as a “DoD–Hollywood complex.”
When the military provides access to expensive equipment and logistical support, the production often becomes dependent on maintaining a cooperative relationship.
Stories that portray the military positively are easier to produce.
Stories that challenge military power are harder.
“In exchange for the use of military equipment and personnel, movie and TV program producers must comply with Pentagon entertainment policy, including script changes, to align with military goals.”
— The Militarization of Movies and Television (2025), Tanner Mirrlees
OWI director Elmer Davis explained the strategy plainly in 1942:
“The easiest way to inject a propaganda idea into most people’s minds is to let it go through the medium of an entertainment picture when they do not realize that they are being propagandized.” (The Militarization of Movies and Television, 2025, Mirrlees).
In other words: stories persuade more effectively when they feel like entertainment.
The relationship continues today between the Pentagon liaison offices and productions ranging from blockbuster films to television series.
Examples frequently cited include:
Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick
Transformers
Iron Man
American Sniper
NCIS and other military-focused television series
Military support often allows filmmakers to use real aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and military personnel. Resources that would otherwise be impossible to replicate on a Hollywood budget. (The Militarization of Movies and Television, 2025, Mirrlees).
The trade-off is narratives that align with military messaging move forward more smoothly.
Entertainment influences recruitment
The original Top Gun (1986) is frequently credited with producing a surge in Navy aviation recruitment after its release. Military recruiters even set up booths outside some theaters showing the film. (The Militarization of Movies and Television, 2025, Mirrlees).
More recently, the Pentagon has expanded its outreach into:
Reality television
Streaming platforms
YouTube personalities
Gaming communities
In 2023, reports revealed that the Pentagon funded integrations into widely watched programs including The Kelly Clarkson Show, America’s Got Talent, and other mainstream entertainment formats. (The Militarization of Movies and Television, 2025, Mirrlees).
These collaborations are often framed as public-relations outreach. But they also function as narrative shaping.
War games
Video games have become one of the most powerful storytelling mediums of the past two decades.
One of the foundational books examining the relationship between the military and entertainment industries — including video games — is Militainment, Inc. by media scholar Roger Stahl.
In that work, Stahl describes how military institutions collaborate with entertainment industries and how warfare is often presented through what he calls “militainment” — systems where military messaging and entertainment media intersect (Militainment, Inc., 2010, Roger Stahl).
Many popular franchises, including Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, draw heavily from modern military conflicts.
In a 2024 analysis published in Jacobin, critics noted how gaming interfaces themselves have influenced military technology.
Drone targeting systems, for example, have adopted design elements that resemble video game interfaces.
This overlap between entertainment and military technology creates an unusual feedback loop:
Entertainment influences war. War influences entertainment.
The challenge with these narrative ecosystems isn’t that they portray soldiers as human.
What often disappears from entertainment narratives are the broader consequences of war.
Civilian casualties. Environmental damage. Long-term contamination. Veterans suffering from toxic exposure. Issues like burn pits, Agent Orange, and other military pollution rarely appear in blockbuster films.
Those stories usually live somewhere else: Documentaries. Independent journalism. Investigative reporting.
Films like Earth’s Greatest Enemy exist partly to bring those missing stories into view. If Hollywood mythology highlights heroism, documentaries often highlight consequences.
Both belong in the conversation.
Institutions wield enormous power
Democratic societies depend on the ability to examine powerful institutions openly.
That includes the military.
Supporting the people who serve and questioning the policies that send them into war are not mutually exclusive positions.
If entertainment helps shape national mythology, media literacy becomes an important civic skill. It doesn’t mean rejecting movies. Or avoiding video games.
It simply means understanding how stories are produced and what forces shape them.
Questions worth asking include:
Who funded this production?
What institutions had influence over the script?
Which perspectives are included?
Which perspectives are missing?
The Q&A that started this article happened after a screening of the documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy.
The film examines the environmental consequences of modern warfare, a topic that rarely appears in mainstream entertainment narratives.
If you’re interested in learning more about the film and its research, you can visit the documentary’s official site: https://earthsgreatestenemy.com/
Sources & References
https://jacobin.com/2024/10/video-games-military-propaganda-war
https://earthsgreatestenemy.com/
Militainment, Inc.: War, Media, and Popular Culture: https://caminobks.com/book/9780415999786