1
00:00:00,087 --> 00:00:02,146
So, once again this is David Levinson

2
00:00:02,146 --> 00:00:03,828
reminding you and anybody else that’s 


3
00:00:03,828 --> 00:00:06,198
listening: Don’t mess with Earth!

4
00:00:15,229 --> 00:00:17,149
The long-awaited sequel to the 1996

5
00:00:17,158 --> 00:00:19,278
mega-blockbuster Independence Day hit

6
00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,380
theaters this summer. Independence Day:

7
00:00:21,389 --> 00:00:23,491
Resurgence is built on the same premise that


8
00:00:23,491 --> 00:00:25,981
made the original famous: a potent combination

9
00:00:25,981 --> 00:00:28,531
of alien killin’ and patriotic pandering.

10
00:00:28,982 --> 00:00:30,263
Shouldn’t we be nervous?

11
00:00:30,263 --> 00:00:31,263
Um, yeah.

12
00:00:32,367 --> 00:00:33,557
Make them pay.

13
00:00:35,367 --> 00:00:37,727
We are going to kick some serious alien—

14
00:00:38,127 --> 00:00:39,707
Let’s show ‘em some fireworks.

15
00:00:40,697 --> 00:00:43,367
On behalf of the planet Earth, 
Happy Fourth of July.

16
00:00:44,823 --> 00:00:46,383
Is that all you got?!

17
00:00:46,679 --> 00:00:48,399
According to most reviews the movie itself

18
00:00:48,425 --> 00:00:51,055
was unremarkable. What was remarkable

19
00:00:51,066 --> 00:00:53,396
however, was the marketing for the film.

20
00:00:53,403 --> 00:00:55,313
Some of you might remember something a

21
00:00:55,313 --> 00:00:57,323
little strange about the trailers. And I mean

22
00:00:57,346 --> 00:00:59,206
in addition to Jeff Goldblum doing

23
00:00:59,212 --> 00:01:01,752
his whole Jeff Goldblum thing.

24
00:01:02,268 --> 00:01:03,918
When the world was brought to its knees,

25
00:01:03,927 --> 00:01:06,577
the Army was there to fight back promised

26
00:01:06,581 --> 00:01:09,444
us this would never happen again. They have

27
00:01:09,444 --> 00:01:11,799
been the driving force in uniting nations around

28
00:01:11,799 --> 00:01:14,199
the world to form the most powerful weapon

29
00:01:14,210 --> 00:01:17,630
against another attack: The Earth Space Defense.

30
00:01:38,938 --> 00:01:41,107
Brave men and women of the ESD are making


31
00:01:41,107 --> 00:01:43,647
sure that the war of ’96 will never happen

32
00:01:43,654 --> 00:01:47,654
again. Join Earth Space Defense. Next time,

33
00:01:47,710 --> 00:01:50,040
we will be prepared.

34
00:01:50,619 --> 00:01:52,559
So we see the stars of the film speaking

35
00:01:52,559 --> 00:01:55,252
directly to the camera, praising the US Army

36
00:01:55,262 --> 00:01:57,142
and then asking fans to join something

37
00:01:57,146 --> 00:02:00,252
called Earth Space Defense. Then at the end


38
00:02:00,252 --> 00:02:03,742
of the trailer we see a URL: JoinESD.com.

39
00:02:04,984 --> 00:02:07,008
Once fans arrive at that website, they’re

40
00:02:07,008 --> 00:02:09,697
asked to enlist in the ESD to help fight off

41
00:02:09,697 --> 00:02:13,009
future alien invasions and “defend Earth’s

42
00:02:13,009 --> 00:02:16,589
independence at all cost.” By clicking enlist

43
00:02:16,597 --> 00:02:18,836
visitors are notified that they are now a

44
00:02:18,836 --> 00:02:21,076
soldier with the rank of “private.” 


45
00:02:21,547 --> 00:02:23,836
Now in order to determine your role in this

46
00:02:23,836 --> 00:02:26,524
fantasy-military organization, fans are

47
00:02:26,524 --> 00:02:28,599
instructed to complete a series of gamified

48
00:02:28,599 --> 00:02:32,689
“missions.” Mini-games include simulations

49
00:02:32,728 --> 00:02:35,508
where players learn how to pilot an unmanned

50
00:02:35,525 --> 00:02:39,195
military drone or crack secret alien codes.

51
00:02:41,252 --> 00:02:43,790
Completing each mission raises your rank and

52
00:02:43,790 --> 00:02:46,810
unlocks exclusive Independence Day 
movie content.

53
00:02:47,856 --> 00:02:50,046
We’ve taken fighter jets that the US military

54
00:02:50,064 --> 00:02:51,664
would have been accustomed to and

55
00:02:51,687 --> 00:02:53,967
we’ve incorporated alien technology.

56
00:02:54,266 --> 00:02:56,136
Now you’d be forgiven for thinking that this

57
00:02:56,140 --> 00:02:58,410
is just a clever marketing stunt designed

58
00:02:58,432 --> 00:03:00,892
to drum up more interest in the film. But

59
00:03:00,904 --> 00:03:03,464
there’s something a little more insidious
going on here.


60
00:03:04,051 --> 00:03:07,283
In order to compete to unlock those movie extras

61
00:03:07,283 --> 00:03:10,373
fans are instructed to sign-in with Facebook.

62
00:03:10,374 --> 00:03:13,554
But by doing so, it allows the US Army access

63
00:03:13,587 --> 00:03:17,227
to your Facebook page and 
your personal data along with it.


64
00:03:19,782 --> 00:03:21,652
That’s because this whole “Earth Space

65
00:03:21,657 --> 00:03:24,614
Defense” campaign is actually a surreptitious

66
00:03:24,614 --> 00:03:27,180
recruiting tool for the US Army. It’s part of

67
00:03:27,180 --> 00:03:29,720
a multi-million dollar joint advertising venture


68
00:03:29,721 --> 00:03:31,975
between 20th Century Fox and

69
00:03:31,975 --> 00:03:33,765
the United States military.

70
00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:36,258
If you look carefully you’ll notice a small

71
00:03:36,258 --> 00:03:38,552
unassuming US Army logo in the corner

72
00:03:38,552 --> 00:03:40,458
of the page right across from the

73
00:03:40,468 --> 00:03:42,148
Independence Day movie logo.

74
00:03:42,586 --> 00:03:44,844
If you look even more closely, you’ll notice

75
00:03:44,844 --> 00:03:47,874
that when linking over to JoinESD.com,

76
00:03:48,044 --> 00:03:51,057
you’re quietly redirected to GoArmy.com

77
00:03:51,057 --> 00:03:53,527
where the site is hosted. GoArmy.com,

78
00:03:53,553 --> 00:03:55,823
for those who don’t know, is the official

79
00:03:55,828 --> 00:03:58,048
website for US Army recruitment.

80
00:04:01,207 --> 00:04:03,777
Were you surprised when your
daughter enlisted?

81
00:04:03,949 --> 00:04:06,826
Not at all. She’s a born leader. I know I’ve


82
00:04:06,826 --> 00:04:09,696
been taking orders from her since
she was five years old.

83
00:04:10,244 --> 00:04:12,004
-So you don’t worry about her?

84
00:04:12,121 --> 00:04:14,140
-Of course I worry about her. I fought in the

85
00:04:14,140 --> 00:04:15,760
War of ’96. I know what those things are

86
00:04:15,779 --> 00:04:18,269
capable of. But I know what my daughter is

87
00:04:18,270 --> 00:04:21,550
capable of. And I know this planet is safer

88
00:04:21,550 --> 00:04:23,690
because she’s defending it.

89
00:04:27,934 --> 00:04:30,277
Now that trailer is almost indistinguishable

90
00:04:30,277 --> 00:04:32,415
from real US Army television commercials,

91
00:04:32,415 --> 00:04:34,845
at least up until the point where the kindly

92
00:04:34,845 --> 00:04:37,042
father figure in the US Army cap starts

93
00:04:37,048 --> 00:04:39,778
reminiscing about the War of 1996.

94
00:04:39,799 --> 00:04:42,274
You remember, that’s the fictional one that

95
00:04:42,294 --> 00:04:44,824
didn’t actually happen, where the US Military

96
00:04:44,848 --> 00:04:46,748
defeated the extraterrestrial invasion

97
00:04:46,784 --> 00:04:48,194
with the help of Will Smith.

98
00:04:53,747 --> 00:04:55,427
Welcome to Earth.

99
00:04:56,624 --> 00:04:59,434
Cross-branded promotions are now ubiquitous

100
00:04:59,444 --> 00:05:01,764
in Hollywood. You’ve probably seen commercials

101
00:05:01,767 --> 00:05:04,967
for Audi or Doritos or Coke that double as trailers

102
00:05:04,970 --> 00:05:07,655
for superhero films. These movie tie-ins are

103
00:05:07,655 --> 00:05:09,625
meant to trigger an emotional connection in

104
00:05:09,625 --> 00:05:11,875
viewers and increase what’s referred to as

105
00:05:11,876 --> 00:05:14,771
“positive-brand association” by connecting a

106
00:05:14,771 --> 00:05:17,981
product with something that people already like.

107
00:05:21,390 --> 00:05:23,910
The idea is that if you already think that say

108
00:05:23,910 --> 00:05:26,423
The Hulk is cool, and you’re already really

109
00:05:26,423 --> 00:05:28,483
excited to see The Hulk SMASH stuff in

110
00:05:28,483 --> 00:05:30,473
the latest Marvel movie, then seeing

111
00:05:30,481 --> 00:05:32,921
The Hulk enjoying a can of Coke will link

112
00:05:32,921 --> 00:05:35,677
those pre-existing happy fan-ish feelings

113
00:05:35,677 --> 00:05:38,423
in your mind to the product on the screen

114
00:05:38,423 --> 00:05:41,293
even if that’s just on an unconscious level.

115
00:05:43,242 --> 00:05:45,812
And the uncomfortable truth is that this kind

116
00:05:45,841 --> 00:05:48,873
of marketing actually works really, really well.

117
00:05:48,873 --> 00:05:52,618
Which is why corporations spend
billions every year doing it.

118
00:05:52,618 --> 00:05:54,778
But here’s the thing, convincing people to

119
00:05:54,778 --> 00:05:58,773
eat a bag of “Street Taco” flavored Doritos?

120
00:05:58,773 --> 00:05:59,693
EW.

121
00:05:59,985 --> 00:06:02,495
Convincing people to eat a bag of Doritos

122
00:06:02,508 --> 00:06:04,808
and convincing people to sign away 8 years

123
00:06:04,810 --> 00:06:07,410
of their lives to the US Army are not exactly

124
00:06:07,414 --> 00:06:09,844
comparable. While arguably both might

125
00:06:09,850 --> 00:06:12,300
be unhealthy, life in the military presents

126
00:06:12,304 --> 00:06:14,597
significantly more risk to your mental,

127
00:06:14,597 --> 00:06:17,107
emotional, and physical well-being than


128
00:06:17,107 --> 00:06:19,149
having a little junk food now and then.

129
00:06:19,149 --> 00:06:21,259
Now if cross-branded advertising sounds

130
00:06:21,272 --> 00:06:23,681
manipulative, that’s because it is.

131
00:06:23,681 --> 00:06:26,347
Which is why it’s not exactly surprising that

132
00:06:26,347 --> 00:06:28,601
the US military is jumping on the bandwagon.

133
00:06:28,601 --> 00:06:30,881
The US Army now spends in excess of

134
00:06:30,905 --> 00:06:35,345
$200 million per year of taxpayer money
on advertising.

135
00:06:35,621 --> 00:06:38,021
The US Army-contracted advertising firm

136
00:06:38,024 --> 00:06:40,074
responsible for the Earth Space Defense

137
00:06:40,082 --> 00:06:42,952
campaign is upfront about what they are doing,

138
00:06:51,192 --> 00:06:53,175
The thing is that “recruitment story”

139
00:06:53,175 --> 00:06:55,435
they’re selling is pure fantasy.

140
00:06:55,952 --> 00:06:58,822
Now to be clear, many people do initially want

141
00:06:58,829 --> 00:07:01,499
to join the military for altruistic reasons.

142
00:07:01,501 --> 00:07:04,556
Unfortunately, US Army recruiters are

143
00:07:04,556 --> 00:07:07,666
notorious for extremely deceptive tactics.

144
00:07:11,610 --> 00:07:13,145
You look like you’re really into this.

145
00:07:13,145 --> 00:07:14,705
You guys want a real challenge?

146
00:07:15,382 --> 00:07:17,225
As a soldier in the United States Army,

147
00:07:17,225 --> 00:07:19,215
you’ll find out what you’re really made of

148
00:07:19,215 --> 00:07:21,420
and how far you can go. Explore over 150

149
00:07:21,420 --> 00:07:23,147
careers, help pay for college, and learn

150
00:07:23,147 --> 00:07:25,163
if you qualify for an enlistment bonus.

151
00:07:25,163 --> 00:07:28,313
Call 1-888-395-ARMY now for a free copy of

152
00:07:28,315 --> 00:07:30,975
the America’s Army Game and
this new interactive DVD.

153
00:07:31,017 --> 00:07:33,327
Promises of large cash bonuses and money

154
00:07:33,333 --> 00:07:36,255
for college are commonly used to entice poor

155
00:07:36,255 --> 00:07:39,285
students into enlistment. But the fine print on

156
00:07:39,288 --> 00:07:42,868
those contracts makes it so only about 15%

157
00:07:42,877 --> 00:07:45,357
of recruits end up getting a college degree

158
00:07:45,369 --> 00:07:49,439
out of the deal, and 65% receive no money
for college at all.

159
00:07:50,094 --> 00:07:52,414
Recruiters also routinely hide the dangers

160
00:07:52,414 --> 00:07:54,878
that go along with life in the military (even

161
00:07:54,878 --> 00:07:57,458
outside of combat scenarios). Potential

162
00:07:57,465 --> 00:08:00,155
soldiers are not told that the levels of sexual

163
00:08:00,164 --> 00:08:02,694
assault and sexual harassment in the military

164
00:08:02,712 --> 00:08:05,752
are alarmingly high. Recruiters don’t mention

165
00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,560
that 1 in 4 women and about 1 in 14 men face

166
00:08:09,562 --> 00:08:12,262
severe and persistent sexual harassment and

167
00:08:12,262 --> 00:08:14,172
discrimination while serving.

168
00:08:14,214 --> 00:08:16,264
They don’t mention the fact that suicide rates

169
00:08:16,272 --> 00:08:18,493
among veterans are extremely high compared

170
00:08:18,493 --> 00:08:21,313
to civilians. And they certainly don’t tell you

171
00:08:21,316 --> 00:08:23,716
that a third of all homeless men in the United

172
00:08:23,717 --> 00:08:26,657
States are military veterans. For the record,

173
00:08:26,670 --> 00:08:29,100
that’s over 200,000 people.

174
00:08:29,536 --> 00:08:32,608
Let’s be frank, if you enlist in the army there’s

175
00:08:32,608 --> 00:08:34,438
a darn good chance you’re going to have a

176
00:08:34,478 --> 00:08:38,111
bad time. And the military knows it. This reality

177
00:08:38,121 --> 00:08:41,016
presents something of a PR nightmare, which

178
00:08:41,016 --> 00:08:43,946
is why the Military has long turned to Hollywood

179
00:08:43,951 --> 00:08:47,511
to help clean up their image and sell
the idea of enlistment.


180
00:08:48,289 --> 00:08:50,163
Jonathan: Every branch of the US Military

181
00:08:50,163 --> 00:08:52,413
has offices in Los Angeles which are tasked

182
00:08:52,413 --> 00:08:54,721
with collaborating on Hollywood movies and

183
00:08:54,721 --> 00:08:57,239
video game productions. Now for decades they

184
00:08:57,239 --> 00:08:59,504
wouldn't touch anything involving U.F.O.s.

185
00:08:59,504 --> 00:09:02,326
In fact the military famously refused to assist

186
00:09:02,326 --> 00:09:04,594
on the original Independence Day because the

187
00:09:04,594 --> 00:09:07,264
script referenced Area 51. But that’s no

188
00:09:07,264 --> 00:09:09,653
longer the case. The military has recently

189
00:09:09,653 --> 00:09:11,958
collaborated on science fiction movies like

190
00:09:11,958 --> 00:09:15,848
Battleship, Man of Steel, Iron Man,
and Transformers.

191
00:09:16,163 --> 00:09:18,267
We got a film crew aboard for the movie

192
00:09:18,267 --> 00:09:19,393
Battleship. Don’t hesitate to show them

193
00:09:19,393 --> 00:09:21,263
anything they ask for. Please make them feel

194
00:09:21,275 --> 00:09:23,755
as welcomed as humanly possible.

195
00:09:23,991 --> 00:09:26,393
We are now embedded with the United States

196
00:09:26,393 --> 00:09:28,170
Navy. We’re using all the real crew from this

197
00:09:28,170 --> 00:09:30,829
ship right now. And these guys are acting out

198
00:09:30,829 --> 00:09:33,155
scenes and fighting their ship. And I think

199
00:09:33,155 --> 00:09:34,553
they’re having a lot of fun.

200
00:09:34,553 --> 00:09:36,673
Right behind us is the five inch gun…

201
00:09:36,867 --> 00:09:38,479
Jonathan: Now in exchange for granting

202
00:09:38,479 --> 00:09:40,549
filmmakers assistance and access to both

203
00:09:40,563 --> 00:09:43,663
equipment and personnel, the military just

204
00:09:43,676 --> 00:09:46,136
demands one little thing in return:

205
00:09:46,141 --> 00:09:47,971
final script approval.

206
00:09:48,741 --> 00:09:51,871
That's a very bad idea.

207
00:10:00,927 --> 00:10:04,121
Wow. You have to thank her now.

208
00:10:04,121 --> 00:10:06,551
She sent the Navy AND the Marines.

209
00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:09,310
God bless you, Ellie.

210
00:10:10,828 --> 00:10:12,689
Jonathan: This arrangement insures that

211
00:10:12,689 --> 00:10:15,179
Hollywood depictions of the military are always

212
00:10:15,192 --> 00:10:18,292
positive and uncritical even when the story

213
00:10:18,308 --> 00:10:21,277
involves dinosaurs or killer robots or aliens

214
00:10:21,277 --> 00:10:24,008
from outer space. This cozy relationship is

215
00:10:24,008 --> 00:10:26,458
sometimes referred to as “Militainment”

216
00:10:26,467 --> 00:10:29,050
because it produces media that glorifies

217
00:10:29,050 --> 00:10:31,970
military institutions, combat, and warfare.

218
00:10:32,079 --> 00:10:34,407
So there’s a long history of military involvement

219
00:10:34,407 --> 00:10:36,717
in Hollywood. Still, I’d argue that this

220
00:10:36,727 --> 00:10:38,847
Independence Day movie collaboration

221
00:10:38,848 --> 00:10:40,628
is especially insidious.

222
00:10:40,635 --> 00:10:43,052
Now beyond the covert collection of personal

223
00:10:43,052 --> 00:10:45,360
data via Facebook, which is bad enough,

224
00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,899
what’s so unsettling about it is that the US Army

225
00:10:47,899 --> 00:10:50,747
is leaning heavily on the fantasy of alien

226
00:10:50,747 --> 00:10:53,335
invasions as a way to convince young people

227
00:10:53,335 --> 00:10:55,765
to become soldiers in real life.

228
00:10:57,575 --> 00:11:00,455
When the soldiers in the movie rise up,

229
00:11:01,222 --> 00:11:04,232
when they adapt to a new threat facing the world,

230
00:11:04,399 --> 00:11:07,319
when they find a way to win no matter what,

231
00:11:07,695 --> 00:11:10,895
remember where Hollywood gets that from.

232
00:11:11,467 --> 00:11:13,697
The US Army has been defending American

233
00:11:13,711 --> 00:11:17,369
independence for more than 241 years. Go

234
00:11:17,369 --> 00:11:20,647
to goarmy.com/independence to learn how

235
00:11:20,647 --> 00:11:22,907
you can join their ranks. Independence Day

236
00:11:22,907 --> 00:11:25,267
Resurgence in theaters June 24.

237
00:11:25,558 --> 00:11:28,086
Problem is, where Hollywood “gets that from”

238
00:11:28,096 --> 00:11:31,159
is from fiction, or at least a heavily sanitized

239
00:11:31,159 --> 00:11:33,409
version of the US military.

240
00:11:33,653 --> 00:11:36,143
Now this cross-branded Earth Space Defense

241
00:11:36,147 --> 00:11:38,948
campaign does fit very neatly with the US

242
00:11:38,948 --> 00:11:41,528
Army’s PR tagline “Defending America’s

243
00:11:41,529 --> 00:11:44,359
independence.” There’s just one small

244
00:11:44,361 --> 00:11:47,781
problem with that: it’s not exactly true anymore.

245
00:11:47,781 --> 00:11:50,591
The majority of modern US Military operations

246
00:11:50,592 --> 00:11:53,809
look a whole lot more like intervention than

247
00:11:53,809 --> 00:11:56,176
independence. And those operations are

248
00:11:56,176 --> 00:11:58,204
certainly not designed to beat back any

249
00:11:58,204 --> 00:12:00,389
invasion of the heartland, either from

250
00:12:00,389 --> 00:12:03,149
foreign or extraterrestrial origin.

251
00:12:03,201 --> 00:12:05,870
The long and short of it is, the US Government

252
00:12:05,870 --> 00:12:08,140
has been in a near constant state of war for

253
00:12:08,147 --> 00:12:11,167
over a century. In fact it’s overthrown or

254
00:12:11,179 --> 00:12:13,949
invaded over 50 countries just since the end

255
00:12:13,956 --> 00:12:17,506
of WWII. In an incredibly strange coincidence

256
00:12:17,515 --> 00:12:20,425
most of those military interventions have

257
00:12:20,430 --> 00:12:23,029
somehow ended up benefiting or protecting

258
00:12:23,029 --> 00:12:25,168
the economic interests of American big

259
00:12:25,168 --> 00:12:27,209
business. And under the umbrella of the

260
00:12:27,209 --> 00:12:29,688
so-called “war on terror,” the US military is

261
00:12:29,688 --> 00:12:31,914
currently raining destruction down on countries

262
00:12:31,914 --> 00:12:34,694
all across the Middle East and North Africa.

263
00:12:34,723 --> 00:12:37,347
That’s the grim, messy, and often bloody 


264
00:12:37,347 --> 00:12:40,721
reality of it. And that unpleasant reality is

265
00:12:40,721 --> 00:12:43,090
one of the reasons why the US Army is

266
00:12:43,090 --> 00:12:45,220
increasingly turning to science fiction

267
00:12:45,220 --> 00:12:47,090
stories as a recruiting tool.

268
00:12:47,845 --> 00:12:51,656
Heroes. Ordinary people who discover they

269
00:12:51,656 --> 00:12:54,665
can do extraordinary things. With unique

270
00:12:54,665 --> 00:12:58,113
talents and strengths, they stand together

271
00:12:58,113 --> 00:13:01,563
as an elite class. It’s more than a uniform.

272
00:13:01,569 --> 00:13:03,939
It’s a chance to be part of something bigger

273
00:13:03,941 --> 00:13:06,529
than you ever imagined. Try it on at

274
00:13:06,529 --> 00:13:09,889
facebook.com/goarmy and see exclusive


275
00:13:09,892 --> 00:13:12,767
content for X-Men: First Class. Only in

276
00:13:12,767 --> 00:13:15,307
theaters June 3. There’s strong,

277
00:13:15,308 --> 00:13:17,008
and then there’s army strong.

278
00:13:17,058 --> 00:13:19,393
Science fiction can provide a simple good

279
00:13:19,393 --> 00:13:21,787
versus evil narrative, one that appeals to

280
00:13:21,787 --> 00:13:24,161
patriotism and a desire to save the world

281
00:13:24,161 --> 00:13:26,725
without any association with those real-life

282
00:13:26,725 --> 00:13:28,792
military operations and atrocities.

283
00:13:28,792 --> 00:13:30,584
Jonathan: In addition to leaning on science

284
00:13:30,584 --> 00:13:33,824
fictional conflicts, the US Army is also leveraging

285
00:13:33,827 --> 00:13:36,117
science fictional technology and science

286
00:13:36,117 --> 00:13:38,887
fictional weaponry as an exciting pop-culture

287
00:13:38,906 --> 00:13:41,916
lure to hook young people into enlistment.

288
00:13:41,949 --> 00:13:44,759
-Aw, come one. Come on. Aw! Bank left!!

289
00:13:46,770 --> 00:13:49,384
Fighting imagined enemies avoids the

290
00:13:49,384 --> 00:13:51,404
uncomfortable associations with US foreign

291
00:13:51,405 --> 00:13:54,795
policy. So killer robots or zombies or alien

292
00:13:54,797 --> 00:13:58,098
invasions, these are all dehumanized conflicts

293
00:13:58,098 --> 00:14:00,728
without any messy moral questions attached.

294
00:14:00,734 --> 00:14:03,054
There are no real human beings with feelings

295
00:14:03,055 --> 00:14:05,813
or families or grievances with US imperialism.

296
00:14:06,613 --> 00:14:07,353
-Give me that thing.

297
00:14:07,353 --> 00:14:09,385
Jonathan: Invading space aliens are easy to

298
00:14:09,385 --> 00:14:11,885
kill. There’s no guilt or remorse or critical

299
00:14:11,891 --> 00:14:14,722
thinking that’s required, unlike the real world,

300
00:14:14,722 --> 00:14:17,342
where killing other people, no matter how vile

301
00:14:17,342 --> 00:14:19,477
they may be, is never something you should

302
00:14:19,477 --> 00:14:21,077
feel particularly good about.

303
00:14:21,089 --> 00:14:23,489
Independence Day: Resurgence didn’t do so

304
00:14:23,495 --> 00:14:26,085
well at the Box Office, so we probably won’t

305
00:14:26,087 --> 00:14:28,620
be subjected to another movie in this series.

306
00:14:28,620 --> 00:14:31,468
Unfortunately we’ll definitely be seeing the US

307
00:14:31,468 --> 00:14:34,758
military using this type of advertising tactic again.

308
00:14:34,932 --> 00:14:38,145
That’s because both the US military and the

309
00:14:38,145 --> 00:14:40,447
advertising industry understand something that

310
00:14:40,447 --> 00:14:43,781
many people still want to deny. And that is that

311
00:14:43,781 --> 00:14:46,732
fiction can be a very powerful and very effective

312
00:14:46,732 --> 00:14:49,842
way to influence people’s actions and attitudes.

313
00:14:50,259 --> 00:14:52,154
The military has a long tradition of

314
00:14:52,154 --> 00:14:53,941
intentionally blurring the lines between

315
00:14:53,941 --> 00:14:56,488
fiction and reality, but this latest movie

316
00:14:56,488 --> 00:14:59,011
tie-in represents a shift to a more

317
00:14:59,011 --> 00:15:01,191
insidious form of product placement.

318
00:15:01,206 --> 00:15:03,891
And we have a word for when the
government does this kind of thing,

319
00:15:03,891 --> 00:15:06,161
and that word is propaganda. 


320
00:15:06,764 --> 00:15:08,851
I hope you found this video useful. If you’d

321
00:15:08,851 --> 00:15:11,682
like to see more long-form video essays that

322
00:15:11,682 --> 00:15:13,737
focus on the intersections of entertainment

323
00:15:13,737 --> 00:15:16,264
and politics, head over to my Patreon page and

324
00:15:16,264 --> 00:15:19,414
help fund the Pop Culture Detective Agency.