Help me make more videos! https://www.patreon.com/popdetective The sequel to the 1996 mega-blockbuster "Independence Day" hit theaters this summer but there was something a little strange about many of the trailers. What looks like a clever marketing campaign centered on joining the fictional "Earth Space Defense" was actually a cross-branded recruitment tool for the US Army. It’s part of a multi-million dollar joint advertising venture between 20th Century Fox and the United States Military. PATREON This video was made possible by support from viewers like you! If you’d like to see more videos focusing on the intersections of entertainment, politics and masculinity, please head over to my Patreon page and help fund this web series: https://www.patreon.com/popdetective PAYPAL If you'd rather make a one-time donation you can do that via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/popdetective SOURCES: • U.S. Army Using Independence Day as a Propaganda Tool http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a44860/independence-day-resurgence-army-recruitment/ • List on US military interventions since World War II https://williamblum.org/essays/read/overthrowing-other-peoples-governments-the-master-list • Infographic of US interventions in Latin America http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/half-a-century-of-u-s-interventions-in-latin-america-in-one-map/ • How Many Countries is the U.S. Currently Bombing? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNIKQM6E4pk • U.S. Escalates a Shadow War In Somalia http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/world/africa/obama-somalia-secret-war.html • McCann Worldgroup’s Lisa Nocella on NPR http://www.npr.org/2016/05/12/477835964/u-s-army-takes-unique-approach-with-new-recruitment-video • US Army spends 200 million per year on advertising http://adage.com/article/agency-news/mccann-u-s-army-account/208630/ • Only 15% of military recruits get the promised college degree http://www.alternet.org/print/story/62945/top_military_recruitment_lies • Soldiers Forced to Repay Enlistment Bonuses After Going to War http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-national-guard-bonus-20161020-snap-story.html • National Coalition for the Homeless - Veterans Facts http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/veterans.html • Sexual Assault in the Military - Fact Sheet http://www.protectourdefenders.com/factsheet/ • Suicide rate of U.S. veterans rose one third since 2001 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-veterans-suicides-idUSKCN10E2RN • Military refused to assist on original Independence Day http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/09/operation-hollywood • US Navy collaboration on Battleship movie http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/18/navy-stars-in-action-film-battleship/ • X-Men cross-promotion with US Army http://www.salon.com/2011/05/26/pentagon_propaganda_xmen • History of Military collaborations with Hollywood https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/25-years-later-remembering-how-top-gun-changed-americas-feelings-about-war/2011/08/15/gIQAU6qJgJ_story.html • Hollywood and the Pentagon: A relationship of mutual exploitation http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/29/hollywood-and-thepentagonarelationshipofmutualexploitation.html RECOMMENDED READING: • An Ordinary Person's Guide To Empire by Arundhati Roy • War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges • Killing Hope by William Blum • Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs by Noam Chomsky • Propaganda and the Public Mind by Noam Chomsky • Necessary Illusions by Noam Chomsky ABOUT THIS PROJECT The Pop Culture Detective Agency is a brand new video series that looks at media through a critical lens with an emphasis on depictions of men and masculinity in movies, television, comic books and video games. https://www.patreon.com/popdetective Full text transcript available here: http://popculturedetective.agency/2016/military-recruitment-and-science-fiction-movies COMMENTS YouTube comments are closed due to harassment of this channel. If you would like to participate in constructive online conversations about this video, please share it on your social media networks, or join other supporters on Patreon, where backers-only discussion threads are provided for each new video. https://www.patreon.com/popdetective FAIR USE All multimedia clips included in this video constitute a 'fair use' of any copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of U.S. Copyright law, which allows for criticism, comment and scholarship. Learn more about fair use with this awesome app by New Media Rights! http://newmediarights.org/fairuse CREDITS Writer/Producer: Jonathan McIntosh Motion Graphics: Jonathan McIntosh Logo Design: Justin McIntosh Music: Jonathan Mann https://www.patreon.com/jonathanmann