Porkins Policy Review
Tom Secker and I were recently guests on Len Osanic’s Black Op Radio. We discussed The CIA and Hollywood series and specifically our episode on The Quiet American and Edward Lansdale. We discuss the theory that Lansdale was acting as a former ad-executive and was attempting to sell war in South East Asia. Tom and I also talk about the CIA’s use of George Orwell as propaganda, Charlie Wilson, and why government interference in cinema and culture is so dangerous.
Show Notes:
From Our Interesting Times:
Pearse Redmond of Porkins Policy Review joins the show. We discuss his monthly series Porkins Great Game and the series he does with the UK’s Tom Secker CIA and Hollywood. We talk about the CIA’s involvement in the entertainment industry and deleterious effects it has had on society. Later we talk about Pearse’s research into the OJ Simpson murder trial and the several interviews he conducted with journalist Stephen Singular who wrote the book Legacy of Deception: An Investigation of Mark Fuhrman and Racism in the L.A.P.D.
In this opening episode of the new series Pearse and Tom look into the CIA’s adaptations of George Orwell’s two most famous novels – Animal Farm and 1984. We focus primarily on Animal Farm, a revolutionary animated film in several senses of the word, produced by Louis De Rochemont – a man who had worked with several other government agencies prior to making Animal Farm with the CIA. The animation was does by British firm Halas and Bachelor, and we also discuss their background. This episode also examines the paper trail, looking in Orwell’s FBI file and the MI5 records on actor Michael Redgrave, who starred in 1984 despite being a suspected Communist. We conclude that the CIA had something of an obsession with Orwell at this time, and were subverting his works quite radically in these films.
Download The CIA and Hollywood ep. 1
Show Notes:
Animal Farm film production documents
The cartoon that came in from the cold
CIA documents on George Orwell’s books
Porkins Policy Review 