Capítulo 94: Chapter 93: Recruitment Commercial
"Lieutenant Colonel, regarding the ending of the script..."
Duke closed the script handed to him by Lieutenant Colonel Lenho and stood up, reinforcing his tone, "The one who destroys the alien spacecraft's weapons must be a civilian, not the president or someone from the military!"
"Why?"
Having collaborated once, the representative from the Pentagon was waiting for Duke to explain.
What is the main reason? Of course, it's because audiences love to see ordinary people save the world. The mainstream American culture still has a strong anti-intellectual and anti-elitist characteristic, and movies like this cater to the mainstream audience's mindset, encouraging them to buy tickets.
Ordinary people saving the world, while the high-ups are often portrayed as foolish, is a viewpoint heavily promoted in Hollywood films. However, Hollywood does this not because they agree with anti-intellectualism and anti-elitism, but because it helps get audiences to spend money and generate commercial profits.
The most typical example is that in over 95% of youth campus films, the quarterback of the football team is the antagonist, portrayed as a simple-minded jock. In reality, the quarterback is the core of the football team, usually its leader, directing attacks on the field and sometimes even changing the coach's strategy in real-time. These individuals are often strong, sharp-minded, quick-thinking, and have keen judgment and the determination to execute; they are also the most popular among girls at school, truly elite.
Thus, in this anti-intellectual and anti-elitist culture, they become the frequent targets of ridicule in films, much like senators in Congress and various presidents.
When unable to elevate the simple-minded North American audience to agree with their viewpoint, commercial film directors must lower their standards and cater to mainstream tastes.
Duke understood these principles himself, but he couldn't use them to persuade the Pentagon.
So, he started to ramble, "Lieutenant Colonel, America is a democratic country, and every individual is an important part of this free land. When the country is in trouble, the public will undoubtedly step forward to save it. Our script showcases the bravery of the military, the Pentagon, and the president in many ways. In the end, a civilian flying a plane into the alien spacecraft can precisely demonstrate that in times of crisis, the public and the federal government stand united!"
"You do have a point."
Transforming into a former Soviet political officer, Lenho's influence played a minor role. He turned to another sensitive topic, "Duke, the tone of the film and the promotion of the military's fighting spirit have made the Pentagon very satisfied."
Of course they were satisfied; if such a grand American patriotic film didn't meet their expectations, it would mean their collective brains had rusted.
As Duke was thinking this, Lenho continued, "But the Pentagon hopes you can remove all content related to Area 51."
"Lieutenant Colonel, this is just a gimmick to attract audiences," Duke spread his hands and said, "We don't intend to promote conspiracy theories; we just want to draw in more viewers."
"That's not my point, Duke." Lenho stood up and walked around, "My superior is sensitive about this topic."
Sensitive? Duke was taken aback, thinking, could Area 51 really be a thing?
"The Roswell incident and Area 51 have been around for so many years; the public knows it's fake."
Whether it's true or not didn't matter to Duke; he didn't care about those details, "If we had access to alien technology, wouldn't we have dominated the world by now? This is merely a promotional gimmick for the film to attract more viewers."
Lenho stopped walking, his face deep in thought.
"In my view, having more audiences in theaters will benefit the Pentagon far more than us."
To persuade the Pentagon and save millions of dollars on weapon rentals so he could invest more in special effects production, Duke truly racked his brains, "Lieutenant Colonel, as far as I know, since the Iraq War, enlistment rates have been declining, hitting historic lows in the past two years. You once told me that 'The Rock' could become a recruitment commercial; in reality, it did not."
After a brief pause, when Lenho turned to look at him again, Duke adopted a more powerful tone, "You've seen the script for 'Independence Day,' Lieutenant Colonel! This will be the best recruitment commercial. Do you remember the enlistment effects brought about by 'Top Gun' after its release? A well-made film that promotes the military is far more effective than the Department of Defense running recruitment ads in various media!"
The 1980s film "Top Gun" had an overwhelming enlistment effect. This film, humorously referred to as "F-14's ultra-long music video," brought in a surge of teenagers watching and skyrocketing box office earnings, leading the U.S. Navy to its highest enlistment rates since World War II.
Since "Top Gun," Hollywood had not produced any impactful recruitment propaganda films for many years, but "Independence Day" had distinct recruitment advertisement qualities.
Duke himself didn't care about these things; his relationship with the Pentagon was simply one of mutual benefit. Since he was standing in Hollywood, he had to consider how to make decisions that would be most advantageous to him.
In the not-so-distant future, from the pyramids of Cairo to the skyscrapers of Chicago, from the crumbling remnants of Los Angeles to the vast Pacific Ocean, from the highways of Paris to the military bases in the sandy Middle East, Hollywood screens would showcase waves of unprecedented alien invasions.
When the common home of Earth faced peril, a group of "heroes" would always emerge, charging into battle with flesh and blood, saving the collapsing edifices, ultimately thwarting the plots of alien marauders, defending the planet, and saving the world's people, returning to military bases amidst flowers and applause, modestly hiding their achievements.
These American soldiers' "heroic deeds" on screen inspired global audiences with respect, made passionate young men dream, and these films unknowingly became recruitment advertisements for the U.S. military.
In fact, it was no news that the military set the stage and Hollywood performed; their relationship had been close since the dawn of cinema nearly a century ago. Back then, the military cooperated with film crews for educational purposes—films could serve as teaching materials for military academies.
It was precisely for this reason that during World War II, the U.S. military directly participated in the production and promotion of recruitment films. Directors like Frank Capra created high-quality recruitment films, but those, like the hawkish actor John Wayne's "Green Berets" in the 1960s, were all "temporary phenomena" during "extraordinary times."
The modern meaning of a "recruitment film" refers to a series of high-investment commercial films that aim to create a positive image of the military, starting with the popular "Top Gun" in the 1980s. Although the effects were good, they faced criticism for being too obvious in their advertising nature.
However, in the present and future, with the renewal of cinematic narrative techniques and visual language, the image of American soldiers on screen has become increasingly heroic, and the comprehensive strength of the U.S. military is more vividly showcased. The recruitment effects naturally rise, and the sponsorship amount offered by the Pentagon sharply increases.
Meanwhile, experienced screenwriters know better how to subtly weave advertising elements into the storyline, significantly reducing audience sensitivity. Nowadays, "Independence Day" is just like future "Transformers" films, fully embodying these characteristics. According to Duke's vision, completing the film will reveal that the advertising intentions are far less overt than they were in "Top Gun."
From a commercial perspective, the collaboration between the film crew and the Pentagon is a win-win deal that only a fool would refuse.
Since the Vietnam War, after switching from a conscription system to a volunteer system, the military has to spend huge sums each year on recruitment advertisements. However, no matter how good the ads are, they are less motivating than a well-made commercial blockbuster. The advantages of films over ads are immense; their public relations component is concealed and dissolved within a complete narrative, allowing audiences to become engrossed in the sensory bombardment and psychological adventure of experiencing the characters' struggles, simultaneously avoiding the natural aversion to advertisements.
From Duke's perspective, the "main theme" war sci-fi action blockbuster he was producing features a clever protagonist, a passionate storyline, and grand battle scenes—elements that align perfectly with the motivational power required for recruitment ads. Therefore, it stands to reason that he would gain access to military props and technical support, exchanging lower production costs for higher profits; why not?
Of course, Duke himself didn't bear the burden of stupidity. Even though he transformed into a former Soviet political officer and rambled on, Lieutenant Colonel Lenho didn't make any promises. He himself didn't have the authority to do so but assured that he would faithfully convey Duke's intentions back to the Pentagon and would try to help the crew secure potential sponsorship.
"Who said the Pentagon is full of fools and idiots? Their money is easy to exploit?"
After sending off Lieutenant Colonel Lenho, Duke felt a bit of resentment. If the Pentagon were truly as naive as depicted in films or on the internet in his past life, he wouldn't have to waste his breath, and perhaps he wouldn't even have had the opportunity to speak.
In the following days, Duke reviewed the thick stack of drawings created by the art and special effects teams. The designs for the aliens and their spaceship were finalized, and the drawings were sent to the special effects department at Industrial Light & Magic, where model production, led by Stan Winston, began.
Over the past week, Duke concentrated mainly on the models. In addition to the alien designs, he needed to finalize models of cities and iconic North American buildings. All explosion scenes would be filmed on location, while computer-generated imagery (CGI) shots were also in the early stages of production. A computer special effects team from Industrial Light & Magic, similar to the model effects group, had moved into the Warner Studios set and was actively collaborating with Duke.
Additionally, the actor auditions had progressed to the second round, requiring Duke's attention on selecting the lead roles.
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