Romancing the Republic: Disney and the Pentagon Whitewash Pearl Harbor, by Chisun Lee, Village Voice
Disney’s newest blockbuster, Pearl Harbor, portrays war more like “a computer-enhanced adventure than a personal, grim experience,” writes Chisun Lee in the Village Voice. The Pentagon, in the hopes of a recruiting boon, worked closely with the filmmakers. Disney had good reason to work with the military, Lee writes: “Payoff for cooperating with the big guns: unprecedented permission to film on military bases including Pearl Harbor, props and input, and the invaluable stamp of authenticity.” Lee also points out how well the movie complements recent military moves under the Bush administration, such as support for a missile-defense shield and approval for the $160 million WWII memorial. The overall draw of the film, Lee asserts, is the lack of gruesome reality and the “seductive power of the American myth.”
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