How Washington Hypnotizes Us Through Hollywood
By Julius G. Matibag

WITH ALL the reports about the massive entry of United States soldiers in our country for what Malacañang declares as part of the regular military exercises under the Visiting Forces Agreement, there seems to be a hidden connection between American soldiers on our soil and American soldiers on screen.

The month of January saw the undeniable strength and courage of American soldiers as plots of several Hollywood films conquering our theaters, as seen in "Spy Game", "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Black Hawk Down". Indeed, these films didn't only put the viewers at the edge of their seats and carry them at a high level of excitement and pleasure but; they also induced them to succumb into a state of hypnosis.

It is first highly important to say that the United States indeed is like an explosive brain dominating the entire planet. Without its ideological machinery, this 'great' nation cannot accomplish its primary goal of maintaining its ideal social order around the world: to remain on top of the world's political, economic and social relations by destroying every possible obstructing enemies and playing the heads of states like puppets in a carnival while preaching the tenets of democracy like a priest uttering verses in the Bible.

Hollywood is one ideological machinery that the American government uses in the propagation of its beliefs, values and principles according to its own world view. When we talk about Hollywood films, we talk about the US' "smart-and-secret" weapon to triumph over people's minds; we talk about propaganda in its majestic sense.

When we see American soldiers in films emerging as heroes in battlefields defending the people, we see compassion in the viewers' eyes. And the most vital of all parts, when we watch actors like Ewan McGregor, Josh Harnett, Brad Pitt, Robert Redford and Owen Wilson showing off in stunning military uniforms and executing covert and overt missions, we watch in admiration and fondness as hundreds of US soldiers set foot in our land for the forthcoming Balikatan military 'exercises'.

A great scholar once declared that art and politics couldn't be separated. Truthfully, no piece of art is ideologically free. Even the slightest work of art
carries with it a certain political message though the artist may not be conscious about its existence. Films, unlike any other forms of propaganda materials and tools, can occupy the viewers' entire political consciousness at a span of more than two hours and lasting without them consciously knowing it. The behavior of viewers would prove it later how films, especially Hollywood saga of American soldiers, have contributed greatly to making them one-dimensional human beings in treating political scenarios in the country like the recent arrival of US soldiers.

That is why it is not surprising why more Filipinos approve the presence of US soldiers at the Abu Sayyaf Group's stronghold, Basilan and in other military establishments nationwide. Through careful planning and execution, the grand plan of showing Hollywood films about the heroism of US soldiers at a time when the nation is in debate about the legality and national implication of the arrival of US troops has been reaping its benefits by thwarting and conquering the political consciousness of the viewers. Most of them come mostly from the male section of the lower and middle class sector of our society dominated by macho culture.

That tells much about how our society continues to be blinded by the myth of American benevolence. From the time of seeking the collaboration of ilustrados during the Filipino-American war to the veneration of Rizal, from labeling Sakay and other revolutionaries as plain bandits to passing a law declaring the prohibition of the display of the Philippine flag, the leaders and policy makers of our country still think that America sees us as their equal friend and ally. In fact, the long list of American treachery and real motives was deliberately hidden in the annals of history to make things appear according to their own class interests.

If our country will continue to ignore the striking lessons that our history has always wanted to tell us, this land will have a hard time digging and uprooting the hegemony rooted on its soil. The souls of those who had watered our grounds with their blood will also have a hard time settling in peace.

Of course, not everyone would fall into the trap. There are exceptions remarkable enough to be articulated on. And the only solution to escape from the ambush of colonial ideas is by having a solid foundation of political and economic consciousness directed towards the interests of the hapless and unheard; by having a world view for the people intact enough not to be
burnt to ashes.

Come breaks and weekends, as you enter theater houses again, it would be better to carry firearms locked in your minds and ready to pull and shoot whenever colonial ideas try to invade your world of thoughts.

Because it would be better to be safe independently; now it would be safer to watch films.

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Julius G. Matibag is a freelance writer. He's a former national secretary general of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines.

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