Ever wonder where Ronald Reagan got the idea for, the SDI Star Wars program? How did this convergence of politics and science fiction, reality and fantasy, Washington and Hollywood come about? In his psycho-biographical study Ronald Reagan, the Movie, Michael Rogin traces Reagans vision of missile defence back to the 1940 Warner Brothers movie Murder in the Air. In this film, Reagan plays a Secret Service agent who prevents a foreign spy from stealing the plans for a powerful new defensive weapon. By being able to stop and destroy any attacking vehicle or missile, this weapon will, according to one of the films characters, `make America invincible in war and therefore be the greatest force for peace ever invented. Rogins central thesis is that the future president was made in 1940s Hollywood. It is not only that Reagan extensively referred to movies in his later speeches, quoting, for example, Clint Eastwoods famous line `Go ahead, make my day from one of the Dirty Harry movies in Congress with reference to his promised veto to tax increases, or stating in July 1985 after American hostages held in Lebanon had been released: `Boy, I saw Rambo last night.... Now I know what to do next time this happens. https://youtube/watch?v=zkOy2Dhp2OA
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 02:59:43 +0000
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