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20 People Share Movies They Believe Are Actually Pure Propaganda

Movies are the best example of soft power implementation.

20 People Share Movies They Believe Are Actually Pure Propaganda

Movies have always sold more than a story, they also sell attitudes, values, and entire ways of seeing the world. Sometimes that message is subtle, and sometimes it is so obvious that it becomes part of the fun.

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That is especially true with films that lean hard into military imagery, patriotism, corporate branding, or cultural messaging. In this Reddit thread, people shared the movies they think are basically propaganda, and the answers range from obvious to hilarious.

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Some picks are controversial, some are nostalgic, and some make a lot more sense once you start looking at them through that lens. Here are the movies Redditors called out.

Someone asked:

Someone asked:Reddit
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1. The Internship

1. The InternshipReddit
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2. What the Bleep Do We Know?

2. What the Bleep Do We Know?Reddit

3. Rocky 4

Movie poster montage featuring The Internship, What the Bleep Do We Know?Reddit

4. Battleship

4. BattleshipReddit

5. Raging Bull

5. Raging BullReddit

6. Greatest Showman

6. Greatest ShowmanReddit

7. Rambo 3

Raging Bull and Greatest Showman film posters alongside The Lego Movie, Zero Dark ThirtyReddit

8. The Lego Movie (what was unclear about that?)

8. The Lego Movie (what was unclear about that?)Reddit

9. Zero Dark Thirty

9. Zero Dark ThirtyReddit

10. Birth of a Nation

10. Birth of a NationReddit

11. Battlefield Earth

11. Battlefield EarthReddit

12. The Interview

12. The InterviewReddit

13. Top Gun

13. Top GunReddit

14. Cast Away

14. Cast AwayReddit

15. Wreck-It Ralph

15. Wreck-It RalphReddit

And if you think propaganda talk gets weird, remember Hollywood’s biggest stars wanted the Earth to swallow them whole.

16. Space Jam 2

16. Space Jam 2Reddit

17. Night at the Museum

17. Night at the MuseumReddit

18. Green Berets

18. Green BeretsReddit

19. God's Not Dead

19. God's Not DeadReddit

20. Transformers movie franchise

20. Transformers movie franchiseReddit

21. Red Dawn

21. Red DawnReddit

22. American Sniper

22. American SniperReddit

23. The new Mulan

23. The new MulanReddit

24. Pearl Harbor

24. Pearl HarborReddit

25. Thomas & The Magic Railroad

25. Thomas & The Magic RailroadReddit

26. United Passions

26. United PassionsReddit

27. Hero

Thomas and the Magic Railroad and United Passions posters, then Black Hawk Down, Captain AmericaReddit

28. Black Hawk Down

28. Black Hawk DownReddit

29. Captain America

29. Captain AmericaReddit

30. Left Behind

30. Left BehindReddit

31. Shirley Temple movies

31. Shirley Temple moviesReddit

32. Reefer Madness

32. Reefer MadnessReddit

33. Ip Man movies

33. Ip Man moviesReddit

34. CSI and NCIS

34. CSI and NCISReddit

35. 24

Ip Man and CSI, NCIS references with Starship Troopers and Behind Enemy Lines postersReddit

36. Starship Troopers

36. Starship TroopersReddit

37. Behind Enemy Lines

37. Behind Enemy LinesReddit

38. The Pursuit of Happyness

38. The Pursuit of HappynessReddit

39. Independence Day

39. Independence DayReddit

40. Armageddon

40. ArmageddonReddit

Sometimes shows like CSI are referred to as "copaganda," which is a fun term. But regardless of the context or what you call it, it's worth keeping an eye on media that centers on police, as there are some pretty strange tropes in the genre.

Black Hawk Down was a huge hit. However, the movie differs significantly from the book it was based on. The book described how the locals did not like the U.S. Army and were quite hostile. In the movie, the U.S. Army is portrayed as the savior of that troubled country.

Additionally, one of the soldiers actually took a family hostage, and the main character in the movie is based on a soldier who was later convicted of rape.

For more about President Trump, see Americans divided over Trump’s Iran airstrikes.

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