Fibreculture Journal (Jan 2003)
The Military-Entertainment Complex: A New Facet of Information Warfare
Abstract
The second Gulf War will become synonymous with the emergence of fully-fledged information warfare where the military-entertainment complex has so influenced strategic and logistic possibilities that it becomes apparent that the war was waged as entertainment. This is entertainment not as an amusement or diversion but utilising the techniques and tropes of the burgeoning entertainment industry as a means to achieve military objectives. This paper offers a short history of the military-entertainment complex as reality and simulation become fused in the practices of the US military machine. The paper then briefly explores three central aspects of this phenomenon evident in recent developments: the military function of computer games; the role of the Hollywood scenario and the blurring between news and reality TV. Finally the suggestion is made that subverting, co-opting and reconstructing the military-entertainment complex provides new possibilities for alternative strategies of information warfare.
