The Men Who Stare at Goats
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- This article is about the book. For the 2009 movie based on the book, see The Men Who Stare at Goats (film).
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2004) is a book by Jon Ronson about the U.S. Army's exploration of New Age concepts and the potential military applications of the paranormal. The title refers to attempts to kill goats by staring at them.
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[edit] Primary themes
The book examines connections between paranormal military programs and psychological techniques being used for interrogation in the War on Terror. The book traces the evolution of these covert activities over the past three decades, and sees how they are alive today within U.S. Homeland Security and U.S. occupied Iraq. It examines the use of the theme tune to Barney & Friends on Iraqi prisoners-of-war, the smuggling of a hundred de-bleated goats into the Special Forces command center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the connection between the U.S. military and the mass-suicide of members of the Heaven's Gate cult in San Diego.[1]
[edit] TV documentary
The book accompanies a three-part TV series broadcast on Channel 4 in Britain, Crazy Rulers of the World. The three parts were titled "The Men Who Stare at Goats", "Funny Torture" and "Psychic Footsoldiers" respectively. The idea of the project was to explore "the apparent madness at the heart of U.S. military intelligence." The series discusses and includes members of Psychological operations, First Earth Battalion, and also discusses Project MKULTRA and Frank Olson, including interviews with his son, Eric Olson.
Ronson dedicated his book to journalist and filmmaker John Sergeant, who worked intensely through 2003 and 2004 on the original documentary. However, Sergeant has not received any credit for his part in formulating what is the basis for this movie.
See the following links for more information:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-sergeant/how-i-was-airbrushed-out_b_362356.html
[edit] Movie adaptation
A movie based on the book, starring George Clooney, was released in Autumn 2009 by Winchester Films, BBC Films and Mandate Pictures. Grant Heslov directed from a script by Peter Straughan. Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges and Robert Patrick starred opposite Clooney. The movie is set in Iraq and filmed in Comerío Street, Bayamón, Puerto Rico and the New Mexico Military Institute and centers on Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), a desperate reporter who stumbles upon the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), who claims to be a former secret U.S. Military psychic soldier re-activated post-9/11. Bridges plays Bill Django, the founder of the psychic soldier program and Lyn's mentor. Spacey plays Larry Hooper, a former psychic soldier who is running a prison camp in Iraq.[2]
Officially, the film is inspired by British journalist Jon Ronson's book, which was based on a Channel 4's 2004 three-part documentary "Crazy Rulers Of The World." Ronson dedicated his book to journalist and filmmaker John Sergeant, who worked intensely through 2003 and 2004 on the original documentary.
