Hollywood, Technology, and Defense: A Historical Reflection

This chapter explores the nostalgic intersection of entertainment and politics through a discussion of the 1940 film 'Murder in the Air', featuring Ronald Reagan as a federal agent. It transitions to Reagan's 1983 announcement of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which aimed to protect the U.S. from nuclear threats, reflecting on the technical challenges and political implications of such ambitious plans. The chapter also connects these past initiatives to contemporary missile defense proposals, highlighting a recurring theme of aspirational defense systems amidst skepticism and practical limitations.