History Film / TheMenWhoStareAtGoats

** In the case of the CIA and military's experiments with LSD, this version of the story is quite a bit tamer and less horrific than what actually happened (for instance, a CIA employee was given LSD without his knowledge, experienced a hallucination which caused him to jump out a window).

* CuteKitten: Part of the reason the American army started investigating psychic powers was due to Russian experiments started because they thought Americans were already investigating this. Part of the experimentation did include scaring kittens. Obviously, those DirtyCommunists went too far in doing so. [[NotSoDifferent America learned its lesson when they their soldiers failed to shoot dogs, and instead abused goats.]]
* TheDarkSide. While the film openly makes it a ''Franchise/StarWars'' reference, it's more likely a pointed reference to Dick Cheney's line right after 9/11, which precipitated in torture of suspects - the film ''Taxi to the Dark Side'' focused on the US military's unbridled violations of the Geneva Convention, which ultimately let to the Abu Ghraib controversy.

* DontTryThisAtHome: The NoCelebritiesWereHarmed CreditsGag near the very end lists that you should not try killing goats with your mind, trying to run through walls, or cloudbursting while driving. "Invisiblity is fine."
* DrillSergeantNasty: Invoked by Bill, saying he's just kidding. Instead, they dance to Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself".

* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: Locking people in small rooms wherein you flash blinding strobe lights at them while continually playing the "I Love You, You Love Me" song from ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' as loud as you can without making them permanently deaf, until they break from sleep deprivation and sensory overload.]] Variants of this are actually TruthInTelevision.

* HistoricalInJoke: The movie claims that the U.S. Army's recruitment CatchPhrase "Be all that you can be," was adopted two weeks after the New Earth Army was formed. This is TruthInTelevision: Lt. Col. Jim Channon, upon whom the character of Bill Django was based, really did write this slogan.

* KarmicDeath: Avoided. Larry nearly kills himself in the same LSD haze that one of his "guinea pigs" did.

* KnifeNut: Ben Echmeyer.. some of his more practical teachings (contrast with Sharing the Male Pain entry below)
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In theory, the whole movie is ambiguous about whether the psychic powers are real, delusions, or deliberate misdirection. The question is generally played for laughs. [[spoiler:In the final shot, Bob is shown performing the running through walls trick Hopgood attempted at the beginning of the movie successfully. However, a second after he's shown doing so, a picture frame falls off the wall, implying that he ''could'' have actually slammed into it but imagined himself going through. Like every other "paranormal" incident in the movie, it's up to the viewer to decide.]]

* MilitaryAlphabet: Oscar Mike

** The soldiers were referred to as "[[Franchise/StarWars Jedi knights]]" (as were the [=real life counterpart=] First Earth Batallion soldiers).

** The bizarre conversion between Brown and Hopgood fretting that "We can't afford to have the Russians leading the field in the paranormal" is strongly reminiscent of Turgidson complaining of a "mine shaft gap" with the Russians in ''Film/DrStrangelove''.

** The film also references ''Film/BeingThere'', especially the ending, echoing the Sellers film's tagline, "Life is just a state of mind."

* SoundtrackDissonance: During the opening credits: Upbeat music played to clips of Bob packing and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.

* ThereWasADoor: With an [[AwesomePersonnelCarrier M113 armored transport]]: "You're gonna hit the gate! You're gonna hit the gate! '''crash''' It's cool! You missed it!" as the transport flattens the fence.

** If nothing else what is true is that some very strange things can, do and have been funded and experimented with by armies and intelligence agencies when they manage to find the right patron and ithere's even a vague suspicion that the opposing force may be experimenting with something similar.
** In the case of the CIA and military's experiments with LSD, this version of the story is quite a bit tamer and less horrific than what actually happened.

->''[[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer More of this is true than you would believe.]]''

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: [[spoiler: Bob and Bill decide to sabotage PSIC by putting LSD in the powdered egg, sending the whole camp on a trip. Bill also decides to put LSD in the water supply as well without telling Bob.]]

** The soldiers were referred to as "[[Franchise/StarWars Jedi knights]]" (as were the RealLifeCounterpart First Earth Batallion soldiers).

** The bizarre conversion between Brown and Hopgood fretting that "We can't afford to have the Russians leading the field in the paranormal" is strongly reminiscent of Turgidson complaining of a "mine shaft gap" with the Russians in ''DrStrangelove''.
** [[TheSilenceOfTheLambs "The silence of the goats."]]
** The film also references ''BeingThere'', especially the ending, echoing the Sellers film's tagline, "Life is just a state of mind."

* AluminumChristmasTrees: While it's most likely no coincidence that EwanMcGregor constantly talks about Jedi, the real organization covered actually did use Star Wars references.

* CelebrityParadox: Franchise/StarWars is mentioned, and Ewan McGregor starred in the prequels. Bob Wilton must find it strange that he looks like him.

* CallToAdventure: "I was a [[LordOfTheRings Hobbit safe in the Shire]], a [[StarWars blond farm-boy on a remote desert planet who had no idea that he was about to be drawn into an epic struggle between the forces of good and evil.]]"
* CelebrityParadox: StarWars is mentioned, and Ewan McGregor starred in the prequels. Bob Wilton must find it strange that he looks like him.

* CloudCuckooLander: Pretty much everyone in the New Earth Army. Hopgood is probably the furthest out there, always wearing a goofy grin.

* TheDarkSide. While the film openly makes it a ''StarWars'' reference, it's more likely a pointed reference to Dick Cheney's line right after 9/11, which precipitated in torture of suspects - the film ''Taxi to the Dark Side'' focused on the US military's unbridled violations of the Geneva Convention, which ultimately let to the Abu Ghraib controversy.

** The soldiers were referred to as "[[StarWars Jedi knights]]" (as were the RealLifeCounterpart First Earth Batallion soldiers).

* AwesomeButImpractical: A man lifting bags of sand on hooks hung through his ''scrotum'' is asked what pratical purpose it could possibly have.

* BadAss: Lyn brought down an armed man with his hands tied in front of him and walked away from an IED explosion in a midsize sedan.

** The DrillSergeantNasty moment was more or less a direct quote from Stanley Kubrick's ''FullMetalJacket''.

** "Uh, sir, what is the practical application of this?"

'''''The Men Who Stare at Goats''''' is a 2009 comedy film about a reporter who attempts to uncover the story of the so-called "Project: Jedi," a secret government organization dedicated to creating psychic [[SuperSoldier super-soldiers]] with the goal of bringing about world peace.

* ActorAllusion: Ewan McGregor played an actual Jedi in the StarWars prequels. Guess who plays the main character in this movie about Project: Jedi?

Based on a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats book]], which in turn was an account of a true story. No, really.

* CrowningMomentofFunny: The Silence of the Goats.

* TheFilmOfTheBook

* ActorAllusion:
** EwanMcGregor's character is constantly getting into conversations about Jedi Knights, considering that he plays the only one to appear in all six ''StarWars'' films (not counting Anakin).
** When asked how to Remote View, Lyn mentions how some of the other members of the Army did it, [[Film/UpInTheAir including one who envisioned packing all his problems and possessions into a suitcase.]]
** Kevin Spacey [[SupermanReturns again]] chooses a huge cigar as a gloating accessory.
** How about how much [[TheBigLebowski Bill Abides]]?

** When asked how to Remote View, Lyn mentions how some of the other members of the Army did it, [[UpInTheAir including one who envisioned packing all his problems and possessions into a suitcase.]]

** The film is based on the factual book of the same name by investigative journalist Jon Ronson, a faux-naif in the same vein as LouisTheroux, who researched his material extensively in the USA and got a lot of off-the-record stuff from official sources.

InNameOnly: The film is a fictional story about the paranormal CIA department discussed in the book.

* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: Locking people in small rooms wherein you flash blinding strobe lights at them while playing "I Love You, You Love Me" song from ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' at a volume just below that at which it will make them deaf, until they break from sleep deprivation and sensory overload.]] Variants of this are actually TruthInTelevision.

* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: Locking people in small rooms, constantly flashing strobe lights on them, and playing the "I Love You, You Love Me" song from ''Series/BarneyAndFriends''.]] Variants of this are actually TruthInTelevision.

[[redirect:TheMenWhoStareAtGoats]]