How California’s Counterculture Was Engineered
The counterculture movement was supposed to be about freedom. But was it? Decades before social media giants controlled speech, Hollywood’s most secret film studio quietly shaped public perception.
This is an excerpt from my book, The Myth of California. If you want to read more about California’s transformation from rebellion to corporate control, make sure you’re subscribed to Atlantic Playbook.
What I am about to discuss is not a conspiracy theory. It is a historical examination of documented government programs, cultural shifts, and California’s evolving role in controlling narratives—an analysis of how these elements intersect and what they reveal.
In the shadow of the Hollywood Hills, a discreet military facility once stood as one of California’s best-kept secrets. Officially known as the Lookout Mountain Air Force Station, this top-secret film studio operated throughout the Cold War, producing more than 19,000 classified films over two decades. These films documented nuclear tests, psychological warfare tactics, and military propaganda, shaping public perception of America’s global dominance. But Lookout Mountain’s influence extended far beyond military secrecy. The ideas cultivated within its walls would later help shape the counterculture movement of the 1960s, embedding themselves into California’s cultural identity in ways that still resonate today.
Established in 1947, Lookout Mountain functioned as a fully operational film studio, staffed by both military personnel and Hollywood insiders. Its primary mission was to produce films for the Department of Defense, documenting nuclear detonations in remote locations like the Nevada desert and the Pacific Islands. But its work was not just about filming explosions. Lookout Mountain also specialized in psychological operations, using film to influence perception and behavior on a mass scale.
At the same time Lookout Mountain was producing classified propaganda, U.S. intelligence agencies were running behavioral modification experiments through programs like MK-Ultra. These covert initiatives explored the effects of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, on human behavior, with California serving as an experimental hub. Artists, writers, and musicians—many of whom would go on to define the counterculture movement—became test subjects in these government-funded studies.
Timothy Leary, one of the most well-known advocates for LSD use, was directly involved in Harvard’s CIA-linked hallucinogen research before promoting psychedelics to the masses. Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, participated in government-run drug trials before forming the Merry Pranksters, whose infamous acid test parties became cultural milestones.
This overlap between government-backed drug experiments and the rise of the counterculture raises some uncomfortable questions. Was the 1960s counterculture movement—often seen as a spontaneous rejection of societal norms—nudged along by intelligence agencies? The evidence suggests that, at the very least, it was strategically guided. The shift from political revolution to personal liberation neatly aligned with U.S. strategic interests during the Cold War. By promoting self-exploration through psychedelics and spirituality, the government could neutralize more dangerous forms of dissent.
Hollywood played a crucial role in this redirection of rebellion. While Lookout Mountain was busy producing classified government films, Hollywood studios were releasing major motion pictures that glorified individual rebellion but carefully avoided promoting collective political action. Films like Easy Rider and Bonnie and Clyde captured the spirit of anti-establishment defiance, but the underlying message was clear: rebellion should remain personal, not political. This was not a coincidence. Hollywood’s narratives conveniently aligned with government efforts to steer youth unrest into cultural revolutionary channels.
When Lookout Mountain shut down in 1969, its psychological warfare tactics did not disappear. Instead, they evolved and merged with California’s emerging tech industry, paving the way for modern media manipulation. Just as Lookout Mountain controlled Cold War-era narratives, today’s Silicon Valley tech giants—Google, Meta, Apple—control the flow of information on a global scale. Social media platforms, through their algorithms, dictate what people see, what ideas gain traction, and what voices are suppressed. These platforms have become the modern-day equivalent of Lookout Mountain, shaping public perception through digital means rather than film reels.
California, once the epicenter of countercultural rebellion, has now become the headquarters of modern media control. The same state that fueled the free-spirited movements of the 1960s is home to tech corporations that function as gatekeepers of speech, shaping political discourse, and filtering public perception. The rebellious energy that once defined the state has been repackaged into a new kind of cultural war—one fought from behind screens, moderated by algorithms, and controlled by an elite few.
The story of Lookout Mountain and its enduring influence on California’s cultural landscape raises a provocative possibility: was the counterculture movement ever truly grassroots, or was it engineered within a broader strategy of social control? While the artists, activists, and radicals of the era may have genuinely sought change, they operated within a framework that was quietly influenced by unseen forces. The U.S. government’s investment in psychological warfare and narrative control ensured that rebellion remained cultural rather than political—a rebellion that could be marketed, commodified, and defused.
Today’s digital media landscape is a continuation of the lessons learned at Lookout Mountain. Narrative control has evolved, but the core strategy remains the same: whoever controls the narrative controls society. From Cold War propaganda to modern-day social media censorship, California has played a leading role in shaping public consciousness. The cultural rebellion that once defined the state has now been co-opted into a new form of digital activism, carefully managed to ensure that the status quo remains intact.
The hidden history of Lookout Mountain demonstrates how the lines between propaganda, entertainment, and rebellion are never as clear as they seem. The movements that emerged from California were not always as spontaneous as they appeared. Behind every wave of rebellion, there is a story of power—and California continues to author that story today. In many ways, this feels like a failed experiment that has spiraled out of control, consuming part of the state and entrancing generations of Americans.
This article has been adapted from my new book: The Myth of California. The Amazon Kindle version is available now. The full book, paperback and audiobook will be released June 6th.
Endorsements for "The Myth of California"
"California was once America’s “Promised Land” where people flocked to find gold, good weather, and opportunities in everything from movies to manufacturing. It was the agricultural epicenter of the world, known as the “salad bowl” of the planet. But decades of leftist leadership has destroyed everything but the weather. It’s become “Paradise Lost” with homelessness, unanswered crime, and choking tax rates and regulations causing people to flee in stunning numbers to get to places where their families can live without the boot of big government on their necks and cultural cuckoos setting the atmosphere of the lifestyle. Chad Hagan details what happened in his riveting book, “The Myth of California: How Big Government Destroyed the Golden State.” It’s the tragic story of how the irrational left destroys everything it touches and how one state exchanged its gold for garbage.
- Mike Huckabee, Former Governor of Arkansas, Bestselling Author, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Nominee
"My father was a car salesman in a town of 800 people in Northern Minnesota. He had one vacation in his working life, and we took a trip to California. He had a friend who had settled in Carlsbad years earlier and wanted to visit. I was 10. My brother was 11, and our sister was 7. We were in awe. It was a modest home, beautifully maintained, with a yard full of fruit trees. We picked oranges and ate them in the yard. We had grapefruit off the trees for breakfast. I dreamed of moving to California for years. No longer! Chad Hagan’s book, The Myth of California, will make you disappointed, infuriated, and then just plain sad. It is a cautionary tale about how politicians can destroy a paradise in one lifetime. Ultimately, unchecked political power serves only itself. The citizens are included only to pay the bills. It is also a testament to how the crazies run the world. Most of us just want to go to work, come home and relax, and build a family and life. The crazies don’t think that way. They are loud, and they vote. Ultimately, politicians whose only interest is in power, cave in to them. (A government permit needed to wear heels taller than 2 inches in Carmel? Spare me!) As Californians now flee in droves, the stories they tell disabuse us of any notion of paradise. This book does that in spades. Read it!"
- John Linder, Former U.S. Congressman (GA-7)