Extremely long story short, no, Mk ultra was a programme run supposedly by the US Military during the 60s to try to create a fully controllable soldier. This was not a pleasant thing though, the theory goes that it involved putting people under all sorts of mind contorting conditions including full deprivation chambers while under the influence of strong substances such as LSD. If that is true, then that is no joke. They would have been using people susceptible to such things and effectively broken their minds. ...
Uh, unfortunately truth is sadder than fiction. The American government has released classified documents that show an ugly, hidden side. However, how you combined events is erroneous.
Project Paperclip was a secret project that brought Nazi scientists, doctors and engineers into the US after WWII to prevent them from being used by our then enemy the USSR. Many of these scientists and doctors were engaged by the US military to assist with projects.
One project was
MK Ultra that was actually run in a Canadian mental institution. The patients would have taped messages played over a helmet with speakers for prolonged periods of time. Often they were injected with various drugs. We know this now because the US government was actually taken to court and had to pay a settlement to one of the women used against her will. This was a CIA project. Since then, numerous documents have been declassified.
And yes, the use of
LSD and amphetamines by the US military is also documented in various film footage and declassified papers. The revelations by Snowden on the NSA's actions are only a recent example of how clandestine groups can engage in destructive behaviors if unchecked.
Just because things sound implausible doesn't make them false. There are many mind control techniques that sound implausible but are quite effective. As a clinically trained hypnotherapist, it is possible to use waking hypnosis on 75% of the population. And if you can manipulate environmental conditions, it's possible to stack the odds of your desired outcome highly in your favor. Hypnosis and mind control are not what most people think with trances and blind obedience. Simple high speed, flashing lights have been shown to
incapacitate people. The military has been developing this as a non-lethal weapon. Another invention from the 1960s is the
neurophone ( US Patent # 3,647,970 dated 7 Mar 1972). Microwaves have been used to beam encoded messages in stores to stop shoplifting using a patented technology. Popular media and advertisements use influence strategies all the time. It's good business.
Now to be clear, I'm not alleging as Roseanne Barr that Hollywood is a cover using MK Ultra techniques. The special relationship the government has with Hollywood is a unique one. The government has used many studios to create compelling propaganda to support war efforts and pro-American sentiments. Few people realize the modern American PR and advertising largely developed from the work of
Edward Bernays, Freud's nephew who utilized several "herd instinct" theories co-mingled with Freud's psychosexual theories. It's no coincidence that marketing wants you to be a part of the herd or stand out and uses sexual innuendo to drive it home. The question becomes when does 'influence' and 'persuasion' cross the line?
The techniques used for 'brainwashing' used in cults are used in the military as well as religion and business environments. Anyone who has served in the military has undergone the same process--isolated from past connections until induction is completed, forced to be dependent on an authority, forced to use a unique jargon, use of physical exhaustion by prolonged physical exercise and sleep deprivation, having unique gestures/mottoes, black-and-white thinking, and the instilled sense of uniqueness. These are
hallmarks of a cult. But it can be said to be true of societies in general, which is why we speak of
culture, how we were raised.
I've taken the time to put in links because I think many people think this is all make believe when sadly it is not. It is a dark side of human nature.
@ KidFilmMaker: The film "Manchurian Candidate" looks at instilled, sleeper personalities. "Three Faces of Eve", "Sybil" are more psychological portrayals. I don't think it's a bad idea but Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities) IS NOT schizophrenia so be very careful to do research and not just bandy about terms. Typically the personalities are distinctive and serve protective functions. For them all to be violent would be unusual in real life. It might be climactic to learn that he was programmed. It seems unlikely though unless his acting roles where choreographed as part of his training. It could be interesting but would take some major work to sell the idea to the audience. Still, it's worth a go.