Merlin L. Miller is an American
paleoconservative
Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns over ...
political activist, independent film director, writer, and producer. His works include the television film ''
A Place to Grow'' (1998), starring
Gary Morris, and the film ''
Jericho
Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017.
F ...
'' (2000), starring
Mark Valley. During the 2000s he founded a
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
-based production company, Americana Pictures. He has also written articles for the ''
Barnes Review'' and the ''
Occidental Observer''.
Miller was the 2012 presidential nominee of the white nationalist
American Third Position Party (now known as the American Freedom Party).
[ Winger, Richard (January 17, 2012]
"American Third Position Nomines its First National Ticket"
''Ballot Access News
''Ballot Access News'' is a United States–based website and monthly online and print newsletter edited and published by Bill Redpath and Richard Winger.
History
Richard Winger, an expert on ballot access law in the United States, started t ...
''. Retrieved January 19, 2012. Academic and political activist
Virginia Abernethy was his running-mate.
Early years
Miller was born in
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
and was also raised there. He states that he worked as an
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...
manager for
Michelin Tire Company. Miller says that in his childhood, he admired
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
and
Davy Crockett
Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...
.
Career
Miller produced and edited ''Devil Rider'' (1989), a
horror movie starring Tag Groat as the title character.
In 1991, Miller produced
David Heavener's crime film ''Prime Target'', starring Heavener as policeman John Bloodstone and
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...
as Captain Tompkins.
Miller co-produced the action film ''A Mission to Kill'' (1992), starring
William Smith as a mentally unstable Vietnam veteran, Boris Catuli. Tag Groat, who played the title role in ''Devil Rider'', also appeared in this film.
Miller returned to film making with ''
A Place to Grow'' (1998), which he wrote, directed, and produced. The movie starred country singer
Gary Morris; actors
John Beck and
Wilford Brimley, as well as
hobo
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works.
Et ...
music artist
Boxcar Willie, also appeared in it.
Miller produced and directed a western movie, ''
Jericho
Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017.
F ...
'' (2000), with
Mark Valley as the title character. Retired
Marine Corps drill instructor
R. Lee Ermey
Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film ''Full Met ...
appeared in the movie, as did
Buck Taylor and country artist
Lisa Stewart.
Miller's shift in ideology led him to found Americana Pictures, based in
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Gatlinburg is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located southeast of Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville and had a population of 3,577 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a popular mountain resort town, as it ...
, Miller's current home. According to its mission statement, the company aims "to develop, produce and market quality motion pictures, which promote fresh talent and the best of traditional European-American ideals."
Americana Pictures' first film was said to be about the
USS Liberty incident, which he referred to as a "shocking Israeli attack" on the United States. He said he was planning to produce ''The Liberator'' (which was to be based on the history of
Arminius
Arminius (; 18/17 BC–AD 21) was a chieftain of the Germanic peoples, Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, in which three Roman legions under th ...
and the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between September 8 and 11, 9&nbs ...
).
Ideology
During the 2000s, Miller began to take on an increasingly
paleoconservative
Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns over ...
political stance. He also became harshly critical of
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
, claiming that it "surreptitiously seeks to destroy our
European-American
European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...
heritage and our Christian-based traditional values, and replace them with values that debase these traditional values and elevate
minorities
The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...
as paragons of virtue and wisdom.... Today's motion pictures, in concert with other forms of mass media entertainment, are the greatest enemies to the well-being of our progeny and the future of our country." Miller has also accused Hollywood of being under "
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
-
Zionist
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
control"; he cites
Kevin B. MacDonald as influencing this belief.
He has criticized celebrities such as
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
and
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
, saying that they are "dysfunctional" and "come from traditional Christian or European-American backgrounds but are notorious for spurning those values."
He has cited
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...
and his self-marketed movie ''
The Passion of the Christ
''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film co-produced and directed by Mel Gibson from a screenplay he wrote with Benedict Fitzgerald. It stars Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as the Bl ...
'' as inspirations.
Miller also spoke at the 2008 national conference of the
Council of Conservative Citizens
The Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC or CCC) is an American white supremacist organization. Founded in 1985, it advocates white nationalism, and supports some paleoconservative causes. In the organization's statement of principles, it st ...
, of which he is also a member. Miller has stated that while he does not share all the goals of the COfCC members, and rejects "extremist stances", he nonetheless agrees with the group's statement of principles. Miller states that he "doesn't like"
interracial marriage
Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different "Race (classification of human beings), races" or Ethnic group#Ethnicity and race, racialized ethnicities.
In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United Sta ...
but that he does not support
outlawing interracial marriage. Miller has denied being
antisemitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, instead claiming that he merely opposes "favoritism" granted to Jews in the film industry. He also opposes
illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
and what he refers to as "wide open borders" in the United States.
Miller was a noted participant in the
International Conference on Hollywoodism in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. After his return from Iran in 2012, he wrote on his website that he realized that the people who wanted a war between the US and Iran are "
globalists (international bankers and their multinational beneficiaries). They control Israel, the American media and most of our politicians…and by extension our foreign policy."
Political activities
In 2008, Miller contributed $200 to the
presidential campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...
of
Republican Congressman
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...
. He also served as a delegate for Paul's campaign.
In January 2012, Miller was nominated by the
American Third Position Party (later known as the American Freedom Party) for President of the United States in the
2012 election. He was the party's first presidential candidate nominee after its foundation in 2010.
[ He gained ballot access in Colorado, New Jersey and Tennessee. During the 2012 election, he received 2,307 votes (~0.0%) in these states.]
In September 2012, Miller met with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian principlist and nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Counci ...
for nearly 20 minutes and discussed a number of issues, including what both Miller and Ahmedinejad characterize as the "Zionist-controlled media" in the West. Miller publicly defended Ahmedinejad as someone who has been unfairly demonized in Western media and who cares about his people. Ahmedinejad gave Miller a collection of poems by Omar Khayyam
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...
.
References
External links
*
Americana Pictures
2012 presidential campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Merlin
Living people
American film producers
American television writers
American male television writers
Politics and race in the United States
Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election
21st-century American people
Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election
Writers from Des Moines, Iowa
American Freedom Party politicians
Council of Conservative Citizens
Alt-right politicians
People from Sevier County, Tennessee
Neo-fascist politicians
Film directors from Iowa
Film directors from Tennessee
Television producers from Tennessee
Year of birth missing (living people)