In the 1975 political thriller “Three Days of the Condor”, the protagonist Joseph Turner (played by Robert Redford) works in a clandestine office in New York City, which fronts as the “American Literary Historical Society”. Turner’s task is to read books, newspapers, and magazines from around the world, looking for hidden meanings and new ideas. As part of his duties, Turner files a report to CIA headquarters on a low-quality thriller novel his office has been reading, pointing out strange plot elements therein, and the unusual assortment of languages into which the book has been translated [1].
I wonder if something like this does actually occur in the real world: Do government (intelligence) agencies routinely and systematically analyze works of fiction, i. e. novels, short stories, movies etc. in search for information that could potentially, even by a very long shot, be relevant for national or international security?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Days_of_the_Condor#Plot