An interesting factoid in _The_Puzzle_Palace_ (the definitive history of the NSA and spying in general) is that real-world spies akin to James Bond didn’t really exist until James Bond, at which point leaders wondered “why don’t we have our own James Bonds?” and proceeded to create such spies.
My reaction to the question is like that: our leaders act like they’re reading dystopian fiction because they _are_ reading dystopian fiction.
I wish they would read some novels in which government leaders were not evil, petty, and insecure. Obama is too disgusting to watch in real life, and I cannot imagine that books and movies with people like him are worth the time.
“. . . real-world spies akin to James Bond didn’t really exist until James Bond”
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21629270
“When naval intelligence officer Ian Fleming set up a secret commando unit during World War II, among those handpicked for duty was Theo Ionides - my grandfather. His band of real-life James Bonds helped change the course of the war.”
Ian Fleming was involved in several major successes, and his most famous ‘failure’ turned out to have been a diversion for a major success - although that goal was kept quiet until recently.