Thursday, February 5, 2009

The romanticism of the few and the proud

We've all seen it. You know, that one commercial where the guy is climbing that mountain with his bare hands. There is really beautiful, inspirational music playing in the background. And there is some low voice using fluffy words to describe how heroic and awesome this guy is. But honestly, the end is the best. This guy, all dressed up looking spiffy in his marines uniform, reaches the top of the mountain. His uniform is in perfect condition, his face is stern, and he didn't even break a sweat. And then comes the punchline: "The few, the proud, the MARINES!"

When we were assigned to blog about something that we, as Americans, romanticize, I could think of nothing better than the glory of joining the armed forces. The commercial I just described isn't the only one. They have them for every group there is: the Army, the Navy and even the National Guard. Every commercial portrays people from these groups in a heroic manner. The Marines one is definitely the most extravagant one I've seen to date. 

Honestly, I think they are just ridiculous. It is fair to assume that at no point during your service in the Marines will you climb a mountain with your bare hands. And if you did, you know you would be on your knees crying and bleeding and wishing you were home. Unfortunately for the Marines, a commercial depicting what actually goes on would not bring in as many soldiers as they desire. This leaves it up to them to romanticize the Marine experience to the point where it has become completely unrealistic. The saddest part is that sometimes these commercials actually convince people that joining the Marines is a super heroic thing to do. I beg to differ.

I really wish I could find a video of this, but I was unlucky in my search. Keep your eyes peeled for it to pop up on T.V. again. 




1 comment:

HarryC said...

I also couldn't think of anything more romanticized than these ridiculous commercials recruiting potential soldiers. It seems very drastic for something like the Marine Core, where most people are still aware of the enormous danger. Yet you do have to admit, it is almost necessary if they really want anyone to consider joining the armed forces. I think the government might get a few laughs if they showed a commercial of an unattractive, out-of-shape man crying as he tried to get through his training exercises, followed by, "Join the Marines." But they certainly wouldn't get any new recruits.