GI-Joe The Real American Hero
"There are hundreds of thousands of icons throughout the world that represent many different things." (Nachbar and Lause 171) GI-Joe is an icon that is sort of out dated now, but represented several things about the United States and the people that lived it. "The twelve inch GI-Joe was released by Hasbro Toys in 1964 as the first ever "action figure." It thrived for twelve years, changing from one soldier, to several members of every different military service."(Son) He represented, as the song goes, "The real American hero!" He was a young adult, male army doll, dressed in camouflage. He was also a role model for many children. He represented aggression, strictness, and responsibility. This doll soon became very popular as the years went by. He became the favorite thing for children to watch on television for several years. There is also one more thing this doll could have done, but cannot be proved. "This doll may have helped the United States government out by inspiring little boys to join the army." (Burlingame) This doll became a very powerful icon that represented many things. This doll was a very important turning point in the history of toys. Hasbro Toys released this doll in 1964. It was basically the "Bar
The popularity of this doll grew and grew. It became so popular that it became a cartoon on television for kids to watch. The show consisted of the GI-Joes and the Cobras. Each episode the Joes would fight the Cobras and stop them from trying to take over the world or do damage to anything. At the end of each show there would be a message that one of the Joes would give to the audience. Weather it being about pollution, crime, or safety tips. This doll represented all the good things and American citizen should do and be. The only down side of this television sow was the violence involved in it. To many kids the thought of having a gun in your hand and the hand- to- hand combat was thought as "cool." There are the pluses and minuses of this doll. "There is also a latent function of this doll that cannot be proved, but probably did happen many times. This doll, being an icon of a "real American hero," could have helped out the United States government in recruiting for the army." (Burlingame) A little boy that grew up playing with these dolls, and seeing the cartoon on television may have been inspired by this toy to become a soldier. They would look at the doll and think that this is how a true male American should live his life, at least for a little while serving his country. This could be seen as good and bad. The good side of it is that it gets more recruits for the army. The bad side of it is that GI-Joe only showed the good and "cool" things of being a soldier. As a doll the only thing that could be seen is what the imagination could let you. In the show, the Joes never died, or got wounded. This gave the impression to kids that GI-Joe was i
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1132
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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