Weeks ago in the class discussing semiotics we looked at some military advertisements regarding POC (people of color) joining/serving in the military. I just wanted to point out some thoughts I had about those images.
I seriously despise the idea of military advertising. What is the reason to try and persuade people to join the armed forces. Is it because the government knows of it’s own scummy agenda and needs to fuck with people’s subconscious in order for them to have people to be ‘ok’ with participating in the government’s personal gain operations? Well I think that’s exactly what’s going on. The military uses a lot of bribes to get people to join, but I feel like the government forces people in certain situations, so leaning on the military is their only option. I continuously see advertisements on minority television and in magazines targeting POC (People of Color)
These images are two that I personally took when I was browsing the magazine isle. Personally, I can not say this is something that will seep into my subconscious, because I am not male. I don’t see a figure that reminds me of myself in regards to gender. However, I am angry that there are people that resemble anyone of my male family members. The message I get from this is that the only career options they can have is either in athletics (most likely basketball or football) or the military (when your highly unlikely, unrealistic dreams do not come true). I understand this happens to be a sports magazine and I can not fault the magazine for covering the topic their whole company is about, but why is there no other form of military ads in the entire periodical? Would it be ok if they targeted Asian males, Caucasian males, or Latino males? Am I over reacting because the military has been targeting black able – bodied youth since the time of that advertisement we saw in class and even before that?
Just a thought!