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G.I. Joe No Longer the Real American Hero?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the pussification-of-the-modern-male dept.

Advocate123 writes "Clearly, Hollywood has forgotten the, 'Real American Hero.' G.I. Joe originally symbolized the American WWII soldier and a great generation. Now Hollywood celebrities are going to turn him into a international multicultural coed task force with no government affiliations. Isn't anything sacred to these people?"

12 of 548 comments (clear)

  1. In other news.... by MonorailCat · · Score: 5, Funny

    President Bush has signed a $100 million appropriations bill to supply soldiers in Iraq with red lasers.

    1. Re:In other news.... by thegsusfreek · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So if I believe that having a small, limited government is good (as the founding fathers did) and that capitalism (not unrestrained, but not heavily restricted either; just minimal intervention) is a good thing, just because you believe in Socialism or some other such system means that this article (having little to do with either of these beliefs) should not be accepted?

      Wow.

    2. Re:In other news.... by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 5, Informative

      G.I. Joe came in two flavors:

      1) Older, barbie-doll size toys, with clothes you could change and such. These are probably what the antediluvians at Fox News are witnessing the corruption of. This toy line was produced from 1942-1982. While this toy line was a success, it predated the tendency of toy manufacturers to sell a storyline with their products, which began in earnest with He-man and the Masters of the Universe, circa 1981. As such, this version of G.I. Joe had no villains to contend against until around 1976, when a line of alien invaders villains, called "Intruders" was introduced in a tacked-on fashion. Since almost no one knows about the Intruders, I submit that a "G.I. Joe vs. The Intruders from Space Movie" would be rather unpopular.

      Which leaves us with...

      2) A line of toys produced from 1982 until the present day, with a few pauses. This toy line, unlike the original, was based upon the marvel comic book, and utilized a wide array of science-fiction and fantasy devices, such as mad scientists (Dr. Mindbender), masked villains (Cobra and Destro), and even went so far as to integrate Robert E. Howard's myth of a prehuman, reptilian civilization in the animated movie.

      The second incarnation of G.I. Joe was inclusive by design (including both the token black and the token female in the original roster), and fought a war on terror that could never end, because Cobra was an undying hydra of a terrorist organization (sound familiar?)

      The multiculturalization of G.I. Joe that the article complains about actually took place over 20 years ago. Why were there no protests then? Perhaps because we were in the midst of a cold war, and people had something better to do than piss and moan about a toy line/cartoon/movie. Or perhaps because we as a culture realized that if we made certain classes of citizens feel unwelcome in our military, we would:

      a) Weaken the military.
      b) Look like the "unfree", "antidemocratic" culture we were nominally opposing.

      Just an idea. I rather lean towards the "better things to do" theory.

      I probably got some trivial detail re: G.I. Joe incorrect. I feel I can reliably depend upon the legions of their fandom to correct me. For the most part, though, the above information is accurate, and the linked-to article is a bunch of jingoist hysteria.

      Next week on slashdot: The global Zionist conspiracy forces Microsoft to keep its products closed-source!

  2. Money Talks by Derling+Whirvish · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't anything sacred to these people?" Yes, there is something sacred to them. Money.
    U.S. branded GI Joe's may not sell as well outside the US as a multinational task force would.
  3. Old News by sakusha · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apparently the author of that incredibly lame blog article missed the 1980s, when GI Joe cartoons were full of multicultural characters and fought abstract non-national enemies like COBRA.

    1. Re:Old News by the_humeister · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wait, you mean Cobra-La wasn't a real nation???

  4. Jesus Fucking Christ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I mean, really, Slashdot. I understand the need to compete with Digg, and the whole firehose thing, but, really, shit like this is ridiculous and it only works to drive people like me away.

  5. Mmm, bias by ameyer17 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I don't even know where to start here...
    Headline from TFA:

    Hollywood Seeks to Change "G.I. Joe" into an International Feminazi: Disgraces our Greatest Generation
    from the first paragraph:

    Yes, Hollywood limousine liberal idiots are exceeding my patience. I can handle their unabashed socialism, even their global warming insanity, but when they attack G.I. Joe, enough is enough.
    From the second paragraph:

    Well, if we look at the facts, the rest of the world would be controlled by Nazis if it were not for the G. I. Joe.
    From the final paragraph:

    Now Hollywood celebrities are going to turn him into a politically correct Feminazi.
    Seems to be a bit biased to be "news". Also, someone needs to introduce the guy who wrote this to Godwin's Law
  6. Grammatical error! by Bieeanda · · Score: 5, Funny

    Some random person's screechy blog is news by nerds, not news for nerds.

  7. Re:Damn It! by arivanov · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Really,

    Wanna try to picket a UK naval base and not let the whole fleet group out to go and kick some Iraqis for a week? Want to stand in the way of a frigate coming out of harbour?

    Wanna run the gauntlet of Japanese whaling boats and stand between them and a whale? Each harpoon has at least one pound of TNT in it by the way. Granted, it is not a cannon shell, but it can do some hefty damage...

    Wanna stand in the way of French towboats towing an asbestous ladden ship to India for disassembly? We all very well know how much they value protestors life...

    --
    Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
    http://www.sigsegv.cx/
  8. Re:Damn It! by Reapman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You realize GI Joe wasn't about a cartoon, and existed before yours (and my) generation cared about GI Joe? I don't think that their generation was better, per say, but being in an extraordinary situation, lead to extraordinary people standing out. What their generation did should not be taken lightly, however. The "wars" we do now, honestly, pale compare to the wars of WW1 and WW2.

  9. Re:Damn It! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah because western governments would never resort to violence against Greenpeace, right?