www.goarmy.com/hoops
wherever there's young black male bodies, you'll usually find US military recruiters.
this year's march madness (ending tonight: go bruins!) is no exception. glued to the television throughout the madness, i have found it difficult to ignore the new crop of US army commercials. what's with the url they list at the end of each commercial?both sites are identical and lead you to a page that says this:
- YOUR MISSION: FILL OUT AND SUBMIT THIS FORM.
Receive your Free Army Special Forces video in the mail.**
- ** Legal Disclaimer: Not all applicants will be eligible to receive the Special Forces video. To qualify, you must be a male between the ages of 20-30 and a U.S. citizen. Those applicants who do not qualify will be eligible to receive more information on other available Army opportunities.
_____
btw, for those readers who also teach, i've used this article from salon - "the army be thuggin' it" by whitney joiner - to get students thinking about the intersections between race, new media, and the militarization of everyday life. extremely provocative, extremely depressing.
posted by david silver @ 11:23 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
i saw one of these ads these other day, and wondered aloud whether they relied on the moynihan report for the script.
from department of labor's web site...
"There is another special quality about military service for Negro men: it is an utterly masculine world. Given the strains of the disorganized and matrifocal family life in which so many Negro youth come of age, the Armed Forces are a dramatic and desperately needed change: a world away from women, a world run by strong men of unquestioned authority, where discipline, if harsh, is nonetheless orderly and predictable, and where rewards, if limited, are granted on the basis of performance.
"The theme of a current Army recruiting message states it as clearly as can be: "In the U.S. Army you get to know what it means to feel like a man."
"At the recent Civil Rights Commission hearings in Mississippi a witness testified that his Army service was in fact "the only time I ever felt like a man."
http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/history/moynchapter4.htm
As always, interesting stuff Silver! I just sent this link to Aubrie. Unfortunately she'll be going to Kuwait for a year because of that trick-daddy, Bush.
Savan
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