The movie I am discussing can be found at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=AwS1bmggoZ0
This movie is a normal commercial for the army, but in the end they add reasons why someone should not join the army, possible injuries that may occur including death. They make it seem like pharmaceutical disclaimers. The message the movie gives off is very strong. It is basically explaining everything that goes wrong in war and all the terrible effects it has on people. The comments about it are very mixed. Some support the message the movie gives off and others see it as a total disgrace. I wasn’t sure what to think about the movie when I first saw it. I actually laughed, but not because what they were doing was funny but more because a lot of what was said was true.
After watching the movie for a second time, the movie seemed to me as a form of persuasion. It is a persuasion against the war or it shows how the real commercials are a persuasion to join the army. When the real commercials come on TV, they show all the hard work and strength that goes into the army as well as the skills soldiers acquire, but they leave out some of the consequences of war. For most people these consequences are obvious: injury, death, depression and so many more, but when the commercial is seen by the viewer, they only see the idea of fighting for their country. If commercials were to look more like this one, not necessarily blaming certain people, but just reminding people of the effects war can have on a person, a person would think twice about joining the army.
This brings the idea of what orators do when they make speeches. They tell the audience what they want them to hear. What they are saying may be the truth, just not the complete truth. Things that would go against their ideas are not mentioned so that their persuasion does not become contradicted. In this commercial they show the hard work that has to be put in by these men to become soldiers, which is very true. They also show that with this hard work the soldiers become very skilled in what they do, which is also true. What they don’t show is some of the effects of the war on the soldiers, which is also part of the truth. Only one side of the entire issue is shown in the commercials, making them an incomplete truth. This commercial shown on youtube, is not the complete truth either because it consists of opinions about how the war is being handled. What this commercial did for me is bring up the idea that these commercials should be as close to the entire truth as possible because the effects of war can be so traumatic
