No more G.I. Joe?

[Chard]

WTF? You have got to be kidding me (http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/10849526.html)! When is Hollyweird going to learn? Is that state infested with politically correct barking moonbats or what?


When the Hasbro Toy Co. called some years back, asking permission to put the retired colonel's face on some kid's doll, Mitchell Paige thought they must be joking.

But they weren't. That's his mug, on the little Marine they call "G.I. Joe." At least, it has been up till now.

Mitchell Paige's only condition? That G.I. Joe must always remain a United States Marine.



Does Hollywood have to screw up everything?

[knights68]

WTF? You have got to be kidding me (http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/10849526.html)! When is Hollyweird going to learn? Is that state infested with politically correct barking moonbats or what? Does Hollywood have to screw up everything?

Yep, after the countless enemies Joe has faced over the years and in all of the kids homes over the decades, there is finally one enemy that takes 'em out. The PC Army.

I thought the death of Cap'n America would be the end of it, but it seems it was only the beginning.

[billybreen]

WTF? You have got to be kidding me (http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/10849526.html)! When is Hollyweird going to learn? Is that state infested with politically correct barking moonbats or what?



Does Hollywood have to screw up everything?

This feels pretty PPB given your ire. I'll just point out that Hollywood and Hollyweird aren't states. Then I'll move on down the road.

[EarlJam]

Yep, after the countless enemies Joe has faced over the years and in all of the kids homes over the decades, there is finally one enemy that takes 'em out. The PC Army.

I thought the death of Cap'n America would be the end of it, but it seems it was only the beginning.

Captain America is dead!? I refuse to believe that.

And they better not lay a hand on Wonder Woman, with her red, white and blue tights and all.

Bastards.

-Earljam

[Shammrog]

This feels pretty PPB given your ire. I'll just point out that Hollywood and Hollyweird aren't states. Then I'll move on down the road.

I think they can rightly be classified as "'states' of mind..."

That said, what a bunch of pigs. Geez. God forbid a kid gets a squirt 'gun' anymore.

[throatybeard]

God forbid a kid gets a squirt 'gun' anymore.

Supersoak dat ho!

Hey, someone had to say it.

[knights68]

Captain America is dead!? -Earljam

Maybe he is....
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/books/03/07/captain.america/index.html

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=9914

and maybe he isn't....

http://iagainstcomics.blogspot.com/2007/03/relax-people-capt-america-isnt-dead.html

http://comics.ign.com/articles/826/826576p1.html

[Olympic Fan]

When the Hasbro Toy Co. called some years back, asking permission to put the retired colonel's face on some kid's doll, Mitchell Paige thought they must be joking.

But they weren't. That's his mug, on the little Marine they call "G.I. Joe." At least, it has been up till now.

Mitchell Paige's only condition? That G.I. Joe must always remain a United States Marine.

I never knew that ... but if that's the case, the Hasbro got it wrong.

The term G.I. Joe never referred to the Marines -- GI Joe was a dogface ... a member of the U.S. Army Infantry. The term came into widespread use during World War II -- soldiers considered themselves G.I.s -- the term stood for Government Issue. G.I. Joe was any anonymous army soldier.

Okay, I see by checking Wikipedia that a cartoonist for Yank Magazine created a character named G.I. Joe in 1942 ... although it admits that the term G.I. was in general use before that.

William Wellman's great 1945 film "The Story of G.I. Joe" starring Burgess Meredith as correspondent Ernie Pyle and a very young Robert Mitchum as an infantry captain who befriends him (and dies at the end) is the story of Pyle's interaction with the Army soldiers he interacts with -- NOT Marines.

The Marines have gotten plenty of well-deserved accolades over the years, but please don't steal this one for them -- G.I. Joe is a U.S. Army soldier -- not a Marine and not a member of some international terrorist force based in Brussels.

[Mal]

This is totally PPB, but whatever: What a bunch of contrived outrage.

Five minutes searching around the internet reveals that the author of the linked article either willingly misleads or didn't do much research. GI Joe is a fictional comic character that was co-opted as a purely commercial money maker about 10 minutes after it first appeared in the comics in 1942. The Mitchell Paige GI Joe doll was a special edition doll released in 1997 along with similar dolls featuring Army, Navy and Air Force heroes. The fictional character GI Joe was first seen in print before Guadalcanal even went down, and has since been seen in video games, cartoons, lunchboxes and every other sort of pop-cultural detritus.

The name, character and concept have been continually watered down. Just a few examples per Wikipedia:

"In 1966, soldiers from other countries (France, Germany, England, et al.) joined the G.I. Joe line up." Editorial note: OMG, there's a French GI Joe?!?!?!?! Where's the outrage?!?!?! Cheese loving surrender monkeys cannot sully the pristine name of GI Joe!!!

By 1970 "the line became known as "The Adventures of G.I. Joe" for a time. G.I. Joe was now cast as the leader of the "Adventure Team", an adventuring/spy-like organization with the goal of rescue missions and fighting evil."

"In 1975, after a failed bid to purchase the toy rights to the Six Million Dollar Man, Hasbro issued a bionic warrior figure named Mike Power, Atomic Man, which sold over one million units. Also added to the Adventure Team was a superhero, Bulletman."

"In 1976 G.I.Joe and the Adventure Team met new foes from outer space when, The Intruders: Strong Men from Another World, are introduced. These armored caveman-like aliens..."

"In 1986, wrestler Robert Remus, also known as Sgt. Slaughter, became the first real person to join the 'G.I. Joe' team. Football player William "Refrigerator" Perry followed suit in 1987"

The main villains in the upcoming live action movie, including the Scottish arms dealer referred to in the article, were staples on the GI Joe television cartoon series.

This was a commercial thing from the get-go. That it's no longer considered profitable to have the main character in a U.S. Army outfit might say more about our standing in the greater world right now than it does about political correctness. Say it a'int so, Joe.

[colchar]

This is totally PPB, but whatever: What a bunch of contrived outrage.



Why, exactly, should this be a PPB topic? It refers to Hollywood, toys, and political correctness, not politics.

[Cavlaw]

Perhaps you recall Destro? He's the Scottish arms dealer.

[Mal]

Why, exactly, should this be a PPB topic? It refers to Hollywood, toys, and political correctness, not politics.

Understood, and I don't really care either way. But when I hear "Hollywood" and "moonbats" and "political correctness" I think "Liberals" in the Rush Limbaugh demonizing sense, and contentious argument falling along pretty easy to anticipate political fault lines, and therefore "Public Policy Board."

[billybreen]

Understood, and I don't really care either way. But when I hear "Hollywood" and "moonbats" and "political correctness" I think "Liberals" in the Rush Limbaugh demonizing sense, and contentious argument falling along pretty easy to anticipate political fault lines, and therefore "Public Policy Board."

Same. Word.

[colchar]

Same. Word.

But that obviously wasn't the case here.

[alteran]

But that obviously wasn't the case here.

Except, of course, for the aforementioned "hollyweird," "moonbats," "political correctness," etc., and the gratuitous assignment of the motives to politics.

It sure looks more to me like a well-considered business decision to dissociate a successful brand (GI Joe) from a tarnished one (USA! USA!). Particularly since nowadays, most movie money is made overseas-- places where the US approval rating is horrid-- particularly regarding the usage of our military.

It wasn't even a great deviation from the evolution the line had taken for decades.

Not sure how to read this one other than capitalism in action.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

I remember saving up my UPC codes and sending away to get my William "Refrigerator" Perry action figure. He had a weird, mace-like weapon that had a football on the end. Obviously, this was at the height of the Chicago Bears "Shufflin' Crew" phenomenon.

YO JOE!

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

Ok, now I'm really curious. Who's playing Scarlet? And more importantly, Lady Jane?

I seem to have some unresolved crushes on fictional cartoon characters.