G.I.+Joe

= = ==

=G.I.Joe; Barbies For Boys=

G.I.Joe is a type of action figure produced by a toy company called Hasbro. The first line of G.I.Joe’s was created at the end of the Cold War and the start of the Vietnam War. The G.I.Joe soldier were approximately 11 ½ inches tall, the body structure remained unmodified until the 1970’s. G.I.Joe was created to excite young boy’s imagination across the world. Every boy that knew of the new cool action figure had to have one and have it now. toc

Hasbro
Hasbro is a global toy and board game producing corporation, It's one of the prime toy making company in the world. The control center of the business is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. Most of what they produce is manufactured in East Asia. G.I.Joe’s unique products symbolized four of the branches of the U.S armed forces. Action Soldier (U.S. Army), Action Sailor (U.S. Navy), Action Pilot (USAF), Action Marine (USMC) was the first four categories of G.I. Joe’s that were made in the 1964. As the G.I.Joe production increased and money came pouring in, Hasbro decided to produce a new type of action figure called the G.I. Nurse Action Girl in 1967. E ven though the doll wasn’t very successful in selling, the G.I.Joe’s doll is very valuable today and can be worth over $6,000 if in mint conditions. In 1970 to 1973 new changes took place to the G.I.Joe action figures, G.I.Joe soldier were modified and called G.I.Joe Adventures, a couple year later another modification took place and the G.I.Joe’s were entitled the G.I.Joe Adventure with kung-Fu grip and lifelike body structures. In 1982, the company launched a complete new story line for the G.I.Joe soldiers. Starting with the 11 ½ inch figure in 1964 to replacing them with cheaper 3 ¾ in figure in 1982, to progressing back to the 11 ½ actions figures we know of today. The action figures were completed with vehicles, play set (more accessories), and equipped with a multifaceted background story concerning an ongoing brawl between the G.I.Joe Team and the evil Cobra Command.

The term G.I means Government Issues or Government involvement; it turn out to be a generic term used for U.S. soldiers. It originally referred to galvanized iron. Galvanized ironing is the procedure of applying a defensive metallic covering to an underlying section of metal, in order to stop rusting from happening. Galvanized iron was used on and for army equipment for soldiers during World War 1. Many soldiers during World War I would sarcastically refer incoming German weaponry ammunition's as "G.I. cans". "G.I cans" was used as a type of insult toward the Germans weapons. The G.I Joe name was originally named “Action Force” in the UK, but when they hit America it transferred to the name G.I.Joe.

The Beginning of G.I.Joe's
G.I. Joe is a pop culture wonder that burst into family’s homes in the early eighties describing the battle between a top government organization named G.I. Joe and a terrorist group called Cobra. G.I.Joe is pop culture wonders because they were developed in the time period considered “Pop Culture”. Pop culture is defined as a period of time that had excessive social, financial, and overall good economic wealth for companies like Hasbro. As the economy reform increased in the developed world, many multinational corporations such as Hasbro began to extend their manufacturing industry to Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. The G.I.Joe action figure consisted of 21 movable parts, a set of clothing, and accessories appropriate for that G.I.Joe character. The G.I. Joe action figure was very popular in the U.S, by the 1970’s Hasbro started producing G.I.Joe’s with flock hair and even some had kung-Fu grip. Unfortunately during the late 1970’s petroleum prices grew so high that Hasbro had to stop the production of G.I.Joe’s. Hasbro went four year without any manufacture of G.I.Joe soldiers, it wasn’t until 1982 when they released a smaller version of G.I.Joe’s. This new product was much smaller and was a lot less costly for the company compared to the early G.I Joes that we 11 ½ in tall and more expensive. This was the year when the G.I.Joe storyline hit television screens and toy stores across the nation. The release of the new G.I Joe was the year that Marvel Comics signed an agreement with Hasbro for the copyright. By 1984 the two companies made over $200 million in combined revenue. The company had made such success that the started using real names for the G.I. Joe soldiers, two people that were admired for their heroics during World War II were General Douglas MacArthur and Francis J. Pierce**.** Both War heroes were made into G.I. Joe characters. G.I.Joe still exists today in all shapes and sizes, and is still very popular to our American society.

G.I Joe; Rise of Cobra plot was made into a movie and video, They were both based on the comic book and cartoon series. The movie was made in 2009, directed by Stephen Sommers. The story line for the movie is a special organization called G.I.Joe tries to protect secret warhead weapons from the evil Cobra’s from using it to rule the world. The weapon is a metal-eating "Nanomite" warhead that is very dangerous and harmful to anything with metal in it. This movie was based on the previous year’s comic book serious. The film was so admirable and entertaining that it inspired the company Electronic Arts to create the video game G.I Joe Rise of Cobra. This game was made for the follow game systems; XBox 360, PS3**,** PS2**,** PSP**,** Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. Based on many viewer of the game, most have said that “the game doesn’t live up to the standards of the movies intensity”.

The toy of the century hit television and toy stores all over the country in the early 60’s. This new toy remained every young boy’s favorite action figure for years. The G.I. Joe storyline has had sturdy acts of bravery and intense action. The G.I.Joe soldier symbolizes many of America’s historical and cultural movements from 1939 to today. The G.I.Joe can be linked the World War II, eating disorders, body image, and more recent film and video game; //G.I.Joe Rise of the Cobra.//

 World War II began on September 1, 1939 when Germany Invaded Poland, war was immediately declared on Germany. The United States entered the War when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. World War II resulted in a 6 year war, with 55 million deaths, and was the largest and most destructive conflict in history. This war leads up to the development and storyline of the G.I.Joe soldiers. Using the events and heroes of World War II, Hasbro designed specific G.I.Joe that related to actually WWII veterans. The G.I.Joe’s that Hasbro created had the same motive as the real War Veteran. In 1945 the movie //The Story of G.I. Joe // was released describing WWII, inspiring the action figure G.I.Joe. The success of the action figure was just an image of the American preoccupation with the nation’s military role in the world. The perceived victory in WWII as well as the new position as a super-power gave America dominance. G.I Joe resembled America's stand point in the world; powerful and unstoppable. The G.I.Joe was favored for victory against any foreign enemy; G.I.Joe’s popularity grew due to the interactions of the Cold War. However during the Vietnam War the demand for G.I.Joe action figures decrease because of the anti-war sentiment. G.I.Joe action figures were war toys therefore no one wanted anything to do with war at the time. To fix the low income revenue for the G.I.Joe action figures Hasbro decided to change the byline for G.I Joe’s to “G.I Joe Real American Hero”. This helped the company's get back on track to sell and producing new G.I Joe’s, Hasbro also created a new line of G.I.Joe’s called the “mobile strike force” which was made simply from Vietnam veterans. The G.I.Joe action figure had negative and positive impacts on the American society back then and even today, like the popular topic today, eating disorders.

Eating disorders have had a major impact on our society today and in the past; they were first noticed in 1684, when it was given the name Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa means “nervous loss of appetite”; it wasn't identified as its own diagnosis until 1870. A recent study was conducted on the effect of popular action figure toys on the male body image. They began this experiment by taking all G.I. Joe action figures over 30 years and measure their waist, chest, and bicep circumferences. The study showed that over the course of the years the G.I.Joe doll had increasing sizes in chest from 44.4in. to 54.8in, biceps increased from 12.2 in. to 26.8 in, and waist increased size from 31.7in. to 36.5in. These statistics have been proportional to an actual human. This entire newly made G.I.Joe action figure seemed to send a message saying “be ripped, strong, husky, and a bodybuilder and you will have fame and fortune” This unrealistic body mass, and bodybuilding capabilities, sends out a negative message to young boys. Researchers have concluded that by 1991 the waist line had gotten so large that to accomplish this waist size or any further increases would only be possible with steroids. This gave a bad image for young men who are insecure about their body image.

==Body Image ==

Body image is defined as a subjective picture of one's own physical appearance established both by self-observation and by noting the reactions of others. The media today has a huge impact on the increasing rates of eating disorders. We are constantly bombarded with images of perfect looking people, with the perfect life. This often sends out the message that physical perfection is what we should all strive for if we want to be successful. Even though eating disorders are more common in women, men are also widely affected by eating disorders. Many researchers blame the images men are exposed to when they are younger, which later can affect their self-image. G.I.Joe action figures have sent out a negative body message for years, studies have shown that self-concept on body image is linked to developing eating disorders and usage of steroids. Most of the newly G.I Joes have body sizes twice the size of the effect of steroids. This means that kids are picking up bad images on how they should look in the future; this can cause a child to over exercise, not eat, and still feel like they’re not good enough. Eating because they feel that their not “normal” can eventually lead into an eating disorder and might even cause death. Besides entertainment being a type media that affect the youth of America, television and film also play a major part in the increase of eating disorders and steroid usage today.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 115%;">Actors and Actresses today are all based on their sex appeal, popularity, and how famo ﻿ us they are. The main requirements to be an actor is to have a hip size less than 34in, attractive, good figure, ages of 18-30, and speaking skills. Most of all requirements have to do with physical appearance, most directors don’t care if their actors aren't the greatest, only if they look good doing it. Back in the 1980 actors and actresses were not what our society today would consider to be good. The first non-animated movie for G.I Joe came out in 2009 called //G.I Joe// //Rise of the Cobra.// Unfortunately since there were no other G.I Joe movies to compare physical appearance of the actors, I chose to observe Hasbro movie, //Star Wars.// The actors and actress weren’t perfect; the characters were scrawny with decent facial appearance. Even though their physical appearance wasn’t that attractive, they were still good actors and actresses. Today you look at actors and actresses and all they have is their looks. Most films today sound scripted and poorly acted. The recent movie G.I Joe, Rise of Cobra, the actors and actresses are almost perfect, the males are handsome and well known to America. The females in the movie are appealing, and have high sex appeal. I agree that this movie was good; the acting was average and definitely resembled the G.I Joe storyline. Even with the movie being a decent, most movies in this generation are poorly made.

= =

Works Cited

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">" Casting agents, production companies, actors auditions." //Casting agents, production companies, actors auditions//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.foxtalent.com/enroll/BecomeaModelReqs.asp?ref=&source=>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Barlett, Chris. "Actiion Figures and Men." //Sex roles//. S.l.: General Books, 2010. 877. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) - IMDb." //The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1046173/>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Gehlin, Linda. "The History Of Anorexia Nervosa and other Eating Disorders." //Psychology Free Online Medical Advice, Mental Health, Anxiety, Relationship Advice//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://web4health.info/en/answers/ed-anorexia-history.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Gibb, John. "The First Twenty-Five Years." //The History of G.I. Joe// 12 Oct. 2006: 1. //EzineArticles//. Web. 16 May 2011. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Hall, Karen J. "A Soldier's Body: GI Joe, Hasbro's Great American Hero, and the Symptoms of Empire." //The Journal of Popular Culture//. Malden: Popular Culture, 2004. 34. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Kallen, Stuart A.. //The 1980s//. San Diego, Calif.: Lucent Books, 1999. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Miller, Kenneth R., and Joseph S. Levine. //Prentice Hall biology//. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">"Negative Body Image Perception - Distorted Body Image." //Eating Disorders Information. Anorexia, Bulimia and Disordered Eating//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.disordered-eating.co.uk/causes-of-eating-disorders/negative-body-image.html>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Slater, Dan. "Southern California kitesurfing beaches." //Dan Slater's home page//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://www.sandydan.com/sports/kitesurf/beaches/beaches.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Thompson, J. Kevin, and Ph.D.. "Body Image, Bodybuilding, and Cultural Ideals of Muscularity." //Think Muscle//. Department of Clinical Psychology, n.d. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.thinkmuscle.com/articles/thompson/body-image-and-bodybuilding.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Vaughan, Don. "NurseWeek: A Toy Story :: Rare G.I. Nurse action figure a valuable find for collectors." //Nurse.com | Nursing News, Nursing Jobs, Nurse Continuing Education, Nurse Community//. NurseWeek, 6 May 2004. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/04-05/toystory.asp>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">"WWII GI Joes: MacArthur & Pierce - Raving Toy Maniac - The Latest News and Pictures from the World of Toys." //Raving Toy Maniac - Action Figure and Toy News and Resources//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.toymania.com/news/messages/4825.shtml>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">"World War II in Europe." //United States Holocaust Memorial Museum//. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005137>. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">disingenuous, portraying Cobra as, disloyal, cowardly, inauthentic, and establishment-tied GI Works Cited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">" Casting agents, production companies, actors auditions." //Casting agents, production companies, actors auditions//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.foxtalent.com/enroll/BecomeaModelReqs.asp?ref=&source=>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Barlett, Chris. "Actiion Figures and Men." //Sex roles//. S.l.: General Books, 2010. 877. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) - IMDb." //The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1046173/>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Gehlin, Linda. "The History Of Anorexia Nervosa and other Eating Disorders." //Psychology Free Online Medical Advice, Mental Health, Anxiety, Relationship Advice//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://web4health.info/en/answers/ed-anorexia-history.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Gibb, John. "The First Twenty-Five Years." //The History of G.I. Joe// 12 Oct. 2006: 1. //EzineArticles//. Web. 16 May 2011. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Hall, Karen J. "A Soldier's Body: GI Joe, Hasbro's Great American Hero, and the Symptoms of Empire." //The Journal of Popular Culture//. Malden: Popular Culture, 2004. 34. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Kallen, Stuart A.. //The 1980s//. San Diego, Calif.: Lucent Books, 1999. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Miller, Kenneth R., and Joseph S. Levine. //Prentice Hall biology//. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">"Negative Body Image Perception - Distorted Body Image." //Eating Disorders Information. Anorexia, Bulimia and Disordered Eating//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.disordered-eating.co.uk/causes-of-eating-disorders/negative-body-image.html>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Slater, Dan. "Southern California kitesurfing beaches." //Dan Slater's home page//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://www.sandydan.com/sports/kitesurf/beaches/beaches.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Thompson, J. Kevin, and Ph.D.. "Body Image, Bodybuilding, and Cultural Ideals of Muscularity." //Think Muscle//. Department of Clinical Psychology, n.d. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.thinkmuscle.com/articles/thompson/body-image-and-bodybuilding.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">Vaughan, Don. "NurseWeek: A Toy Story :: Rare G.I. Nurse action figure a valuable find for collectors." //Nurse.com | Nursing News, Nursing Jobs, Nurse Continuing Education, Nurse Community//. NurseWeek, 6 May 2004. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/04-05/toystory.asp>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">"WWII GI Joes: MacArthur & Pierce - Raving Toy Maniac - The Latest News and Pictures from the World of Toys." //Raving Toy Maniac - Action Figure and Toy News and Resources//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.toymania.com/news/messages/4825.shtml>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">"World War II in Europe." //United States Holocaust Memorial Museum//. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 May 2011. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005137>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px; line-height: 27.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 40pt; text-indent: -40pt;">disingenuous, portraying Cobra as, disloyal, cowardly, inauthentic, and establishment-tied GI Joe.&. "G.I. Joe, American 'Victory Culture' and War Rhetoric | Skepticum." //Skepticum, a godless skeptic's notes on liberty, religion, society, science, anti-oppression and freedom related topics//. Skepticum, n.d. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://skepticum.com/war-rhetoric-through-gi-joe-lensehttpwwwenglishufleduimagetextarchivesv3_1norlund/>. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px;">MLA formatting by BibMe.org. // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px;">freedom related topics //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px;">. Skepticum, n.d. Web. 14 May 2011. <http://skepticum.com/war-rhetoric-through-gi-joe-lensehttpwwwenglishufleduimagetextarchivesv3_1norlund/>. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px;">MLA formatting by BibMe.org. //