...the romanticized. As a few others in our blogosphere have noticed, the United States military has some very optimistic portrayals of what life is like for our men and women overseas. If you watch the video included in this post you will see some incredibly bold claims. While using hyperbole to strengthen an argument is one thing, what the ad leaves out is equally important.
What makes this advertisement so easy to discredit as giving an accurate view of life as a soldier is that it leaves out all of the negative aspects of being a soldier. Those depicted in the ad weren't in danger- rather basking in glory and growing as individuals. This isn't to say that there are no positive aspects of being in the military, there certainly are- however in leaving out the negative aspects this ad puts an entirely different spin on what that experience would be.
Perhaps the most jarring part of the ad was when it did hint at the negative aspects, though only briefly. The line "the strength to build...and the strength to tear down" came almost as a surprise, and removed the viewer from the fantasy the ad created. It's moments such as that one that should serve as reminders to always keep a skeptical and curious eye whenever being shown anything that is trying to argue a point. And if our textbook is correct, everything is an argument.
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