-By Warner Todd Huston
Outrageously, a new live-action movie based on the G.I. Joe toy line might see Joe’s American soldier identity scrubbed to be replaced by membership in an “international force based in Brussels.” The news site, IGN Entertainment, a site that reports on the gaming, comics and movie industries, has the scoop on the upcoming live-action G.I. Joe movie that Paramount is launching and it is looking like the G.I. Joe that we all loved, that “real American hero,” is going to be replaced with “Action Man,” a member of an “international operations team.” It appears that the American soldier, a liberator and protector, isn’t a good enough role model for the execs at Paramount!
Paramount is even turning Joe’s name into an acronym adding insult to injury. Instead of just being the main character’s name, it will become G.I.J.O.E., meaning “Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity.”
In a follow-up to their confirmation that Stephen Sommers will direct G.I. Joe, Variety offers this new description of the team: “G.I. Joe is now a Brussels-based outfit that stands for Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, an international co-ed force of operatives who use hi-tech equipment to battle Cobra, an evil organization headed by a double-crossing Scottish arms dealer. The property is closer in tone to X-Men and James Bond than a war film.”
According to various reports in Variety, Ad Age, and IGN, the producers of G.I. Joe the movie are claiming that marketing will be too difficult on the international market for a movie about a heroic U.S. soldier. So they are thinking of eliminating Joe’s connection to the U.S. military.
Deciding whether to make “GI Joe” at all, let alone how to market it, is nettlesome thanks in large measure to an unpopular American president defending an unpopular war: In a July USA Today/Gallup poll, a record high of 62% respondents had called the invasion of Iraq “a mistake.” A month later, that view is 57%, more or less where it’s been for over a year.
Yet with the announcement that Steven Sommers will direct the movie, though, there is no confirmation that the standard G.I. Joe we all loved as the expression of American heroism will be replaced by the international mercenary man concept. Paramount is refusing to say officially which way they will go, but reports of their vacillation toward an anti-U.S. military point of view are many throughout the industry.
Some rumors claim that the title “G.I. Joe” will even be dropped in the international release to be replaced by “Action Man” (the original name of the Joe series’ British soldier) so that the name won’t offend anyone outside the USA.
Whatever the case, we have another U.S. based entertainment giant ashamed to be Americans. This is par for the course for Hollywood, sadly. It should be recalled that the last Superman movie dropped the American part of Superman’s tag line, “truth, justice, and the American way” because it had American in it, not to mention that every Iraq war movie coming out has an anti-American point of view. So, with that in mind, it is hardly surprising that G.I. Joe is doomed to be denuded of his American identity by a weak-kneed and unpatriotic Hollywood.
Update
Fox News picked up this story. They interviewed me by phone on Sept. 6th and published their story, titled G.I. Joe to Become Global Task Force in Movie, on the 7th.
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Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, men’snewsdaily.com and americandaily.com among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a guest on several radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
I am amazed at anything Hollywood does. I wish that Real Americans had another outlet for entertainment
Warner,
Like you I G.I Joe was a staple of my life as a kid, I had every toy, every gimick you could think of. Now after reading your blog Im highly upset that Hollywood would stoop so low as to try and apease over seas countries by making GI Joe an international theme. As you said, its another spit in the face for americans to lose one of our most cherished childhood past times for the sake of money. I know one thing, if that is the direction the movie goes I will do everything in my power to get as many americans as possible to boycott the movie. They want to apeal to other countries to make their buck so let see what they think when they lose the american support for this, then they can send that peice of crap movie over seas and let the other countries enjoy it. GI Joe is american, nothing but american so it should stay american. Whats next, all the “international” GI Joes become Muslim? They all were bullet proof turbans? The U.N on their sleeve? Come on Hollywood, this is as bad an idea as a black catwoman…aka hali berry. Nothing against black people but cat woman was ruined when they did that and I refuse to ever set eyes on that movie. The same will happen with this movie if they go in the international direction.
I will run an online blog of sorts to protest the movie and try and get as many to not see that movie as I can, Im done whatching Hollywood ruin classic themes because of money hungry bastards.
Thanks for letting me get that out.
If this is true, I may not go see the movie. As a member of the US military I am very proud of our nation and think that “G.I. Joe” is extremely appropriate,if not important. I grew up playing with the toys and fighting COBRA. If they want to call it “Global Integrated whatever” that’s fine but don’t go out and market it as “G.I. Joe” and have all the characters and whatnot. They may as well make it a generic movie with unknowns. Or they may as well say that it’s like the A-Team, a group of mercenaries that fight the bad guys. If it’s going to be GI Joe, then it had better be GI Joe and to heck with what the rest of the world thinks!
That is the biggest load of crap I have ever read. Why can’t Hollywood leave my childhood memories alone? They decide to make a movie, and completely turn it around. They have taken an American icon like GI Joe, and turned him into a international mercenary who will probably not even be American. I can promise that should this farce of a movie be made I won’t go to see it. Americans need a positive soldier image protrayed on the big screen. During the 40’s and 50’s films were dripping with patriotism. Heck even during the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s the viet nam war films while still putting thier anti-war spin showed American bravery, courage, and sacrfice. Personally I could give rat’s backside what the international market thinks of Americans. Used to be Americans in general could have cared less what other countries thought and felt about us, but that was when this country had an identity.
I think it’s comical that they’re keeping the name “Joe” in the new acronym. Next to John, I can’t think of a more American name. Why not call it G.I.O.B.A.M.A. or any other non-American name. Doesn’t matter which one you use, it would still stand for Globally Integrated .
R.I.P. Joe
Gabe Lawrence
(appending previous post)
…it would stand for Globally Integrated (who cares).
F U You Hollywood..not one more dime.
I will not see this movie, ever. Even if it comes on HBO, I will change the channel. What a disgrace. Hollywood ruins yet another American icon. The self-hatred is so infused in everything they do anymore I can’t imagine what they will try to destroy next, nothing would surprise me anymore. We are being told and conditioned to become what other nations want us to be, just not ourselves, and of course they have their own interests in mind at the expense of ours. And I agree with Greg, we need a new “Hollywood”, maybe somewhere in “flyover country” to get it right.
By the way, we’ve had States cede themselves from the Union. Is there any way we could someday cede away southern California, just kick em out all together. I guess I can just hope… someday.
“It appears that the American soldier, a liberator and protector, isn’t a good enough role model for the execs at Paramount!”
Don’t you mean the capitalists at Paramount? According to Variety, international box office sales account for 27% of the most recent box office totals for Transformers. Assuming the new Joe film were to perform similarly, would you have Paramount risk forfeiting over $100M in sales? Paramount’s intent is to make money, not to pander to “fanboys,” idealists, extremists, et al.
If you’d prefer a propaganda piece paid for and endorsed by Uncle Sam, just say so. Otherwise, feel free to exercise your power as a consumer and choose not to see the film when it is released.