Too Young

War images tend to have extremely powerful messages behind them and tend to also be extremely powerful. However, a war image that subtly shows the psychological effects of war on children is pure rhetoric. In the image that I selected, a boy stands next to a life size war figurine, pretending to look down the barrel of the gun. This picture has a deep meaning, that is not fully unlocked when looking at its surface. All this boy knows is that G.I. Joe is an awesomely cool super soldier that is practically invincible and kills bad guys. However, war is not something that should be taken so lightly. Little does that young boy know that the soldier he is portraying will probably end up fighting on the front lines, or being killed in action due to the harshness and brutal reality of war. Nor does this boy realize that, while honorable, growing up dreaming of fighting for your country tends to waste talents and futures of those who do not want a true military life. This young man wants to be a super soldier, so he thinks he will be a super soldier.

This picture was taken at an army recruitment conference in 2004, making it all the more likely that this child truly does want to grow up and fight for our military. Children at an army recruitment camp believe that the war will be like their favorite TV show and that they will join the army, get a gun, and kill bad guys. They are too young to truly understand what actually goes on. There is no circumstance in which going to war is pleasurable or worth it. This image displays that going to war will be profitable and fun, when in fact the harsh reality is that you will probably end up dying if you are on the front lines. This boy has been brainwashed into thinking that fighting for America is the most honorable thing that a man can do, and unfortunately he is wrong.