 GI
Joe - Called an "Action-Figure" and
"America's Moveable Fighting Man" (but never
just a doll), the twelve-inch tall plastic male
counter part of the Barbie Doll sold millions of
units to the boys of America since its
introduction in 1964 by the Hassenfeld Bros.
(later to be Hasbro Toys).
Sporting a rugged scar on his right cheek and
equipped with an assortment of fighting
accessories (uniforms, weapons, etc.) GI Joe's
fully-jointed body (twenty-one moving parts)
battled the enemies of democracy.
Over the years, the GI Joe figure has decreased
in size and spun-off additional soldier
characters such as a black GI Joe, a Green Beret
GI Joe, a talking GI Joe, and an adaptation
called Atomic Man (a.k.a. "Mike Powers") with
Kung Fu grip.
GI Joe also inspired a cartoon series (actually
just a half-hour commercial for a line of
action-figures) called GI JOE: A REAL AMERICAN
HERO/SYN/1985; 1990-92 with not one but five
specialized soldiers who joined into a fighting
force that battled the evil organization known
as Cobra.
THEME SONG
(Cartoon
Series)
Yo Joe!
He'll fight for freedom
Wherever there is trouble,
G. I. Joe is there!
G. I. Joe.
A real American hero
G. I. Joe is there.
Its G. I. Joe against Cobra and Destro,
Fighting to save the day.
He never gives up, he's always there,
Fighting for freedom over land and air.
G. I. Joe
A real American hero
G. I. Joe is there.
(Narrator:) "G. I. Joe is the codename for
America's daring,
highly trained, special mission force. Its
purpose:
To defend human freedom against Cobra, a
ruthless,
terrorist organization determined to rule the
world."
He never gives up, he'll stay till the fights
won
G. I. Joe will dare.
G. I. Joe
A real American hero
G. I. Joe!
TRIVIA NOTE:
The GI Joe character was inspired by a 1945
movie The Story of GI Joe starring
Burgess Meredith as wartime correspondent Ernie
Pyle and Robert Mitchum as a mud-soaked,
battle-scarred soldier.
The GI Joe toy character was supposedly modeled
on a composite drawn from the images of winners
of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
In 1993, to combat society's gender stereotypes,
a group of social terrorists switched the
talking chips from a Barbie Doll into a GI Joe
action figure. Soon after, news reports told of
a 7- year-old boy who heard a GI Joe say "Do you
want to go shopping?"
(Read: "The Story of GI Joe: Collecting military
action dolls" by Linda Rosenkrantz in Antiques &
Collecting Hobbies, December, 1989 p21)
External Links
Back to Top
|
