Air Force Science Fiction?
The tagline on the new Air Force ad, “It’s not science fiction. It’s what we do every day.” Danger Room’s Spencer Ackerman, say what?
[T]he C-17s swoop over a breaking bridge to evacuate some poor souls in the middle of an emergency. So far, so good. But then the C-17 engines rotate into a vertical position. (Nope.) The behemoth of a plane — which is 174 feet long and can weigh up to 585,000 lbs. — lands on the bridge without collapsing it further. (Would never happen.) And when the C-17’s aircrew loads up the wounded and flies off the bridge, the plane physically transforms into a different aircraft. (Um, what?)
I called up the Air Force Recruiting Service to find out how this could possibly not be science fiction. If there’s a squadron out there flying Autobot C-17s, then I must embed with it. Noah Shachtman would fire me if I somehow missed that story.
“This one was definitely more cinematic in the beginning,” concedes Christa D’Andrea, public affairs chief for the Air Force recruitment arm. “It’s a very cinematic, sci-fi sort of campaign.”
I’ll grant them that it’s not science fiction. Ackerman quotes D’Andrea that “the point of the commercial isn’t the transforming C-17 that can fit on a bridge. It’s the aerial medevac missions. And yes, the Air Force performs those with frequency.”
Ok. But those planes — and there are a lot of them — fly into a crumbling, hollowed out megalopolis devoid of people. Whether a result of war or climate or other natural disaster, the vision is of a dystopian future that I’d rather the Air Force do what it can to prevent than depict as an aspirational vision.
But, hey, I’m an old peacenik. Not the target demographic.
Share This
They are clearly drawing a line between Sci-Fi and Actuality. Then showing the similarity.
The first half the of the commercial is Sci-Fi, but they transition into the “real world” (transformers style) and showing that they might not be the flash of the silver screen, but they do the same exciting rescue.
I took away a totally different message from that. They wanted to focus on the “flying rescue hospital” aspect, not the CGI stuff at the beginning.
I see where they are going with this, because traditionally, the kid that wants excitement goes to the Marines. We always viewed the Air Force as the easiest, lightest-duty of the 4 armed forces. This commercial seems to be challenging that notion.
Four Armed Forces? We have FIVE armed forces. I am sure you missed the Coast Guard, which has participated under fire in every major conflict our country has had, and provides extraordinary service away from the conflict. As someone said once, “If you want to sink a ship, call the Navy. If you want to save a ship, call the Coast Guard.”
“the vision is of a dystopian future that I’d rather the Air Force do what it can to prevent than depict as an aspirational vision”
Well said Joe. I’m with you. But I’m not the target demographic either.