Analysis of a Video Text: ODST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31DvXIlnvQ0&feature=video_response

This is an advertisment for the newest Halo game ODST. It starts off at a funeral for what appears to be a soldier whose name is Sgt. K. Stark. We hear soft brooding music and we see the face of one of the mourners. A boy who appears to be in some relation to the late Sgt. Stark. We next see the boy as a newly elisted soldier, whose name we now know is Tarkov, getting his hair cut and going through hard rigorous training to be an ODST. It's finally come for his first battle, and amidst the chaos of battle he is knocked down by an alien and is about to be crushed when when an alien fighter by chance is blown out of the sky and takes out the fierce alien leaving Tarkov scarred but alive. Next the ad jumps to another scene where we see Tarkov older and in charge of his unit hudled around the makeshift grave of another soldier. We then here the sound of an explosion in the background causing the soldiers to put on their helmets and continue on. This ad is very stirring and has many examples of cultural reinforcment. First we understand that times are hard and difficult, but then we see the human spirit rising against all odds to face evil and destroy. It uses the myth that the human spirit is strong, and that no matter what no matter how hard that if we push onward that we can overcome any obstacle if we are fighting on the side of good and truth. This comercial gives hope and reassures us the belief that deep down humans are good and strong. In the very begining we see someone who has died not just for the greater good but also for his family and the ones he loves and cares about. We see a young man grow up and fight not because it is what he wants to do, but because it is something that has to be done. He chooses to enlist knowing full well what the cost may be because he knows he can't let Sgt. Stark die in vain, and he knows that the fate of the world could depend on his help and the help of others like him. Tokov's enlistment is a selfless act, and in our minds he is a hero because of his dedication an selflessness. This text reassures us of our societal belief that real American heroes are the people who are selfless and hardworking, and it reassures us that without such people our world we be a much worse place. This is a belief that I personally and almost everyone would agree with. Without policemen running to crime scenes, firefighters running into fiery buildings, and soldiers fighting for my freedom then yes the world would be much gloomier. This belief gives us hope for the future knowing that even though times are bad there are people to make them better. The last scene that shows are weary soldiers mourning and then continuing on with the job they must do also plays to one of our societal beliefs. The belief that even though everything looks bleak good will pervail. The video leaves us hanging, and we don't know for sure what happens next but in our heads we already know. We know they will eventually win because good always wins. Always.