“Toys Of War” and G.I. Joe in 1980
It’s amazing what a few years can do. This 1980 newspaper article, written by David Diamond for Knight-Ridder Newspapers, offers up a dramatically different take on the toy industry and war vs articles we saw from 1982 (see “Eagle Force and G.I. Joe in the 1982 Lakeland Ledger”) and 1983 (see “G.I. Joe and Reagan in 1983”). The articles from 1982 and 1983 show us a toy industry that has embraced modern military action, offering children violent toys and an opportunity to play at war.
This 1980 article is completely the opposite, with Larry Bernstein of Hasbro saying:
“Nobody wants to teach their kids war anymore. Iran and Afghanistan are a passing fancy. There are so many other good toys you can make. From a marketing standpoint, war has gone into space. It is more palatable to go to war with alien beings that are a total fantasy than shooting other human beings.”
I wonder if any groups against war toys used this quote in 1982 when Hasbro re-introduced G.I. Joe to the world. Those words from Bernstein are just too perfect for the quote to have gone forgotten.
Related articles
- “Licensing has become a coordinated professional effort . . . “ (battlegrip.com)
- Hasbro vs Mattel, Hasbro Performing Better (battlegrip.com)