Team America
Film Review
Team America: World Police
America is a nation notorious for certain attributes. Unilateralist policies have existed throughout much of American history and exist today, reflected in America’s war in Iraq, though the extent to which the agenda has disregarded other parties has seemingly increased. The word jingoism, defined as “extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy,” is often used to describe American foreign policy, and is rampantly displayed in American films, i.e. Rambo. America has been labeled imperialistic, hubristic, hegemonic, xenophobic, and/or shortsighted by many. Team America: World Police blatantly satirizes these American attributes and the modern day actions reflecting them. From liberal and conservative viewpoints on foreign affairs to national pride, Team America attacks all sides of the issue.
The film’s satire of American themes begins in the title. The film’s main subject is the American government’s hubristic assumption that because America is the last remaining world superpower, it is America’s responsibility to maintain order and guard freedom in the world. The United States’ emerging unilateralism since the Cold War is highlighted and mocked. Team America’s military actions, such as destroying the Eiffel Tower and half of Cairo in reckless and bullish assaults on terrorists, exemplify the U.S.A.’s pervasively destructive foreign policies. Americans and American government have an international reputation for a cocky, yee-haw attitude. This is on full display in Team America. The known penchant for xenophobia in the US
is mocked in the film by portraying other cultures as simple stereotypes. America’s hegemony has not always been so selfishly nationalistic; during previous administrations, foreign policy was more based on instituted policies and relatively benign. However, The United States is seen as a nation whose very reason for existence is to...
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