<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This study employs Erwin Panofsky’s iconographic analysis to decode the 2021 US Army recruiting campaign ‘The Calling’, situating it against the historical backdrop of military recruitment since the all-volunteer force’s inception. Panofsky’s framework allows for a dissection of the campaign’s layered narrative and its animated aesthetics, which notably diverge from prior campaign’s emphasis on the warrior archetype. The analysis progresses from a description of visual and narrative element’s (pre-iconography), to an investigation of symbolic meanings (iconography), culminating in an interpretation of underlying societal attitudes (iconology). ‘The Calling’ reimagines military enlistment as a heroic pursuit, echoing the superhero genre’s origin stories, and emerges as a response to waning interest in military careers. The campaign targets the zeitgeist of the young American population, offering a sense of heroism as compensation in a challenging recruitment climate marked by a robust economy and low unemployment. By presenting service as a ‘calling’, the Army navigates the complex terrain of contemporary cultural values, seeking to resonate with potential recruits on an ideological level, particularly within race and gender minority communities.</p>
</abstract>

This study employs Erwin Panofsky’s iconographic analysis to decode the 2021 US Army recruiting campaign ‘The Calling’, situating it against the historical backdrop of military recruitment since the all-volunteer force’s inception. Panofsky’s framework allows for a dissection of the campaign’s layered narrative and its animated aesthetics, which notably diverge from prior campaign’s emphasis on the warrior archetype. The analysis progresses from a description of visual and narrative element’s (pre-iconography), to an investigation of symbolic meanings (iconography), culminating in an interpretation of underlying societal attitudes (iconology). ‘The Calling’ reimagines military enlistment as a heroic pursuit, echoing the superhero genre’s origin stories, and emerges as a response to waning interest in military careers. The campaign targets the zeitgeist of the young American population, offering a sense of heroism as compensation in a challenging recruitment climate marked by a robust economy and low unemployment. By presenting service as a ‘calling’, the Army navigates the complex terrain of contemporary cultural values, seeking to resonate with potential recruits on an ideological level, particularly within race and gender minority communities.

Beyond the call of duty: Reimagining military service through hero narratives in the US Army’s ‘The Calling’ campaign

Journal of Military Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This study employs Erwin Panofsky’s iconographic analysis to decode the 2021 US Army recruiting campaign ‘The Calling’, situating it against the historical...

Beyond the call of duty: Reimagining military service through hero narratives in the US Army’s ‘The Calling’ campaign

Article Category: Original Study

Published Online: Feb 22, 2024

Page range: -

Received: Mar 12, 2023

Accepted: Nov 24, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jms-2024-0002

Keywords
US Army, superhero, the calling, recruitment, gender, race

© 2024 Hyunyoung Moon, published by Sciedno

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Beyond the call of duty: Reimagining military service through hero narratives in the US Army’s ‘The Calling’ campaign

Article Category: Original Study

Published Online: Feb 22, 2024

Page range: -

Received: Mar 12, 2023

Accepted: Nov 24, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jms-2024-0002

KeywordsUS Army, superhero, the calling, recruitment, gender, race

© 2024 Hyunyoung Moon, published by Sciedno

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
US Army, superhero, the calling, recruitment, gender, race