That 70's Show and the Decline of Patriotism

The following is the twenty-sixth in a series of essays written in response to the media analysis assignment described in the January 28, 2000 article on this topic page. Colorado State University student Nick Shryack explains how That 70's Show demonstrates a decline in patriotism among Americans.

That 70's Show and the Decline of Patriotism by Nick Shryack

A group of American soldiers surrounding a battered American flag in the middle of battle, with the sun setting and a bald eagle flying overhead...an image like this instills a feeling of love of country deep in most Americans' hearts. This is what being patriotic is all about: loving, supporting, and being proud of America. The sad thing is, Americans today are untrusting and disappointed with the government, and this has brought upon a decline of patriotism toward America. The most obvious example of this is the Clinton scandal. People were more concerned about his personal life, and not the fact that he was running the country. People show no respect for the system that keeps America free and running, and they mock it and talk it down. Another strong example is the fact that defacing the American flag is not illegal. The American flag is a symbol of our freedom and love of country, and the fact that it is not illegal to deface it shows a lack of patriotism. Americans are also not thankful for all of the "things" and freedoms we have. We take things for granted and are wasteful of the riches our country gives us.

That 70's Show reinforces this idea about America. The character of Fez is a foreign exchange student that is friends with the other kids in the show. Fez loves everything about America. He loves things as important as being free, to things as simple as cheese puffs. In every episode he makes a point to tell his friends something he loves about America. Whenever Fez mentions his love of America, the rest of his friends look at him like he's an idiot, or tell him to shut up. This makes Fez look like the "silly foreigner" when in actuality he has a more patriotic view of America than his friends do. Another example is from a specific episode in which Red, the father of one of the characters, voices his dislike of President Ford. In the episode, President Ford is coming to visit the town that they live in, and Red decides to go to the town meeting and speak his mind about the president.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic