Essay Example: America's Frontier Ideologies in Levi's Commercial

For many years, America has been dubbed as the land of opportunity. Americans have believed that the country offers endless opportunities for its current and future generations. This has caused many people especially in foreign countries to believe that they can achieve their dreams in America. Therefore, huge populations depend on American green cards and any other necessary means they can use to migrate into the country. For example, Mexicans often use illegal means to migrate into the country to avoid the lengthy and stringent procedure put in place to hinder excessive migration into America. According to Shames, today's America is not as productive as compared to early periods of the twentieth century. This decline in productivity has caused different experts to question America's frontier ideologies. This paper explores the subject of frontier ideologies in America by analyzing an American commercial video.

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America's frontier ideologies are present in the country's spheres. For example, in politics, America is viewed as the most influential country in terms of its political decisions and policies. Also, the President of America is not only referred to as the most powerful, he is also dubbed the leader of the free world. These associations suggest that America is undoubtedly the most outstanding country in the world. The manner in which its authority and citizens emphasize the greatness of the nation makes it quite easy for foreigners to develop the desire to learn more about the country. Moreover, America is one of the few countries that host the greatest number of racial groups. Hence, it is easy for individuals who are not necessarily American to relate to the opportunities the country offers because they have relatives and friends in America.

In a commercial titled America (Go Forth), Levi's manages to incorporate every aspect that relates to America's frontier ideologies. The commercial manages to capture its audience by using America as its main theme. For example, the commercial starts by mentioning America to remind the audience where the brand comes from. This in itself acts as a means to sell American-ness. If the video was solely intended to advertise the products Levis provides, the video would have implicitly included statements that echo the reason why Levis products are essential. Instead of displaying an array of images depicting American culture, the video would have shown images of Levis products and their uses. However, the commercial only displays and talks about American values.

The commercial names the main features that one could use to relate to a population in which people can coexist. Therefore, the commercial states that America's population is made up of equal sons and daughters who are grown, and endeared. By referring to Americans as sons and daughters, the commercial emphasizes the role of the nation as a mother to its citizens. Hence, the resources and opportunities that America provides create an environment in which Americans can grow and love each other. It uses images of young and old people to highlight the growing and the grown respectively. Also, the commercial mentions some attributes that reflect a productive nation such as able, enduring, ample, and strong. In the end, it states how love and law help unite these attributes to create a productive nation.

Levi's is one of the brands whose products have existed in local and foreign markets for many years. However, the brand confidently associates itself with America as a nation because this enables it to be viewed by its consumers as strong and booming brand. This relation is similar to the presumption that America keeps on booming. Hence, there is always more for individuals to acquire. This implies that coming generations will always have more lavish opportunities than the previous ones. Obviously, the commercial is intended for American audiences since it highlights America's traits throughout. This emphasis stresses how life in contemporary America looks like. For instance, the commercial highlights America's traits as a way of supporting what America stands for. Despite the fact that the commercial uses an American theme to attract its audience, it reminds Americans of what their society is made of and motivates them to look towards better things. It also creates awareness among foreigners about what America is made of.

American frontier ideologies are evident in the commercial. For example, the commercial views Americans, both young and old as strong and capable individuals who are rich and perennial with the earth. The commercial uses the image of cultivated land to highlight America's rich resources. Land is one of the things Americans have used to discuss frontier ideologies. The vastness of America's productive lands is a frontier because it makes sure Americans are perennial with the earth. This portrays one of the reasons why America's frontier ideologies came to be. According to Shames, the first reason was that the returns of America's economy were so vast and more than equal to share. Also, the commercial uses the words go forth as its slogan. This slogan highly emphasizes frontier ideologies. This is because by asking Americans to go forth, the commercial implies that Americans have more to conquer in their lives. Therefore, there is a new frontier that Americans are supposed to cross.

In his article, Laurence Shames states that during the twentieth century, America experienced a series of events that featured the concept of a new frontier e.g. the invention of nuclear energy and John F Kennedy's political program (Shames, 2003). All these events assured Americans that they had reached a new stage in life, which was filled with great promise. Hence, to live up to the promise, Americans strived to achieve much more than they had during that time. However, with every extra achievement, there was always more to be achieved. Therefore, this has led Americans to believe that their economy is a domain whose boundaries can never be reached (Shames, 2003). The same ideology is also reflected in the commercial, which implies that it is still relevant to date. As Shames notes, frontier ideologies have aided America in setting itself apart from the rest of the world.

Therefore, by asking Americans to go forth, the commercial seeks to encourage people not to entertain the notion of having untapped resources and empty fantasies. Instead, they should use their passion and ability to turn their dreams into reality and discover untapped resources. This approach helps illustrate optimism as a major factor in America's frontier ideologies. Today, people have realized that it is not normal that one should get richer as he or she grows. However, America continues to fight the perception because it believes with the right instruments, there is always more for everyone. Furthermore, having more is better than having less.

Works Cited

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdW1CjbCNxwShames, Laurence. "The more factor." Signs of Life in the USA Bedford/St. Martins: Boston, MA (2003): 56-62.