Description
Military toys have been the subject of studies in the past: from pewter soldiers to British and German toy industrialization, from young boys fostered to play with army toys to prepare them to a soldier’s life to Vietnam War-era anti-war movement concerned with toy gun and from the birth of toy hero icon GI Joe figurine to the links between a culture of violence within children and toys.
Whilst toy manufacturers were largely independent from a state’s political apparatus and aspirations, the rise of licensing has seen many toy manufacturers develop content that reproduce main blockbuster movies and box office successes, from Marvel to Star Wars. A similar model is starting to develop, with toy manufacturers signing Memoranda of Understanding / Licensing agreements with several military actors such as Departments of Defence and Navies to produce toys. We suggest that this relationship aims to galvanise supporting for military causes and ideals as opposed to purely generate sales profits.
This research is framed within the broader context of the Politics of Toys project that was supported by a Leverhulme fellowship in 2018-2019, and which had led to a number of publications including on the Politics of Toys in North and South Korea. This new paper particularly addresses this year’s BISA theme around who we do our international studies work for and with, as it questions the public relations model that some countries have adopted to communicate with younger generations who might be affected by a military conflict.
