Watching Transformers 2 was undoubtedly an audio-visual feast.  Just like the first movie, this was not just an entertainment film for the eyes and ears, because it also reflects the ideology and attitudes of America.  Through this film, the intention of the American military to promote its global strategy and armament was expressed to its fullest.

First, the advanced weaponry of the American military was fully presented in Transformers 2.

The American Defense Department provided the White Sands missile testing ground to the film crew for the final battle scene.  In terms of weaponry, it provided two A-10 jet fighters, six F-16 jet fighters, ten armored Hummer vehicles, two M1A2 tanks and the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.

As everybody knows, these are the “traditional products” that America pushes in the international armaments market.  The movie showed the mobility and excellent qualities of these products.  They are going to be tempting for arms purchasers as well as nations in conflict zones.  In reality, these are not the most advanced weaponry.  For example, take the F-16 jet fighters that American likes to sell to conflict zones and third world countries.  Although it has a mature technology, it is not the most advanced American jet fighter.  The most advanced American jet fighter is the F-22, but it is not being exported.  Technologically speaking, the F-22 is a complete generation ahead of the F-16.

In conclusion: You can watch my advanced weaponry in this movie!  Come and buy some now!  But I won’t sell you my best stuff!  So even if you spend a lot of money, you won’t be able to beat me!

One netizen said jokingly: “Transformers 1 was advertising for American automobiles, whereas the sequel was advertising automobiles alongside weaponry!  You even have to pay to watch the advertising!”

Secondly, American has global strategic and military plans.  America believes that other nations should cooperate with its strategies.

At the beginning of the movie, the American military and the Autobots were fighting the Decepticons in the streets of Shanghai.  The Egyptian air force and the American military attacked the Decepticons on the pyramid together.  Actually, we observe the typical thinking of the American military: no matter whether it is the yet-to-happen alien invasion of Earth, or the regional conflicts or human wars on Earth, the best guarantee for world security and defending human civilization is to unite politically with America at the core and to have the American military as the command center.

Throughout history, America has interfered with the internal politics of other nations using excuses such as “democracy,” “human rights” and “religious freedom.”  There are even numerous examples of America starting wars.  The justification for attacking Iraq was because that nation possessed “weapons of mass destruction.”  Have they found them yet?

The movie debuted around the world on the same day.  It showed the strength of American power and the role of the American military in defending peace and justice.  The imperceptible influence on the whole world (especially the young people) is: it is legitimate and just for America to station troops all over the world; if not, who is going to save you against the alien invaders from outer space or the “axis of evil” or “rogue nations” on earth?

Thirdly, the movie is deliberately trying to idealize the image of American soldiers.

I can clearly remember the scene in Transformers 1 in which the American soldiers formed friendly relationships with local children in the Middle East.  In Transformers 2, when the Decepticons attacked the Egyptian village, the American soldiers and the Egyptian militia fought alongside each other while actively evacuating civilians on camels.  This is using military-civilian harmony to make up for the dreadful image of American soldiers in the Middle East.

The movie gave a full portrayal of the bravery and fearlessness of American soldiers.  As a Transformer fan said: “When I watched the Transformer cartoons in my youth, human weapons were basically useless against the Transformers.  But in the movie Transformers 2, human weapons could knock down the Decepticons.  The invincible Devastator was easily knocked off the pyramid by a shot from an American destroyer.”

The Pentagon has no compunction in stating that apart from providing the grounds and various weapons, they also provided extra actors who are current servicemen who had just returned from Afghanistan and Iraq.  They were willing to provide so much support for one reason — to create a good and positive image for the American military.

Actually, it is customary for Hollywood to use movies to communicate American values to the world.  In the past, the best example was Titanic.  But I think that the most successful collaborations with the military are these two Transformer movies.

http://club.cat898.com/newbbs/dispbbs.asp?boardid=1&id=2893063

Translation via http://www.zonaeuropa.com/weblog.htm

The irony is this, though - “Don’t be evil” company comes to China under the assumption that “more information is better than no information”. Google does have a superior product (never enough here), but it does not provide otherwise inaccessible information to Chinese. As such, this was either a poor excuse or a classic example of American naivety (arrogance). Even if available, people (Americans and otherwise) generally avoid information that does not confirm their current beliefs. Especially here, people have little interest in facts, have a vague idea of “truth”, and an even more obscure view of “right” and “wrong”. It’s said that “facts are stubborn things”, but ideology is more stubborn. That said, Google does need to be in China for one reason and one reason only - to show that, yes, we produce better products.