Educational Media Reviews Online

[Before beginning this review, this reviewer needs to disclose that he is a military brat and works in a volunteer capacity with the National Guard.]

The Recruits is a look at one unit of the Young Marines, which is a national youth program which has the purpose of teaching the values of the United States Marines. Among these values are leadership, teamwork and self-discipline. The particular unit of this film is in Temecula Valley, CA, which is near San Diego and also home to Camp Pendleton, the largest Marine Base on the West Coast. The film focuses on several young individuals and their families. These families vary from a career Marine and his family, to a family on the brink of homelessness, to one where the child wishes to get into NASA. Most of the parents interviewed hope that their child will learn discipline and self-confidence through their participation in the Young Marines. There is no narration -- the individuals speak for themselves and the production shows the Young Marines going through various aspects of their training such as marching in formation, giving reports on figures from history, and engaging in shooting air rifles. There are also snippets of an Army veteran, and former member of the Young Marines, who is very negative about his military service and does not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps.

The overall tone of the film asks many questions regarding the “militarization” of society and youth as well as the socialization of youth. However, but did not seem to ask the question of how a society shall prepare its warriors.

No technical flaws were found in this production. Sound, picture quality, and occasional incidental background music are all well done.