The Modern Farmer

In the first video, the argument is that farmers are pretty much heaven sent and God sent them to do a thankless, back breaking, yet honorable job. I think the first video made good points but what it comes down to is American farmers are not like that anymore. It seems to be more nostalgic, wishful thinking than what is actually going on.  Maybe 40 years ago this commercial would have been much truer, but now it just seems like a false, romanticized view of what it is like to be a modern farmer in America. The second video definitely touches on this in a harshly satirical way, and it really emphasizes the technological changes that have occurred that are probably the main reason why farming is not like it used to be.

The first video definitely appeals to the American pride part of everyone, but once you stop and think about it you realize that that is not how America operates anymore. The video tries to manipulate that nostalgic part of us into believing what they are saying, even though the truth of the opposite is all around us every day. In some ways I wish America was still supported by small farms and extremely hard working and dedicated American farmers, but more and more this is proving to not be the case. America’s obsessive consumerism applies to food too, so most likely farmers like the ones featured in the video would have gone under long ago.

The second video is very funny because of the narrator’s voice and also because you realize it is sadly more accurate at portraying America’s current farming situation than the first video. It definitely emphasizes how technology has radically changed modern farming, and how a nation obsessed with productivity cannot possibly have local farmers who care deeply about the land and their crops. Seeing the second video and seeing the truth in it makes you wish that the first video was more accurate, because it’s so much more honorable and it would be something to be proud of as a country. However, it is clear that the first video has not been relevant for some time now and we just have to accept the change as it comes. And I feel like with the first video, no one is still under the impression that that is how America’s farming industry is, and people probably regard it more as an attempt at manipulation rather than a tribute to all of America’s farmers.