It’s nice, of course, that the music group is donating proceeds from iTunes to the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps, which in some way is connected to the Forest Service. It's also nice that North Face is donating $250,000 to this effort.
If one reads Woody's autobiography, Bound for Glory, particularly his description of the Oklahoma and Texas oil boom towns, it's easy to see that he was indeed concerned about the environment and big oil's effect on it. Still, that is not the focus of the song, and it certainly is not the focus portrayed in the commercial.
Guthrie wrote the piece as a rebuttal of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." As much as the NHL Philadelphia Flyers like Kate Smith's rendition of Berlin's song today, Woody tired of it quickly. In fact, the earliest manuscripts show that the original title Guthrie had in mind was "God Blessed America." Over time, Woody changed the title and verses, and as various recordings show, he changed the wording several times. But, it should be clear to only the most liberal of interpretations that any connection to an environmental meaning in tenuous at best. Even more tenuous is the idea that North Face is in any way connected to the song.
A look at the entire video shows a vastly different America than the one Woody envisioned being made for you and me. There are two people that one may assume are African Americans and as far as I can tell no Asians or Hispanics in the two minute movie. Hardly the vision of diversity and equality that Guthrie's song really wants us to see America as.
The North Face sells gear. And all of the gear that it sells, as depicted in the video, is for activities that mainly white people engage in. Skiing, climbing, and hiking are great, fun things to do and foster environmental awareness. They are also very expensive. They are not something that average Americans can even afford to to do. In short, what The North Face is promoting in their commercial are things that privileged, rich people get to do.
The North Face is a brand that has become a status symbol in American suburbs, much the same way that Starter jackets and Nike Air Jordans were symbols of status and wealth. It kind of makes the musical group's name ironic. People who can afford to buy The North Face probably don't just have morning jackets. They also have lunch, dinner, and smoking jackets. If tuxedos had The North Face logo, they's probably buy them too.
The original version of the Guthrie song talks about private property and the relief offices of the depression era. Guthrie understood that what truly divides us in this nation is not race or religion. It's money that separates us. That "private property" sign that Woody sees doesn't say anything on the other side. The people who own the property can go anywhere. The people who don't are restricted. Woody was right in wondering if this land was made for all of us when he sees people in the relief offices.
The North Face simply wants people to buy their products. I wonder, though, if the people who buy them know how much they are adding to that which divides us still.
