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lol
I'm not really a military guy and my city is quite peaceful. Not even sure why there's a police department... ;)
The Green Army Men are a perfect example. They're clearly US WWII troops. But in the LEGO realm, they're a license product of a kids' film concerning toys. The risk of mass protests against the Toy Story Green Army Men is pretty remote - even for the PC crowd. Plus, the Green Army Men aren't actually prosecuting war in the Toy Story movies.
Marvel and DC characters on the other hand...
https://forum.brickset.com/discussion/26529/yet-another-unhappy-group
That said... I do see historical themes becoming less prominent by necessity. Mark me down as one of the "politically correct" types a lot of you seem to fear, but history is basically lined with abuses and atrocities, and there are very few eras that emerge unscathed when you view them with a critical eye. Combine that with the regionalism of many historical settings or cultures (which can limit them from having broad worldwide appeal), and the result is that Lego's safest bets are things like they've been doing for years—highly abstracted versions of history, like Castle, Pirates, or Vikings that eschew real-world national affiliation or historical figures in favor of more neutral storytelling based on those eras.
I still think however that there's very little headspace in Lego's target audience at the moment for pirates and knights - based on my family and other kids I've noticed recently, their only interests are either Fortnite or comic book characters. It'll probably take a substantial shift in public popularity with films, games or collectibles based on medieval times or pirates to bring them back (unlikely with the latter as POTC seems to be dying down). Original fantasy or sci fi as a Lego theme can still work though - there's a huge amount of original stories that can be told there and more importantly they will probably match what kids are interested in too, outside of, you know, licenses.
I'm from Australia which despite what you may have heard is not as anti-gun as you'd think, I grew up in a rural area where most if not all farmers had guns for pest control. I also have friends in Denmark and have visited many times, so I have a small understanding of their culture.
I think European and even Australian attitudes are guns are an unfortunate necessity, our police have them (although parts of Europe do have unarmed Police as the default Police on patrol) and if you own one it is registered and locked in a safe. If you lose your gun or let someone else use there are stiff penalties. Military culture is not glorified, it is a depressing reality. Why would you want to make a Toy out of that? Toys are about escapism, playing with medieval swords and laser guns are enough levels removed so that I child will not see them on the News and think War is all a game. It is not over sensitive PC BS, it is wanting your child to enjoy their childhood and grow up feeling War and modern guns are given the gravity and seriousness they deserve.
It is obviously a different perspective, Mattel and other American Toy Companies share your perspective. I don't think you can expect a Northern European Company to change their cultural perspective, buy Mega Bloks if you want modern warfare as they have the Call of Duty sets which appear high quality. Or third party stuff like Brick Arms.
Hope i wasn't rude.
Also, bundling everybody who gets offended into one big “PC crowd” ignores the fact that it’s dozens of crowds, each with their own perspective. Everyone tends to get offended when they feel their particular group is being ignored or treated poorly (or has been historically). Today, the anti-PC crowd is one of those. They get offended if someone asks that they change their language to avoid causing offense.
If someone says something insensitive, 'that' crowd has the perception of extrapolating that insensitivity as a barometer into that someone's actions. The focus should be on whether that person is going to act with inequity and bias, no matter what nonsense comes out of their mouth.
I would say the intermittent raging debate over the NFL team in Washington is a good example of that. Plenty of die-hard football fans get all hot and bothered because a group of perceived "do gooders" or "social justice crusaders" that really have no agenda other than to get noticed for their altruism needlessly disrupt a mascot and/or symbol of their favorite football team. Even though it's an obvious racist term. (Which may not necessarily offend Native Americans in this context - but there no consensus on that issue, either.)
The fight becomes about the fight - and not whether there is a negative impact on the community that should be offended.
Just to be clear, I'm picking or advocating for either side - it's just the perfect illustration of why the "anti" PC crowd and those seeking to impose cultural sensitivity clash.
This is probably why I don't want someone feeling like they're offending me when discussing an Oriental Rug. Frankly, if someone were to ask me about an Asian Rug, I'd start snickering thinking we were talking about hairpieces.
I suppose another side to this is that, as with so many other things, the sales figures will tell them if they're getting it right or not...
I get that the founder didn't want his toys used a certain way. The specific issue here is the inconsistent logic applied to their corporate thinking. Their apparent stance is that they don't want to make warfare a subject of play. That's totally their prerogative. I 100% get that. But then they produce things that indeed can be seen to clearly make warfare a subject of play. A person killed with a sword (regardless if it was held by a pirate, or a conquistador, or an old west cavalryman) is just as dead as a guy shot with a gun or blown to pieces by a grenade. The same goes for a Rebel Soldier shot down by a Storm Trooper with a blaster. It's still warfare as play. OK, I concede that it's not an Abrams facing off with a T-72 in the Iraqi desert kind of play, but it is play nonetheless. If the standard is to not glorify warfare, or make warfare a form of play, then anything to do with warfare should be off limits. That's how I see it, anyway. But again, TLG has every right to produce whatever products they want, by whatever standards they want. I, the consumer, reserve the right to buy or not buy....or buy and then make a modern tank out of it and have it rampage through my city. Not that I would do that, but I do know people that would and do.
As for the actual topic, human history is human history. Judging the past using modern principles is folly and counter-productive. Taking offense now because people in the 1800s did a certain thing is silly and a waste of energy. That we're tearing down statues and renaming things doesn't change the fact that those people lived and did what they did, regardless of whether we agree with their actions or not. White washing history only leaves us vulnerable to repeating the errors we should have learned from but didn't because we were too offended to try to reach actual understanding.
Historical themes will be problematic to produce now since people are taking offense at almost everything. Can't do the old west again because that might offend some aboriginal Americans (or non-aboriginal Americans who believe that it's their place to be offended for someone else). Same with the Outback and the aboriginal peoples of Australia. If you revisit imperial times, even though the focus might be pirates, you are still celebrating (in some people's eyes) the European conquests which killed millions and enslaved millions more. This limits TLG's options and, in my opinion, makes for a less interesting product catalog. Again, that is 100% TLG's prerogative. My hope is that they can keep producing innovative and fun new sets, incorporating cool things from the past as well as imagining for the future.
“The story so far:
-Restaurant at the End of the UniverseIn the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
Is Steve Trevor's plane in the Wonder Woman set over the line? Probably not.
But a 'Pat Tillman vs. the Taliban' playset would definitely be miles past that line.
Would a Iron Man Mark I vs. Ten Rings playset reflecting those scenes from Iron Man be suitable? I would guess not because none were produced.
At the end of the day, LEGO does best to appeal to everyone - and in particular kids. After all, it's just a highly sophisticated interlocking brick system.