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Tonight is the finale of ABC's The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman, starring outrageously handsome (and blue-eyed, tan, white-toothed, chiseled-chested) Navy diver and doctor Andy Baldwin. As I wait with bated breath for him to choose Tessa (he must, he must!), I have to wonder: Just how big an effect does the media's portrayal of military men have on the war? As we begin to accept the glamorization of Officer Andy (let's remember it's been a long time since everyone was hot for Richard Gere in the movie An Officer and a Gentleman), if Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE: DIS) ABC can bank on a military guy -- if anyone can make money from a man in uniform -- will this change America's currently blasé attitude toward the war?

If Mr. Officer/Gentleman and his new bride-to-be are a symbol that popular culture is starting to fall back in love with the military, how much more so must one of the two ultimate romantic icons: Prince Harry. Although the British military recently reversed its decision to send him to Iraq (there were "unacceptable risks" said the Ministry of Defence), the media is nonetheless flooded with photos of Harry in dress uniform, Harry in fatigues, Harry painted up with full camouflage. Suddenly, the military is big business again -- and I'm not even talking Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) or Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). No, the military is big cultural business. We can't stop talking about it. We can't stop romanticizing the hot men in uniform, and I predict television, movies and other popular media will be full of chiseled-chested officers in the coming few years.

The military is never half as romantic in real life as it has been in some of the most iconic movies and television shows over the years, but lately it has been portrayed as decidedly unromantic (no one, for instance, could call George Clooney's character in Gulf War movie Three Kings "romantic"). The tide is most obviously turning. Will America turn too?

(And for the record, pick Tessa!)

'The Bachelor' officer, Prince Harry: Will hot men in uniform bring new attention to the war? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 May 2007 21:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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