The Peace Corps Is a Common Pop-Culture Plot Device
From Shallow Hal and Airplane! to Boy Meets World, the Peace Corps are frequently portrayed in pop culture. Some of the best examples, though, are the most insulting. In one of his more auspicious pre-Oscar movie roles, Tom Hanks tackled the task of spoofing the Peace Corps (and the classic 1957 film Bridge on the River Kwai) in 1985's Volunteers. Hanks plays Lawrence Bourne III, a deep-in-debt (formerly) rich kid, who tries to escape his financial woes by joining the corps — and showing the locals what "service" is really about. In one of the most cringe-worthy moments, Bourne throws cigarettes and gum to the villagers and says, "That's right, Lawrence Bourne III; rich American." Volunteers' skewering of the corps is matched only by the mother of all satire, Family Guy. In a 2005 episode titled, "Jungle Love," Brian (yes, the family dog) recounts his glory days in the Peace Corps. Among his fonder memories were the time he taught a South American village a dance to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and when he accidentally married the tribe chief's daughter.