Make Love, Not War (Super Bowl Commercial)
OK, it's only a commercial. But it's a good one.
= new reply since forum marked as read
What is "New Axe Peace"? A men's perfume? I've never heard of this product (don't have TV). And this ad is going to run during the Superbowl--for real?
That's extraordinary, if true--no matter the product (well, within limits...). But it makes me uneasy. War is so horrible. The wars that have been inflicted on us and others in my lifetime have been so horrible. And peace is such a fragile idea, battered almost beyond recognition. War is peace. Peace is war.
"Make love, not war" was my generation's fragile but hopeful response to the slaughter of TWO MILLION Southeast Asians and the deaths of over 55,000 U.S. soldiers, and the ruination of the lives of many others. For this phrase to be used to sell yet another product--even a product about love, even during the Superbowl (which Jim Harbaugh told us was all about "being a man"
--seems like a subtle, sneaky sacrilege. It's actually kicking peace in the head, is it not? These clever corpo-fascist P.R. firms!
In a country that not long ago slaughtered a hundred thousand innocent people, in the first weeks of bombing alone, in Iraq, and destroyed that country. We think a male perfume (if that's what this is) is going to change the horror of our military budget, of our wars, of our police state?
Gawd. The gall!
I'm more than uneasy, I guess. I'm appalled. It's like hearing Beatles songs in commercials or as musak in a mall. Everything is exploitable, even peace. Anything can be degraded. Everything is mere window dressing for the filthy rich and their destruction of our country and our ideals. We long for peace and justice. We work for peace and justice. And what we have is a ruined democracy, gone bonkers with military power. And even THAT is exploitable!
Don't get me wrong. I'm a 49ers fan. And I know they are just gladiators in Rome II. But I can be beguiled by the competition, the skills, the hype. I'm aware even of the permanent damage that some of these football players are suffering. They will end up as dementia patients, often at an early age. Still, I'm a fan. Brothers, husband were football players. I understand from them what the game is, for them--a controlled war, as game, where bursts of aggression are okay, expected and lauded. Hard to figure, huh--me a peacenik? Well, so are they, actually. Controlled aggression, in a game, does not necessarily a warmonger make.
Anyway, I'm asking myself, what would I think, watching the Superbowl, when this ad comes on?
Insulted. Weirded out. Sad.
Just a gen xer here.
