Imperialist Beetles
November 22, 2009 10:18 AM Subscribe
The American Imperialists have sent potato beetle by clouds and air to our Republic. He May Be a Communist.
Video 1 - I blame Moose and Squirrel.
Video 2 - Finally, we have found where Jeff Foxworthy got the roadmap for his entire career.
Seriously, though, it's interesting to see these forms of propaganda side by side. I would love to see a collection of East-West shorts like that, 2 videos a day, side by side, in a sort of bizarre point-counterpoint (in just the sense of The Capitalists of the West are Evil vs. The Red menace threatens All Free People), so that you could see who each tried different ways to convice thier viewers the other was the one to fear.
posted by chambers at 11:03 AM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
Video 2 - Finally, we have found where Jeff Foxworthy got the roadmap for his entire career.
Seriously, though, it's interesting to see these forms of propaganda side by side. I would love to see a collection of East-West shorts like that, 2 videos a day, side by side, in a sort of bizarre point-counterpoint (in just the sense of The Capitalists of the West are Evil vs. The Red menace threatens All Free People), so that you could see who each tried different ways to convice thier viewers the other was the one to fear.
posted by chambers at 11:03 AM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
Man, that second video just shows how bad Jeff Foxworthy's original routine was.
"If she defends the actions of communist nations while consistently attacking the foreign policy of the United States, she may be a communist."
I get his whole mode of inverting the joke form to start with the punchline and ending with the tagline, but how is that even a little funny?
posted by el_lupino at 11:21 AM on November 22, 2009
"If she defends the actions of communist nations while consistently attacking the foreign policy of the United States, she may be a communist."
I get his whole mode of inverting the joke form to start with the punchline and ending with the tagline, but how is that even a little funny?
posted by el_lupino at 11:21 AM on November 22, 2009
Becoming a Communist apparently involves a sudden inability to use contractions.
Say it ain't so, Lieutenant Commander Data!
posted by Sys Rq at 11:22 AM on November 22, 2009
Say it ain't so, Lieutenant Commander Data!
posted by Sys Rq at 11:22 AM on November 22, 2009
Must credit juffo-wup
posted by rob paxon at 11:27 AM on November 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by rob paxon at 11:27 AM on November 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
It's like my alpha-dream state made a movie!
posted by The Whelk at 11:33 AM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 11:33 AM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
Interesting comment on YT there at the moment claiming that it was true. Wonder if it was? Anyone?
The description implies that it wasn't. Considering that there are thousands of invasive species that cause a lot of damage in environments that they weren't originally from, and that this species originally showed up in the country in 1877, it is very likely that it wasn't actually a planned attack. It's not like the potato beetle showed up in the county in such numbers that it had a great effect on Germany's food production.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 11:39 AM on November 22, 2009
The description implies that it wasn't. Considering that there are thousands of invasive species that cause a lot of damage in environments that they weren't originally from, and that this species originally showed up in the country in 1877, it is very likely that it wasn't actually a planned attack. It's not like the potato beetle showed up in the county in such numbers that it had a great effect on Germany's food production.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 11:39 AM on November 22, 2009
Yeah, if the first video is true, I might as well start blaming China for Dutch Elm Disease. (I almost blamed the Dutch out of hand.)
posted by chambers at 12:07 PM on November 22, 2009
posted by chambers at 12:07 PM on November 22, 2009
Video 2 - Jeff Foxworth AND Roger Ailes evidently.
Is there any indication where the second clip came from? I caught a little of the male voice over at the beginning and the female in the middle, but there isn't enough to provide much of clue as to the source.
posted by hwestiii at 12:18 PM on November 22, 2009
Is there any indication where the second clip came from? I caught a little of the male voice over at the beginning and the female in the middle, but there isn't enough to provide much of clue as to the source.
posted by hwestiii at 12:18 PM on November 22, 2009
Thank you for posting this! Anyone who has links to anything related (insect-based-propaganda) would make my year by sending them along :)
posted by Bergamot at 12:54 PM on November 22, 2009
posted by Bergamot at 12:54 PM on November 22, 2009
Must credit juffo-wup
Thank you, Rob! It's true; I am the person who posted the He May be a Communist video to YouTube.
In the days before YouTube, a low-quality "Real"-format video of part of this clip was available on an academic website somewhere. Eventually though, that website disappeared and I couldn't find the video anywhere else online so I tracked down a VHS copy via inter-library loan in order to return it to the Internet. The video is from the documentary:
"Are We Winning, Mommy? America and the Cold War. Produced and directed by Barbara Margolis. New York: Cinema Guild, 1986. 86 minutes."
I believe the section starting at 1:50 is from the 1962 film Red Nightmare, which was a commercial movie.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 1:01 PM on November 22, 2009 [4 favorites]
Thank you, Rob! It's true; I am the person who posted the He May be a Communist video to YouTube.
In the days before YouTube, a low-quality "Real"-format video of part of this clip was available on an academic website somewhere. Eventually though, that website disappeared and I couldn't find the video anywhere else online so I tracked down a VHS copy via inter-library loan in order to return it to the Internet. The video is from the documentary:
"Are We Winning, Mommy? America and the Cold War. Produced and directed by Barbara Margolis. New York: Cinema Guild, 1986. 86 minutes."
I believe the section starting at 1:50 is from the 1962 film Red Nightmare, which was a commercial movie.
posted by Juffo-Wup at 1:01 PM on November 22, 2009 [4 favorites]
Interesting comment on YT there at the moment claiming that it was true. Wonder if it was? Anyone?
The description implies that it wasn't. Considering that there are thousands of invasive species that cause a lot of damage in environments that they weren't originally from, and that this species originally showed up in the country in 1877, it is very likely that it wasn't actually a planned attack.
Odds are that it wasn't as bug plagues happen all the time on their own... I was just curious as there are certainly documented instances of even weirder military operations and experiment.
posted by Zinger at 2:25 PM on November 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
The description implies that it wasn't. Considering that there are thousands of invasive species that cause a lot of damage in environments that they weren't originally from, and that this species originally showed up in the country in 1877, it is very likely that it wasn't actually a planned attack.
Odds are that it wasn't as bug plagues happen all the time on their own... I was just curious as there are certainly documented instances of even weirder military operations and experiment.
posted by Zinger at 2:25 PM on November 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
Communist propaganda or not, that is the most exciting video about gardening ever.
posted by PlusDistance at 2:50 PM on November 22, 2009
posted by PlusDistance at 2:50 PM on November 22, 2009
rob paxon: "Must credit juffo-wup"
Ok, if you say so...
"Juffo-Wup is the power of life... hot warmth in the cold Void. It flows through all things, binding them together, making them one."
posted by PontifexPrimus at 3:19 PM on November 22, 2009 [3 favorites]
Ok, if you say so...
"Juffo-Wup is the power of life... hot warmth in the cold Void. It flows through all things, binding them together, making them one."
posted by PontifexPrimus at 3:19 PM on November 22, 2009 [3 favorites]
As much as the billboard itself was gross and ill, the design geek in me SQUEALED at that old-style, BUY WAR BONDS type on the sign.
posted by GilloD at 3:46 PM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by GilloD at 3:46 PM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
To be fair, this is what the Czechs gave us in return.
kidding madame secretary
posted by Pollomacho at 6:55 PM on November 22, 2009
kidding madame secretary
posted by Pollomacho at 6:55 PM on November 22, 2009
Why can't we have the people who make propaganda and the people who make educational films switch places? I mean, the Commies made invasive species look interesting beyond the basic definition.
posted by mccarty.tim at 7:48 PM on November 22, 2009
posted by mccarty.tim at 7:48 PM on November 22, 2009
If the potato bugs don't get the population, the obscene quantities of ddt they salted the earth with surely will. That was the disturbing part.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:39 PM on November 22, 2009
posted by madamjujujive at 8:39 PM on November 22, 2009
I've seen Red Nightmare before, but what I forgot was the way that communists seem unable to handle contractions. You can tell the daughter's gone commie when she says "I am ready"
posted by lumpenprole at 8:46 PM on November 22, 2009
posted by lumpenprole at 8:46 PM on November 22, 2009
Apparently, both sides accused the other of dropping beetles during WW2, so this seems to be a continuation of that trend.
In 1950, East Germany released this pamphlet about the dreaded Amikäfer (American beetles), which includes a poster of the bugs decked out in stars 'n' stripes.
The GDR used the opportunity to mass mobilize, sending huge segments of the population into the fields to find the bugs. And there were a lot to find: half of the fields in East Germany were said to be infested.1
If anyone is interested, the story comes up in the BBC documentary series "The Lost World of Communism," which is definitely worth watching.
posted by Ljubljana at 9:41 PM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
In 1950, East Germany released this pamphlet about the dreaded Amikäfer (American beetles), which includes a poster of the bugs decked out in stars 'n' stripes.
The GDR used the opportunity to mass mobilize, sending huge segments of the population into the fields to find the bugs. And there were a lot to find: half of the fields in East Germany were said to be infested.1
If anyone is interested, the story comes up in the BBC documentary series "The Lost World of Communism," which is definitely worth watching.
posted by Ljubljana at 9:41 PM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
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posted by Zinger at 10:48 AM on November 22, 2009