Richard Eskow reports (from Alternet via Smirking Chimp):
Attendees at last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) were reportedly thrilled by a short sci-fi video depicting a dictatorial near-future government and the underground "Movement on Fire" that springs up to resist it. The video, a thinly veiled advertisement for violent insurrection from the "Tea Party Patriots" group, boasts professional acting and Hollywood production values. But underneath its bright, professional sheen lurk dark overtones of End Times paranoia that will resonate with millions of American fundamentalists....You really just have to watch this thing -- its paranoia is so pure.
And here's a longer version, with some mook-rock protest music mixed in:
What's striking about this to me is that it's not the teaser for a movie or TV show, or even one of those online trailers that accompany novels nowadays. This is the thing in itself. It's just an ad -- an ad for the FreedomWorks-linked Tea Party Patriots.
As such, it works exactly like any other ad that offers a wish-fulfillment scenario. A beer ad will show a young guy, a stand-in for the targeted consumer, getting friendly with a hot chick -- that's the viewer's wish being fulfilled. This ad shows conservatives the totalitarian nightmare of their dreams, in which their stand-ins -- the young rebels -- get to be heroes who fight (and are pursued to the death by) what the viewers would consider the worst imaginable government.
Being rebels marked for death in a totalitarian dystopia is to right-wingers what hot sex with a beer-ad babe is to the average consumer of suds. It's the ultimate fantasy.
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UPDATE, 4/2: Apparently I was wrong -- this is reportedly a trailer for a forthcoming movie, according to BuzzFeed's Ben Howe.
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