November 25, 2016

"We all laughed when my sister said it was Apple’s way of welcoming Trump to 'their' village."

Writes JSD in the comments to my post asking you what you did for Thanksgiving and referring to this Apple commercial that aired during football games yesterday:



Watching the commercial with JSD's sister's idea in mind, I couldn't laugh, because you'd have to see the commercial first and then hear the punchline. With the order reversed, I had more of the experience of sweet poignancy that the ad's designers originally intended, but with a new deeper level. The monster is Trump.

If the original intent of the ad had anything to do with using a monster because of Trump — who has been called a monster — it must have been with the idea that Trump would lose, and the alienated losers would need reintegration into Hillary Clinton's America. In that vision, the little girl who screws in the green light represents the young women of America who symbolize the future and show the monster the way to join the group. Stronger together.

By the way, I saw a chalking on campus a few days ago. Should have photographed it, but I memorized it: "Safe together/Strong together/Resist together." I'm not 100% sure that "Strong" was the right word or that the first 2 lines were in that order, but "Resist together" was definitely the punchline. I thought that was funny. After Hillary and her supporters lectured us for so long about how we needed to be together to be strong, she loses the election and oneness loses its luster.

"Resist together" is the perfect oxymoron for the occasion.

43 comments:

Wince said...

Thought I recognized the monster...

Frankenstein's monster is portrayed by Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett, who stands 6'8" tall.

Carol said...

But, Ann, this is different!

Be afraid; be very, very afraid.

Laslo Spatula said...

"In that vision, the little girl who screws in the green light represents the young women of America who symbolize the future and show the monster the way to join the group."

In the original "Frankenstein" movie (with Boris Karloff) the Monster drowns the little girl.

Adds a new context to what happens after the commercial ends.

I am Laslo.

Big Mike said...

A cute commercial. And thank you, Hillary supporters. I voted for Trump as the least of a bunch of evils. Thank you for confirming that I made the right choice. I intend to support him as much as I possibly can and as strongly as I possibly can.

Zach said...

But in the movie, Frankenstein kills the little girl who's so nice to him. She throws flowers in the water, he thinks she's pretty like a flower... It's probably the most important moment in the movie.

Bride of Frankenstein might actually be a better movie. It's got the all-time best mad scientist quote: "To a new world of gods and monsters!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_Vi8LltUbI

JSD said...

Wow! Ann’s take on the ad brings it to a whole new level. Of course, both Ann and my sister are retired college professors. My sister is the cleverest of the family. The ad is two minutes long and full of awkward moments. It immediately caught the full attention of the room. And then she killed it with her impeccable timing and wit. My sister is the best.

traditionalguy said...

One Country with one flag ,and one God whose
Chosen one won . Sounds about right.

Seeing Red said...

Females turn into bullies when they're together. That's not stronger, that's a pit of vipers.

It's sad 2nd-wave feminists have sent 2nd-wave feminism believers back to fainting couches and smelling salts and 3rd-wavers back to the nursery.

After watching and listening get to Evita from 1990-92, I thought she would only set women/feminism back 50 years.

I can't believe what I read and see.

Congrats, females, you've raised a wave of basket/head cases!

Charlie Bixby said...

As a sailor, this ad bugged me a bit.

The red light should be on the port side of his neck and the green light on starboard.

I should really just sell all my Apple stock. They can't seem to get the all the small details right anymore.

madAsHell said...

I liked the photo of the woman with the reflection of the fire in her heart. Obviously, Frankie's heart has been broken.

Gahrie said...

The last time the democrats hysterically freaked out over the election of a Republican and started talking about secession (there is already a ballot proposition submitted to the California attorney general) things didn't work out so well for them.

You want all of those pre-election worries about rightwing violence to come true?

steal the election from trump and the American people.

traditionalguy said...

Let's see. The Apple village was all white. And they welcomed a mechanical robot man to do their dirty work.

It's Trump alright. And he will be used until the next model comes out with better apps.

tim in vermont said...

California should secede and voluntarily surrender their territory back to Mexico. That would be a win-win, as far as I am concerned.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

Or, if Mexico invades them and takes it back, we can look the other way and let them fight it out with whatever army they choose to create for themselves.

Seeing Red said...

Americans have opened their hearts to the world for a very long time. We feed, clothe and medicate for free. Wev bled and died for the world.

Of course, another view is telling the world (England) to open their hearts to Americans....

Why choose Victorian England?

Will Cate said...

Almost certainly the ad was designed & produced before the election...

Dagwood said...

In today's more progressive version, Laslo, he doesn't drown her. Just tries to grab her ____.

rosebud said...

As EDH said, the monster is played by Brad Arnett from Everybody Loves Raymond. His character's father on that she was played by Peter Boyle, who played the monster in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

rosebud said...

Garrett, not Arnett

Dagwood said...

madAsHell - 'twas a portrait of his beloved mother. Maiden name Wollstonecraft.

rosebud said...

As EDH said, the monster is played by Brad Arnett from Everybody Loves Raymond. His character's father on that she was played by Peter Boyle, who played the monster in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

rosebud said...

As EDH said, the monster is played by Brad Arnett from Everybody Loves Raymond. His character's father on that she was played by Peter Boyle, who played the monster in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

rosebud said...

As EDH said, the monster is played by Brad Arnett from Everybody Loves Raymond. His character's father on that she was played by Peter Boyle, who played the monster in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

Sebastian said...

"it was Apple’s way of welcoming Trump to 'their' village."" Yes, but they could barely fake sincerity. No prog is going to open her/his/zir heart to any Trumpist.

The Trump interpretation of the ad is a little narrow though. The monster is the white male, allowed back into the community at the sufferance of women and children.

Michael K said...

Frankenstein has a hold of the publish button.

Susan said...

That was nearly the same comment I made to my family about this commercial when we saw it. Most of us were Trump voters, not really supporters so much. The college aged leftists had already gone by that time otherwise I would have kept it to myself. As it was "safe" there were a few chuckles.

traditionalguy said...

Another way to portray a Trumpian disturbance affect on a village of over educated Globalists is Hitchcocks The Birds. Great scene where the British Ornithologist explains what would happen if bird species United and fought back. Their reaction was the same disbelief that it is happening.

I watch it to see Tippie Hedrin as the blonde but central bird of disturbance. ..like a Trump. Who was that masked woman?

DanTheMan said...

>> California should secede and voluntarily surrender their territory back to Mexico

The former is doubtful. The latter has already occurred.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

"Safe Together/Strong Together/Resist Together." Once again, I can't help but think of fasces.

Gahrie said...

The city of Los Angeles has the second largest population of Mexicans (Mexican citizens, not Mexican-Americans) in the world, second only to Mexico City. 20% of Mexico's population (the poorest, most uneducated 20%) lives in the United States. Mexico benefits from billions of dollars in cash remittances every year. It is their second largest source of foreign income, and if oil drops much further, it will become number one.

So why would Mexico every reform their corrupt government and society, and actually start providing for their poor?

readering said...

I prefer the Amazon Prime ad with the Moslem and Christian clerics sending each other the same gift.

CWJ said...

Hate the commercial. Juxtaposing a music box with an I phone is just so off-putting. Are they saying, music box is to I phone as villagers are to monster?

Darrell said...

I saw there was no headphone jack and changed the channel.

BJM said...

What village would that be? Foxxcon's labor camps? A company that exploits foreign workers and parks $6+ Billion overseas to avoid "paying their fair share" in corporate taxes should skip the moralizing and phony virtue signalling.

Fabi said...

Nicely threaded together, rosebud! Anyone up for Six Degrees of Frankenstein?

Rusty said...

For the left democracy is all about taking things away, excluding. For classic liberals it is about spreading things around. Including.
The left doesn't trust people with their own ideas. Classic liberals want people to be able to exploit their own ideas.

CWJ said...

Rusty,

Interesting. My mull things over comment of the day.

southcentralpa said...

I remember after 2012, there was a series of ads talking about how free enterprise was back, etc., which clearly seemed to have been made thinking that Romney was going to win. Alas, we had to wait four more years for the incumbent President's policies to be on the ballot without him, so they could be rejected without being racist or something (of course, I'm from a Pennsylvania county who voted against his policies three times, so I hereby denounce myself as deplorable).

Big Mike said...

@Michelle Dulak Thomson, yes, the fasces were meant to symbolize "strength through unity" weren't they? Kind of another way of saying "stronger together." How'd I get through the whole campaign and forget that? Dunno but thx.

chickelit said...


""Resist together" is the perfect oxymoron for the occasion."

How about a big collective ohm chant?

Big Mike said...

@Purvi Rajani, he's planning to be we a rowboat later so his back will be to the bow.

Big Mike said...

... planning to use ...

Damned autocorrect.