OK, so I’m here at work in California listening to talkSPORT (1089/1053 AM in England) over the internet. An entertaining cultural diversion while I sit here in the basement trying to be productive.
A commercial comes on which is one of the more Orwellian I’ve ever heard. Dark, ominous music rumbles in the background, while a menacing voice intones something like this:
:eek: This ad seemed designed to convey a feeling of government omnipotence, proudly touting that nothing happens here without the authorities’ knowledge, and that trying to sneak anything by The System will be met with swift and unpleasant consequences. I’ve never heard anything quite like that over here - blew me away.
Was the Car Tax Collection Propaganda Department feeling really grumpy on the day this spot was recorded, or is this typical of the way the government exhorts the populous to perform their civic obligations?
Yes, it does feel designed that way, and it’s not particularly typical. The only other thing that gets advertised in this way is TV licences…whereas tax returns get a bubbly cheerful “don’t forget to send it in by Jan 31st” approach.
Maybe it’s just because they’re so chuffed with themselves for having finally got a database together which actually has the information they need to be able to track car tax defaulters.
That TV ad is even better!
It’s somewhat reassuring to hear that those ads are unusual. Spots of this sort we hear here are normally like the tax filing ones you mention. The only ones that stick in my head right now are some radio bits concerning drunk boating (on local lakes), I believe paid for by the state. They run them every year about now, and their message is more, “Drunk boating is Bad Idea and dangerous. Very illegal, as well, by the way. Don’t do it, for you’ll find the penalties quite stiff.” No 1984 vibes.
The best one was an ad made by Transport for London, promoting the number of security cameras installed on buses and trains. It had a picture of the city of London (recognizable landmarks in the background) and, floating above it, these huge golden saucer-shapes, straight out of the Twilight Zone. Observing more closely, I can see that these are, in fact, massive, stylized eyes, gazing down at the scurrying citizens below with a blank indifference all the more chilling for their reflective golden sheen.
It may have been only my imagination, but the tiny figures of the people of London (although they were obviously intended to be trouble-free and smiling) were, in fact, subtly terrified, cringing from the skies above wherein floated their ocular overlords. The fact that they all bore wide smiles (right down to the bus-driver in the centre of the picture) only made their horror more evident. One could practically hear the chant arising from the petrified Londoners: “Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts.”
Perhaps it was only my imagination, but in the dark shadow of Big Ben in the background, I could swear that I saw a poor, huddled figure, one who’s carefree demeanour had temporarily given way before the sheer mindbending horror of his situation, being transfixed by the glare of the great golden eye floating overhead. I almost seemed to hear his scream as he dissapeared in a blinding beam of golden light, vanishing forever from mortal ken.
And the caption of this Lovecraftian fantasy? “Safe beneath the watchful eyes.”
Welcome to Britain. Crimethink doubleplusbad.
Wow. I’m glad that here in Washington state, we have $30/year car tabs, of course the bill was over $500.00. :dubious: