Chevrolets of the Apocalypse
By Dr. Theodore Mangrove
Mad Max Comes to Mayberry
There is a scene of mountains devoid of vegetation, except for a few scroungy pine trees clinging precariously to the dusty earth. Hard-hatted men standing several stories tall put the finishing touches on an petroleum pipeline as we spy oil wells and other dirty machinery in the distance. Just then, an improbably enormous Chevy Silverado pickup truck comes barreling over the mounting, crushing everything in it’s path.
 Henry Ford decorated by Germans in 1938 |
What is this ad about? It seems to speak of an existence where men and trucks tower above nature. It is a world where the thirst for petroleum fuel turns men into fiendish heroin addicts who will stop at nothing for their fix. And at the center of it all is the Chevy Silverado, a big vehicle with a big appetite. It’s a bleak vision of the world, a vision of the apocolypse. Chevy is indeed like a rock…cold, hard, and lifeless.
Corporate Nostalgia
We are treated to a series of images of classic old Chevy’s as the narrator says “In 1911, Chevy hit the road, and we’ve never looked back!” Well, isn’t this ad looking back? Why are they claiming to have “never looked back” when they’re looking back right now by referring to 1911? And what’s wrong with looking back anyway? Chevy here is looking back and reminiscing about America’s history of car-culture in order to make the consumer also feel nostalgic and buy their new cars. The implication is that fifty years from now people will feel nostalgic about their 2002 ���y Prizm, so go out and buy one now! It’s going to be a classic!
The chairman of Ford is casually chatting with us about how Ford is more than just a company, it’s a family. People have worked at Ford for generations. Ford provides a connection with America’s history. What he doesn’t mention is this: Henry Ford was an anti-semite and used his company to support the building and funding of the Nazi regime in the 1930’s and 40’s. Read more here. In the 1970’s Ford purchased solar technology in order to prevent it from going to market, out of fear that it would cut into their profits. More recently, Ford has become the market leader in safety recalls, leading several judges to declare their SUV’s “fundamentally flawed”, “dangerous”, and “deathtraps”. However, their cheap and flimsy products continue to be the bestselling automobiles on the planet, so who can blame them for taking advantage of stupid consumers? Welcome to the family.
Another Chevy ad: an overweight white man with a buzzed hair cut is checking out a new Chevy Impala with a black saleswomam. He reminisces about his dad’s Chevy Impala, and we see some flashbacks to the old car. The attractive young saleswoman seems overly friendly to the decidedly unattractive man, who is preoccupied with the decidedly ordinary looking car. She knows this guy is infatuated with the myth of the Impala as a cool car, and this is going to be an easy sale. And this is what the ad is about on the surface: the myth. The new Chevy Impala is such a bland generic sedan as to be unrecognizable, yet the myth of the original Impala gets transferred just through the car’s name. However, this ad is actually undermining Chevy’s own myth, for now the message is this: Chevy Impala is the choice of fat white losers. And everyone knows that the old Chevy Impala is the choice of gang-bangers and pimps.
Wartime Profiteers
In the aftermath of September 11th, a competition of patriotism brewed between Ford and Chevrolet commercials. Ford claimed to be “Keeping America Moving” with their special deals. Chevrolet claimed to be the “American Choice”…whatever that means. The message from both companies was clear: the best way Americans can help fight terrorism and keep America strong was to go out and buy their cars. Considering Ford and Chevy enjoy some of the worst fuel economy averages in the industry, and thus are helping to further America’s dangerous reliance on Middle-Eastern oil, one might think it would be good for America to NOT buy their wasteful, inefficient products.
Trusting corporations to do what’s right for our society is like trusting the wolf to do what’s right for the sheep. Corporations are designed to make money, and any assertation to the contrary is just plain wrong. The automaker’s attempts to use the tragedy of September 11th to sell more cars is beneath contempt.
I would like to see a public service announcement as follows: “Keep America Moving. Trade in your gas-guzzler for a fuel-efficient car. Replace your standard light bulbs with compact-florescents to save energy. Recycle as much as possible. By using less fossil fuels, we can help put terrorists out of business. A more efficient America is a stronger America.”
Related posts:
- Film and the Future: Media After September 11
- Softcore Porn and Fossil Fuels: Cronenberg’s Crash
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Hollywood Blockbuster
- Hurt Locker Fails to Capture World War II Experience
- SUV Smashes Subcompact then Tips Over Killing Mom and Thirteen Children: Final Thoughts on Cronenberg’s Crash
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