Whopper Virgins
December 10, 2008 by adfed
@jerryketel can you weigh in on the whopper virgins campaign? http://www.whoppervirgins.com/
Dear @Ibautist,
The Whopper Virgins campaign is pure artful propaganda. The filmmaking—as seen on the microsite—is as good as any of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. It was nicely photographed, the choice of music propelled the story, the subjects were treated with warmth and dignity. The story itself had an element of suspense to it and it rewarded the viewer by being both surprising and intelligent. It made me think. And that is where the piece failed. Because it made me think how manipulative the pseudo-documentary was. It made me think how unscientific the survey was and how the tasters were being polite hosts when asked how they liked the Whopper being grilled in their homeland before their eyes. Of course they said it was good! But most of all it made me think of how the documentary has been used recently as propaganda, thanks to the likes of Michael Moore and Errol Morris. And now, the documentary, a category unto itself in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is being used to shill an industrial American hamburger. How far the art form has fallen.
It is really good propaganda. It just made me think too much.
Jerry Ketel
