We all suddenly remembered we’re Greek, no sorry, Hellene.
You try and try to stay positive, give words of encouragement instead of criticism to what your countrymen do, but videos like this just don’t let you, do they?
Ok, the video was an attempt at promoting all the values that make Greece what it is, denounced foreign disdain for the way we Greeks view life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and especially stressed the way Hellenism underlies every important current in Western History. So why, then, did watching this video leave a taste of disgust in my mouth?
First of all, maybe because I know that it’s based on a beer ad, and not just any beer ad. It’s a beer ad about the way Canadians are seen by Americans which attempts to set things straight but misses the mark because at the end of the day, Joe, the average Canadian, goes overboard and so do the points he’s putting across. And it’s only natural: why would Maclaren Lintas (the Toronto-based advertising agency which brought out the ad) that is trying to sell a Canadian brand to Americans want to tick its North American audience off through the indirect critique of the stereotypes they have of Canadians? The ad eases the sting of criticizing those who fling such stereotypes at Canadians by showing this over-emotive, patriotic Canadian. It turns out that in viewers’ eyes, Joe and his attempt at righting the image the world has of Canada, ends up being another likeable but typical Canadian who people will still think of as someone you might hear pronounce ‘about’ as ‘aboot’.
The key is in the overall tone of the ad and unfortunately this is what people usually misinterpret when reading books or articles, or when listening to someone talk, or watching shows, interviews, documentaries. The message and the way the message is conveyed are two totally different things. Viewers of Ms Moutsatsou’s video miss this completely, I fear.
Secondly, I’ve seen the parodies. William Shatner saying, “I’m not a Starfleet commander” and Guy with his “I’m not Canadian” skit elevate the motif to caricature levels, and it’s alright if we are to judge these parodies solely on their artistic merit — but bringing Greece into this list of skits is another thing.
I’m sorry to have to say it, but more and more people are homeless, jobless here in Greece. People are committing suicide because of the crisis and putting a video out there along the lines of the ‘I am Canadian’ theme, with someone getting immoderately excited is just in poor taste and I’m not the only one who thinks this. Apparently many comments under the Shatner et al. parodies prove that many feel insulted when their nation falls under the spotlight in this way.
People are dying, do you realize this? Does this idea compute as you sit comfortably in the coziness of your home?
Yes, we do need to promote all that is at the core of Hellenism, all the rights that we as people have individually and as a nation to enjoy life as we see fit, to try and demonstrate that this denigration of Greece is part of a greater plan to cause turmoil, create protectorates and cheap labor for mega moguls such as George Soros to come in and extract natural resources, direct the EU towards a German-led or rather bankster-led confederation. Is this the best way to do it or is Ms Moutsatsou drawing more attention to her acting abilities in an attempt to enrich her career?
To you, it might be a laudable effort made on her part to help Greece, but I can neither blot out the original ad’s mixture of satire-sarcasm-irony Moutsasou’s video was based on, nor get the image out of my mind of the greasy-haired bag lady whose grimy fingernails tore at the garbage for leftovers in the dumpster the other day. Would she rush to congratulate Ms Moutsatsou?
The Reaper
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