Disney Presents: Final Exit
Deutsche Welle reports that German politicians are up in arms over a Union ad campaign that shows teenagers killing themselves because they can’t get jobs and apprenticeships.
To a soundtrack of hard-core music, the one-minute ad shows teens preparing to commit various forms of suicide. One girl slings a rope over a rafter, another presses a razor blade into her wrist —the camera then shifts to the sink full of water as a drop of blood trickles down. In another scene, a boy pulls a gun out of a desk and puts it in his mouth.The screen goes black at the end and a second later white writing informs viewers that the country is lacking more than 150,000 trainee positions, leaving hundreds of thousands of school graduates without a job.
“Youth need a future, youth need prospects,” is the tag line on the ad, and the union bosses are very happy with it.
Wow. That’s not just an ad, that’s an EX-treeeeeme ad!
What I find interesting is psychologist Franz-Josef Kimmig’s response to the ad.
“What I find especially bad is that the video clearly shows how to commit suicide” said Kimmig. “You can almost imitate the techniques.”
Um.
Y’know, there are plenty of other ways to find out how to commit suicide. There have even been books published on the subject. He makes a valid point elsewhere in the article – that teens who have contemplated suicide and are no the edge may see these spots as a final straw. But, honestly, anything can be a final straw. It really doesn’t matter if it’s “Gloomy Sunday” or “The Happy-Happy Joy-Joy” song if you’re looking for a last straw.
Is the ad extreme? Yes. It is. But I don’t know that you can honestly state that it’s going to cause the suicide rates to skyrocket. It’s an extreme ad that draws attention to what the Unions see as a major problem.
If there’s a real objection to be made to such an ad, it’s one that applies to some American campaigns, as well. If you want to talk over-the-top, there’s the new MPAA ads (“Stop pirating our movies or we’ll fire the lighting guy and his family will starve!!!”). And there’s the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s 9/11 ads (“Dirty, pot-smoking druggies are responsible for the deaths of millions of patriotic Americans!). And that’s not to mention the corporate-sponsored shows like Disney’s “look-how-multicultural-we-are” animated entry, “The Proud Family” (which devoted an entire episode to the idea that p2p file swapping bankrupts multi-million dollar artists and starves their families).
They may not be as horrifying as the German Unions’ new suicide ad, but there’s a common thread. Do you see it? Teen suicide, two sets of starving families, and terrorist murders.
They’re all guilt trips! Yaaay!
Yes, it’s the new millennium. If you can’t make a point with facts, make a point with guilt. Make people feel bad enough, and they’ll change their behavior. Whether it’s stopping mp3 trading, selling bootleg flicks on DVD, or setting up apprenticeships for teenagers.