What Are the Reactions to the Absurd Political Ad: 2030?

  • Thread starter nismaratwork
  • Start date
In summary: I'm just not a big fan of communist countries in general.Personally, I don't want the Chinese people to be poor... I'm just not a big fan of communist countries in general.Did you watch the whole ad? Because if you did, you should know that it's not just China that's falling behind, but also Russia, Japan, and many other countries.Did you watch the whole ad? Because if you did, you should know that it's not just China that's falling behind, but also Russia, Japan, and many other countries.
  • #1
nismaratwork
359
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I realize this is meant to be chilling, and maybe if you're so far down the rabbit hole of paranoid tea-party life it is. I found it laugh-out-loud funny, ESPECIALLY the end.

Oh, and while I can't wait to hear how it's not, that is one racist ad.

Enjoy the circus, ladies and gnetlemen, come-ah come-ah come-ah see what Karl Rove would wake up to in a cold sweat if he had a soul... :rofl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx7fNQcJAjs

Reviews? I give this low marks for production, high marks for ambition and sublimated racism, low marks for acting, but extremely high marks for trying to scare the pants off dim-middle of the country.
 
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  • #2
Did you know China did make a semi-official documentary series a couple of years back on history's great civilisations and why they failed? (With the sub-text that we will learn and not repeat those mistakes.) That must be what inspired the spoof here.
 
  • #3
apeiron said:
Did you know China did make a semi-official documentary series a couple of years back on history's great civilisations and why they failed? (With the sub-text that we will learn and not repeat those mistakes.) That must be what inspired the spoof here.

Must be, too bad it's not so much a spoof as a spin-off. The quote that keeps rattling around my mind is:

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." (Voltaire)
 
  • #4
Yes, I've seen this before. Very effective in targeting those who love being afraid, are uninformed, and are xenophobic. Unfortunately I think that's a *lot* of people.
 
  • #5
Funny, I considered starting a thread about this several times including earlier today.

"so-called stimulus programs"? :rofl: Is that like so-called gravity? Fear Ye! Fear Ye! It is all a grand liberal conspiracy to ruin the country.
 
  • #6
I believe it Ivan, but of course if you started the thread it would be part of a left-wing plot to corrupt this site! :wink:

Better this way.

@Lisab: Xenophobic... definitely that.

OK, truth time: am I the only one who thought the speaker had a "future cigarette" instead of a mic for a few seconds? :redface:
 
  • #7
The Chinese are loaning us money. How smart can they be? :biggrin:
 
  • #8
I'm surprised at how little the iPad design changed.
 
  • #9
Math Is Hard said:
I'm surprised at how little the iPad design changed.

Apparantly in the future OLEDs never take off. :wink:
 
  • #10
Wait wait, I call ********.

How was that poor production values?? What kind of special effects do you see in your everyday political ad that makes this ad look crumby?

I do agree with the poor acting though. Why half those apparent students were still awake is absurd to me.
 
  • #11
Pengwuino said:
Wait wait, I call ********.

How was that poor production values?? What kind of special effects do you see in your everyday political ad that makes this ad look crumby?

I do agree with the poor acting though. Why half those apparent students were still awake is absurd to me.

I think MIH just hit one, I'm not compring this to other political ads... they tend not to reach this far into lala-land.

beyond that, I've seen better in Star Trek (original) if you ignore the HD factor.
 
  • #12
It is a real concern that China will beat the US one day. Chinese will find this ad most entertaining :biggrin:
 
  • #13
I think this ad was awesome. I was expecting a special forces team to swoop in from the sides only to meet a crew of ninjas carrying laser guns. I'm voting for whatever the hell they're telling me to vote for.
 
  • #14
rootX said:
It is a real concern that China will beat the US one day.

Why? They have three times as many people as we do. Isn't it logical that eventually they should have a larger GDP?

Interesting fact: At the turn of the century [1900], China had the second largest economy in the world.
 
  • #15
Ivan Seeking said:
Why? They have three times as many people as we do. Isn't it logical that eventually they should have a larger GDP?

Interesting fact: At the turn of the century [1900], China had the second largest economy in the world.

You can decide if it a concern or not but that doesn't change the reality:
1) China becoming economic superpower
2) With economic power, it also attains the world superpower status replacing the US (this is my expectation once it overtakes US economically)

China's global trade is set to surge past the US' by 2030, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12848449
 
  • #16
rootX said:
You can decide if it a concern or not but that doesn't change the reality:
1) China becoming economic superpower
2) With economic power, it also attains the world superpower status replacing the US (this is my expectation once it overtakes US economically)


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12848449

What is your specific concern? Why does this worry you?

Personally, I don't want the Chinese people to be poor anymore.
 
  • #17
I have long been a fan of Alvin Toffler. In fact, the "electronic cottage" concept in his book, The Third Wave, gave me the idea for my business as it exists today. I realized he as right and we are there - the technology now exists to do what he discussed many years earlier. You might find his ideas about our near future interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DWj-G-VZEQ

As for China, he thinks they will have their own problems to deal with.

China is trying to create a harmonious society. Socially China is close to [the] boiling point. Community protest is common. GDP growth cannot for long continue at present rates in China
http://www.openfuture.co.nz/toffler.html
 
  • #18
rootX said:
... once it overtakes US economically...
What metric do you use to make this determination?
 
  • #19
Ivan Seeking said:
What is your specific concern? Why does this worry you?

Personally, I don't want the Chinese people to be poor anymore.

Knowing that China's principles are quite different from those of current superpowers, my specific concern is uncertainty. This is concern if China overtakes US in aspects of military, world influence, and economy.

Once you have the strongest economy, military and world influence is only one step away.
 
  • #20
rootX said:
Knowing that China's principles are quite different from those of current superpowers, my specific concern is uncertainty. This is concern if China overtakes US in aspects of military, world influence, and economy.

Once you have the strongest economy, military and world influence is only one step away.

China may overtake a lot of things, but military isn't one of them, and we're both nuclear powers; no conventional war is going to happen there. Again, they have a population and massive food shortage issue to deal with, and who feeds them? We do. We can deal with economic collapse, but they'd starve.

China growing as an economy is good news, and likely to improve their principles.

Moreoever, I don't see a 2030 demonstration of, "now they work for us, hahahahaha," as being relevant, as right now they're the ones working rather hard. In time ,they'll catch up, but if you notice there is a point of equilibrium, then diminishing returns.

With such an enormous population, I'd be one scared gerantocracy, but then that would ruin the xenobophic ad. Personally, I'm ready for a William Gibson neuvo cyber-culture... our way of life is getting old, fast.
 
  • #21
I do see WWIII in the conventional sense [perhaps with a nuclear component] as a real possibility. To me the most likely scenario is one where we - the US and China - are competing for resources - mainly, oil.

There is also an alarming ratio of men to women in the youth of China.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5953508/ns/world_news/

I tried to find a link but couldn't find one yet. As I understand it, historically, bad things happen to cultures when there is a gender imbalance favoring males. Namely, there is a bias towards war.

On the other hand, I suspect the great firewall of China will be about as effective as was the Great Wall of China. Given the internet [and other media], all bets are off. Information technology is clearly changing the world just as everyone hoped. What is worrisome is the rate at which it is happening. The changes in N. Africa have been dramatic and uncomfortably fast, to say the least. Hopeful in many ways, yes, but I am worried that we may suffer a period of intense instability, that could involve us as well as China, before a truly stable global community emerges. Already we may be seeing this in the ME/ N. Africa. My father-in-law thinks that WWIII may have already started.
 
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  • #22
nismaratwork said:
China may overtake a lot of things, but military isn't one of them

I don't see why not? It does not have to do with anything but money.

I was reading this article recently that made US well worried:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12631357
(I noticed this is from 4 March 2011 but I also came across similar news article last year .. )

Again, they have a population and massive food shortage issue to deal with, and who feeds them? We do.
Just because US trades with China does not mean US is feeding China.

We can deal with economic collapse, but they'd starve.
No one can deal with economic collapse not even US.
 
  • #23
Lines from the "Professor Ad.":

a. Enormous so-called stimulus spending
b. Massive changes to health care, and
c. Government takeover of private industries.

Now, those are exactly three crucial parts of China's successful anti-recession policy!
 
  • #24
The Chinese economy will be larger than the US economy by 2010. The Indian economy will be larger than the Chinese economy in 2030.
 
  • #25
I personally feel like the real issue is not that China may or may not one day become a military equal to the United States. The real issue is whether or not China becomes powerful enough to start making power grabs in the region in a way the United States would not be willing to prevent or retaliate for.
 
  • #27
The ad suggests that the US loses its dominance by turning towards socialism. Meanwhile, the new superpower is a communist state? :uhh:

Talk about mixed messages!
 
  • #28
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  • #29
Gokul43201 said:
The ad suggests that the US loses its dominance by turning towards socialism. Meanwhile, the new superpower is a communist state? :uhh:

Talk about mixed messages!

I'm guessing that truth and accuracy were not the aims of the ad... I think the message was, "boooga boooga boooga! Be afraid!"
 
  • #30
Bobbywhy said:
Lines from the "Professor Ad.":

a. Enormous so-called stimulus spending
b. Massive changes to health care, and
c. Government takeover of private industries.

Now, those are exactly three crucial parts of China's successful anti-recession policy!

Gokul43201 said:
The ad suggests that the US loses its dominance by turning towards socialism. Meanwhile, the new superpower is a communist state? :uhh:

Talk about mixed messages!

Sure it is not well thought out but it says "civilizations fail when they turn their back on the principles that made them great". It is arguing that US is going against its principles not that government/stimulus are bad.
 
  • #31
rootX said:
Sure it is not well thought out but it says "civilizations fail when they turn their back on the principles that made them great". It is arguing that US is going against its principles not that government/stimulus are bad.

Yeah, we should never have given women the vote, or recognized anyone except land-owning white men as people.

I so miss a good romp with my African slaves, and smoking marijuana, both great principles and pasttimes of this great nation.

</sarcasm>
 
  • #32
nismaratwork said:
Yeah, we should never have given women the vote, or recognized anyone except land-owning white men as people.

I so miss a good romp with my African slaves, and smoking marijuana, both great principles and pasttimes of this great nation.

</sarcasm>

irrelevant.
 
  • #33
rootX said:
irrelevant.

How so? This appeal to some mystical set of principles and holy men who forged them is irrelvant... we live in the present and AFAIK we're still jamming those principles down any throat we can reach.

Really, we were true to racist and sexist principles far longer than not, so... forgive my cynicism in this regard.


Oh, and I doubt that the Chinese would be amused to be portrayed and cackling schemers gloating over the death of a fictional empire.
 
  • #34
nismaratwork said:
Yeah, we should never have given women the vote, or recognized anyone except land-owning white men as people.

I so miss a good romp with my African slaves, and smoking marijuana, both great principles and pasttimes of this great nation.

</sarcasm>

Actually, I don't see that there's too much wrong with smoking marijuana. Studies have proven time and again that alcohol is far more hazardous to your health than marijuana is.
 
  • #35
nismaratwork said:
How so? ...

Bobbywhy and Gokul posted: "The ad suggests that the US loses its dominance by turning towards socialism".

I argued no it does not quoting turning its back towards its principles from the video.

What you are going towards is out of scope and has no relevance to above and it followed by even more irrelevant content.
 

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