Social satire and the fight for healthcare reform
Last week we talked about Billionaires for Wealthcare. I received this transmission from their organization:
The Billionaires use Voltairian satire at protests to show that some of the only beneficiaries of the current health care system, are the executives.
The Billionaires have been at work for over a decade, relishing in photo ops and editorials, hoping that their spectacle gets picked up by third-party news agencies.
Today Funny or Die and MoveOn released this satirical PSA
It shares the same message as the work of the Billionaires. But their approach is a different theatre on the war for universal health care. Will Ferrell and company are using their fame and viral reach to push this message out to millions of people.
Using satirical internet video for massive social change is something that only became a reality in the past few years. Faster computers, ubiquity of web content, and mainstream attention to internet phenomena, are all factors that make this a viable approach to enacting change.
Funny or Die celebrity exclusives always become viral. MoveOn's newsletter reaches 3.3 million people. Together they might have the potential to provide a counter argument to Glenn Beck's legion of Tea-Baggers.
Celebrities will get this idea out, but we should never forget that the Billionaires are on the front-line in this satirical strategy for social change.
The latest incarnation of the "Billionaire" meme, "Billionaires for
Wealthcare" struck again this weekend, as Healthcare Inc. CEOs in tuxedos and gowns "thanked" Tea-baggers for coming out for Glenn Beck's March on Washington this past Saturday.
Tea-baggers eagerly joined in on Billionaire chants of "Bring Back Bush!" and “Fight Socialism! Abolish Medicare Now!”, but the greatest crowd pleaser (and provoker) of the day, was a stirring rendition of their original song "Let's Save the Status Quo" sung to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," and memorably captured in this music video. We were recently featured by Rachel Maddow.
Watch as we thank our confused Tea-bagger friends for protecting 'our' right to deny their claims.
The Billionaires use Voltairian satire at protests to show that some of the only beneficiaries of the current health care system, are the executives.
The Billionaires have been at work for over a decade, relishing in photo ops and editorials, hoping that their spectacle gets picked up by third-party news agencies.
Today Funny or Die and MoveOn released this satirical PSA
[funnyordie 041b5acaf5]
It shares the same message as the work of the Billionaires. But their approach is a different theatre on the war for universal health care. Will Ferrell and company are using their fame and viral reach to push this message out to millions of people.
Using satirical internet video for massive social change is something that only became a reality in the past few years. Faster computers, ubiquity of web content, and mainstream attention to internet phenomena, are all factors that make this a viable approach to enacting change.
Funny or Die celebrity exclusives always become viral. MoveOn's newsletter reaches 3.3 million people. Together they might have the potential to provide a counter argument to Glenn Beck's legion of Tea-Baggers.
Celebrities will get this idea out, but we should never forget that the Billionaires are on the front-line in this satirical strategy for social change.
