June 17, 2016

The message is clear: Don't even try to understand.

It's the Japanese Donald Trump commercial:



ADDED: The artist, Mike Diva, is Mike Dahlquist, an American, born in California. This is not an actual Japanese commercial!
In June 2016, Diva's video Japanese Donald Trump Commercialトランプ2016 gained international attention, with some 8 million views on Facebook and almost 300,000 views on YouTube in its first 24 hours.... 
And it's not really pro-Trump, you know... I mean obviously... or is it??... nonobviously.

Nonobviously — the reasoning would be: It's so absurd and funny and at the point where you surrender yourself to the feeling that Trump is something to laugh about, you've lost your grip on what the anti-Trump forces most want you to cling to — simple Trump resistance. He's the unthinkable thought. This ad throws the mind into disarray, like a psychedelic drug. The stern warnings of NeverTrumpers may find no purchase on the gooey convolutions of your brain.

67 comments:

Original Mike said...

Many years ago I spent a week in Japan. I was mesmerized by their television. The Japanese are weird.

Wilbur said...

Why did I love that?

David said...

Other than the destroying the world part, it's difficult to understand.

Alexander said...

Prediction: Scott Adams will declare it pro-Trump.

It makes you laugh. Not mean laugh, happy laugh. Anything that connects a candidate to a happy laugh is a win in the 3d persuasion world.

Ann Althouse said...

@Alexander Yep.

Nonapod said...

I love bizarre Japanese TV commercials like this one.

Christy said...

Charming. Thing is, my attention drifted about the time Trump transformed into a planet destroying robot, so the impact was lessened. Net positive for me, but is that because I truly despise Clinton more than Trump? I cannot see thru my filters.

David Begley said...

Japan is different from the United States.

Mary Beth said...

Except for the brief part with the swastikas, it was great. If Trump wins, future elections will hinge on who has the dankest memes.

Fernandinande said...

Original Mike said...
The Japanese are weird.


"Strange thing is they make such bloody good cameras." -- Lionel Mandrake

The only part of Japanese culture that I can identify with is their need to kill whales.

Henry said...

I'm often reminded of Churchill-and-Gladstone-biographer Roy Jenkins' conviction that "great men have strong elements of comicality in them."

Whether Trump has any other element is an open question.

Balfegor said...

It's actually kind of slow, to be honest. For what it's parodying (which is not really a normal Japanese TV ad, but rather a PV/promotion video for a musical act or a toy or something), I'd expect the cuts to come a lot quicker, and much more violent sound effects.

On the other hand, Trump seems like he would be perfect for the more typical TV ads, where someone famous has a bite of something or has a sip of a drink and mugs for the camera to show how delicious it is.

On the gripping hand . . . well, not really gripping. Just tossing it in because the topic is adverts and Trump, I'm in Jakarta right now, and was surprised, while driving in, to see a Trump ad on a billboard. "Donald Trump Birthday Celebration, All Items 50% + 10%, Make America Great Again" only "America" was crossed out and "Malinda Customers" was written in (it was for a furniture company?).

Larry J said...

Fernandinande said...
Original Mike said...
The Japanese are weird.

"Strange thing is they make such bloody good cameras." -- Lionel Mandrake

The only part of Japanese culture that I can identify with is their need to kill whales.


South Park explained that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvgfOi9itoc

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
traditionalguy said...

The Nice Trump sneaks up on you.

Under his first persona of a loud barking German Shepard acting the part of your smart police dog with a perfect sense of smell, we suddenly perceive a tail wagging, happy Golden Retriever second persona that just wants to stand there with you and get rubbed all over.

Which Trump is the real Trump? The answer is both, and we chose which one we meet by attacking him and his sheep, or not.

Anonymous said...

"Whether Trump has any other element is open to question."

You realize this guy wasn't born the day before he ran for office, right? That he lived 69 previous years, years of persistence, success, building, and a distinct lack of demonization, because as we all know, politics contains the worst lying and slander in human existence?

Which narrative is more likely to be correct? The calm, pre-election one, or the hysterical Democrat slime machine narrative cooked up now that he is running?

It's obvious that nobody calling Trump a simplistic ignoramus has read the Art of the Deal. Dummy, the man certainly is not. Democrats are upset because they are used to being the only side that gets to slime and slander (see 2012.) They aren't enjoying a taste of their own medicine very much. They're hoping that they've browbeaten the public and GOP to the point where they agree as well that only Democrats should use these tools.

Alexander said...

What TCom said.

Nobody becomes Hitler after almost seven decades of life, a good half of that being a figure in the public eye and magically nobody noticing.

Troubled Voter said...

This post doesn't make much sense, but one thing is clear: Althouse supports the racist ethnocentrist nationalist candidate, at best because she thinks it's cute or edgy, at worst because she's a racist ethnocentrist nationalist.

It will be a stain on her life forever, and rightfully so.

Johanna Lapp said...

I actually read The Art of the Deal. How can a man who demonstrates a mastery of subordinate clauses, a vocabulary including 1500 adverbs and an astounding ability to almost never repeat a sentence become a fourth-grade student council candidate when TV cameras role?

Maybe he isn't lying when he says "I never said that" when confronted with a sentence from "his" book?

narciso said...

it reminds of me of Ghost in the Shell, a very Japanese centric cyberpunk anime,

Malesch Morocco said...

@Troubled Voter

No. The stain on her life was voting for Obama in 2008.

Troubled Voter said...

@johanna Lapp -- trump had a ghostwriter named tony Schwartz who wrote The Art of the Deal.

Anonymous said...

Hey troubled voter, shiloh on the other thread is openly gloating about minorities creating a future permanent Democrat ruling class.

Please keep lecturing us about how we must accept permenant one party rule or be forever bigot racists.

What a joke you people are. If Mexicans voted Republican, Obama would have Operation Wetback 2 online before you had time to blink. That's kinda why we don't let Eastern Europeans immigrate much here. Democrats are bigoted racists against them because they already had a taste of socialism and didn't like it very much.

I'm sick of these double standards. As long as we sit back and let ourselves be endlessly slimed without punching back, we are doomed to a future of seeing our civilization, culture, and future destroyed, all in the name of the raw exercise of power.

I'm just worried that too many are still brainwashed into being "nice" over actually confronting problems. Too many ignorant fools still can't hear the distant drums of conflict on our doorstep. They cannot understand that 1992 is never, ever coming back. I have no clue how anyone can still be that stupid, seeing as the Democrats are never going to stop being vile, and being nice to them works about as well as appeasing Hitler did.

They are obsessed with projecting their flaws onto their opponent, to negate it being used against him. Trump is a fascist? Nah, that's the Progressives. Most all of the accusations thrown at him describe them far more accurately.

Henry said...

TCom / Alexander : It's your blank to fill in.

Anonymous said...

Johanna, you'd make a terrible politician. When you look for votes, you don't use language only 5% of your audience is going to understand. Trump, by using simpler language, proves his intelligence by modifying his style for his audience. See his AIPAC speech, for example.

There are plenty of old Trump interviews with him speaking in a more sophisticated way. We don't live in a country where only sophisticated people vote.

Why be in favor of universal suffrage if you don't accept the obvious ramifications of an electorate of simple people?

Michael K said...

"It will be a stain on her life forever, and rightfully so."

Hillarytroll infestation alert !

mikee said...

I can only try to imagine a similar sendup of Hillary.
It would not make anyone laugh, and eye bleach would be required afterwards.

And to Original Mike, I once spent an amused half hour in a Japanese hotel watching a nature documentary consisting of two high school students following a yellow rubber duckie from the headwaters of a Japanese river to the ocean, with a bet that their ducky could accomplish the trip with less than 10 groundings. While on their quest they also discussed the river's ecology, the neighboring cities and industries, and some interesting history. As for the yellow rubber duckie, it made it to the Pacific Ocean with only 9 rescues by the intrepid narrators.

Still a better love story than Twilight, as is the Trump mock commercial. Can't say the same for our next President-by-fraud, Hillary Clinton.

Troubled Voter said...

@Tcom -- if you want to be a racist ethnocentrist nationalist, that's fine. You'll be stained with it for your lifetime as well.

@michael k -- lol. If by "Hillary troll" you mean "someone who doesn't support an imbecilic Cheeto-colored strongman", ok.

bagoh20 said...

"It will be a stain on her life forever, and rightfully so."

I think she could use a little dirt. Join The Great Unwashed that are the majority. "Make America The Great Unwashed Again." Down with the manicured and coiffed elites!

Steve M. Galbraith said...

Just as there's a pro-Trump cult there's an anti-Trump cult.

Watching the two go at it is amazing; no limit to their silliness. He's either an American Hitler or the Last Best Hope for the country before we slide into oblivion.



buwaya said...

" Last Best Hope for the country before we slide into oblivion."

Well, there's no question about the sliding down into oblivion. Whether he's a hope, or the best hope, thats a different matter. I do suggest you fellows do something, anyway.

Anonymous said...

Hey TV, when is the last time you railed on Mexico for its ethnocentric policies? They openly favor La Raza. Their politicians call us gringos. They openly discriminate there. You don't give a damn. Only whites can be ethnocentric, right? Right.

I'm sure you'll be protesting in Mexico soon, telling them they need to fully open themselves up to immigration from other cultures. Any day now. You see the dirty little secret is that we are the least racist culture on Earth, which is why we have the most immigration and it is starting to bite us in the ass because we aren't being selective.

Is it any surprise that when they mass immigrate here, they openly agitate for their own culture, just like they did there? You see, we aren't bigoted. We are RESPONDING to bigotry and entitlement mentality. When I go to another country, I try to adapt their cultural norms and fit in, because I have respect for other peoples and their unique cultures, and their HOME. When others come here and visibly do NOT extend us the same courtesy, it is not bigoted to point out the lack of respect.

What an age we live in, where common sense like I just espoused is now racist, while illegally invading another country and waving the flag of your origin is not.

We are headed for trouble, people. Most human beings are simply too stupid to change course until disaster has already struck.

The main lesson you learn from history is that people never learn from history.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to add that their politicians wouldn't love calling us gringos so much if it didn't work to get them electoral popularity.

What does it say about Mexican racism towards whites when their politicians are lauded for using racist terms?

Don't worry, though. When they illegally immigrate, our magic dirt makes them American. They won't even remember the word 'gringo'.

Fact: Averaged, Mexican nationals are far more racist than Americans. When we notice, we are racist. Gotcha.

Shawn Levasseur said...

Y'know that scene in Being John Malkovich, where John Malkovich himself goes through the portal into his own mind? This would be the Trump equivalent of that .

Lyle said...

I want my Trump hug!!!

Lyle said...

Miriam,

Hitler also was a vegetarian. Lol!

Inga said...

What is Herr Drumpfs final solution for all those little Mexican anchor babies? How many camps will need to be built to house the millions of illegals on their deportation journey? Logistics, need logistics.

Inga said...

Yes he was. Never trust a vegetarian. I'm a meat eater myself.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

I was going to major in Ethnocentric Studies. Lost opportunity.

Lyle said...

Miriam,

Let Trump hug you. Just enjoy the embrace. We should all love one another more.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

The idea that Trump has to actually deport the mass of illegals is laughable. Strictly enforce E-Verify and no Free Stuff. They'll make their own way to the exits.

furious_a said...

simple Trump resistance

As opposed to *complex* Trump resistance.

Birches said...

That was a very pro Trump ad. I actually really liked it.

Inga said...

Lyle,
Those who have digested Trump's red meat have been infected with his unique species of worms. I decline the offer to get anywhere near a worm vector.

furious_a said...

"Mexican" is not a "race". Neither is "Muslim".

Inga said...

Yep Cracker, it is amusing. Do you think all those adoring Trump fans at his rallies might be a bit disappointed when they find out he won't really be able to build a wall or deport millions, lol?

Inga said...

Who said they were, Furious? Are Jews of a different race? Did that stop Hitler?

eric said...

Miriam, if Trump doesn't build the wall but manages to put judges on the Supreme Court that uphold our second amendment rights, I'll be happy.

eric said...

Blogger Johanna Lapp said...
I actually read The Art of the Deal. How can a man who demonstrates a mastery of subordinate clauses, a vocabulary including 1500 adverbs and an astounding ability to almost never repeat a sentence become a fourth-grade student council candidate when TV cameras role?

Maybe he isn't lying when he says "I never said that" when confronted with a sentence from "his" book?


The simplest explanation is the best.

We write better than we talk.

Try reading C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity. It's simple.

Then try reading C.S. Lewis The Abolition of Man. Ugh! You'll get a headache.

Then ask yourself, "What is the difference between these two books?"

I'd give you a hint but that would spoil the surprise.

Inga said...

Keep hope alive Eric. What will more likely happen is that Trump loses in such a huge landslide that Republicans lose their majority in both Houses and lose the Presidency for generations to come. The Supreme Court will be packed with liberals. Your worst nightmare, but that's what happens when you hook your wagon to a dwarf star.

Inga said...

Here's another scenario. Can't wait for the Republican Convention! That will be some great entertainment.

With Donald Trump’s poll numbers sinking into a death spiral, dozens of Republican delegates are now openly plotting a coup to overthrow him at this year’s Republican National Convention

boycat said...

Watching the two go at it is amazing; no limit to their silliness. He's either an American Hitler or the Last Best Hope for the country before we slide into oblivion.

As if we're not already sliding into oblivion.

gadfly said...

Johanna Lapp said...
I actually read The Art of the Deal. How can a man who demonstrates a mastery of subordinate clauses, a vocabulary including 1500 adverbs and an astounding ability to almost never repeat a sentence become a fourth-grade student council candidate when TV cameras role?

Maybe he isn't lying when he says "I never said that" when confronted with a sentence from "his" book?


Yes'm. Anyone who absurdly believes that Donald Trump (or Glenn Beck, for that matter) actually has the patience, concentration or attention to detail to write anything longer than a page has lost all reasoning skills. That must be a condition for accepting populism.

Although Populism involves anger toward elites, Trump says he knows all the smartest and nastiest elites - be they bankers, billionaires, investors or politicians - and he wants to put them into his cabinet.

eric said...

Dozens? That's it?

I'm pretty sure there are hundreds of delegates. Over 2000 even.

But only dozens are revolting? Cmon guys, you can do better than that. It's Trump! Can't you at least get it up into the hundreds?

eric said...

I've been thinking lately, based on polls, that Hillary is a sure thing for the presidency. My thinking is based on the fact that after Trump won the primary, he barely got a bounce. Then Hillary won her primary and she got a nice big bounce.

And that's normal. You get a bounce after winning the primary. Happens all the time.

But Miriam has made me think twice. She says, keep hope alive. I wonder how many in the Nevertrump movement, with constant stories like the one Inga mentions, are keeping hope alive? And if they are keeping hope alive among the never Trumps, does that mean after the convention, when that hope is finally extinguished, we will see Trumps real bounce in the polls?

I won't be surprised.

Anonymous said...

Troubled Voter: Althouse supports the racist ethnocentrist nationalist candidate, at best because she thinks it's cute or edgy, at worst because she's a racist ethnocentrist nationalist.

It will be a stain on her life forever, and rightfully so.


Tcom -- if you want to be a racist ethnocentrist nationalist, that's fine. You'll be stained with it for your lifetime as well.

Oh noes, stained for life. Getting a bit melodramatic today, aren't we, TV? Who's going to be doing the staining?

If I had to bet, I'd bet that Troubled Voter is

1) white

and/or

2) ever alacritous in the seeking out of the "stain" of racist ethnocentrism in (other) white persons, but oblivious to, or apologetic about, its existence in anybody else.

(Haven't decided if being "1 and 2" or "1 or 2" makes one a bigger POS.)

Pretty soon, not being a "racist ethnocentrist" in our evolving Diversitopia will be like being the proverbial virgin in a whorehouse.

Inga said...

Nope, I doubt it, but we'd love for him to be your nominee.

Anonymous said...

Tcom: When I go to another country, I try to adapt their cultural norms and fit in, because I have respect for other peoples and their unique cultures, and their HOME. When others come here and visibly do NOT extend us the same courtesy...

But Tcom, the U.S. isn't anyone's home. That would imply history, roots, the accretion of custom, shared "mystic chords of memory", a place where one is not a foreigner, but at ease among one's own. And that, my friend, is exclusionary, the greatest of sins against "who we are".

So welcome to America*, immigrant, but best for you or at latest your kids to keep moving on - once you're not an "immigrant" anymore, but somebody at home, somebody who feels himself in possession of a home and a native land, you're not a real American anymore, having lost that magical migratory essence.**

*Global Flophouse and Labor Exchange, Inc.

**Not to worry if you're not white, though. No one's going to give you any stick about having a sense of entitlement to a homeland.

eric said...

Blogger Miriam said...
Nope, I doubt it, but we'd love for him to be your nominee.


This is why Inga has to keep changing her name. Because if Trump wins, this statement is embarrassing.

Darrell said...

The "commercial" is nonsensical. Trump can't destroy the world--the Left has already done that.

Darrell said...

That poll that had Hillary get a 7pt bounce had 7% more Democrats than the norm. And probably Dems like Miriam. Never trust polls this far from the actual election. They only get honest when they would lose future business by looking stupid the next day.

eddie willers said...

Never trust polls this far from the actual election.

Everytime I see Gallup Poll on my Caller ID, I let it go to voicemail.

I imagine Miriam salivates enthusiastically before saying, "Hello...I hate Trump!".

eric said...

Blogger Darrell said...
That poll that had Hillary get a 7pt bounce had 7% more Democrats than the norm. And probably Dems like Miriam. Never trust polls this far from the actual election. They only get honest when they would lose future business by looking stupid the next day.


Nah, they neverose business. They said Trump wouldn't win. When he won, Nate Silver wrote a long explanation on why this time, just this once, they were wrong. But next time! Next time they'll get it right.

I'm convinced polling is voodoo science. It's meant more to influence how we vote, rather than reflect who we want to vote for.

In California the polling always showed gay marriage as popular, until it came time to vote,then it always lost. Same with Hawaii. In Washington the polls show we want to raise taxes on ourselves, until we vote, then we say no way!

Michael K said...

"f I had to bet, I'd bet that Troubled Voter is

1) white

and/or

2) ever alacritous in the seeking out of the "stain" of racist ethnocentrism in (other) white persons, but oblivious to, or apologetic about, its existence in anybody else."

Orwell nailed it, at least for makes.

The typical Socialist is not, as tremulous old ladies imagine, a ferocious-looking working man with greasy overalls and a raucous voice. He is either a youthful snob-Bolshevik who in five years’ time will quite probably have made a wealthy marriage and been converted to Roman Catholicism; or, still more typically, a prim little man with a white-collar job, usually a secret teetotaller and often with vegetarian leanings, with a history of Nonconformity behind him, and, above all, with a social position which he has no intention of forfeiting.

Michael K said...

Males, not "makes."

narciso said...

yes, kristol's son in law, is hyperventilating,

http://redalertpolitics.com/2016/06/17/trump-outperforming-romney-2012-swing-states-despite-bad-national-polls/#dTPHVZK45OHslDqG.02

shiloh said...

"shiloh on the other thread is openly gloating about minorities creating a future permanent Democrat ruling class."

But one reality remains constant ~ Dems systemic electoral college vote advantage as % of minorities continue to increase and register to vote.

TCom must think openly gloating = reality and

future permanent Dem ruling class = systemic electoral college advantage as minority voters increase.

Obviously reading comprehension is not TCom's strong suit.

>

btw, permanent one party rule for either major party or permanent one party presidency is a pipe dream as turdblossom discovered re: Bush.

Two ironies of Rove's plan was having anti-gay hate issue referendums put on the ballot in (8) swing states in 2004 which may have helped Bush win Ohio thus helping him win re-election. Nowadays of course the Rep anti-gay issue has helped Dems as public opinion changed.

And of course the disastrous (8) year ineptitude/incompetence of Cheney/Bush making it easy for a Muslim born in Kenya to win the 2008 election.

Indeed, much like Hoover's legacy made it possible for the Dem's to win (5) straight presidential elections, Cheney/Bush economic disaster legacy may make it possible again.

Of course FDR being an incumbent war-time president helped also as Reps were discombobulated back then. Much like the current day Rep party.

Whatever happened to Bush's guru/svengali?