Just watch and listen to this bullshit. It will only take 30 seconds
I heard this commercial when I was in the bathroom. When it started, I immediately recognized the instrumental opening, and I was filled with joy. Miriam Makeba's music is the sound of love, joy and revolution, and it always triggers intense memories of my mother. I was surprised to hear it on the television and expected it was related to some forthcoming documentary about her life.
Not until 20 seconds into this 30 second spot did its true purpose become apparent to me:
It fits.
Without fitting in.
Introducing the Accord Crosstour.
From Honda
Activate rage.
Here's an excerpt from Makeba's Wikipedia bio:
Makeba then travelled to London where she met Harry Belafonte, who assisted her in gaining entry to and fame in the United States. She released many of her most famous hits there including "Pata Pata", "The Click Song" ("Qongqothwane" in Xhosa), and "Malaika". In 1966, Makeba received the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording together with Harry Belafontefor An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba. The album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under apartheid.
She discovered that her South African passport was revoked when she tried to return there in 1960 for her mother's funeral. In 1963, after testifying against apartheid before the United Nations, her South African citizenship and her right to return to the country were revoked. She has had nine passports, [3] and was granted honorary citizenship of ten countries.[4]
Her marriage to Trinidadian civil rights activist and Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee leader Stokely Carmichael in 1968 caused controversy in the United States, and her record deals and tours were cancelled. As a result of this, the couple moved to Guinea, where they became close with President Ahmed Sékou Touré and his wife.[5] Makeba separated from Carmichael in 1973, and continued to perform primarily in Africa, South America and Europe. She was one of the African and Afro-American entertainers at the 1974 Rumble in the Junglematch between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman held in Zaïre. Makeba also served as a Guinean delegate to the United Nations, for which she won the Dag Hammarskjöld Peace Prize in 1986.
That's just an excerpt. This woman led an extraordinary life. She sacrificed, not just for personal success, but for the liberation of her people. She is an icon deserving of praise and respect, and now her music is being used to promote some Honda Accord Crosstour bullshit. What the fuck does "crosstour" even mean!?
Pata Pata is an especially joyful song. It's designed to make you dance. It's beautiful, and now that beauty has been corrupted. I know this has happened to great works of art before. I know it will happen again. I don't care. I've seen Miriam Makeba live, and she wasn't singing about a goddamned planet-destroying automobile. This crossed a particular line for me today, and I just had to bitch about it.
Perhaps one hour before this commercial, I heard a BMW commercial in which the announcer said something like:
We're not just selling cars. We're selling joy.
No bitch, you're not. You're selling fucking cars. Not self-worth. Not love. Not happiness. Not joy. Miriam Makeba offered us joy, and you just shat all over it. Fucking advertising is fucking ridiculous. Why does this industry insist on making itself more important than it is? Why can't somebody just say, "Hey, I'm selling a fucking great car. It will get you from here to there. It smells good inside. It's got doors and other shit relevant to the car experience. If it's joy you want, play with your kids. That shit is free."
Now, please enjoy Miriam Makeba below, unburdened by the assholes who turned a freedom fighter into a car salesman.
