5:20 p.m. - 2001-09-23
fortunate son
There's a commercial on TV now for Wrangler jeans that I had seen air before all this tragic shit went down, but because its subject matter coincided so neatly with this new wave of patriotism, they've kicked it into heavy rotation. And since one of my various hustles-to-make-the-rent involves music research for commercials, I'm keenly aware of what they choose to license and the context in which they use it. So this Wrangler ad is basically a montage of "typical" American men sporting Wranglers as they go about their business of "typical" American man stuff: mowing the yard, coaching little league, etc, and superimposed over every dissolve is an American flag. Accompanying the whole thing is the song "Fortunate Son" by Credence Clearwater Revival; only, because "Fortunate Son" is actually about feeling disenfranchised in the States and hence, not about patriotism at all, they've edited it down to just the opening guitar riff and the lines "Some folks are born, raised to wave the flag, oh they're red, white, and blue yeah" which they loop, ensuring that there's no hint of the chorus. Making certain no one hears John Fogerty finish his sentiment by shouting "It ain't me, it ain't meeee, I ain't no fortunate son" Now, nostalgia is a key element of patriotism, and that song is nostalgic for a lot of us; but to take it out of context and change it's meaning diametrically...for the sake of selling jeans? That's the lowest sort of cultural revisionism. That commercial does a grave disservice to what's amazing and unique about American culture, and has the audacity to throw the flag in our face while it's doin' it.
I guess what I want to say is- let's not let the scenario described above turn into a metaphor for American culture as a whole. Ok?
'Cause I love this place.
