Subtle stuff in videos

ThewEiRdOne27 · Post by **ThewEiRdOne27** » Thu Jul 31, 2003 2:55 am

Maybe it was really Harvey in his Halloween costume. He is a master of disguise.

ThewEiRdOne27 · Post by **ThewEiRdOne27** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 7:52 pm

Here's a strange one...

In 'Christmas At Ground Zero,' then president Ronald Reagan makes a "cameo" (it's an older video clip of him), saying something along the lines of "Well, it's only a few more minutes, and we're very excited." Now I don't want to start a political fight, but this song is about nuclear war... and Reagan was a big supporter of the military... could Al have been making a political statement? Or just needed to fill in a little time?

Post by **weird_el** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 8:15 pm

could Al have been making a political statement?

Yes, but since both Democrats and Republicans found that funny, it's anybody's guess as to what that political statement was.

Post by **scottidog** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 8:32 pm

Now I don't want to start a political fight, but this song is about nuclear war... and Reagan was a big supporter of the military... could Al have been making a political statement? Or just needed to fill in a little time?

I don't think it was a political statement. It was just funny. I mean, how often do you have the President, who has the nuclear codes, who also used to make movies? How could Al pass up using such a silly little clip in this Cold War ditty?

Post by **Bruce the Duck** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 8:44 pm

I don't think it was a political statement at all. The statement as it's presented in the video can be considered ambiguos. Reagan could be talking about Christmas OR nuclear war. If one assumes that he's talking about a nuclear war (which of course he wasn't in the actual clip), then the Christmas tree in the background makes it a perfect fit for the song, "Christmas At Ground Zero."

Of course, if Al were making that song now, which I don't think he would because of 9-11, and he included a clip of President Bush saying something similar, it would certainly be seen as a political statement.

Post by **scottidog** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 9:20 pm

For those of you who weren't very old (or not even born yet) when Ronald Reagon was the President, I'm not sure you can appreciate how funny it was at the time for a President to have been an actor. And in the case of Reagan, his movies were pretty cheesy. (At least the few I've seen.)

And Bruce, you hit the nail on the head... it's NOT clear what Ronnie was referring to... Christmas? Nuclear Annihilation? Who knows!

ThewEiRdOne27 · Post by **ThewEiRdOne27** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 10:20 pm

And Bruce, you hit the nail on the head... it's NOT clear what Ronnie was referring to... Christmas? Nuclear Annihilation? Who knows!

I think he's (Reagan) referring to Christmas in that clip, but it seems it's also hinting towards the Cold War and Reagan.

I'm not saying that Al wanted to make some huge political statement... but I think if you brush up on your presidential policies, it makes the joke even better... even if it wasn't intended to hint towards Reagan's Cold War policies.

And as always, win one for the Gipper!

Post by **weird_el** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 11:16 pm

I just recalled a little incident that happened during the Reagan administration that may have inspired this joke. Reagan was getting ready for a radio address and he joked about pushing the button, and the missles were on the way -- not realizing he was on the air. There was a little backlash but Teflon Ron pulled thru.

Post by **scottidog** » Mon Aug 04, 2003 11:40 pm

El, I had forgotten about that... That might have even been the idea that spawned the song.

Post by **Bruce the Duck** » Tue Aug 05, 2003 12:59 am

Wow! That's really interesting. Especially considering that two lines in the song may have specifically referenced what Reagan said. Hmmm.

You know I wasn't old enough to really know much about the president, but from what I remember, he was a pretty well-liked president. In a time when Presidents like Clinton, Bush, and the other Bush have been the punchline of every other joke you hear and Al is a lot less conservative with his lyrics, Al has never made reference to them. I can't imagine Al back in 1986, taking an intentional stab at Reagan.