Trump Administration Uses Lana Del Ray song in its Halloween Themed Propaganda Video
Popular culture is essential to the Trump administration’s propaganda machine — and the artists who unintentionally power it must demand their work is not used to advance fascism.
This post is part of The Carceral Report’s Fascist Mixtape series, which tracks the Trump administration’s propaganda videos.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a Halloween themed propaganda video vilifying protesters, set to Lana Del Rey’s “Season of the Witch.”
The caption says, “There will be no sanctuary for creatures & criminals of the night.”
The administration has used her music before, along with many others, including the Black Eyed Peas, the Beastie Boys, and Taylor Swift.
Earlier this month, DHS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) posted a video featuring Rihanna’s “S&M,” and Get the Bag’s “K41.” Their songs are played over clips of anti-ICE protesters, and federal agents disappearing people who appear to be Latino. The victims’ hands are cuffed or ziptied behind their backs and some are not fully dressed.
The captions says: “Dear Antifa: We’re taking our country back. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
Clips from television shows and movies also frequently appear in the administration’s propaganda videos:
The White House posted an image of Spongebob Squarepants holding a scroll that says, “Give free healthcare to illegals.” The Instagram caption states: “Democrats’ to-do list this week.”
San Diego Border Patrol also posted a video featuring a doctored clip from the animated television show, “Family Guy.”
DHS posted a video featuring the Pokémon theme song, “Gotta Catch ‘Em All,” over clips from the cartoon and videos of federal officers abducting people. “Department of Homeland Security” is written in the Pokémon font when the video opens. The video ends with mock Pokemon cards featuring the photos of those they arrested.
The White House posted two clips from the sketch comedy show, “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson.” One video spliced clips of President Trump making anti-immigrant and anti-trans statements with clips from the show, featuring Tim Robinson. The caption states: “IT’S NOT COMPLICATED. No free health care for illegal aliens. Put America First. Don’t be dumb. Fund the government. 😌” The second features a doctored version of the show’s parody of “The Bachelorette.” The caption says: “Democrats are only here to give free healthcare to criminal illegal aliens.”
The White House posted a propaganda video featuring a montage of clips from popular television shows and movies, including “The Princess Bride,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Family Guy,” “My Cousin Vinny,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Spongebob Squarepants,” and “The Office.” Actors featured in the clips include:
Amy Poehler (“Parks and Rec”)
Wallace Shawn (“The Princess Bride”)
Steve Carrell (“The Office”)
Marisa Tomei (“My Cousin Vinny”)
Meryl Streep (“The Devil Wears Prada”)
Popular culture is essential to the Trump administration’s propaganda machine — and the artists who unintentionally power it must demand their work is not used to advance fascism. They can use their celebrity, their wealth, and copyright law to starve the administration of one of its many insidious tools.
This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and you are free to share and republish under the terms of the license.