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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDonald Trump's New Campaign Slogan Is From Horror Movie "The Purge"
With the release of The First Purge, the latest installment in the 5-year-old dystopian franchise about government-sponsored killing sprees, you might be wondering, Huh, is President Donald Trump still planning on using that Keep America Great slogan that was ripped straight from the horror movies?
Well, readers, he is.
We waded into the complicated, literally horrifying waters to find out that, yes, Trumps team has indeed filed applications to trademark the phrase. And no, the Purge creators are not surprised. Oh, and theres a lone copyright applicant who could potentially stand in POTUSs way.
To understand this saga, you need to go back to January 2017, when The Washington Post reported that Trump had revealed his new campaign slogan for 2020.
Keep America Great, exclamation point, he told the paper, seemingly off the cuff.
According to the Post, Trump called a lawyer in during the interview to trademark and register two different Keep America Great slogans ― one with an exclamation point and one without ― on the spot. Got it, the lawyer replied, and business seemed to be handled.
The only problem? Apparently unbeknownst to Trump, his lawyer and The Washington Post, the slogan had already appeared in a poignantly titled 2016 horror movie: The Purge: Election Year.
By using Keep America Great in its promotional materials, Purge: Election Year ― which, like its franchise predecessors, centers on the one night a year when people can legally murder the hell out of each other as an act of radical catharsis ― seemingly mocked Trumps Make America Great Again phrase, effectively likening Trumps America to its cinematic nightmare.
Two years later, Trumps re-election campaign is actually trying to use Keep America Great itself, even though the horror movie connection went comically viral soon after the Washington Post interview.
At the time, we threw out some alternative slogans the president could use if KAG didnt work out, including Who will survive and what will be left of them? from 1974s Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Be Afraid. Be very afraid. from 1986s The Fly. As of now, Trump hasnt responded.
But as recently as last month, Trump told supporters in Wisconsin that he wanted to put Keep America Great on green hats.
In fact, by all indications, Trumps team did file Intent to Use forms for the horror flicks phrase a year ago with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Donald J. Trump for President Inc., the presidents official presidential campaign committee, submitted applications for Keep America Great, with and without exclamation points, on Jan. 18, 2017 ― two days before Trump was even inaugurated with those record-breaking crowds.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-campaign-slogan-horror-movie_us_5b3e0ef7e4b05127ccef8d35?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004
murielm99
(30,779 posts)was published in 1998. It is a dystopian science fiction novel by Octavia Butler.
A horrid president, not unlike 45, runs on the slogan, "Make America Great Again." I was chilled when I read that in the book.
One of my librarian friends runs a science fiction reading group in her library. She makes some very good selections. So do some of the group members. When they chose this book, only a couple of people could finish it. It hit too close to home, given today's political environment.
SergeStorms
(19,204 posts)and this seems like an idea the right-wingers in our country would dearly love - a chance to take their beloved guns out for one night a year when they could kill anyone they wanted, with no repercussions.
The movies downplay most of the racial animus that would certainly arise in real life. In real life it would be open season on POC and liberals in general. Oh, how the right-wing gun crazies would prepare for and execute their god-given "right" to kill others (a "right" given to them by "The New Founding Fathers" in the movie) and then go to church and pray to their god for the privilege to live in such a great country.
I usually don't go in for violent crap like these movies, but the concept intrigued me, and then thinking about how the right-wing monsters in this country would truly love something like that in real life, gave me pause. They're very provocative movies.
AlexSFCA
(6,139 posts)Why do all these RWNJ collect weapons for years? to never use them? They all dream of using them one day and NRA would love to see violence to erupt so they can sell more.
AlexSFCA
(6,139 posts)When the first purge was released years ago I was not interested in watching it, thought it looked too violent. Nowdays, all these dystopian movies have a second life because they look much more realistic. I went to see the First Purge and liked it so much that I binge watched the other 3 Purge movies on Prime. All are excellent and I can now easily imagine similar things can really happen here after the next great recession/depression if trumpism continues and neo nazi militias getting out of control.