As LG is known to do, they played a prank on a few interviewees recently, tricking them into thinking that an asteroid was hitting the city behind an interviewer, and then causing the room to black out. The nature of the scare tactic caused some viewers of the most recent YouTube prank video to cry foul, claiming that LG was being insensitive to the memory of 9/11, a reference to September 11, 2001.
http://youtu.be/Ja2__Q52GAU
The very first commenter, by the name of Alexander Maas, wrote:
That is NOT a prank, after 9/11, that is plain rude.
This comment received two “up votes,” but was dwarfed bythe 67 ?”up votes” for the reply from Marc G. Ceaser:
I’m sorry but I don’t recall Al-Qaeda attacking with asteroids.
This exchange put the perspective square in the sights of a debate that has been brewing since that fateful sunny morning, twelve short years ago. ?Essentially, what constitutes insensitivity to the memories of 9/11 or insensitivity to the victims of the attack? ?Or have we moved so far past the raw, painful memories, that humor, no matter how tangential to the occurrences of that day, is allowed in any capacity.
Mr. Ceaser’s astute observation that the asteroid was not a direct reflection of the happenings of 9/11 was contrasted by Alexander Maas’ and other commenters’ complaints that the mere exercise of frightening individuals, sitting in a tall building, constituted a blatant disregard of the sensitivities of those involved.
Others also did not see the 9/11 correlation, with short and sweet comments of “Funny!” and “Hahaha!”, with others, seemingly more technical (or, more aptly put,?appearing to be?technically enhanced members of society), stated things like, “it’s not a prank… just plain acting xD” and:
Pretty sure that woman was an actor.. The graphics of the effect is bad enough for me to see it on this miniature gif, sitting one meter away from a wide-screen tv, it should’ve been painstakingly obvious.. and if the effects don’t do it, she would’ve been aware since the picture never changed aspect as she moved about or sat down.
That comment was quite convincing. ?The gentleman who wrote it, Roger Lundstrom, seems to know his perspectives.
Still, others disagreed with the 9/11 correlation, instead choosing to liken the fake asteroid hit to memories of the Boston bombings. ?Even this comparison was met with disagreement, with the humorous quote:
I was going to say that this will be funny until we are attacked by aliens and then it will be considered bad taste. Apparently, I missed the invasion.
Every year, there are advertisements that come out that have a different effect on viewers than the advertisers expected, leading to public relations nightmares. ?Some ads are pulled and apologies are offered. ?Others ads are purposefully edgy, inviting controversy and attempting to rest in front of more eyeballs with every “share” and “Did you see this?” post on social media. ?The ads’ messages, intended or otherwise, are hotly debated, ridiculed, praised, and then are quickly forgotten, as people move on to the next big thing.
The question here is, is this LG HG TV prank, where an asteroid frightens the living daylight out of people, insensitive to the memories or even the victims of 9/11?
What say you?
Edited by Jeromie Williams
