More Funny. Or not.

h/t Flagrancy

Doubling down on the funny:

"Oh, the irony! Target Corp., long locked in a battle with labor organizers, filmed a notorious internal anti-union video with union actors and under the jurisdiction of one of the biggest unions in the entertainment business.

The 13-minute film, posted by Gawker this week, was designed to dissuade workers from signing up to be represented by unions. A pair of smiling spokespeople dressed like Target employees -- 'Maria' and 'Doug' -- warn workers that, despite what they may have heard, a union is a 'business,' one that is greedy for dues and will not be able to deliver on promises of higher wages. As it turns out, the video was filmed under the jurisdiction of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), according to actor (and union member) Ric Reitz, who plays Target spokesman "Doug" in the film..."

It seems, already, that folks have picked up on the banality and "cheese" factor of the video, some (see Gawker) even arguing that its low production value works against Target's anti-union aims.

I think they're missing the point.

This is a perfect sell because it's so cheese-funny, piss poor and laughable. It sends up no easily identified warning signals, no prosecutable red flags and no overt or ominous indications of planned hostility.

Which is why it's so effective. Because, for all that it works hard to be banal and harmless and crayon colored in pastels and smiling stupidity, it is clearly a threat.  If you've ever worked a stretch at any box outlet, chain or fast food joint, you'll probably recognize immediately that all the stuff you'd better remember was in the cheesy orientation videos. And they are always followed just as immediately by a raft of papers to which you fix your binding signature and, as likely as not, your commitment to non-disclosure.

This is a threat. An effective one.

Delivered from beneath the painted smile of a grinning clown...