"Whoever Wins . . . We Lose"

Pop culture often becomes a medium through which the politically repressed returns. The Manchurian Candidate -- in which "[t]he chief danger to the republic . . . emanates not from the extremes -- a fanatical foreign enemy combined with a zealous administration -- but from the center, from the moderate wing of the opposition party and its corporate sponsors" (A. O. Scott, "Remembrance of Things Planted Deep in the Mind," New York Times, July 30, 2004) -- is one example. Alien vs. Predator is another. Its tagline, "Whoever Wins . . . We Lose," succinctly sums up the 2004 presidential election. Not surprisingly, it has already inspired a number of visual parodies.

Sean Bonner, August 11, 2004


Scott Ricamore, August 13, 2004

Cf. Sam Smith, "The Election Is Over -- We Lost: Now, on to November 3rd" (March 2004).