aintforever

It sums up my feelings on it: What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Not only the monstrous anger of the guns nor the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle, but now an epic four-minute, eye-wateringly expensive commercial for a supermarket chain. There is no disputing that the new Sainsbury’s ad is, on its own terms, a masterpiece. The cinematography is breathtaking. Without saying a word, the young cast conveys a startling array of emotional depth within a few short minutes. The simple narrative, built around the near-mythical Christmas truce between the trenches of 1914, has just the right blend of poignancy and sentimentality to bring a tear to the most cynical eye. So why does the advert leave me feeling so unsettled, so uncomfortable, even a touch nauseous? The first answer has to be that for all the respectful tone, the centennial occasion and the endorsement of the Royal British Legion, the ultimate objective here is to persuade us to buy our tinsel, our crackers and our sprouts from one particular supermarket. Perhaps the greatest truism, even cliche about the first world war is that nobody ever really understood why it happened, what it was all about. Those in the trenches never understood what they were giving their lives for, beyond a vague commitment to king and country, and a hundred years later most of us still don’t really understand. The sheer futility of the slaughter is what made the truce possible and also what makes the recounting of the tale so heartwarming and heartbreaking to this day. That vacuum of sense provides all the more reason for caution when co-opting the events for a purpose as crass as flogging groceries. Of course many film-makers, writers and other artists have made good money from representing the horrors of war. Some do so with respect and artistry, some exploit shamelessly. But there is a key difference, I would suggest, between selling representations of war as a product, and using representations of war as a means to another end. Somewhere close to 40 million young men were killed, lost or mutilated in the first world war. Sainsbury’s has all but dressed them in a sandwich board. Donating profits to the Royal British Legion from the sale of the special chocolate bar that appears in the advert doesn’t change that. In helping to launch the ad today, the legion’s head of fundraising praised the film’s historical accuracy and attention to detail. How true can this be? While there were certainly varying conditions on the frontline from place to place and year to year, reading contemporary accounts from either side of the trenches, in the poetry of Owen and Sassoon or the prose of Remarque, the details that stick in the mind are horrific. Nowhere in the new advert do we see the blood and entrails, the vomit and faeces, the rats feasting on body parts. The response might be “well they can hardly put that in a Christmas advert can they?” and that would be entirely true. Which is why the scene is entirely inappropriate for a Christmas advert in the first place. The trench warfare of 1914-18 sits near the top of the list of horrors that humanity has inflicted upon ourselves and each other. Although it has recently slipped out of the range of living memory, it remains an iconic scar. Like the Nazi Holocaust or the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan, it lives on as a vivid phantom in our culture, a constant reminder of our capacity to inflict incomprehensible degrees of violence and suffering upon innocent individuals. It surely behoves us as a society to retain those deaths with respect and a degree of reverence. Would we welcome an advert next Christmas showing a touching little scene between a Jewish child and a disabled child in Auschwitz, swapping gifts for Christmas and Hanukah on their way to the gas chambers? I would hope not, yet I fail to see any great moral difference. Exploiting the first world war for commercial gain is tasteless. This, however, is not what disturbs me most. The really upsetting details are the stunning shot of the robin on the wire, the actors’ trembles as they cautiously emerge from the trenches, half expecting a sniper’s bullet, the flicker of understanding in the eyes as the young soldiers reach into their pockets at the end. The film-makers here have done something to the first world war which is perhaps the most dangerous and disrespectful act of all: they have made it beautiful.

Clyne has been superb again, think he's nailed the right back spot now.

Should work their magic again at Spurs then.

I couldn't give a monkeys if people as wealthy as Adele are pressured into giving to charity. The more the better IMO, these people have too much cash anyway.

The more people give the better.

That's a bit low from the Telegraph, Geldof has done a fair bit for charity. Having a go at Adele is probably out of order but maybe what Geldof did promoted her to make the donation?

You are probably on to something there, there definitely needs to be more war tie-ins in advertising. The holocaust must have potential to make some cash if you follow the same formular: Tug the heart strings - charity tie-in - product placement - token donation. Some company should be able to make a killing. Charity gets some money, everyone wins. Can't wait til next year.

Just because it is hard to prove doesn't mean there is a grey area as to what the crime is - two separate issues.

But it's still either rape or not rape though. Every single case is different.

Just seen the Sainsburys ad and agree it's in bad taste. Just seems very cheap to use such a moment as a vehicle to promote a supermarket. What will we have next, maybe Oskar Schindler handing out chocolates bars to a train load of Jews from Auschwitz - have a break, have a Kitkat?

I think in the eyes of the law there are different types of rape but if Mrs duck passes out through drink and you stick your duck penis in her it's still rape.

I love the way people think they can read bits of info on websites and in papers and think they can make a judgement on wether he is guilty or not. There are some f*cking dumb people on here.

I hate all this outrage over tweets bullsh!t. When I was a kid my mum always said "sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never harm you". Now someone tweets something that's not nice and people go to the police. Pathetic. If you don't like what someone says just ignore it.

I do hate the Xmas ads that use the myth of the perfect Christmas to promote their product. The ones with a perfect family sat round in a perfect house all stupidly ****ing happy and smily having the perfect time stuffing their faces with a perfect spread of food. It's advertisers pushing myths like that which causes the suicide rate to jump up every Xmas IMO.

It's not rocket science, being a professional footballer makes you a role model because it's so high profile. Kids have their pictures on their wall, follow them around for autographs and want to be like them because they are seen as cool. They are heros. What sort of message does it send out to kids - He raped someone but he's still great because he can kick a ball around a field.

Not at all surprising, the organisation is so corrupt this inquest was never going to get anywhere near uncovering what went on. I still don't think the Quatar World Cup will go ahead. Its a ****ing bonkers idea to hold it in a scummy middle eastern sh!te hole like that.

Shouldn't be allowed back, pro footballers are role models. He's fully entitled to a career and rehabilitation after his sentence, just not one where he is a role model to kids.

Winning the League Cup is still way more likely than a 4th place finish IMO, definitely wouldn't put a weakened teamout for the cup.

Nonsense, most reports I have read have been very complimentary. If anything Saints being in the CL would be a bigger story for the press.

My Nan's brother was a Lancaster Bomber pilot and died after being shot down over Germany in WW2. My Nan passed away only a few weeks ago aged 96. When you think of the life she had, all the experiences and the people around today because of her, it makes you think of how much is lost through war. I have read a little bit about WW1 and what those guys went through was unimaginable. I find it even sadder now that all the people who were involved are now gone, it's like it's vanished forever as a real memory and is now a distant chapter in history. That's why we should never forget.

We might have highlighted hundreds of players, fact is they are here because Koeman wanted them. Just like Osvaldo was here because Pochetino wanted him.

Don't really know enough about his specific role and how he has done to give a sh!te.

Looks to me like Levy just trying to appease the clubs fans, Spurs fans are a miserable bunch of w@nkers. If he wanted our head of recruitment he could just give him a call, there's no need to go to the press and make it public. It's only in the paper because it's international break and there is only so much you can write about a sh!te England team.

Five good sits on the bench and a couple of 10mins here and there for a big club you mean.

No, think it was just for the media. I guess all clubs use translators for players that don't speak English tho.