ADS AND CULTURE: "Caesar Among Us"

Watching the World Series tonight?  So far I've counted three different ad campaigns celebrating Roman wealth, wisdom and power.  What's up with that?  It seems like the Empire's making a comeback.  (Or maybe it's been in the shadows all along.)  The most noticeable campaign, of course, is Caesar's Sportsbook--which goes all in on the glory of concentrated wealth, the thrill of betting on everything, and all the rest.  Caesar's a lot of fun.  The kind of guy you don't mind losing your house, your nest egg, your heirlooms to on a Sunday night.

Maybe I'm nitpicking.  And I probably shouldn't overanalyze American advertizing.  I mean, really, who cares?  But isn't it troubling--as state after state carves away at voting rights and democratic practice--that our corporations are looking to Rome for encouragement and cultural validation?  Isn't it bizarre that here, in America, we look to Rome for fun and inspiration?  Seriously.  Isn't it oddly revealing that Caesar becomes the spokesman for sports betting, and all the ways gambling erodes the economic and political power of American communities, families and workers?  

In my tradition, we follow a Teacher who called out Roman theology and political power.  Jesus
recognized--in Caesar's self-congratulatory rah-rah--the kind of power that seeks only its own entrenchment, the kind of power that relies on calculated violence and cruelty.  Everything he did--Jesus that is--exposed Caesar's power as ungodly and destructive.  The new world would be shaped by participation and collaboration, by shared commitments to the common good and mutual care.  Caesar's Sportsbook?  Not so much.

So, for what its worth, count me among those who think Ceasar's a drag.  Sorry to rag on ads on a Sunday night.  But all this empire stuff is bugging me.