The Reign of the Douchebag

This evening I saw an advertisement that summed up the rise of machismo in American culture succinctly. It opens with a couple of burly men fastening some rope around a coniferous tree with interstitial close-ups of various elements of the (presumably new) Dodge Ram pickup. The men get back in the front of the truck. The truck proceeds to rip the tree straight out of the ground while the women, in back, laugh from the wonderful time they must be having. The camera shots eventually get wider, and the viewer is informed that the tree (including Christmas lights, ornaments, etc.) is actually the tree advertising a small tree farm. The truck evidently drives off with the tree in the obviously spacious bed.

The "acceptability" of this wanton destruction of others' property is implicit. Undoubtedly, the ad is not intended to be taken seriously; however, it (and just about all recent truck ads) can't help but suggest what a "real man" with a "real truck" would do. I find it hard to believe that this ad would pass muster at advertising agencies a generation ago.