Disney vs. Denver vs. Chicago

My return flight from Ireland landed at Dulles International Airport late Sunday afternoon, giving me a first-hand opportunity to see how the Disney-produced, U.S. government video to promote travel to the U.S., Welcome: Portraits of America, was being presented and received. I was amused, albeit probably not in the intended way.

The video played on several flat screen televisions facing the line to pass through immigration. The volume was so low, though, I could barely hear one of the video’s strongest points: the swelling, triumphant Disney soundtrack. Nice work!

But that wasn’t my biggest issue. Beside “Welcome: Portraits of America,” another television showed an American football game between the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears. Talk about muddying a message. If the U.S. government truly wants to relay a warm welcome to travelers arriving in the U.S., is it a strong move to play it alongside helmeted gladiators conveying the violent imagery that reinforces a lot of the stereotypes “Welcome: Portraits of America” is trying to counter?

The least they could have done is shown the New England Patriots.

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