The Most Un-American Thing I Saw on the Super Bowl
- slkayne
- Feb 15
- 3 min read
by Sharon Kayne
I watched the Super Bowl last Sunday. I neither watch regular football games nor any kind of broadcast television anymore, so it was a window into another world for me. I know Super Bowl commercials are supposed to be weird and over-the-top. Whether non-Super Bowl commercials have gotten as weird, I’ve no idea. But most of these commercials were stupid, vapid, and unintelligible. As in: I can’t figure out what-the-heck product they’re asking me to buy.
There was one commercial that did stick with me, however. In it, actor Matthew Broderick plays a boss who decides to give his employees the day off and has an AI program do their jobs for them. At first I thought it was sad that people are supposed to watch this and think, “Yay! I should ask my boss to get that AI software so I can enjoy more time off!” This is sad because the AI program is actually a replacement for said employees rather than a time-off boon for them. But then it occurred to me that the ad was actually aimed at the employers. It’s telling them: “Hey, you can give your employees a permanent day off—and save a bunch on your payroll bill—by replacing them with a computer program!” The AI purveyors just portray the computer program as a good thing for the employee, so it goes down smoother. Like a cyanide capsule coated in chocolate. And that is even sadder.
I found it ironic that there was a lot of talk before the Super Bowl about how “un-American” it was to have a Puerto Rican perform the half-time show. This talk came primarily from Donald Trump—or, as I like to call him, Felonious Forty-seven. Since Puerto Rico is a territory of the US, and its residents are all American citizens by birth, I found this rather confusing. Surely the man holding the highest office in the land knows that Puerto Rico is part of the nation he presides over, right? As do the people who take every bizarre thing he utters as god’s truth, right?
Despite this national angst, I enjoyed Bad Bunny’s halftime performance. I enjoyed it even though my Spanish is not fluent enough to catch much of what he sang about. Still, the message was pretty clear. Instead, what I found really “un-American” was this AI commercial, shilling a product designed to put people out of work. Most products and services, by providing something people need and use, are good for the economy. They get people spending money. Putting people out of work isn’t good for the economy—at least not in the short term. Once those unemployed people have had a chance to learn a new skill and find new jobs, then the economy is humming again. But there is something of a lag and, meanwhile, many of those workers will lose their health insurance and some may even lose their homes.
I realize that capitalism is our national religion, and, since AI programs that replace actual human employees will make some wealthy shareholders even richer, that makes advertising them as “American” as apple pie. I guess. I think what bothered me most was the chocolate coating implying that this AI program was good for working stiffs.
The whole thing got me remembering the most “American” commercial I’ve ever seen. I still remember the song (although not all of the lyrics): “Look for the Union Label.” It was paid for by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), and it was all about encouraging people to buy American-made products to support American jobs. Of course, our billionaire oligarchy has really knee-capped the unions, so I don’t think any of them can afford to splurge on expensive commercials anymore. This is the same billionaire oligarchy, by the way, that funds technology like AI as a way to cut labor costs so they can make even more money.
And here people were all bent out of shape because a Puerto Rico American played the halftime show. People get upset about the stupidest things. And then they fail to even notice the things they really should be pissed about.
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