Abstract

On March 6, 2012 the Guardian reported on the withdrawal of “Growing Together,” a viral high-budget online video promoting EU unity by targeting young adults (Watt 2012). The video featured a white woman of indeterminate ethnicity wearing a tight-fitting suit reminiscent of the one Uma Thurman wore in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003). She stares in fright as a Chinese-looking man, an Indian-looking man, and a black man wearing dreadlocks—all of them practicing a martial art—surround her. In response to the threat, the woman multiplies herself, transforming into the stars in the EU flag, surrounding the men, who then give up their pursuit and are erased by the EU emblem and the slogan “the more we are, the stronger we are.” Responding to the ensuing controversy, the European Commission issued an apology stating the video was innocently meant to appeal to younger voters.