Avengers stars assemble to endorse Kamala Harris - by brainstorming an election catchphrase

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Thu 31 Oct 2024 20.56 EDT
Last modified on Thu 31 Oct 2024 20.59 EDT


The cast of Marvel’s Avengers movies have come out in support of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris less than a week before the US election.

In a video posted first on Vanity Fair on Thursday evening, actors Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Chris Evans, Danai Gurira and Paul Bettany playfully riffed on their respective characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while encouraging viewers to vote for Harris.

The video, which runs for just over 90 seconds, opens with the actors taking an incoming video call from Johansson. On screen, they brainstorm ideas for a catchphrase for Harris, landing on the dubious “Down with Democracy”, which they spin into a brief Marvel-style Harris/Walz campaign video with dramatic music and comic-style graphics. The final frame of the video encourages viewers to vote on November 5.

Sharing the video on X, Ruffalo, a vocal Democrat supporter who is best known for his role as the Hulk, wrote: “Don’t sit this one out. It’s the one where we will lose big: Project 2025, women’s reproductive rights, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, public education, student debt relief, Affordable Care Act, Social Security, and as of today, life saving vaccines. This shit is real and it’s going to come for you.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/01/us-election-avengers-cast-kamala-harris-endorsement

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(all the videos of this were either on X or Instagram, etc. but found the above on youtube)

Link to tweet

Mark Ruffalo
@MarkRuffalo
·
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We're back. Let's #AssembleForDemocracy. In the #ElectionEndgame, every vote counts 🗳️ #VoteBlue! Vote @KamalaHarris @Tim_Walz
4:33 PM · Oct 31, 2024

[samsingh]

1. Reassuring to see

[johnnyplankton]

2. Is it me? Or is that just awful?

I'm sure their hearts are in the right place, but Jeezus, what was the point of that?

[BumRushDaShow]

3. There are A LOT of people who are fans of the Marvel Universe (and the Comic genre in general)

They are young and old and many are convention-goers, and have $$$$.

They are a "demographic".

Leave EVERYTHING on the field.

[radicalleft]

4. As a huge MCU fan

I LOVE IT!

Shared with my daughter who is probably a bigger fan than me...

edit sp

[Frank D. Lincoln]

7. It almost makes it seem like Kamala is AGAINST democracy.

The catch-phrase, I mean.

This would be a better catch-phrase: "Kamala Harris: Defender of Democracy."

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Ya'll are showing your age!

It's just like when I had a news OP where the headline was something like "The Harris campaign 'drops a new ad'" and DU freaked out thinking the ad was "removed" because they have been obsoleted by the more recent slang... I.e., it would be similar to - "So and so "dropped a new single", meaning "released".

"Down with" is actually old slang for "approve of" or "agree with".

[Frank D. Lincoln]

15. I'm well familiar with the slang.

I've used it many times myself.

I know what their intentions were in using that slang expression.

Even taking all of that into consideration, I still think it comes across the opposite of what they intended.

And, in general, I just think their clip is poorly done, despite their good intentions.

Sidenote: I, myself, am a huge MCU fan and have virtually all of their movies in my home collection (except for two or three movies that I don't like).

[pnwmom]

17. I agree. Sarcastic and flip. Not a clear, positive message. nt

[Randomthought]

21. It's not you

Down with democracy is not good. I understand the meaning but it's weird

[Clouds Passing]

5. Up with Democracy!

[FakeNoose]

6. It's hip, goofy and camp humor

I wish this had come out about a month ago. It would have had more impact.

OTOH, the early voters and mail-in voters are mainly us olds. We're not as likely to be Avengers fans, am I right? Maybe 18-to-30 generation and first-time voters are going to get this humor in a good way.

I still think they should have done this a month ago. Taylor Swift was getting the message out to her fans back in the spring and summer months.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. "We're not as likely to be Avengers fans, am I right?"

One of my BILs will be 66 in a month and is a huge Justice League/D.C. Comics fan.

The older Marvel & D.C. Comics fandom usually started with reading/collecting the actual comic books and eventually got into the animated/cartoon series stuff, before finally getting treated with all these blockbuster films dedicated to "universes" of super heroes.

That whole Comic fandom is out there and many of them are hardcore cosplayers, and they are often very liberal!

[Bayard]

8. Down with democracy.....

Sounds negative to me.

And I want Thor!!

[BumRushDaShow]

13. "Down with"

is slang for "approve of" / "agree with".

SLANG!!!

[Bayard]

18. I know that dear,

But you better believe trump would turn it into an ad that we're anti-democratic.

And I still want Chris Hemsworth!

[BumRushDaShow]

19. He's busy talking about sticking gunz in someone's face

I don't think he will notice this!

[Bayard]

20. Whut?

[DownriverDem]

9. Don't like it

It sounds like Harris is against democracy.

[Hekate]

10. I guess you have to be a fan...

Thanks for the effort, guys!

[BaronChocula]

14. Guardians,

you're up next!

[pnwmom]

16. Meh. A commercial that relies on the intelligence of its listeners

and/or sarcasm and/or understanding of youthful slang (used by a bunch of old people) isn't the best way to get the point across.