GET BRUNNHILDE A TORCH:

Germans Told to Cheer Up. 'Why Should We?' Some Say. (RICHARD BERNSTEIN, 12/06/05, NY Times)

First there are trees silhouetted against a pastoral horizon; then a distinguished-looking elderly lady appears on screen looking you right in the eye as she says, "You are Germany's miracle."

From then on, as this slickly produced spot broadcast on German television continues, a succession of people, famous and not famous, appears, each speaking a segment of a larger inspirational message.

"A butterfly can cause a typhoon," a well-known television hostess says. A young Asian woman holding a baby follows with, "The blast of wind that comes from its wings may uproot trees kilometers away."

The television message includes gay and handicapped people speaking from among the concrete pillars of Berlin's recently opened Holocaust Memorial, the Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Witt and a cluster of small children pointing straight into the camera and shouting the main slogan: "Du bist Deutschland!" - "You are Germany!"

Produced free by one of Germany's leading advertising agencies, the television sequence is part of a broader campaign, pretty much ubiquitous in the country these days, aimed at cheering up the presumably gloomy population, nudging Germans toward an unaccustomed optimism.

It is intended to make the public believe that, like that butterfly flapping its wings, a large number of small gestures can add up to a big difference.

Whether this is an appropriate way to battle the national melancholy - and opinions vary greatly on this issue - the very existence of such a campaign, reportedly the first of its sort in this country, is a sign of what is generally recognized here: that Germany is indeed in a sour mood, its economy in the doldrums, its financial deficits too high and none of its leaders strong or visionary enough to lead the way out.

Geez, if that ad doesn't make you root for the Gotterdammerung...

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 6, 2005 11:14 PM