The video, which gained more than 100,000 views in the first 24 hours since its release, begins with quotes from Konrad Adenauer, Robert Schuman and Winston Churchill. The lyrics tell a story of a “rise from the ruins”, ending up in “one big badass federation”.
The European project offers inspiration for sexual references, an opportunity not missed by the comedian. In the video, the line, “Two dozen tongues, one yearning voice / I crave to see your constitution”, is later followed by “You’re free to move that sexy body, baby / All over my sweet sweet Schengen Area”.
In what is an example of an expression of European identity in popular culture, the video makes heavy use of the European flag. Towards the end of the video, the female main character of the story rides a white bull, in reference to the ancient Greek founding myth of Europe.
After the end of the song, the television screen previously showing founding figures of the European project plays an excerpt from the imagined inauguration of the first European “Primepresident”. Europe’s new leader, Ms. Xenou, pledges for Europe’s energy consumption to become 100% renewable by 2030, to build a European welfare state, and to construct the European Defence Forces as a democratic army.
The United States of Europe video is not the first in which Jan Böhmermann promotes European values. His “Be Deutsch!” video from spring 2016, reminiscent of Rammstein songs, articulates modern German values, including compassion, considerateness, Fanta – and European unity.
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