April 8, 2008
New WMATA Video: Papal Creepiness
The last time Metro dipped its toes into the exciting world of internet video, DCist was the first to share their low-budget, Peeps going to Nationals Park spectacular. Our readers enjoyed that one so much, Metro just tipped us off to their latest effort, titled "Strangers on a Train", which aims to pimp their special Papal Mass Pass. The pass itself is a good idea: it costs a flat $9, and gives those who plan to follow Pope Benedict XVI around town when he arrives to give a special mass at Nationals Park on April 17 unlimited rides all day.
The promotional video above, however, eschews some of the silly charm found in the Peeps video in favor of downright creepiness. We're totally fine with a Pope bobblehead taking Metro. Heck, the more bobbleheads we encounter on public transportation, the better. But the idea of sitting near a large man chanting to said bobblehead in monotone Latin on a train just makes us want to switch seats. At least Metro employs some more brutally fun puns later in the video: "Avoid the unholy traffic. Take Metro." Sure thing, WMATA. Just lay off the chanting.
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i'm glad to see the pope standing to the right; good metroquette is divine.
I was beginning to mourn the loss of my two minutes until the shot of the hand holding up Benny at the end. Is it an allegory referring to the masses reaching out and upholding the sanctity of the papacy? Or is it a subtle hint that Metro believes the Pope is controlled by the hand from below?
the pope is a nazi
Isn't there a commandment against worshiping false idols? I love how Metro never seems to have enough money for anything, yet they have enough money to make ridiculous low-budget movies like this one.
the pope is a nazi
thanks, skinjob, heard you the first time
Strangers on a Train? Alfred Hitchcock must be rolling in his grave, not to mention Patricia Highsmith .
Metro is underfunded. Therefore they make cheap commercials.
What's the problem?
How does the phrase go? Oh, yeah, this is so bad it's almost good.
Also, that bobblehead is clearly Pope John Paul II and not Benedict. If they're implying that he is coming for a visit, well, I will DEFINITELY pay $9 bucks to see that!
It's definitely Pope Benedict, not JP2. The facial features are different. Also the bobblehead has got a label on the base reading "Benedict XVI" which you can just make out in some of the later shots.
Notice the passenger is reading "Car and Pontiff" with a picture of the Popemobile on the front.
I realize it's *supposed* to be Benedict but I'm still having a hard time seeing it... maybe because the Bobblehead Pontiff actually looks kinda benevolent?
Perhaps you should consider that perception further.
It's exactly because Metro doesn't have money that they make stuff like this. I think I finally read somewhere that the only cost for the Peeps video was the peeps themselves...I'm gonna guess the same is true with this...all they had to pay for was the bobblehead and a bit of time...
Creepy funny...
I'm gonna guess the same is true with this...all they had to pay for was the bobblehead and a bit of time...
It really shows.
Looks like WMATA pulled it from YouTube. :(
Were Sorry, this video is no longer available
Damn It
His Holiness was not amused. The declinations were incorrect, too.
Metro might have pulled it from Youtube, but they still have the "press release" on their website. I copied it below in case they remove it.
http://www.wmata.com/about/met_news/story.cfm?ID=1791
Pope bobblehead takes Metro to new ballpark
We have it on the highest authority that the Pope was spotted riding the Green Line--a man of the regular commuters for sure.
He was seated next to the window. It appeared if he was speaking Latin with another passenger. They were agreeing about something, because the Pope’s head was seen bobbing repeatedly in agreement.
Dressed in typical white garb with a sharp red cap, the Pope Benedict XVI bobblehead, unlike most first-time visitors to the city, demonstrated a keen knack for Metro etiquette, and stood to the right when exiting the station, allowing other Metro riders to walk up the escalator on the left side.
Passersby also said they saw the sharply-dressed pontiff outside a Metro sales office purchasing the one-day Metrorail “mass pass,” the special fare card Metro is selling that gets riders to his sold-out DC debut.
---Roxanne Poperts, gossip columnist for The Washington Pope
“Strangers on a Train,” a humorous straight-to-YouTube video by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro), shows what happens when a stranger meets the Pope bobblehead on a Metro train and strikes up a conversation on how to get to the April 17th Papal Mass at Nationals Park. View it at YouTube.
The Pope will be celebrating mass at the new Nationals Park on April 17, and the best way to get there is on Metro’s Green Line to the Navy Yard Metrorail station. To find out more about how to get to the mass via Metro, click here.
"Pope Bobblehead Ad Given the Bounce"
The bobblehead in the Metro video wears a red skull cap, known as a zucchetto, and a red cape. "Popes don't wear red skull caps," and they don't wear red capes, only white ones, Gibbs said.
Metro yanked the YouTube video yesterday after the archdiocese complained.Well, maybe the Pope needs to get with the times. Who's gonna buy white skull caps and capes on vaticangear.com? I'd much prefer red. Or plaid.
Actually, it just sounds like WMATA worried the ad could be seen as being in poor taste, so they pulled it before creating a stir. Fair enough. But the article also gives a brief glimpse into the low budget goodness that are these WMATA ads.
sense of humor, meet catholic church. catholic church, meet sense of humor. i don't believe you two have ever met...
I can only assume the Vatican would have no problem with an accurately clad pontiff bobblehead that was authorized and endorsed by the Holy See.
This seems like the perfect opportunity for Catholic outreach. Imagine an entire collection of papal bobbleheads, going back to Saint Peter. Here's Pope Peter with his upside down crucifix action set! Here's Pope Stephen with his detachable bobble! And no set is complete without Fashion Dream Pope Joan and her crossdressing penthouse and hot pink palaquin! Collect 'em all!
dang, i'm sorry i missed this. Still, as community service from a nice Jewish girl to loyal dcists and fans of the pope and/or pope bobblehead alike, I present (a few select) metro rants here: washwords
Mass pass. nice.