The Department of Homeland Security within the American government has been forced to withdraw a video it shared on some social media platforms, after a copyright violation notification over the music – “Friday I’m In Love” by The Cure, the award-winning smash hit and their top-rated track on Spotify.

The agency – the third largest in the US Government – has definite form here, constantly releasing outright propaganda content with soundtracks it ironically has no legal right to. From Jay-Z to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to, uh, Pokemon, creators have routinely had to deploy legal methods and formal protests to have their work taken off the highly provocative content.

Although X (formerly Twitter) shows the video has been withdrawn, it can still be accessed on the Meta Platforms, Inc owned Facebook and Instagram – perhaps the Mark Zuckerburg owned media giant is reluctant to go head-to-head with the Trump administration at the moment?

It’s also worth noting the band themselves have issued no statement on the song’s inclusion, with the DMCA takedown request likely issued by song rights holder Universal Media Group. A request for more information and a statement by this blog, put into UMG’s communications department on Wednesday 8 October, has not been responded to.

Singer, songwriter and inarguable band leader Robert Smith has occasionally dipped his toe into political commentary, professing left-leaning views and despairing about power-grabs by callous authoritarian leaders. It will be interesting to see if he makes any statements online, as he did when confronting Ticketmaster over inflated pricing in 2023.

It would be hard to imagine him content with his music set to this bizarre, delirious fever dream of a video. It’s a hallucinatory montage of clips including 80s hit films like The Breakfast Club and Predator, and David Lynch’s TV epic “Twin Peaks” including actor Kyle Maclachlan portraying Agent Dale Cooper – famed for his noble and justified outlook, as well as his support of the Tibetan people against Chinese occupation. A somewhat jarring position for a character hijacked by the unabridged bias of the US Government’s media apparatus!

Other eyebrow-raising discrepancies include a few seconds of lesser-known McDonalds promotional icon “Mac Tonight” from the 80s, who has since been co-opted by far right terminally online groups. The DHS responded dismissively in an increasingly-familiar dismissive tone with an actual meme – because Government is increasingly staffed by embittered shitposting admins, it seems. Talking Points Memo picks up that “far right meme culture often exploits these grey areas. Neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes has discussed how “irony is so important for giving a lot of cover” to extremist views.”

The video concludes with footage of the Apollo missions, a flagship moment of pride as the American flag is hoisted on the moon – thanks to the research and expertise of rocket scientist Dr Werner von Braun, former Nazi Party member, SS officer and head of the V-2 rocket project which bombarded Western Europe and benefitted from slave labour at its Mittelwerk site. It is safe to say this immigrant didn’t follow the correct procedure for entering the United States and would have been refused at the border under any other circumstances!

The challenge of exploring America’s political and historical identity requires nuance and clarity. Neither seems served by a hastily-cobbled together propaganda film that espouses all the worst excesses of Fascism by Nostalgia, some hallowed view of a past that neuters the grim realities and lets canny operators buy into an idealised and inaccurate view that pushes their narrative.

In this sense, The Cure’s most infamous “dumb pop song” actually goes well with a video selling a highly-sanitized, pop-culture friendly version of the 80s that never existed. Personally, I’ll always prefer those landmark, dark and brooding albums of the 80s (and 2/3 of the infamous ‘trilogy’), Pornography and Disintegration, that reflect a more realistic 1980s. Maybe DHS would be willing to make amends with a new video soundtracked by ‘Prayers for Rain’ or ‘Lullaby’? Somehow I doubt any party would enjoy that collaboration…!

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