In the United States we are used to this kind of over-representation of non-white people in the media, especially in videos that are meant to be “inspiring.” Dark skinned people staring soulfully off into the middle-distance is considered the ne plus ultra of stirring spirituality.
But for all the articles I have read about the United Kingdom’s hopeless slide into indentity-less self-hatred, videos like this one still startle me. I count 11 shots of colored people, 10 shots of white people. In a video meant to tap into the patriotism of England. I have no doubt this works for Umbro, the company running the ad. This is what is stirring to many people. Someday in my lifetime, I expect the “Queen” being saved in the anthem to be Pakistani or Arabian, though I don’t expect people will be singing about “God” being the one doing the saving. That’s not a very PC song, after all.
