Released in 2000
With an image from 1968
And quotes from the book 1984
Nothing really changes
"Testify" is a single by
rap metal band
Rage Against the Machine
The cover of the single was taken from the
1968 Olympics Black Power Salute. The song's lyrics notably make reference to
George Orwell's novel
1984 through use of "The Party" slogan "Who controls the past (now), controls the future. Who controls the present (now), controls the past."
The music video, directed by
Michael Moore, features a group of aliens, with the title card 'Aliens Plot To Conquer Earth' followed by 'Release The Mutant' after which a number of clips showing the two presidential candidates at the time (
George W. Bush and
Al Gore for the
2000 US Presidential Election) stating the same policies and views on important issues, and the movie aims to highlight the lack of choice in the US electoral system. This is spoofed in the video as the images of Bush and Gore are morphed together, thereby creating a "mutant" that "appears as two but speaks as one."
Other key themes in the video focus on America's reliance on
oil, with several clips of the
Gulf War, and lines at gas pumps accompanied by the lines "Mass graves for the pump and the price is set." Other clips display modern
industrialization and the
military industrial complex, juxtaposed against images of
third world nations.
Other organizations, topics, and individuals displayed in the video include:
Exxon,
same sex relationships,
Richard Nixon,
Kenneth Starr,
Bill Clinton,
Oliver North,
Monica Lewinsky,
Ronald Reagan,
George H.W. Bush,
Pope John Paul II,
General Norman Schwarzkopf, the
Christian Coalition,
monster truck rallies, the
Republican Revolution, and the corporate donations that each candidate has received.
The similarities between the two candidates are displayed through soundbites of their speeches. Among the topics that George W. Bush and Al Gore agree on, as shown in the video: support of the
death penalty, prosperity through
free trade, investing in the future, support of
clean air, and a ban on
soft money. Each candidate concludes by stating "
GHod Bless America."
The video ends with a quote from
Ralph Nader: "If you're not turned on to politics, politics will turn on you."