URGENT APPEAL: pop culture should not be at the service of war
"In addition to a ramified state apparatus, arms factories and dedicated research and education structures, an integral part of the system of militarism is ideology and all those who re-produce it. People often do not want war, they reject weapons and violence, they see people as friends and not enemies, they do not want to fight for the interests of a few agents of capital. In order to effectively prepare people to accept the values and ideas of militarism, many ideological schemes, such as nationalism, racism, sexism and others, based on the idea of the domination of one part of the population over others, are employed. Through their active participation in the reproduction of these ideas, pop culture, religious organisations, educational institutions, folklore societies, scout associations and many other parts of society can also be part of the system of militarism. The degree of militarisation of a society is reflected in practically all its spheres, and not only in the military apparatus. " (Initiative against Militarism, 25.10.2024)
In recent years, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) have been investing more and more heavily and visibly in the promotion of their school for professional killers. The advertisers and promoters engaged in their service wrap the unsavoury 'military' profession in cellophane of various colours. Most of all, of course, in the so-called national tricolour, with which they want to strike at the feelings of patriotic loyalty, for which it is supposedly worth not only to kill but also to dye. The new promotional approaches are in line with the "modern strategy for the promotion of the Slovenian Armed Forces, military service and the military profession, as well as for the recruitment of personnel", which was announced by the Ministry of Defence in 2020.
Two important elements of this strategy are the pop-isation of the profession of 'professional killer' and the increasing normalisation of the process of militarisation of society, resulting in an ever easier flow of public funds into the war industry. The SAF pays particular attention to targeting of youth. To this end, it hired a consortium of Pristop, Pristop Media and Renderspace to develop a media campaign and a social media advertising strategy, both in line with standard marketing industry approaches. Pro-war and pro-arms messages were coloured with recognisable street or online youth slang, pursuing the status of 'coolness' on social networks. The annual student military camp promotes adventure, adrenaline, fun and women's 'emancipation', as well as all sorts of technological (killer) toys to complement classics such as 'love for the country' and super machismo. There are also young servicemen and women as tiktok stars, urging their peers to build their careers on war. And the quasi-rock band Naboj is aimed at the supposedly rebellious youth. Alongside these communication techniques, it is worth mentioning the financial incentives in the form of scholarships for several levels of education, which are aimed primarily at more socially disadvantaged youth. All this is just part of the modern strategy of recruitment for war, where new approaches are joining more traditional ones, such as the display of weapons at student events or visits to barracks and other military infrastructure by organised school groups.
The officially supported and well-paid virtual social networking campaign reaches its annual peak on the Day of Slovenian Armed Forces on 15 May, which is this year celebrated under the slogan "♥ under the uniform, ♥ for the homeland". The shallow phrase conveniently leaves out the main point and ignores what exactly a person in uniform is to be doing in the supposed service of the homeland. This should be left open, and the emojis of the hearts should contribute to the success of the deception. As if the army were some kind of charity service, spreading love and joy everywhere! By appealing to positive emotions, the Slovenian army, like its faithful partner the police, misleadingly convinces young people that their service is to fight against the injustices of the world, when its primary mission is precisely to perpetuate or even exacerbate the unjust relations in the society.
As a fundamental element of a modern PR strategy, SAF Day is conceived as an advertising platform to mislead young people with the idea of the "coolness" of military service, which is why its strategic alliance with the domestic music industry comes as no surprise. This year's programme includes the now traditional free concert, which is to be held on 24th May in Koper. In addition to the performance of the SAF Big Band, which is mostly unattractive for young people, an arrangement of local pop stars is invited to participate, as every year. Last year, Nina Pušlar, Vlado Kreslin, Tomislav Jovanović Tokac and Leopold I stepped into the service of the homeland or the killing machine in Maribor. This year in Koper Joker Out, Gregor Skočir - BFM, Raiven, Masayah, Anika Horvat, Slavko Ivančič and Gregor Ravnikar will pledge their names and voices for the recruitment drive for war.
These creators either blindly believe in the hearts that decorate guns, bullets, tanks, drones and other killer technological innovations, or they find the financial offer of the Slovenian army so tempting that they easily ignore who the client is and what purpose their performance serves. Neither of these two options absolves them of personal responsibility for strengthening the system of militarism and its murderous tools. Neither option absolves them of responsibility for co-creating a climate of warmongering between nuclear-armed superpowers, at a time when the allies of the Slovenian army are committing genocide live on the air. When these pop stars have their mouths full of humanitarianism and a desire for peace, it is worth remembering how they react when the representatives of the system of militarism wave a stack of money and platitudes about patriotism in front of them. They willingly put their musical creativity, which they are so fond of calling art, at the disposal of a promotional campaign prepared by advertising agencies to serve the needs of the army and its war ambitions.
There may be a third option: the creators may have been unthinkingly misled, or even fooled themselves, about the true nature of the Koper concert. In this case, it is not too late: we call on all performers at the Slovenian Armed Forces Day concert in Koper to cancel their performance and to call on their colleagues to do the same. We also call on all other current and future artists to resist the attempts of the Slovenian Armed Forces to instrumentalise their musical and other creativity for the needs of the war machine and the recruitment of young people for senseless death. We call on all those mentioned above to use their success to promote the ideas of peace, life of dignity, demilitarisation of society and a free Palestine instead of the glorification of war. Enough of the abuse of art, culture and entertainment for war purposes!
Initiative against militarism
12. May 2025