Michelle Obama Does Funny or Die, Because Junk Food is Killing Us All

Funny or Die released a new video today featuring a very special
cameo from Michelle Obama. It’s a parody of The Hunger Games,
Divergent, et al, crossed with a healthy eating PSA.

The resulting video, “Snackpocalypse,” is
not remotely funny.

Yeah, yeah, kids are not eating healthy enough, whatever. The
joke falls flat, though—it’s too generic. The creators could have
replaced junk food with any other perceived social problem and made
pretty much the same video. Snack food-shaming fits here only
because it’s what Michelle Obama is best known for.

This isn’t the first time an Obama has appeared in a Funny or
Die video; President Obama sat down for a scripted interview with
Zach Galifianakis on his awkwardly hilarious “Between Two Ferns.”
The
video was a plug for Healthcare.gov and did earn some laughs,
despite being propaganda. “Snackpocalypse,” on the other hand, is
unfunny propaganda.

Interestingly enough, the Barack video was conceived by the
administration as a deliberate ploy to market the Affordable Care
Act to increasingly skeptical millennials. Obama’s people pitched
the idea to Funny or Die’s creative team, which accepted. It’s not
clear whether Michelle Obama’s video was also planned by the
administration (to be fair, this video is not promoting a specific
policy the way the other one was). I’ve asked for clarification
from Funny or Die, but have not heard back yet.

Funny or Die is also perfectly capable of pushing leftist policy
ideas without help from the Obamas. Check out the pro-minimum wage
video,
“Mary Poppins Quits with Kristen Bell,” and then watch Remy’s rebuttal
video.