of provocation or social campaign just to start to talk about illegal parking. that campaign comes in the form of a youtube video where mayor zuokas taps into humankind s most primal urges. if you see a car that will block exit, for example, from your house or office, what usually you think? usually you think i would like maybe to crash this car. with this in mind, they hit the streets of vilnius with a used mercedes they purchased for the video and an armored personnel carrier borrowed from the local military museum. it s very popular in soviet union. even now they use this but a more modern version. the filmmaker parked the mercedes illegally in a bike lane. they have only one chance at getting the perfect shot. we have only one shot. but we were prepared very well. we succeeded easily, quite
perpetrators worldwide. i was, of course, surprised of such popularity of this film. the reaction was so huge everywhere in the world. videos of destruction have a tendency to really be fascinating to people. sort of almost like destruction porn. watching a building collapse or, you know, a car be smashed. the video is a huge hit, but does it really deter parking scofflaws? it reduced the problem for sure. because the people now had the image of tank which may come and crash their car. after watching mayor zuokas and his car crushing adventures, many wonder if a u.s. politician could pull off the same stunt? michael dukakis, presidential candidate in 1988, got in a tank, put on a helmet and looked silly. here city officials try to look less oppressive. there, apparently, they want to be more oppressive. since becoming an internet sensation, the mayor continues to combat parking violators in
really a mayor caught on camera during a very unstatesman-like rampage to punish a parking violator? or is this another work of viral fiction? well, let s ask the man himself. arturas zuokas, the mayor of vilnius, the capital of lithuania. you know, what is real in our life? writer dostoevsky, he wrote when you think about a crime is already a crime. okay. that might be a little deep. let s just say it s a little of both. the video s real. all right? there s nothing being faked. like the car being crushed is not being faked. it s not like a cgi tank. this guy actually got into a
i was, of course, surprised of such popularity of this film. the reaction was so huge everywhere in the world. videos of destruction have a tendency to really be fascinating to people. almost like destruction porn of watching a building collapse or a car be smashed. the video is a huge hit, but does it really deter parking scofflaws? it will reduce this problem for sure because the people now have the image of tank which maybe will come and crash their car. after watching mayor zuokas and his car crushing adventures, many wonder if a u.s. politician could pull off the same stunt? michael dukakis, presidential candidate in 1988 got in a dank and put on a helmet and looked silly. we live in a how can i put this much less soviet country. officials here look less oppressive. there they like to look more impressive. since becoming an internet sensation, the mayor continues to combat parking violators in new and unique ways.
easily. as for the owner of the mercedes, he s played by a local actor. we tried to find a guy who looks like the real owner of a mercedes. you could see similar like this guy with a mercedes quite often in the city of vilnius. with all forgiven, the mayor cleans up after his mess. i like how they have this little scene with the mayor sweeping bits of crushed glass off the highway to advertise the sense of civic responsibility and duty after crushing a mercedes. on august 2nd, 2011, the mayor zuokas launches the clip on his youtube page. in just a few days, it goes viral getting millions of hits and petrifying parking perpetrators worldwide.