The video opens with a distinctive Lego set, featuring a Native American chief on horseback traversing a moonlit, barren landscape. This animated sequence quickly transitions to various individuals depicted as victims of the United States government, including Black Americans in chains and survivors of Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison. As the background music intensifies, the scene shifts to Iranian soldiers attaching large banners to missiles. These banners display messages such as “For the stolen Blacks” and “For the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Further messages on the missiles include “In memory of victims of Iran Air flight 655,” referencing the 1988 incident where a passenger aircraft was downed by US missiles, resulting in 290 fatalities. Another banner reads “In memory of Rachel Corrie’s freedom struggle,” honoring the American activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza in 2003. Similar messages are displayed for victims of US conflicts and alleged abuses in Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Iraq, as well as “the children of Epstein island,” before the missiles are shown launching. The video concludes with the collapse of giant statues representing US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, followed by the bold, all-caps declaration: ‘ONE VENGEANCE FOR ALL.’
This March 29 video is part of a series produced by Explosive Media, one of several Iran-based groups utilizing familiar Lego figures and blocks to create a viral social media trend. These videos aim to reinforce Tehran’s narrative amidst ongoing tensions with the US and Israel. The video, which portrays various alleged victims of US actions and domestic issues, has garnered nearly 150,000 views on X. Explosive Media’s YouTube channel was recently removed by the Google-owned platform. Despite this, the Tehran-based group continues its work, employing custom lyrics and rap beats to critique former President Trump. They often use his own statements to highlight perceived hypocrisy and an alleged prioritization of Israeli interests over American ones.
An anonymous representative from Explosive Media informed Al Jazeera that their YouTube channel was suspended for allegedly promoting violence. The representative asserted their belief that Lego-style brick animations are not violent. “There was frustration, but no surprise – this story is not new,” the representative stated, adding, “We know well how the West wraps truth in silence and tries to mute every voice that speaks it.”
Deep Symbolism
The group’s videos encompass a range of themes, from somber narratives reflecting on Shia-Muslim history to energetic rap-style music videos, all animated using Lego-like brick figures and settings. According to the Explosive Media spokesperson, the colors green and red in their animations carry symbolic meaning. Green represents Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed, and his struggle for justice against oppression, while red symbolizes the oppressor. “That’s actually one of our team’s favorite animations,” the spokesperson remarked. “Especially that moment when war helmets are placed on missiles and drones – it was truly brilliant.”
Other videos feature phrases such as “Epstein regime” and “Loser,” and depict supporters of the former US president wearing brick-red hats with “MAGA” (Trump’s Make America Great Again movement) emblazoned on them. These animations often contrast Trump’s promises to avoid new wars and assist working-class Americans with his own statements, alleging a betrayal of commitments in favor of Israeli demands. “LOSER is one of our best creations,” the group’s spokesperson stated, noting that it’s a term Trump frequently used for opponents. “So we flipped it – and showed that, in the end, he’s the biggest loser of all.” The figure resembling Trump is occasionally depicted holding a small doll.
Another video, released after a period of intense bombardment in Lebanon where over 100 bombs were reportedly dropped in 10 minutes, was directed at the Lebanese people, asserting that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) would support them. The team behind these videos consists of 10 individuals, all aged between 19 and 25. Notably, the team has access to the internet, including US-owned social media platforms that have been largely blocked for most Iranians by the government since the conflict began. In an interview with Al Jazeera, the Explosive Media spokesperson confirmed that Iranian state media outlets are among their clients, but maintained the group’s independence. “We produce high-quality media content, so it’s natural that different local media outlets – including some state-affiliated ones – sometimes purchase our work for broadcast,” the spokesperson explained. “In practice, we create the content first, and if the quality is strong enough, media organizations choose to buy it from us. This way, our independence is fully preserved.”
Breaking Through the Noise
Explosive Media is not the sole creator in this space. Other artists, such as PersiaBoi and Southern Punk, have produced similar Lego-themed videos. The trend has also expanded beyond Iran, reaching Pakistan, where local creators like Nukta media developed their own versions prior to the initial round of Iran-US negotiations in Islamabad on April 11.
Fasi Zaka, an Islamabad-based social commentator, highlighted the cleverness of the Lego-style videos, noting their ability to address various subjects within a global information landscape that, for decades, has often been critical of Iran, largely influenced by Western media. “These videos are ways of breaking through what is an information highway stacked against them generally in times of war,” Zaka observed. Zaka described the videos as “really smart” for their focus on fault lines within US domestic politics, such as the Epstein files. “They’re just calling it the ‘Epstein regime’, and that’s a domestic fissure that they’re choosing to bring forward again,” he explained. “They’re also using, like, the election MAGA tropes and being subordinate to Israeli interests, so in that the way they’re doing it, it seems like fun, but it’s really, really smart.”
Zaka also identified a deeper layer of symbolism, referencing the alleged bombing of the Minab girls’ school by the US on the war’s opening day, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of over 160 Iranian schoolgirls. “The war opened with an atrocity against Iranian children,” he stated, suggesting that the use of Lego – a globally recognized brand for children and parents – brings “it all together in this way.”
‘Owning Smack-Talk’
Marc Owen Jones, a professor at Northwestern University in Qatar specializing in media analytics, suggested that Iran’s focus on winning the narrative war is a crucial strategic element, recognizing that military victory may not be achievable. “Their best bet of success is to have public opinion on their side, pressuring the United States to stop,” he told Al Jazeera. “And the communications game in this day and age is one in which this kind of troll propaganda, this kind of ‘owning smack-talk type’ propaganda wins.”
Jones noted that the carefully selected themes in the Lego-style videos might have resonated more strongly with Western audiences if they had not originated from Iran, a nation that, he suggests, has been portrayed as untrustworthy over decades. Zaka further argued that the undiplomatic tone and direct messaging in the Iranian videos often parallel former President Donald Trump’s communication style. “Ultimately, the Iranian Lego videos are very good,” Jones concluded. “They’re actually well thought out. There’s a lot of details in them. There’s actually a narrative. Whereas US propaganda is just, you know, explosions with Hollywood films cut through them.”
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