The camouflage The Great Commandment (1987) - The camouflage The Great Commandment (1987)

What this video is

Released in September 1987 by Camouflage, a synth-pop trio from Bietigheim-Bissingen, West Germany, 'The Great Commandment' emerged at the intersection of Cold War European youth anxiety and the global expansion of electronic club culture. The video's factory setting and robotic authority figure served as a pointed allegory for institutional control and youth resistance — themes resonant in divided Cold War Europe.…

Why it matters

A landmark artifact of late-1980s West German synth-pop, 'The Great Commandment' bridged Kraftwerk's machine-electronic precision with Depeche Mode's gothic anti-establishment ethos. As Camouflage's debut single, it demonstrated that European electronic acts could achieve Billboard Dance #1 status…

The director

Rainer Thieding directed the 1987 music video for Camouflage's debut single 'The Great Commandment', shot on 35mm black-and-white film at Butenholt-Studios in Kröppelshagen, West Germany. His directorial approach employed theatrical industrial staging and a…