Truth in Media

[Exitilus]

Read this week's update at The Onion .. it's hilarious.

http://www.theonion.com




-Exitilus

[Eomer]

Haven't read it yet, but I am sure it is gold. The Onion has surprisingly great insights into the issues they cover, despite the rough humor. Their Sept. 11 stuff was great.

[Elidroth]

The Onion's headline on Sept 11 was.

"The whole world goes Fucko Bazoo!"

Hard to argue with insightful words like that.

[Lola]

I thought it was "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"... or maybe that was just what they used as a "header" for it in the weeks after (since I don't think I visited on 9/11). And I agree... hard to argue, heh heh.

[Eomer]

Yeah, it was HOLY FUCKING SHIT: ATTACK ON AMERICA!

The articles I specifically liked from it are these:

http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/us_vows_to_defeat_whoever.html

http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/american_life_turns_into.html

http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/god_clarifies_dont_kill.html

The god one is by far the best, not only because it's humorous.

[Elidroth]

My personal favorite from The Onion this week so far is:

Sheryl Crow Unsuccessful; War On Iraq Begins
WASHINGTON, DC—In spite of recording artist Sheryl Crow's strong protestations, including the wearing of a "No War" guitar strap, the U.S. went to war with Iraq last week. "Making the decision to go to war is never easy, but it's that much harder when you know Sheryl Crow disapproves," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said at a press conference Monday. "It is this administration's sincerest hope that it can one day regain the support and trust of the woman behind such hits as 'All I Wanna Do' and 'Soak Up The Sun.'" Fleischer issued similar apologies to Martin Sheen, Janeane Garofalo, and Nelly.

[Eomer]

lol, has Nelly been speaking out against the war? I would like to know what that brainless fool has to say about it. At least most of the actors can speak partial english.

[Myztlee]

My favourite Onion bit:

http://www.theonion.com/onion3630/dolphins_evolve_thumbs.html

Especially:

"I believe I speak for the entire human race when I say, 'Holy fuck,'" said Oceanographic Institute director Dr. James Aoki, noting that the dolphin has a cranial capacity 40 percent greater than that of humans. "That's it for us monkeys."

So true.

[Myztlee]

"In the movies, when the president says, 'It's war,' that usually means the good part is just about to begin," said hardware-store owner Thom Garner of Cedar Rapids, IA. "Why doesn't it feel that way now? It doesn't feel like the good part is about to begin at all. It feels there's never going to be another good part again."

Awesome.

[Fehren]

I'm just glad and relieved that Eomer had a good laugh over Sept. 11th.

Amateurs laugh over jokes and sitcoms, it takes a real pro to find humor in the death of thousands.

[Vinilaa]

Ouch, even I felt the sting in that barb...

[Eomer]

Seriously Fehren, how was I laughing about Sept. 11th? Those articles don't belittle or make fun of Sept. 11th in any way, and I am sure the majority of people here could see that as well.

[Fehren]

Yeah right. Careful, some may say that to even try to claim that seriously brings into question either your morals or your intelligence.

Let's see - An attempt to compare a tragic event to a bad action film and pull some kind of sick humor out of it, and a blatant jab at a president and administration who (if you read and know your facts from liberal bullshit) did an outstanding job at both coming to grips with the situation and in dealing with it. ...And this two weeks after said event. Not 10 years after, not even 2 years - Two weeks, when most of the even recoverable remains weren't removed from the ruins of those towers yet. This does not belittle or make fun?

Currently, everything that website spews about the war is blatant anti-Americanism, which would only be satisfied by the death of thousands of American soldiers. Then, maybe they would tone it down to only mild ridicule and remove the baseless accusations and outright lies.

Of course, with the quotes coming out of government officials of our "friends" up North, it would be difficult to be surpised by much of anything (I know that website is out of N.Y.). Not that some of the libs in our own govt. aren't behaving just as badly; witness Charlie Rangel in a crucial time when he is supposed to be setting an example, accusing our fighting soldiers of intentionally killing innocent women and children.

[Eomer]

I think you are taking them way too seriously man, and taking them the wrong way. The first link doesn't belittle or make fun of the administration, I don't think. It is just playing off the fact that for the first week or two, it was pretty uncertain who did the attacks. Naturally though, the administration would want to say something about repurcussions, so it just makes a joke about that. I fail to see how it belittes the people who died in the attacks in any way, shape or form.

The second one basically makes a story out of what crossed virtually anyone's minds when they turned to CNN that day: holy shit, this can't be real, it looks like a goddamn movie.


For nearly two full weeks, Americans sat transfixed in front of their televisions, listening to shocked newscasters struggle to maintain their composure while describing events that would have been rejected by Hollywood producers as not believable enough for a Sylvester Stallone vehicle. All the familiar action-movie elements were there: terrorists taking over a plane, panicked crowds, huge fireball explosions, Secret Service agents ushering the president to a secret underground military base in Nebraska to plan the next move. A news report revealed that the terrorists had planned to strike Air Force One. At any moment, it seemed a squadron of alien warships would materialize and begin to menace Jeff Goldblum.

That's not offensive, it's actually a pretty good description of what was going through people's minds at the time. Again, I don't see where it belittles anything to do with Sept. 11.

The third one I won't even go into detail, if you can take offense away from that one, then there is no hope.

I can understand someone finding the above stories hitting too close to home, or in poor taste. That's fine, and perfectly understandable. But to say that I found humor in the deaths of thousands is outrageous, and offends me deeply. Besides, if we can't laugh anymore, haven't the terrorists won?!

that last sentence was sarcasm

[Buazag Bonesteel]

That tends to be the problem with humor. Almost anything funny will offend someone. The edgier it is....the more topical...the more likely to offend. The onion does tend to closely ride that line btween entertaining and offending simply because they do tackle current and explosive topics. I personally tend to find a lot of their stuff funny. I don't visit on a regular basis but when in the mood for some cutting satire that's my first stop. Being able to laugh at humor pulled from the sept. 11th events in no way took away from the shock and grief I felt as they unfolded.

I guess it's all a matter of taste. I also think George Carlin has had some hystericasl routines. The funniest stuff he has done IMO has touched on some very serious subjects. One in particular that had me rolling, in a roundabout way actually went from scoffing at the idea that we were hurting the earth with pollution and deforestation etc to hinting that the earth was taking matters into its own hands by removing the human infestation via the aids virus. Looked at in that light it would seem to be hugely offensive. The manner in which he delivered it made it very funny and the underlying point if any merely seemed to be don't take youself too seriously.

Sometimes the ability to laugh even through immense tragedy is our best and only defense. It reminds us that our way of life, the things we take for granted, even existance itself can be a fragile and fleeting thing. Find joy in what you have and laugh when you can. That doesn't need to preclude you feeling sorrow and sympathy.

Watching the news almost non stop for the several weeks following Sept. 11th I cried. Not because I had relatives or friends that were affected but in sympathy for those affected and because of the immense blow struck against a way of life that had seemed rock solid to me beforehand. I and very likely everyone watching the news that morning and the days after were in a state of complete shock. What didn't shock me was that someone(and the Onion wasn't alone) was willing to delve into the subject and try to find some way to laugh through it. That is human nature. We are by default a resiliant race and our ability to find solace in humor even amidst the abject horror of that event and others like it is an ingrained trait that IMO is fairly important.

Just always wise to bear in mind that something YOU find funny may not be viewed as such by others and vice versa. I have found many jokes that poked fun at something that maybe I had too close a relationship with to find funny. Some things have seemed in bad taste to me. I always try to take them with a grain of salt and remember the things I just talked about above.

Anyway thats my sermon on humor :D

[Myztlee]

Humans use humour as a defense. For those not old enough to remember, when the first shuttle blew up, within hours the first jokes were circulating.

What's NASA stand for? Need Another Seven Astronauts

How many astronauts fit in a BWM bug? 11: 2 in the front, 2 in the back, 7 in the ashtray.

What colour were Krista McAuliffe's eyes? Blue. One blew this way, one blew that way.

What were Krista McAuliffe's last words? Hey guys, what's this button do?

It's offensive, disrespectful, completely tasteless, but it's the way some people deal with tragedy, as they can't handle it any other way.

[Eomer]

That ashtray one is a golden oldie, adapted from a rather obvious jewish joke. That one got me in a lot of trouble once.