Summer's review
Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of the Planet Earth, 73rd Edition
by Editors of The Onion
If I thought the shock images had a purpose - to horrify people, motivate them, bring them out of our collective willingness to ignore Africa except as a single tribal landmass from which we feel guilty about bringing slaves - I'd be pretty okay with them. But that's never really been the Onion's agenda; it's one of those 'it's so true!' social satires that you can then ignore. Which is fine for what it is, but yeah.
Summer's review
Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of the Planet Earth, 73rd Edition by Editors of The Onion
Summer's review
rating:
bookshelves:
2008
This was a big disappointment, especially coming from The Onion. Especially in comparison to the smaller atlas section in the Daily Show's America : the book, a lot of the humor in here is labored and unoriginal and relies more on tired stereotypes than incisive commentary. There were places that made me giggle, but for the most part, the book was more tedious than funny.
One thing I really had a problem with was the section on Africa - the endless jokes about famine and civil war really dragged the whole thing down, yes, but showing actual photos of mutilated corpses and children with their hands cut off really went past "dark humor" and into the territory of sheer inappropriateness. Too much, too soon, too over the top.
One thing I really had a problem with was the section on Africa - the endless jokes about famine and civil war really dragged the whole thing down, yes, but showing actual photos of mutilated corpses and children with their hands cut off really went past "dark humor" and into the territory of sheer inappropriateness. Too much, too soon, too over the top.
If I thought the shock images had a purpose - to horrify people, motivate them, bring them out of our collective willingness to ignore Africa except as a single tribal landmass from which we feel guilty about bringing slaves - I'd be pretty okay with them. But that's never really been the Onion's agenda; it's one of those 'it's so true!' social satires that you can then ignore. Which is fine for what it is, but yeah.
