The book, spun off from The Onion weekly-newspaper format of dryly satirizing current events, features mocked-up newspaper front pages from the entire 20th century, presented as though The Onion had been continuously in print since before 1900. The publication of the book is in itself a parody of other end of the century retrospectives that had been published in 1999, notably Time magazine and The New York Times.
There are a number of running gags through this supposed history of the twentieth century, which are not immediately apparent. One is the existence of a piece of farmyard equipment called 'The Chicken Raper'. Another is that every major celebrity trial, from Fatty Arbuckle to O.J. Simpson, is referred to as "the trial of the century." A third is the newspaper fear-mongering by drawing a caricature of America's enemy du jour (among them, Spaniards, Nazis, and hippies) sexually assaulting the Statue of Liberty.
the onion our dumb century pdf 12
A more subtle satire is the rise of a (fictional) company called 'Global Tetrahedron', which first appears as a small business in the first decade of the century and gradually grows into a multinational behemoth.
Book DescriptionThe Onion has quickly become the world's most popular humor publication, misinforming half amillion readers a week with one-of-a-kind social satire both in print (on newsstands nationwide)and online from its remote office in Madison, Wisconsin. Witness the march of history as Editorin-ChiefScott Dikkers and The Onion's award-winning writing staff present the twentieth centurylike you've never seen it before.
A wonderful warrior exists on earth. Two dumb creatures make him grow bright between them. Enemies use him against one another. His strength is fierce but a woman can tame him. He will meekly serve both men and women If they know the trick of looking after him And feeding him properly. He makes people happy. He makes their lives better. But if they let him grow proud This ungrateful friend soon turns against them.
"We were lucky enough at Pearl Harbor to be the victim of a craven sneak attack from an aggressor with the decency to attack military targets, use their own damn planes, and clearly mark those planes with their national insignia so that we knew who they were," Rumsfeld said. "Since the 21st-century breed of coward is not affording us any such luxury, we are forced to fritter away time searching hither and yon for him in the manner of a global easter-egg hunt."
\"We were lucky enough at Pearl Harbor to be the victim of a craven sneak attack from an aggressor with the decency to attack military targets, use their own damn planes, and clearly mark those planes with their national insignia so that we knew who they were,\" Rumsfeld said. \"Since the 21st-century breed of coward is not affording us any such luxury, we are forced to fritter away time searching hither and yon for him in the manner of a global easter-egg hunt.\"
The jokes are a little silly, but they are a good distraction. I love any mention of a video store, as that\u2019s such a stark reminder of what\u2019s different about daily life in 2021 versus 2001. \u201CU.S. maps re-drawn with thicker, bolder border\u201D is a wonderfully dumb joke, too.
2ff7e9595c
Comments