Kidnapped Boy Found Safe, Imagines Kidnapped Boy
**WARNING: Extremely disturbing content**
It could have been funny, but like a bad Family Guy sketch, I think they extended it too long and went too far.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Is This Onion Article Funny Or Just Depressing?
Kidnapped Boy Found Safe, Imagines Kidnapped Boy
**WARNING: Extremely disturbing content**
It could have been funny, but like a bad Family Guy sketch, I think they extended it too long and went too far.
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If they only would bother to offer a paying gig (bold on paying), thhen maybe I would lend my services and try to help make them funny again.
ReplyDeleteI love The Onion and read it frequently. I think they're brilliant. That said, I was immensely shocked by how glib they were about the D.C. Sniper shootings since one of the shootings took place about 5 minutes from my house on a day during which I'd been out with my wife running errands. But, with The Onion, you can't think in terms of going too far. That is, after all, what they do. You kind of have to take the site for what it is and until they're no longer funny or until they stop making me think, I'll keep reading.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the article, I was almost sick. I hate to post just to agree, but agree I do.
ReplyDeleteIt's dark, and it is a bit too long, but I found it funny. However, I do tend to enjoy gallow's humor, generally.
ReplyDeleteEh...coulda done without that one. Sometimes even Family Guy is a little, "I'm all for freedom of speech...but...". Heh.
ReplyDeleteI usually love pretty much anything that the Onion does, but I think that is in the sort of bad taste that isn't funny. I think they could have made it hostage, rather than being about a child, and still had the sort of humor they were looking for. Even then (40 year old man rather than 9 year old boy) They extended it a good bit too far with several overly graphic elements.
ReplyDeleteYo that is intensely F-ed up. Even worse than one of those 'family guy' jokes.
ReplyDeleteThe level of detail is just down right sadistic and I think whoever wrote it needs help.
That was horrifying. I really regret having read it. As a parent, it is genuinely going to give me nightmares tonight.
ReplyDeleteActually, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I'd rather stop reading the blog than risk clicking through to something that incredibly disturbing to me. It's a fine blog which I often enjoy, but this article falls under the category "things which will disturb me for months into the future at unpredictable times." Feel free to remove this comment, since I don't mean to flounce off like a drama queen - I would have simply e-mailed but didn't see a link to do so. It just seemed more thoughtful let you know than to wander off, so that you have good feedback on what people like and dislike, since you've expressed concern about readership before.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes.
aaah. Ok as a joke? NOT FUNNY.
ReplyDeleteas a tragic bit of writing? about endless hopes unfufilled and the cruel unfairness of life? pretty great. still made my stomach hurt with sadness though
Little of both. I laughed at first, then felt squeamish, then laughed again at the "It's over!" joke... then yeah, it kind of wore out its welcome. Black humor sometimes does that.
ReplyDeleteUm, yeah. That was a little much. I'm a big fan of the Onion, but that one seemed a little more grim than most.
ReplyDeleteThough, I've found other grim Onion articles pretty funny, so it could just be the fact that I'm a parent that makes this one seem to go too far.
Honestly, this article has soured me on The Onion.
ReplyDeleteThat was hilarious. Especially the part about his missing pinkie finger.
ReplyDeleteThat was pretty darn funny.
ReplyDelete@Valerie D'Orazio
ReplyDeleteHonestly, this article has soured me on The Onion.
Upon glancing at the headline, I too grimaced and thought, "uh oh...". And yeah, the piece did not disappoint or surprise me on more focused reading later.
But, I also have a strong stomach for this kind of humor and can usually separate the writer from the written. So the only lasting disappointment is that the Onion, with a staff that's just got to be more copious and more competent than say, the average late-night TV show, couldn't come up with anything funnier than that gag to fill that space.
It happens. Even at The Onion. So I can't swear them off just yet.
The Onion's just been a lot less funny in general over the past year or so. I don't know if they're breaking in new writers or they've just lost their touch. It used to be the first place I'd go every Wednesday to laugh uproariously. Now I might check it out once every couple of months or so.
ReplyDelete