Fever
1st August 2003, 02:28
Between the war in iraq, september 11th, terrorists, and so forth we have alot to be worried about. But leave it to David Rees to make us laugh about all our insecuritys.
From Booklist
About a month after 9/11, stiff little drawings of office workers talking on the phone about the developing war on terrorism appeared on Rees' Web site. They have proliferated since into a bitterly funny running commentary on what Rees obviously considers a profound waste of the human spirit, not to mention personnel, materiel, and money. The drawings are clip-art figures--the same handful used over and over, cropped, enlarged, and diminished--and they look eminently bland and middle-of-the-road, not a boat-rocking bunch. What Rees has coming out of their mouths, however, couldn't contrast more starkly: slash-and-burn cynicism, frothing with anger and fear, liberally peppered with the f-word, especially in participial form; in short, the kind of impotent, resentful, but intelligent bile hip youngsters might spout. The sheer incongruity of pictures and text provokes laughter, and references to trashy pop culture keep it coming. Rees' conceit that straight-arrow, would-be patriotic Americans are actually profoundly unnerved by Bush-administration policies as well as lethal fanaticism, however, ensures that one's laughter is satiric.
Taken from book:
Mom: And then Timmy is like, "mommy, i dont want to live in a constitutional monarchy! Did Mr Bush put congress to sleep like we did with Rusty?
Women:Cute!
Mom: Of course then he goes over to the computer where i've been reading the news...
Timmy: Mommeeee! Why is this little boy all fucking blown up and mutilated with no arms? Didn't he get the dollar i sent him???
All the money made from these books go to removing mines in afganistan.
From Booklist
About a month after 9/11, stiff little drawings of office workers talking on the phone about the developing war on terrorism appeared on Rees' Web site. They have proliferated since into a bitterly funny running commentary on what Rees obviously considers a profound waste of the human spirit, not to mention personnel, materiel, and money. The drawings are clip-art figures--the same handful used over and over, cropped, enlarged, and diminished--and they look eminently bland and middle-of-the-road, not a boat-rocking bunch. What Rees has coming out of their mouths, however, couldn't contrast more starkly: slash-and-burn cynicism, frothing with anger and fear, liberally peppered with the f-word, especially in participial form; in short, the kind of impotent, resentful, but intelligent bile hip youngsters might spout. The sheer incongruity of pictures and text provokes laughter, and references to trashy pop culture keep it coming. Rees' conceit that straight-arrow, would-be patriotic Americans are actually profoundly unnerved by Bush-administration policies as well as lethal fanaticism, however, ensures that one's laughter is satiric.
Taken from book:
Mom: And then Timmy is like, "mommy, i dont want to live in a constitutional monarchy! Did Mr Bush put congress to sleep like we did with Rusty?
Women:Cute!
Mom: Of course then he goes over to the computer where i've been reading the news...
Timmy: Mommeeee! Why is this little boy all fucking blown up and mutilated with no arms? Didn't he get the dollar i sent him???
All the money made from these books go to removing mines in afganistan.