Peeling the Onion, Blogging Away

(This info is also posted on the Class Blog)

Hey, everyone. First, let's talk about the reading assignment for Tuesday. Then we'll move on to the blogging assignment for Sunday.

Did you get pick up a copy of The Onion, Ad Nauseam, Complete News Archives, Volume 14? Great. I don't expect you to read all 264 pages by Tuesday, but I do expect you to spend some quality time browsing through it. So let curiosity, your critical intelligence, and your funny bone be your reading guides this weekend. If you've got Post-It Notes, affix them to pages of The Onion where you find articles that relate to issues we've either discussed in class or should discuss in class. The articles don't necessarily have to include a then-topical reference to post-9/11 culture. For example, you could flag a Herbert Kornfeld column that uses hip-hop slang in a way similar to David Rees' Get Your War On. But you should take your own questions and concerns to the course materials so that we can discuss them together in class (by the way, encouraging you to generate your own critical thoughts is one way for me to correct for my own political biases). As you're browsing through the book, take a close look at the stories on the following pages: 7, 8, 31, 43, 91, 133, 217, 223, 229, 235, 241, 253. I think you'll like what you find.

For this weekend's blog post, which is due by Sunday 8PM, please write at least a paragraph on one of the following topics (for the questions that can't be written in paragraph form, use your best judgment when deciding on length):

1. On page 3 of Get Your War On, one character muses, "Maybe I should write a poem about my feelings since September 11th; that might help! What rhymes with 'alcohol-saturated dread?" The travails of this hard-drinking lyricist highlights the inadequacy of poetry to convey post-9/11 anxiety, at least according to David Rees (you might remember Art Spiegelman making a similar point). Write a post that either argues for poetry or for the comic strip as a form particularly well-suited to representing post-9/11 culture. What does poetry or comic strips allow you to say, show, or represent that can be especially powerful for post-9/11 themes? Can you give an example?

2. You're a clip art character wiling away another day at your cubicle. (Sigh) All of a sudden, Voltron appears at your desk. (Gasp!) What do you two say to each other?

3. Why do Rees' characters repeat the phrase, "Under God"? (For instance, on page 12.) What kind of critique is Rees offering about US foreign policy? Post-9/11 US culture?

4. Finally, your big chance to create a comic strip that satirizes David Rees' Get Your War On. So what are you going to call it? Who are the characters going to be, and what do they do? Sketch out some details and then give us a sample of your anti-Get Your War On satirical humor.