Pop surrealist Ron English has returned to the subject of the Last Supper for his contribution to a South Park pop art show. English was one of the first Last Supper parodies to catch my eye and is the first painting in my original collection of 100 Last Suppers.
This time round he takes to the denizens of South Park and haves himself a time. Unlike most parodies, this one actually has a Jesus as Jesus, as Christ conveniently lives in Colorado. His Judas? Mr. Hat - no surprise there. Towelie as the table cloth is a nice touch and Mr. Hankey as the body? Gross.
Cancelled cartoons take their revenge upon they living. Oh my god, they killed Kenny! Again. And yes Futurama is back but they're still a little pissed about the hiatus. (Dawn Of The 'Toons by RedRobotMonkey, via gamefreaks)
So Futurama is returning to Comedy Central on June 24 in the U.S. (woo hoo!) but there is no word about air dates in Canada or even what network will broadcast it. Anyone, a little help?
In the meantime, here is the first image of the reconstituted season, appropriately titled Rebirth. (Links via Geekologie; Underwire)
This mashup of Team America: World Police with the audio from the latest Avatar trailer knocks some of the pomposity out of James Cameron's much-anticipated sc-fi epic. The hype for this film is way out of control, even showing up on Bones (ya I watch it, what of it?) as the height of geek delight. Sure it was just an extended product placement, but still.
Thankfully Trey Parker and Matt Stone are here to help, if only indirectly. (Link via Unreality)
The only surprising thing about a South Park Last Supper parody is that it has taken them so long to do one. This scene is from Margaritaville, which as of this writing, has yet to air here in Canada, but played in the U.S. earlier this week. Kyle, the Jew, as Jesus with Cartman as his Judas? It's a perfect match, and trust me, I've seen a whole lot of versions of the Last Supper - here are 50 of them.
From Wikipedia: Kyle and his friends go out for pizza at Whistlin’ Willy’s and laments that he feels they won't be able to get together like this anymore because he thinks he is going to be killed. He says he worries that one of his friends will betray him. All of them act shocked while Cartman stands up and says that whoever betrays Kyle "is a dick" and "it's not cool!" Kyle admits to his friends while glaring accusingly at Cartman that he knows what he has to do to save everyone.
I know I'm hardly breaking any new ground here, but coming across this remixed trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I reminded of how realy terrible that film was. Yes, 10 months later I still have a visceral reaction to a film that makes The Matrix Revolutions seem like a pretty good idea.
It's all about the fridge. Sure, there was a lot of no action and most people despise the aliens, but it was that damn fridge that did it for me. Outside of a cartoon, you just don't survive a nuclear blast hiding in a fridge, especially a blast that disintegrated the house the fridge it was in. Or emerge unharmed and smirking from said fridge, after it flew through the air landing with a thud in the desert. It was there that I realized I was watching a terrible parody, as did Jason Cooley, the maker of the above trailer.
The phrase Nuke the Fridge quickly entered the popular lexicon as a movie version of Jump the Shark. It really was that bad. (Image via New York Times)
But I hardly have suffered the worst of it. Trey Parker and Matt Stone were so scarred by what they saw they could only relive it though South Park, in one of the most disturbing and hilariously wrong scenes I've ever seen on TV:
Who needs world wars, political ideology and elections to delve into the world of propaganda? Papa Smurf needs you and Waldo is watching. I've got a thing for spoofs and parodies, and if you can tie together two disparate cultural elements, I'm sold. I attribute it to a lifetime of watching shows like The Simpsons and The Muppets. So behold, a collection of pop culture propaganda posters.
Invincible: An army of Berts couldn't hold me back. From Michigan illustrator Kevin Skinner. This was the image that set me off looking for all the rest. Update: Kevin got in touch and he is selling his final print over on ebay. He says it is a reductive linocut, so it can't be printed again, so get bidding.
Waldo: Forget finding Waldo, Waldo's watching you. From Worth 1000's Fun with Propaganda 5)
Smurfs: Red Revolution. Come to think of it, the village really was a commune.
Smurfs: Of couse some take a more positive spin, and believe in the pro'papa'ganda. He will know if we are there yet.
Lord of the Rings: I want you for the fighting Uruk-Hai. Hmm, can Orcs read? From Worth 1000's Fun with Propaganda 5.
Mad: What me worry? Must be a poster from Cracked. From Worth1000's Fun with Propaganda.
Jack: Long live the American Nicholson Party. "Now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules." From Worth1000's Fun with Propaganda 3.
Willy Wonka: Oompa loompa doopadee dee, if you are wise you'll listen to me. From Worth1000's Fun with Propaganda 3.
G.I. Joe: You can't beat COBRA if you get VD. You'd figure that there would be way more G.I. Joe posters - seems the perfect subject matter. From Chris's Invincible Super-Blog.
Transformers: All hail Megatron. From the aptly named All Hail Megatron series from IDW Publishing. Rocketeer: Some revisionist film history, as Cliff Secord lets the rocket pack fall into the hands of the Germans. From Something Awful.
Street artist Shepard Fairey created a series of Hope posters supporting Barack Obama's candidacy for President. They were quickly parodied into 150 different versions. These are four of my favourites:
Star Wars: Long before there was Barack Obama, there was a new hope. Luke Skywalker.
Debork Obama: Says the Swedish Chef, "Yom-yom-yommm, mit de chocolad. Bork, bork, bork!" By Sleeper Cell.
Winnie the Pooh: Wouldn' you trust a bear of very little brain? By Commissar Maksim.
ALF: It seems to be that ALF would be of very little hope for Melmac, as the planet has already blown up. Easier to keep your promises I suppose.
Animal Farm: Four legs good, two legs bad
Star Wars: Our Imperial Forces. There's no war like a clone war.
BattleStar Galactica: So say we all!
Gnomes: This ain't your garden variety revolution. I knew they were up to something.
South Park: Respect our authoritah. Really fits well with Cartman's fascist bent.
Star Wars: The Empire — Ensuring your safety by choice or by force
SuperMario: The Mushroom Guard
Pokémon: I choose you, Pikachu. Much like everyone else in the draft, he didn't really have a choice. From Worth1000's Fun with Propaganda 8. Waldo: But where is Waldo? At least they let hi keep the hat. From Worth1000's Fun with Propaganda. Star Trek: Stop this Klingon brute. Who knew Star Fleet was so xenophobic?
Futurama: You're not paid to think.
Spongebob: Are you sponge worthy? Loose lips sink ships to Bikini Bottom.
Remember the baby chasing the dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana's seminal album, Nevermind? Yup, that's Spencer Elden, all of 17 now and likely chasing more than a buck for recreating this photo. Happily, this time he wore a bathing suit.
Of course this got me thinking, as I'm wont to do, about parodies of the album cover I've seen here and there, which are are now conveniently located below:
The most famous version was of a baby version of Bart Simpson chasing the almighty Krusty buck, for the November, 2002 cover of Rolling Stone. It's rare to get official parodies.
Of course the King of Parody is the other exception to the rule. "Weird Al" Yankovic's Off The Deep End, which featured Smells Like Nirvana:
Were so loud and incoherent Boy, this oughta bug your parents Yeah
You know you've had an impact when "Weird Al" spoofs both your hit song and your album art.
A nice take on a Van Gogh self-portrait and a comment on how much money everyone has made on the back of his art following his death. Shades of Courtney Love. Found on one of Worth 1000's brilliant photoshop contests.
A mashup of Jaws and Nirvana. Cute. Again, from the archives of Worth 1000.
Millions of users at a buck a download? I think Apple found their Nirvana with the iPod. From Flickr user axb500.
Just another way those bastards killed Kenny. From a South Park fan art page, in case you couldn't tell.
I think I mostly amused by the Neverfind band name. Yet another from the whizzes at Worth 1000.
And lastly, what roundup of parodies would be complete without a Lego entry? From a collection of Lego album cover parodies. Is there anything minifigs can't do?
"Think about it. Haven't Luke Skywalker and Santa Claus affected your lives more than most real people in this room? I mean, whether Jesus is real or not, he... he's had a bigger impact on the world than any of us have.
And the same could be said of Bugs Bunny and, and Superman and Harry Potter. They've changed my life, changed the way I act on the Earth. Doesn't that make them kind of 'real.'
They might be imaginary, but they're more important than most of us here. And they're all gonna be around long after we're dead. So in a way, those things are more realer than any of us."
Waldo's back and, well, he's not exactly hiding this time. The candy-cane coloured dork is making a comeback, with a new book and a campaign to return him to the world of pop culture. Expect to see him showing up at unusual places, like New York's Fashion Week (see above).
Of course he's not really been hidden all that well. While Waldo books may not be flying off the shelf, he's been making regular appearances in other pop culture icons.
Waldo has made three appearances in The Simpsons through the '90s, including Bart's Comet and Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder.
Homer Simpson: “Waldo, where are you?”
Bizarro cartoonist Dan Piraro's Zen Waldo
In Sibling Rivalry", Stewie and Brian find diversity in an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog with an African-American man dressed like Waldo hidding in an one of the images.
In Imaginationland Episode III, the good imaginary beings fight the evil imaginary creature and Waldo is speared in the chest multiple times.
Of course, there is another explanation of where Waldo has been hiding. He may have lost his memory and now he's out for revenge...
I'll keep my eye out for where else he appears. Many thanks to the Waldo Wiki for all the help.
"It would be a shame if Isaac Hayes, who died yesterday at 65, were remembered only as the guy who voiced the cartoon character who sang Chocolate Salty Balls," reads Entertainment Weekly's tribute to Hayes.
While it wouldn't be the only thing I'll remember, it is my favourite and one of the best moments from South Park. It embodies both the show's clever yet juvenile humour and Chef's sexualization of just about anything.
Are farts funny? Canadians once seemed to think so and the country's finest contribution to flatulence is the invention of the whoopee cushion.
We're an odd country sometimes, always taking pride in the oddest of things: annoying singers (Céline Dion, Bryan Adams, etc.), over-the-top comedians (Jim Carrey, even though I think he is getting U.S. citizenship) and fake breasts (hello Pamela Anderson!). But now it has been discovered we are the inventors of fake farts too.
I feel strangely proud of that. And here I thought our biggest fart joke was Terrence and Philip.
