Controversial product: Suicide bomber character

The Uncle Abdul suicide bomber character from the Seamour Sheep comic strip series will be available as a collector's vinyl figure from Crazy Label. A controversial item, indeed.

From the creator:

We hope that the release of the Uncle Abdul figure will help to ironize the act of suicide bombing and acts of violence in general. In our humble opinion no subject should be an absolute taboo that is free from any satire, because satire is not only meant to make people laugh, but sometimes also to wake them up and make them think and discuss.

Link

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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Anonymous

There was an episode of Harvey Birdman in which Morocco Mole is suspected of being a terrorist.
He looks like Morocco Mole’s suaver nephew. Hmm…

Irony is a way of removing yourself from feeling. There should be a stage between the horror of something and it becoming a joke, where you really analyze the thing.

I have an ironic appreciation of my own post…
Anonymous

Not cool. Shame on them. War toys are one thing, for war is a historical fact, and even the game paintball, which very much simulates real ground war, is very stimulating to play as a game that creates emotions that will make one never want to play it with real bullets, given how randomly one gets hit from behind. But most wars do not involve official acts of murder. I take this “toy” to be a trivialization of murder, and it’s being written up/released on 911 is profiteering and sneering at the purposeful murder of non-combatants. Unless heaven is a playhouse full of cuddly blue toys, then this object is akin to a group of KKK dolls and a few black boys for them to â€œplayâ€ with.
Dillenger69

The first thing I thought when I saw that was that it was a Morocco Mole toy of some kind.
phasor3000

In our humble opinion no subject should be an absolute taboo that is free from any satire

Really? How about rape, or the sexual or physical abuse of children? But short of that I probably agree with them. However, if these guys think they’re being brave taboo-breakers, and stirring up the pot of discussion — well, there’s one thing that will cause more outrage, debate, and cries for censorship than anything else: Prophet Mohammed vinyl figures (or cartoons).

Now of course, no one knows what the Prophet Mohammed looked like, but that doesn’t matter — all you have to do is state that it’s Mo, and hundreds of thousands of people will go into a psychotic rage, all because you’ve insulted their religion by displaying an image of their guy. It can be an entirely respectful, non-snarky image, it doesn’t matter. No poop-encrusted Virgin Mary or pee-soaked crucifix has that kind of world-class taboo power.

I suspect that the Crazy Label folks are probably only going to cavort and frolic in the safe, shallow end of the taboo pool…
Antinous

Please forgive, but – It’s a blow-up doll!
Anonymous

[#9 POSTED BY TERESA NIELSEN HAYDEN/MODERATOR , SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 6:48 PM:
Anonymous #1:

Despite your snidely dismissive tone, I kind of like this debate, and the analogies to rape dolls etc. that I hadn't thought of.

The new point I'll make though is philosophical, involving the nature of humor. This doll has shock value, indeed, but it's not humorous or fun. It is therefore Art, at best. Someone said "come on, it's been *seven* years..." and I will point out that that's about how long it takes for all the asbestos and other toxic dust of 911 heros to start having really nasty effects on their lungs and heart.

[[But most wars do not involve official acts of murder.]]
[How did you pass history?]

I read the chapters about war crime tribunals, and do not recall any modern (gun-based) war that didn’t end up with a trial in which anybody on either side who raped and pillaged to save a village was sentenced to crimes against humanity. We now spend $20 million *per* bomb in order to avoid having to use carpet bombing of entire industrial cities. I did say “most” wars, meaning that I indeed left out the genocidal ones. But even the CIA can no longer assassinate leaders. Has there been a war yet in Second Life? I hope they don’t blow up the internet in the process.

The doll doesn’t even break a taboo. Many taboos are worthy of mockery, such as it being bad form for a man to ask a stranger of the opposite sex to have it with him, out of the blue. Slap!

Even suicide bombers would be noble people if their cause was just, but (1) they are mostly KIDS being brainwashed into blowing up other KIDS, and (2) they are doing it for RACIST reasons.

Why are the Palestenians living in economic depression in Palestein? Because none of the surrounding countries want them either! Why are Arab men so fanatical? Because they can’t even see female ankles, let alone their mutilated feminine parts, especially since rich guys get more than one wife. It’s textbook Freudian!

The history books you worship will also indicate that after a wonderful “Arab” Renaissance that saved classic Greek literature from being lost, etc., that their culture stumbled and never experienced an Enlightenment in which science was finally no longer blasphemy. It’s like the early Southern USA in which violent white supremacism was the norm. Did you know that it was the Democrats (the labor party) who, up North, were most against emancipation of slaves? They feared that freed blacks would undermine the labor market. How would you react to a bunch of Bible thumpers blowing things up in shopping malls in the USA? “Ha ha, buncha wankers!?”

I guess what’s really buzzing around in my gut is that I detect a subtle but consistent leftist bias on this blog that is not merely reasoned but kind of cheeky, like an insider joke all of your readers are in on too. As an original print-subscriber to BoingBoing, I give away my age, and have found that with that age, I trust fewer and fewer agenda-promoting groups of being actually cool as opposed to feel-good and elitist.

The point of satire of evil is to undermine it’s power over those who are under it’s spell. Charlie Chaplain did this very courageously in his movie “The Great Dictator” made during WWII. Nowadays, though, due to weird Bush=Hitler memes, it’s almost the other way around, a sort of “our fault” self-loathing. We use Western technology to bring untold wealth to former goat herders, and so they want to nuke us? Non-religious North Korea might electrically light up finally in nighttime satellite views, now that it gave up it’s nuke NYC program, but Iran? It might be about to go dark, and for good reason.
Rob, Denmark

TheCynic:

In our humble opinion no subject should be an absolute taboo that is free from any satire

Really? How about rape, or the sexual or physical abuse of children?

No, that shouldn’t be free of satire either.

I’m a Dad, but the costume on the left of this picture made me laugh.
Anonymous

Hasn’t anyone ever seen Dyna Mole from the Tick comics? Way better character.
Anonymous

If you want stereotypes, I suggest taking a look at strips 29 – 34:

http://seamoursheep.com/comics.php?id=29

I don’t think the figure sales have been too hot, up until now. Recently the author/artist, Metin Seven(?), was holding competitions to give the sheep and mole figures away.
TheCynic

The only reason it’s taboo is because there are people who will kill you in your sleep just for talking about it.
bugdog

I still have my Dyna Mole from The Tick series of action figures. It never occurred to me to equate a silly plastic action figure with the reality of suicide bombers. It’s not like it was actually a simpler time when I got this guy, either.

Now, Dyna Mole didn’t have a fez… but he does explode, sort of.

hmm. Perhaps I am shallow. Go figure.
Anonymous

Well whoop-de-do, now we have Teresa Nielsen Hayden’s take on all of our comments, we can all sleep soundly.

Thanks for the verbose paper marking/rebuke.

Boing Boing did not need this.
Lester Reales

Meh.

I guess I’ve never really understood the whole toys-for-adults vinyl figurine thing, but this doll seems destined for the same historical dustbin as Suicide Bomber Barbie and Jihadi Kitty. They’re all slightly clever ideas, but unlikely to make anyone reconsider their relationship to violence in any meaningful way.

The doll, and the comic it came from, are pretty superficial critiques of violence. There’s a huge mess of conflicting ideals at play behind the various Middle-eastern conflicts, and many of these are ripe for satire, but I’m not sure how exactly one would “ironize” the act of murder itself.
Pingveno

I don’t have anything against the use of mildly taboo subjects (less than rape, more than potty humor) for comedy when used for social commentary, but I do have a completely different problem with the toy. Maybe I just have no sense of humor, but a suicide bomber with a faulty detonator isn’t funny, ironic, or social commentary.
cabalamat

Shouldn’t that be “ironicize” not “ironize”?
Anonymous

Hey Cynic!

You sound like a coward!! Make fun of those jerks because it’s dangerous. I mock Islamist fanatics because they are total goons. If some bearded jihadi jumps me, I’ll just have to get all Bruce Lee on him. Or maybe I’ll just get stabbed and shot in the street like Theo. However, I refuse to be scared into silence!
Teresa Nielsen Hayden/Moderator

Anonymous #1:

But most wars do not involve official acts of murder.

How did you pass history?

I take this “toy” to be a trivialization of murder, and it’s being written up/released on 911 is profiteering and sneering at the purposeful murder of non-combatants.

We make jokes about God, our country, love, death, money, sex, pain, family life, beauty, and many other serious, important subjects. What you’re saying is that 9/11 was so much bigger and more important than any of those other subjects that it must be given a unique exemption from irony and humor.

Does it ever occur to you that this mindset of permanent fear and horror is the effect that terrorists are trying to produce? Strike back! Make fun of them! It’s been six years, for pete’s sake. It’s not like we’re ever going to forget what actually happened on the day.

Unless heaven is a playhouse full of cuddly blue toys, then this object is akin to a group of KKK dolls and a few black boys for them to â€œplayâ€ with.

Nonsense. It’s cute and cartoony and faintly ridiculous. It says that suicide bombers are part of the same real world as anything else. Unlike your attitude, it doesn’t give power to the terrorists by imagining they’re some magic unspeakable horror from beyond.

Phasor3000:

However, if these guys think they’re being brave taboo-breakers, and stirring up the pot of discussion — well, there’s one thing that will cause more outrage, debate, and cries for censorship than anything else: Prophet Mohammed vinyl figures (or cartoons).

Why should they? Making fun of the Prophet isn’t a taboo for their audience.

Now of course, no one knows what the Prophet Mohammed looked like, but that doesn’t matter — all you have to do is state that it’s Mo, and hundreds of thousands of people will go into a psychotic rage, all because you’ve insulted their religion by displaying an image of their guy.

Uh-huh. Because no Muslim understands irony or has a sense of humor. That’s why our military wins all its fights with them — all we have to do is hold up a G.I. Joe doll dressed in a tea towel and announce it’s the Prophet Mohammed, and every Muslim within earshot will instantly be incapable of thinking of anything else.

It can be an entirely respectful, non-snarky image, it doesn’t matter. No poop-encrusted Virgin Mary

Do you mean the piece of art at the Brooklyn Art Museum that Rudy Giuliani cynically tried to turn into a crusade? If so, your description is completely wrong. Also, it was so obvious that Giuliani was cynically trying to drum up some cheap outrage that scads of people went to see that show who wouldn’t normally have taken any interest in it.

or pee-soaked crucifix

That upsets you? You’re easy.

has that kind of world-class taboo power.

Right. And that’s why you’re so upset over a toy mole with cartoony dynamite sticks around his middle. If you have problems with high blood pressure, do yourself a favor and stay away from Roadrunner cartoons.

TheCynic:

The only reason it’s taboo is because there are people who will kill you in your sleep just for talking about it.

I don’t think you believe that. You don’t sound the least bit nervous.

Lester Reales: Ever seen a Fargo snowglobe?