aNewDomain — The humor website Funny or Die has created a satirical video for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Supposedly promoting a fake website called “CrimAdviser” (think Trip Advisor) that advises criminal miscreants to take their vacations in states with the laxest gun laws, like Arizona, it’s meant to showcase how ridiculously easy it is to get a gun in some states. Check out that video below the fold.
“How would a criminal like me know which states will allow me to carry loaded guns in their amusement parks, golf courses and beaches?” asks a female criminal, an otherwise clean-cut thirtysomething white woman with a laughably fake face tattoo.
“I have some violent friends. We all wear leather jackets and scream at women. We want to find out in which states we can buy and sell guns easily… I love Arizona – I can visit the Grand Canyon and carry a loaded gun without having to get a background check,” says the guy, who is a cross between a Bushwick hipster and one of the guys from “Duck Dynasty.”
“This thing would be really funny if it weren’t so tragically true,” says Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign.
I’m not so sure about that.
As an editorial cartoonist who has tried his hand at animated political cartooning, I’m always thrilled to see satire. Satire is such an undervalued and underutilized tool for political change and education. Done well, it can really make a difference.
You be the judge, but I think this could have been a lot better.
“CrimAdvisor” (let’s not talk about how lame that sounds) is criminally tone deaf and verbally leaden. “Criminals, stay away [from Connecticut]! They make it almost impossible for a criminal to get a gun without a background check. Go to New Hampshire instead!” they urge.
Yeah.
Humor is at its best when it’s dangerous and it’s dangerous when it’s truthful. But that doesn’t mean the truth is inherently humorous.
Humor is about random weirdness. Which is exactly what’s missing here.
“We all wear leather jackets and scream at women.” Really?
This is clearly humor designed by a committee. Ninety percent of the time, when a humorist goes to work for a group of do-gooders, that’s what you end up with.
Believe me. I know. Drawing cartoons for the Sierra Club was one of the most depressing experiences of my career because they would never ever let me say anything actually funny. All it ever takes is one person without a good sense of humor with signoff authority to destroy a good joke.
This video had me wearing my editor hat: Iinstead of that stupid line about New Hampshire and Connecticut, how about something more like this? “Screw Connecticut and their uptight gay gun laws! Whatever happened to freedom? It’s getting so you can even shoot up a nursery school anymore without getting a ticket… Whatever happened to population control? Die, nutmegs! New Hampshire’s where it’s at. Live free or die. I like that first half!”
Then show the guy shooting at voters during the New Hampshire primary.
I’m not psyched about the casting either. I understand why they chose two white people – I usually draw whites when I need to draw criminals, in order to counter the racism endemic to American culture – but if you’re going to go in that direction, why not go full-fledged hillbilly?
After all, we all know that’s what they’re thinking.
Worst thing here is, this is a decidedly low-budget production for a charity that can obviously afford more.
Come on guys, really? Just two people talking at the screen with a couple of state logos thrown in?
Talk about boring and low-rent. No “Thelma and Louise”-style driving down the street shooting at random people?
No scary shots of kids getting blown away in front of their schools?
Like I said, real humor is really dangerous.
As are the numerous guns on the streets of American cities that the Brady Campaign is supposedly trying to get rid of.
For aNewDomain, I’m Ted Rall.
