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August 3, 2008 8:10 AM

There are many opinions about the nature of Irony. Some think it is having too many spoons. Sometimes it is found in far off places. However, closer to home, we now have an example of Recursive Irony. (YT)
posted by Lord_Pall (34 comments total)

So...what if it had been a historical text describing the burning of a bible?

I'd like to be angry, but it just makes me sad.
posted by voltairemodern at 8:20 AM on August 3

Also:

There are many opinions about the nature of Irony. Some think it is having too many spoons. Sometimes it is found in far off places. However, closer to home, we now have an example of Recursive Irony. (YT)
posted by Lord_Pall at 8:10 AM - 0 comments - Post a Comment +

The Idiot Test. [not idiot-ist]
posted by netbros at 5:47 AM - 29 comments (19 new) +

How obliquely comedic.
posted by voltairemodern at 8:22 AM on August 3 [1 favorite]

Video already removed. (Although the text for it pretty much sums it up)
posted by mystyk at 8:29 AM on August 3

I do find it interesting that the girl in question stopped reading "after a few pages", put off by swearing and the burning of a bible. She literally gave herself no opportunity to learn what the book was about, and I would have to assume that her father did not read the entire book, either.

Of course, there might be more to it than that; however, a certain someone's teachings would have us do unto others as we would have them do unto us. In that spirit, if they won't give the book more than a few pages to explain itself, I certainly won't give them more than a few soundbites to understand their point of view on the subject.

looking at my copy of 1984 on the bookshelf, realizing I need to add 451 to the kids' future reading collection as well
posted by davejay at 8:31 AM on August 3 [1 favorite]

Oh, actually, it's even a bit more dense than that: the author's device that was intended to make the censoring of books hit closest to home (the bible burning) literally backfired in the mind of this girl, and presumably her father. That's actually quite funny.
posted by davejay at 8:33 AM on August 3

Ha! When the video was labeled as removed, I clicked on the link for the video it was a "response" to. It was mildly humorous.

Then I clicked on the other videos in the "related" category, only to have each one say "We're sorry, this video is no longer available." All of them!

So, I clicked on the video it was a response to again, and it was removed too!
posted by mystyk at 8:38 AM on August 3

Reason for banning book:

"Talking about our firemen"

This is so gloriously stupid I'm moved to tears. It is, in and of itself, a work of art.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 8:38 AM on August 3

"talking about our firemen [was a reason why the book is offensive]"

I ...

I don't know what's going on here, but by gum it is hilarious.
posted by cmonkey at 8:41 AM on August 3

It looks like the videos are coming back on from here. Sounds like a flagging campaign. I'd say it was a glitch, but other non-related videos were having no problem.
posted by mystyk at 8:49 AM on August 3

There is a bigger problem here that is being overlooked: A stupid man was allowed to breed and passed his stupid gene on to his offspring.

The horror!
posted by chillmost at 8:59 AM on August 3 [2 favorites]

The bookbanning request was almost two years ago. Can anyone find updates as to what happened? Google is failing me and I am failing Google.
posted by Kattullus at 9:13 AM on August 3

I find this post offensive and request that we ban Lord_Pall.

[not irony-ist]
posted by thrako at 9:19 AM on August 3

It's not that these people are necessary stupid. Arrogant, yes; hateful, yes; willfully ignorant, yes. I think "evil" is the word you're looking for.

I see too many people like this. I'm actually almost looking forward to the next ten years and the destruction of the American superpower.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 9:25 AM on August 3

I see too many people like this. I'm actually almost looking forward to the next ten years and the destruction of the American superpower.

Then you'll see a lot more of them. And if this is the best example of evil you can come up with, I envy you.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 9:29 AM on August 3

- "Look dad, I too can make a big fuss in the name of God!"

- "That's my girl!"

There, she's made her one mark in the world. I wonder if she was ever genuinely offended.
posted by Anything at 9:45 AM on August 3

I assume she just didn't like to read, and found a way to get out of at least one "stupid assignment". Any student whose primary response to Bradbury is "they swear! and then they burn the Bible!" is probably not the most sophisticated reader on earth.

I'd like to know what happened with this, too.
posted by jrochest at 10:05 AM on August 3

It's not that these people are necessary stupid. Arrogant, yes; hateful, yes; willfully ignorant, yes. I think "evil" is the word you're looking for.

I see too many people like this. I'm actually almost looking forward to the next ten years and the destruction of the American superpower.

I really hate it when people trivialize the word "evil". And also when people "look forward" to a massively upsetting event.
posted by TypographicalError at 10:08 AM on August 3 [2 favorites]

Oh, the challenge lost. Book's still on the course list.

http://blogs.chron.com/woodlands/archives/2006/12/fahrenheit_heat_1.html

God, this was a while ago, eh?
posted by jrochest at 10:11 AM on August 3

Hate to say it but this reminds me of a Seinfeld episode, the one where Elaine gets into a conversation on a packed subway with another woman and happens to mention that something is ironic. "What's that?" says the woman at which point Elaine takes pains to explain the irony to her. "No, what's irony?" says the woman.
posted by philip-random at 10:11 AM on August 3

Oh, the challenge lost. Book's still on the course list.

AND THAT IS THE ULTIMATE IRONY

amirite?
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 10:26 AM on August 3

Idiocracy remains the most disturbing film I've seen.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:28 AM on August 3 [3 favorites]

The longhair has it. This was an eye opener for the students -- an example of what till then had been some far off concern, brought home.

I wish every community had one such inept challenge to fire people up about rights they seldom think about needing to exercise.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 10:31 AM on August 3

my high school didn't have enough money to buy books, its population doubled in about 15 years, but the english department loved 451 so much they used a copy machine to run-off about 400 sets of the book each year and gave them away as kind of an FU to the administration.

Oh, at the end of the book isn't it someone who wants to preserve the bible that saves Montag?
posted by Parallax.Error at 10:58 AM on August 3

Can anyone find updates as to what happened?

"The Conroe Independent School board voted to continue teaching Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 at a Tuesday night hearing to address a greivance brought by a Caney Creek High School parent about the book." - Dec 6, 2006
posted by carsonb at 11:02 AM on August 3

It's interesting that the father seems to have actually read the book—or at least, his eyes passed over the words on the page, seeking a pretext to take offense. It's clear that he wasn't making any effort to understand it, even at the shallowest level.
posted by adamrice at 11:36 AM on August 3

I have a pet theory that God - if there were one - created this universe, this planet, and us for a very simple reason. We are an enormous irony generator. God feeds on irony. It's fuel for His Divine Purposes, whatever the heck those may be.

Hence, every situation will always yield irony. It's the fundamental function of the universe, and it's hard coded into the fabric of space and time.

I'd like to say that every situation yields maximum irony, but of that I am not certain. Let's just say optimum irony.

That pretty much explains everything, IMHO.
posted by Xoebe at 11:51 AM on August 3 [1 favorite]

I don't think it's ironic for censors to want to ban a book about book banning, but I didn't watch the video.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:10 PM on August 3

Ok, I got bored really quick with this post because it's old news, but I did find this link at the top of the list on the Youtube page. Thank you for giving a me good laugh indirectly!
posted by P.o.B. at 12:38 PM on August 3

God created iron and bronzy. The amalgamation is purely man-made.
posted by Dumsnill at 12:58 PM on August 3

(from the video linked by P.o.B) "We believe Jesus was our designer and our creator of everything that was ever made."

Wait, Jesus came down after mankind had already existed for 4,000 of those 6,000 years to be a, what's the phrase that describes it, "New Testament" if I may coin a phrase. So who made all that shit before Jesus? My thirty pieces of silver are on the Holy Ghost. Also: "It didn't 'evolve' from a big 'asteroid' that took 'bajillions' of years". See, that shit makes me laugh; her Colbertean sarcasm-quote hand motions just made that unintentional comedy gold.
posted by hincandenza at 2:57 PM on August 3

the author's device that was intended to make the censoring of books hit closest to home (the bible burning) literally backfired in the mind of this girl

I'm sure you meant that it was a "literary backfire" and not a "literal backfire", as we can clearly see in the clip that no premature combustion took place in the pistons of her mind.

(I know I know, but we are talking about irony here.)
posted by scope the lobe at 8:40 PM on August 3

Jesus Christ...

See, every time I laugh at/get outraged at all of the "won't somebody think of the children?" folk, maybe I'm just really saving it up for this.

These kids (and here I'm speaking mostly about P.o.B.'s link, but also about the girl in the F.P.P.) didn't have a choice in how they were forced to be raised. It's a little funny to see the religious nuts touring a science museum just to refute it, until you see the way they're drilling it into the open-minded heads of school children that whats really cool, what's really smart, you know, is to ignore everything that doesn't fit into this millenia-old book that we decided knows absolutely everything! You see, kids?! People might try to tell you about things that seem weird and unfamiliar, but this one fucking book is the only thing you've gotta know, right?! And it's not just cool, you'll also burn in hell for eternity f you don't do as we say! So you don't want to risk believing something that doesn't fully mesh with the book, do you?

You know who else does that? Fucking Madrassahs.

I want to laugh, but these kids are being actively brainwashed, and in a socially acceptable way because it's Christian, and we laugh because the beliefs seem so silly.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:44 PM on August 3

"down grading Christians"

I do not think it means what you think it means.
posted by furtive at 10:19 PM on August 3

Videos like the FPP and the one from P.o.B. sure do a great job of making America look like it's mainly a bunch of complete idiots. The self-righteousness of these American "Christians" and their insistence on taking the Bible literally would be amusing, were it not so frightening.

But you know what? These sorts of Christians love being persecuted! It makes them feel very fulfilled. Nothing says "Jesus Loves You!" like a hungry lion, as it rips out your guts with a simple swipe of the paw. And since most of these people vote Republican, you improve the voting pool while providing good old-fashioned entertainment. Everyone wins!
posted by Goofyy at 6:43 AM on August 4