Noble and magnificent creatures of the animal kingdom... humiliated again for our amusement. Yay!

October 22, 2009 2:08 AM

The New Yorker's "Critterati" contestinvites you to "take a picture of your pet—dog, cat, ferret, iguana, or any other nonhuman member of the animal kingdom—dressed as a character from literature, and upload it to newyorker.com by October 25th." Gallery | About | Rules | Enter.

MetaFilter's own Jessamyn happens to be a judge (so well-dressed chicken entries might just have an edge, amirite?). "There will be up to 5 winners. Winning submissions, along with the creator's name, will be featured in a slideshow on www.newyorker.com and each winner will receive a signed copy of the book 'Indognito'.”

The contest is only open to U.S. and Canadian residents (except Quebec), sadly, but the rest of us can still enjoy the hilarious discomfiture of other people's pets dressed up like Hairy Potter, Oedipuss, Huckleberry Fins and Miss Havishamster.

posted by taz (42 comments total)

This could actually be the point where the animal kingdom collectively snaps and turns on the human race in great numbers. I for one welcome...
posted by i_cola at 2:13 AM on October 22

Any resemblance to Pets Who Want to Kill Themselves is... well, rather obvious, isn't it?
posted by wendell at 2:19 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

Somebody, quick -- get on this! Easiest contest win in history!
posted by ford and the prefects at 2:27 AM on October 22

It's too bad our dog is Greek... She does a great Dracula a la Gary Oldman.
posted by taz at 2:49 AM on October 22 [3 favorites has favorites]

Some of those entrants are really bad at this.

Like dude, this isn't a costume. It's a picture of a dog.
It's not even like your dog looks that much like the target character.

And "much written about" does not count as a literary reference, and even if it did, a cookie is not a character. You just had that picture laying around, didn't you? didn't you?
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 3:29 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

This guy chasing this guy makes perfect sense.
posted by Jilder at 3:46 AM on October 22

See, there was nothing wrong with the weekly cartoon caption contest in itself, but the fact that it started the magazine down what you expected to be a slippery slope that might have led to "bad writing" (ha ha) or short-poem contests, but you never dreamed it would descend so quickly to... this.
posted by Faze at 3:53 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

I dressed up my pet flea as Mike Teevee (after). I got this judge in the bag. CONTEST! I've got this contest in the bag.
posted by not_on_display at 3:57 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

So, the New Yorker, one of the most famous magazines in the world is now stooping to the sort of annual dress up your pet contest used by small town newspapers for decades. Do they think putting a literary twist on it is going to fool anyone? You know that this means Western Civilization is dead, right? And, OMG Puppies!!!!!!!
posted by dortmunder at 4:09 AM on October 22

C'mon MeFites - somebody plz do Canine the Barbarian?

Plus, a couple of eyelash curlers and a black hairband? I'm just sayin'.

my lawyers are insisting that I advise you that neither I nor MetaFilter Network LLC accept any liability for possible beloved-pet accidents, injuries, fatalities, or aversions to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony or other musical compositions arising as a result of taking the above comment seriously.
posted by taz at 4:21 AM on October 22

"Canine, what is best in life?"

"To hang your head out the car window, to fetch the sticks of your owners, and to hump the legs of their visitors."
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:55 AM on October 22 [11 favorites has favorites]

How can this be okay to post now but not yesterday?

Also, yeah, kind of sad for the huff-huff fancy-pants New Yorker.
posted by rokusan at 5:03 AM on October 22

Because taz, presumably, is not dating one of the contest judges.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:06 AM on October 22

Yep. Discussed over here; basically it was a question of our lovely original poster being Jessamyn's sweetie, though he didn't realize she was a judge when he posted.
posted by taz at 5:14 AM on October 22

http://www.no-spec.com/

Why am I here again?
posted by srboisvert at 5:18 AM on October 22

When did the New Yorker suddenly turn into Parade?
posted by availablelight at 5:36 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

Since my cat's name is Taz, I find this post privately eponysterical. Also, I'm not going to dress him up, because he is large, fully armed, and would kill and eat me.
posted by Ella Fynoe at 5:45 AM on October 22

This could totally win, if this is literature.
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:51 AM on October 22

Wait. She doesn't call everyone "sweetie?"
posted by rokusan at 5:54 AM on October 22

One could be really lazy and just take a picture of a cockroach for The Metamorphosis. Just paint on a little tie and claim "It's a human!"
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:58 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

One could be really lazy and just take a picture of a cockroach for The Metamorphosis. Just paint on a little tie and claim "It's a human!"

I'm waiting for someone to take a picture of their black cat and claim it's Behemoth from The Master and Margarita
posted by dortmunder at 6:09 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

Ella! I'm honored. Your Taz is my hero, because while I can mostly get the rest, the actually "eating" part of killing and eating my tormentors always does me in. I'ma try harder. Cheers to Taz!
posted by taz at 6:20 AM on October 22

Oh boy, is my cat in trouble tonight.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:27 AM on October 22

I hope that no one suggests that someone with pet parakeets do "At Swim-Two-Birds," because that would be unwise and inappropriate.
posted by taz at 6:38 AM on October 22

Oh! Oh! I own three chickens and one of them is the rarest kind of chicken of all...the kind that will tolerate wearing a hat and having her picture taken.

There are so many possibilities! What should I do?! Scarlett O'Hara? King Lear? Sei Shonagon? Velociraptor from Jurassic Park? Henry Fleming from the Red Badge of Courage? Lady MacBeth? Snowball the pig from Animal Farm? Icarus?

I think part of my afternoon will be spent making tiny hats.
posted by Alison at 7:04 AM on October 22 [3 favorites has favorites]

I will dress up my dog as a the Fonz jumping the shark. Seems appropriate, if not entirely literary.
posted by jetsetsc at 7:09 AM on October 22

When did the New Yorker suddenly turn into Parade?

+1. Sic transit gloria Eustace.
posted by scratch at 7:25 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

availablelight: "When did the New Yorker suddenly turn into Parade?"

I await the cover with Eustace Tilley suffering some indignity at the hands of Peter from Family Guy.
posted by Joe Beese at 7:35 AM on October 22

So, the New Yorker, one of the most famous magazines in the world is now stooping to the sort of annual dress up your pet contest used by small town newspapers for decades. Do they think putting a literary twist on it is going to fool anyone? You know that this means Western Civilization is dead, right? And, OMG Puppies!!!!!!!

It may help if you think of this as a contest of the New Yorker website rather than the magazine. Yes?

No? Oh. Then maybe I can distract you by linking to this Washington Post who-wants-to-be-a-columnist reality contest.
posted by grobstein at 7:47 AM on October 22

I think The Awl said it best.

http://www.theawl.com/2009/10/this-cat-looks-like-this-other-cat

The cat that travelled across town stuck halfway in a trunk may have a better chance of survival than one of the animals subjected to the Critterati contest.
posted by uptowngirl at 7:53 AM on October 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

Christ, some people have weird definitions of literature.

Subtle Bukowski reference?
HG Wells' The Slightly Blurry Man.
Have you even read The Picture of Dorian Grey?
OK, I like this.
posted by spamguy at 8:02 AM on October 22

.
posted by everichon at 8:12 AM on October 22

"Submit a photo of your dog, cat, or other (nonhuman) animal dressed as a literary character..."

Harley Davidson Mascot
Clement strutting his 'double stuff'

Ummm, you're doing it wrong.

On preview, what spamguy said.
posted by scottatdrake at 8:33 AM on October 22

Lolcats for grown-ups, or I can has cheezburger for NYC?
posted by JL Sadstone at 10:34 AM on October 22

I'm available to help design the board game.

Successfully dress pet as literary character: Ahead 2 spaces

Iguana eats Humbert Humbert mustache: Back 3 spaces

OMG Kiitteh iz Stavrogin!!!: Draw "Yes He Is!!!!" card

Unaccountable Weltschmerz: Lose a turn
posted by ormondsacker at 10:56 AM on October 22

No? Oh. Then maybe I can distract you by linking to this Washington Post who-wants-to-be-a-columnist reality contest.

My dog has entered this contest.
posted by dortmunder at 11:13 AM on October 22

I really am dumbfounded at the depths to which the New Yorker is sinking here.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 2:34 PM on October 22

Seriously, read the magazine. Do you feel like Critterati is crowding out quality writing? Do you think they are selling out somehow, trying to attract readers with cute puppies that they can't get with srs bizns? No. What's happened is that some staffers in the books department had a kinda cute idea and decided to go through with it.

The last couple issues -- presumably prepared concurrently with Critterati -- have been full of great stuff. There were like 6 great essays in the Oct. 19 mag. If Parade could do that, it wouldn't be a punchline.
posted by grobstein at 3:52 PM on October 22

Alison, could you do Scarlett O'Hara as portrayed by Carol Burnett?
posted by marsha56 at 7:10 PM on October 22

Okay, so I might get a Metafilter paddlin' for admitting that I dressed up an animal, but I entered my chicken into the contest last week anyway.

The results came in today and Mary the chicken turned up as one of the winners.

Thank you to Jessamyn and the rest of the judging panel! Woo!
posted by Alison at 3:42 PM on October 28 [1 favorite has favorites]

Aw! That's a damn beautiful chicken! And a great concept and photo.

Congratulations, Alison & Mary!
posted by taz at 4:14 PM on October 28

I was a big fan of Simone de Beauvoir and M. Sartre.
posted by grobstein at 12:07 PM on October 29