Today's example of this tactic is Blues Brothers-related barbecue imagery. We assume these two cows, six pigs, two wolves (?), and the chicken, too, are on a "mission from God." Theirs no doubt being their eventual consumption. Who are they to question the Almighty?
Against all sense, against all hope of order in the universe, John Landis's beloved 1980 ode to madcap adventure and the redemptive power of music becomes nothing more than a vehicle by which pigs, cows, and chickens debase themselves. No matter how many times we see this type of bizarre plundering of pop culture treasure, it never fails to depress us.
Some observations:
1) In the case of Panama City's Blues & BBQ 5K run, we are just plain puzzled. Sure, Jake and Elwood worked up a sweat on stage, but John Belushi wasn't exactly famous for his fondness for aerobic exercise. Could there be two more arbitrary characters to base an ad campaign around?
2) Two pigs are missing their hands. Can you spot them? (Can you explain what happened to their hands?)
3) For some reason, wolves are now included in the mix? We suppose this makes the chicken in their company doubly suicidal?
4) All but one of the above manage to avoid the use of the Brothers' iconic car.
Addendum (4/19/09): And another one.
Addendum 2 (6/16/09): This counts, right?
Addendum 3 (10/08/09): This one too?
6 comments:
Ahh, but Ben,
The pigs missing hands have just sampled their flavors to determine how to best prepare their fallen friend.
They don't have hands, but they do seem to have trotters.
Ben,
Have you ever read Douglas Adams' The Restaurant at the End of the Universe? There was one idea in that book that was mainly played for humor, but which I have often thought is the most ethical possibility for the future. I'd like to expand on this when I get a chance to work on my own blog again, but basically the idea is that since almost all food is the result of something dying or at least being injured (and the few exceptions, such as seedless fruit or unfertilized eggs, require considerable human meddling) the best thing to do is genetically engineer a creature which wants to be eaten and is capable of saying so. You may see suicide food as "sickening" because it doesn't reflect reality, but in a better world it could be.
Oh, and what do you mean "John Belushi wasn't exactly famous for his fondness for aerobic exercise." Don't you remember when he won the decathlon using chocolate donuts as his power breakfast the way Bruce Jenner used Wheaties? :-)
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Meadester.
Yes, we have a fondness for Douglas Adams's Ameglian cow. We even conferred upon him honorary suicide food status:
Suicide Food Emeriti.
Thanks for reminding me of Cluckin' Chicken! I had forgotten him. He's gone from Youtube now, but I found him at Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/2317/saturday-night-live-cluckin-chicken
I also found this: http://www.hulu.com/watch/2345/saturday-night-live-little-chocolate-donuts
The two Bad 2 Da Bone wolves are pointing down at a "Beer Can Chicken". The joke is pretty obvious...
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