Satire about Mr. Trump buying Narnia from Middle-earth

[Voronwë the Faithful]

A little more cross-over humour (I try to ignore the fact that they repeatedly misspell Middle-earth).

Donald Trump announces plans to buy Narnia from Middle Earth

[RoseMorninStar]

It takes quite a lot to parody the current political state of affairs.

[Cerin]

A little more cross-over humour (I try to ignore the fact that they repeatedly misspell Middle-earth).

The fact that Narnia isn't part of Middle-earth to begin with doesn't bother you? Or is Trump supposed to be making that mistake? If so, I think that subtlety will be lost on many readers and they will leave thinking Narnia was part of Middle-earth, which is annoying. I hate to see a misconception related to works of integrity propagated for such a low reason. Perhaps a footnote would have been in order.

[River]

It's called satire.

[RoseMorninStar]

Greenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark, not part of Denmark. Much the same way as Narnia and Middle-earth are fictional countries within the fantasy realm, but are not part of the same tale. The distinction is lost on some, but it matters to a great many others. I would think an intentional part of the satire.

[Cerin]

It's called satire.

Yes. So are you saying satire justifies treating other people's work carelessly? It seems to me a clever fantasy would be internally consistent. Or is it just that all fantasy is considered generic and can be lumped together inoffensively?

I see from Rose's comment that the latter seems to be the case.

edit

oops, I meant to say, clever satire

[yovargas]

The fact that Narnia isn't part of Middle-earth to begin with doesn't bother you?

[RoseMorninStar]

Trump addressed Denmark (indirectly via twitter no less) about the purchase of an autonomous country, Greenland. I would say that is treating Greenland very carelessly. That is reflected in the satire.

[Cerin]

sorry, dp

[Cerin]

The fact that Narnia isn't part of Middle-earth to begin with doesn't bother you? Or is Trump supposed to be making that mistake?

So then I'll repeat, I find it annoying that many people unfamiliar with those works will not understand the joke and will hereafter think that Narnia and Middle-earth, belong to one work of fiction. Personally, I don't think making fun of Donald Trump was worth creating that misconception about beloved works representing the life work of two men of integrity and commitment.

[RoseMorninStar]

So then I'll repeat, I find it annoying that many people unfamiliar with those works will not understand the joke and will hereafter think that Narnia and Middle-earth, belong to one work of fiction. Personally, I don't think making fun of Donald Trump was worth creating that misconception.

So Donald Trump creating the misconception that one country can sell another country in real life doesn't bother you more than a satirical article about fantasy realms?

The average person may not know/understand the complicated relationship between the countries, but the President of the US should before making a fool of himself on the world stage via a tweet. It's boorish, rude, and incredibly moronic, not to mention impulsive and undignified. He then tops it off with a petty response and pouts & takes his toys home when he doesn't get his way. And it's the satirical article that bothers you?

[Cerin]

Trump addressed Denmark (indirectly via twitter no less) about the purchase of an autonomous country, Greenland. I would say that is treating Greenland very carelessly. That is reflected in the satire.

So you think the author of the satire was deliberately disrespecting two celebrated and respected authors so he could illustrate that Donald Trump disrespected Greenland? Once again, I would have to differ with the satirist's priorities.

So Donald Trump creating the misconception that one country can sell another country in real life doesn't bother you more than a satirical article about fantasy realms?

Donald Trump didn't create any misconception, he affirmed what we all knew already -- that he is an ignorant, arrogant, insensitive narcissist. But your anger is making you confused. I was not saying the satire bothers me more than Trump's actions bother me. I'm saying I am bothered by the satirist's willingness to create confusion about two beloved works of literature just to poke a finger in Trump's eye.

The average person may not know/understand the complicated relationship between the countries, but the President of the US should before making a fool of himself on the world stage via a tweet. It's boorish, rude, and incredibly moronic. He then tops it off with a petty response and pouts & takes his toys home when he doesn't get his way. And it's the satirical article that bothers you?

If the average person doesn't know/understand the complicated relationship between the countries, then the satirist disrespected two celebrated authors' works for nothing, only to underscore what the world is already aware of to a painful degree. Yes, that bothers me. Trump isn't worth it, imo.

[RoseMorninStar]

The article was published by News Thump and it clearly states 'UK Spoof News and Satire'. It also states that Trump is the Chosen One and King of Israel. The article was not published in the New York Times. It's like Saturday Night Live, a person doesn't watch that if they are looking for serious news of the day. If a person has trouble with such obvious comedy/satire, they probably should avoid the medium altogether.

[Cerin]

So satire is inherently disrespectful and doesn't care what kinds of misconceptions it leads to, and everyone is okay with that. I think I've got it.

I never could stand Saturday Night Live, so perhaps that explains a lot.

[yovargas]

If you consider anything that is not perfectly literal and accurate to be disrespectful, then I would say that a huge amount of humor in general is not for you. But understand that the vast majority of people who have a clearer grasp on how humor works would find the idea that this somehow disrespects the authors to be extremely absurd.

[Sunsilver]

I heard Denmark offered to buy Puerto Rico.

Oh, wait...that was a joke. So hard to tell these days! https://newsthump.com/2019/08/21/denmar ... erto-rico/

The Narnia/Middle Earth joke reminded me of this:

I believe it's subtitled 'how to annoy four different fandoms at one time' I really don't see how anyone could find it offensive. The worst that might happen is they'd go 'huh?'

[River]

I laughed.

Cerin, satire is supposed to be transgressive and disrespectful. You don't have to like it, but if it offends, look inward before you look outward. Why are you making the assumptions you are making about other people's knowledge of high fantasy and modern geography? Why do you have these works on such a pedestal? And how do you feel about Discworld?

[Cerin]

If you consider anything that is not perfectly literal and accurate to be disrespectful, then I would say that a huge amount of humor in general is not for you. But understand that the vast majority of people who have a clearer grasp on how humor works would find the idea that this somehow disrespects the authors to be extremely absurd.

In using the word 'disrespect,' I was responding to Rose's hypothesis that the satire was meant to reflect Trump's attitude by deliberately showing the same attitude toward the authors. I didn't think that was very likely. To be clear, I don't think the satirist meant to disrespect anyone but Trump. Edit And I should point out that while Rose offered the idea of the satire reflecting Trump's attitude, I introduced the word 'disrespect' and assumed she was not suggesting the reflection was coincidental.

Clarifying: Greenland and Denmark have a close connection (Greenland being part of the kingdom of Denmark, with Denmark controlling Greenland's defense and fiscal policy and subsidizing their economy. I conjecture that this is why Trump did not offer to buy Denmark from, for example, France or Nigeria, etc.). Since the satirist used Narnia and Middle-earth to represent Greenland and Denmark, I think it likely that anyone not familiar with Tolkien and Lewis might walk away from this satire assuming that Narnia and Middle-earth are in some way connected. I found that prospect rather annoying, I guess because of the respect I have for both authors and the fondness I have for both works. That's the extent of my complaint. 

I heard Denmark offered to buy Puerto Rico.

You see, that is much closer to the case of Trump offering to buy Narnia from Middle-earth. No connection between the countries, no conceivable foundation for the offer.

Cerin, satire is supposed to be transgressive and disrespectful. You don't have to like it, but if it offends, look inward before you look outward. Why are you making the assumptions you are making about other people's knowledge of high fantasy and modern geography? Why do you have these works on such a pedestal? And how do you feel about Discworld?

I'm not making assumptions about other people's knowledge of high fantasy (new phrase for me) and modern geography. I'm saying that IF someone doesn't know Tolkien and Lewis, they will likely come away with the wrong idea about Narnia/Middle-earth.

I have these works on a pedestal because of how dear they are to me.

I don't know what Discworld is.

[Sunsilver]

BTW, the article about Denmark offering to buy Puerto Rico also came from NewsThump. I added the link above, should anyone want to read it.

Edit: just came across this on FB: Hey, if I can't laugh at this stuff, I'd probably wind up crying!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I don't know what Discworld is.

I find that incredibly disrespectful to the late Sir Terry Pratchett.

Sent from my LG G6 using Tapatalk