ARTS REVIEW: 'OUR DUMB WORLD: THE ONION'S ATLAS OF PLANET EARTH'

An Evening of Comedy for the Book Release at the Highline Ballroom in New York

By: Team Buzzine

April 24, 2008

Aren’t we lucky?

To be Homo sapiens, that is. The Latin term translates to “wise/knowing man.” No wonder the three wise men got so much press for being extra wise. They can easily be considered super heroes. But don’t fret. The rest of us are super too. “Compared to other species, humans have a highly developed brain capable of abstract reasoning, language, and introspection.” Well, at least according to Wikipedia.

The editors of The Onion, however, feel differently about the human race. In fact, when they took a good look at our brilliantly recorded historical track record, their conclusion was:

We are downright dumb.

While many Homo sapiens were most likely busy killing a few extra brain cells on 4/20, the editors of The Onion opted to educate. They presented their latest book, Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of Planet Earth, at the Highline Ballroom in New York.

Warning: If you are overly sensitive, overly serious, or overly proud to be an American (or any other nationality on Earth), then do not pick up this book. For everyone else who supports life, liberty, and the pursuit of laughter, buy it. It’s like SNL in print.

The event kicked off just after 8:00 p.m., with a causally clad New York crowd filling yet not overpopulating the venue. The $10 minimum per person per seat rule forced me to order up a “Highline Specialty Cocktail.” Since no one else in attendance showed any reservations about drinking on a Sunday, I sipped my rum concoction guilt-free while waiting to discover what this book was all about.

Finally, someone graced the stage. He promptly informed the audience that they would be starting in just a moment — they were just waiting for the Pope to arrive.

And that’s how the wildly entertaining night began. Granted, one wouldn’t expect anything but a comedy hour from The Onion, “America’s Finest News Source.” The presentation was basically a hysterically funny slideshow narrated by Mike DiCenzo and Joe Randazzo that started with a brief lesson in cartography. This included a “Distribution of Wealth” map, a “Bono Awareness” map, and a random “Map to Erica’s Party.”

Written with a New York sense of humor (think Will and Grace on Redbull), Our Dumb World dedicates at least one page to every country/region in the world, giving us the 411. You will walk away knowing the present lowdown and historical low points of every culture and society known to man and woman. If this had been my college history textbook, I never would have missed a class (not that I did, of course).

Highlighting the ridiculous state of the planet, Our Dumb World actually serves as a profound wakeup call for all. Although written from a western perspective, no one is left out, as each country is exposed for all its faults and ridiculed equally.

Entertaining to the point where it should be set to music, an appropriate soundtrack selection would include: “We Are The World” (Michael Jackson and a bunch of other people), “From A Distance” (Bette Midler), “We Didn’t Start The Fire” (Billy Joel), and any song by U2.

After all, we are learning history here.

Despite being a laughing matter, the book has serious undertones that are obvious when you flip through the pages featuring Mother Earth’s third world countries that greatly contrast the developed world.

While Puerto Rico is currently in a parade, Spain is having a siesta, and the French are busy being arrogant, child prostitution is thriving in Thailand, and slavery has yet to be abolished in Mauritania. But no worries…if you hop on over to England, you can grab a freshly made scone.

Did I mention that this book is not for the sensitive?

While the photos that fill Our Dumb World are both brilliant and, in some cases, shocking, it’s the captions that deliver the final kick. For example, during the presentation, DiCenzo and Randazzo mentioned that the United States was the place where you could live the “American Dream.” This comment was followed up by a photo of an obese man holding a fast food beverage the size of a large child and a photo of office space cubicles.

Now, who is to blame for the terrible plight of the world? While the book may seem cruel at first, it is nevertheless apparent that editors of The Onion are not actually making fun of those who are powerless to help themselves—they are actually shedding some truthful light on the vastly different priorities of every nation. They even include Antarctica.

So if you’re willing to gain some insight through world travel while saving a lot on airfare, check out Our Dumb World.

Seriously, I feel enlightened already.