Unintentional cleverness

[KrazyHorse]

In the latest issue of Time magazine, there's an article entitled "The Hungry American". It deals with the phenomenon of hamburger and chicken fast food joints (an American invention) having been exported to the rest of the world, which then created its own versions of the same thing and which has now proceeded to export these versions back into the US.

The author claims that these establishments reflect how the est of the world sees the United States, though Americans might find them slightly over-the-top. Discussing Jollibee, a Filipino chicken-and-burger chain, the author has this to say:

Jollibee [...] makes McDonald's look like a funeral parlor. Its mascot is a jolly bee and the restaurants are all blindingly happy [...] Even if you gave Walt Disney all the ecstasy in the world, he would not have come up with this. [...] the inflated, happy fakeness of Jollibee makes you feel that the only American its Filipino owners have ever seen is Pamela Anderson

[Spiffor]

[Barnabas]

[Ecthy]

It seems I need basic lessons in North American culture because I don't find that one example posted by LH remotely funny.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Ecthy
It seems I need basic lessons in North American culture because I don't find that one example posted by LH remotely funny.

To PhD it for you, Pamela Anderson is an individual often brought up (as it was in this case) as an example of "American fake sexuality" (bleached hair, breast implants etc). The joke here is that Pam Anderson is actually a Canadian who moved to the US. She's a reimportation of that fake sexuality. The author has unintentionally provided another example of the process he is describing, and it is amusing.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Ecthy
It seems I need basic lessons in North American culture because I don't find that one example posted by LH remotely funny.

You need to better understand Western culture

[Ecthy]

KH - understood. Ha ha. somewhat.

LS - go crap on the street out your door you brown people.

[Elok]

That bee is SCARY. Especially the big close-up of its face, with those vacant, smiling eyes. "Big Brother Bee is watching you." On the other hand, the real face of a bee is pretty scary too. Five eyes, and two of them compound. I wonder which is scarier?

I didn't get it when KH first posted it, not knowing anything about Pamela Anderson. I still only find it mildly funny, perhaps because Canada is pretty much America anyway. "America, only lamer and colder," that's Canada.

[Barnabas]

French Canada has a personality, the rest might as well be the USA

[curtsibling]

I could imagine the Jollibee character being described in a Phillip K Dick novel,
representing a nightmarish, fascist big-brother symbol of corporate dystopia...!

[curtsibling]

Elok thought the same thing - Incredible!

[Barnabas]

I could imagine him replacing ceiling cat

[Elok]

Great minds think alike, Curt.

EDIT: Holy crap, look at the wikipedia entry for "Jollibee." They serve such items as "chickenjoy" and "yumburger." I guess it's not 1984 so much as Brave New World. Remember, kids: "a gram (of chickenjoy) is better than a damn!" Jollibee has been harvesting soma from bright and cheery snuggleflowers all day to keep you little folk in line. You don't want to disappoint Jollibee, do you? Of course you don't. People who disappoint Jollibee wind up in the pain chamber.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Barnabas
I could imagine him replacing ceiling cat

lol brachy's a theef LOL

[Barnabas]

A thief?