Here's the story:
Carved in a hillside in the U.K., Cerne Abbas in Dorset to be exact, is a 180 ft image known as the "Cerne Abbas giant." The club (and boner) weilding pagan god has been in place since the 17th century and is seen as a symbol of fertility (and how).
Now, the god has a friend, or at least a temporary visitor. A drawing of Homer Simpson, placed there to promote the upcoming movie, now stands next to the ancient symbol. The biodegradable Homer pic will wash away after the first rain, but local pagans are still upset, calling the advertisement disrespectfut. I'm sure it doesn't help that Homer and the giant look like they're playing some perverted form of ring toss, too.
I'm not easily offended (hell, I often offend people by how unoffended I am by offensive things), but this concept does seem more than a little egregious.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-18-2007 @ 12:49PM
Vince said...
I suggest they next place a Homer doll on the Pieta in the Vatican and see who thinks its okay to advertise this way. And then dress him up like Mohamed too.
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7-18-2007 @ 12:50PM
Jim said...
I saw this a few days ago and was rolling. You have to hand it to the marketing folks for the movie. It will be remembered.
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7-18-2007 @ 1:13PM
fredmertz said...
Many scholars believe that the figure was created in the 1600s to piss off Oliver Cromwell, so not sure that the pagans have much a beef here.
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7-18-2007 @ 1:47PM
Joel said...
come on people, its just a joke. a pretty funny one at that.
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7-18-2007 @ 1:58PM
Bash said...
Hmmm... "weilding"?
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7-18-2007 @ 1:58PM
Peanut said...
Did Homer just take the donut off that guy's wang?
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7-18-2007 @ 1:59PM
Peanut said...
Did Homer take his donut off that guy's wang?
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7-18-2007 @ 3:11PM
MosquitoControl said...
Everyone needs to have more of a sense of humor about themselves.
Particularly pagans. I mean, if you're pagan, you're on the bottom of the food chain, sitting right next to wiccans, vegans-for-health-reasons, mimes, 15 year olds making youtube videos defending emo, and carrot top. You need to accept that the rest of us find you hysterical.
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7-18-2007 @ 3:20PM
Joel said...
I think the acronym "LOL" is really cheesy, but I'm sending out something along those lines to MosquitoControl. Funny stuff.
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7-18-2007 @ 4:51PM
xvertigenx said...
If no one has seen the animated gif yet...
http://www.b3ta.com/board/7411040
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7-18-2007 @ 5:22PM
Lampbane said...
I think it's kind of sweet in a way.
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7-18-2007 @ 5:25PM
Blackgem said...
MosquitoControl: wiccans are a sub-category of pagan... at least get your facts right when you're taking the piss :p
I can assure you most pagans do have a very good sense of humour, and really, I think it's only a small group of generally very vocal pagans (ie the Pagan Federation, who really don't speak for all of us) who have a problem with it, personally I find it quite amusing. Consider what would have happened if that had been an icon from another religion though...
Anyway, with the way british weather has been at the moment, I seriously doubt it's still there
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7-18-2007 @ 6:40PM
Karen said...
It needs to be pointed out here that the Cerne Abbas giant is not an authentically pagan creation, at least in terms of its historical origins. While pagans and neo-Druids have rallied round to claim its ancient cred, there is NO evidence that it is more than 300 or so years old. There is no ancient religious significance to it.
Almost as good as the movie promotion, though, is the PhotoShopping thereof:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/07/17/animated_homer_tosse.html
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7-19-2007 @ 12:04AM
Peter Guala said...
I am a west country pagan from birth with a pagan family. I think its very funny. True pagans do not have federations, any form of control or representation is anti pagan.
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