WTF, Gervais?

[trashcanman]

So I clicked on an article titles "This is why no one likes atheists" and who should greet me on the other side, but notable hilarity generator Ricky Gervais with this image:



To which I responded:


Now, my first thought was that FOX News has successfully gotten liberals down to their level and we are all doomed to die in a media Armageddon to be fought between obnoxious extremist assholes. Then I thought maybe Gervais did the shoot as some kind of Kaufmanesque satire on atheists' continuous toddlerish cries for negative attention. Either way, I can't really think of anything more pretentious to drive middle-of-the-roaders into Glenn Beck's waiting arms than a mag called "New Humanist" with a legitimately cool entertainer like Gervais on the cover being crucified -complete with crown of thorns- with "atheist" written across his chest. Of course we all have a right to be offended and to offend, just like we all have the right to act like douchebags and continuously lower our standards instead of communicating intelligently with one another. But I wouldn't recommend the former, "rights" or not. Thoughts? Feelings? Anyone else expect better from this guy?

[The Curmudgeon]

It was actually supposed to be a cover for Rolling Stone magazine, but they eventually balked at the idea and instead went for less provocative images for inside the magazine.





So for a front page shot of a supposedly intellectual magazine, it's tacky and crass. For a cover of Rolling Stone, though? Yeah, I could handle that. Gervais has always been an out-and-out atheist and lover of scientific FACT (sorry, that was in a David Brent voice), and I'm sure he could give 100 reasons why he took the shot in the first place. His Facebook page for An Idiot Abroad (hilarious travel documentary) even laughed at the absurdity of the picture.

I suppose, when you think about it, it's a provocative image that gets people talking (like now) and upsets all the right people. Job done. Although how quick would he be to dress up as the Prophet Mohammed? Probably not very.

[trashcanman]

God, can you imagine? That would take balls the size of Connecticut. Or a death wish. Yeah, I could see him doing it as a goof just to offend jackasses, but he ends up looking like one himself at the same time. My coworker and I were actually discussing celebrities who preach politics and how annoying we find them last night. He said he went to see Audioslave once and Morello would not shut the fuck up between songs, which made him feel like he paid to see a rock show and got a half-assed political lecture with some songs thrown in instead. And then there are full-blown idiots like the Dixie Chicks or Toby Keith or Barbara Streisand talking bullshit about things they have no concept of, but somehow manage to pretend to have an opinion about. What part of them does not realize that I do not give a shit about what they think about anything? If you can't seamlessly weave it into your lyrics like, say, The Manic Street Preachers or The Clash without being stupid, start a fucking blog or something. I guess that pic could be Gervais' idea of visual comedy or satire, but presented in that manner it comes off as needlessly pretentious and obnoxious.