Appreciating The Onion’s Lit Humor

The Onion went national (read: online) in 1996 and, for my money, has been amazingly consistent in quality ever since.  In fact, the recently launched Onion News Network might be the best thing they have ever done. I was skeptical at first, given that fake TV news seems fairly covered by The Daily Show and Colbert Report (and perhaps, for some people, SNL Weekend Update)… but the angle on ONN is meaner, tighter and uniquely hilarious.

But this is the fiction section of the books page, so what I wanted to do was talk about the awesomeness of The Onion‘s literary humor and share a few of my favorite pieces. We all know literature doesn’t quite hold the place it did in the cultural conversation and thus gets mentioned less by your standard comedy outlets. Of course, the literary scene has its own humor, especially the fantastic McSweeney’s Internet Tendency (something even baseball star Mike Mussina enjoys). But The Onion is perhaps the only mainstream comedy venue to regularly name drop a Lovecraft or a Foster Wallace. Take for example this recent piece:

Film Adaptation Of ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ Ends Where Most People Stop Reading Book

The 83-minute film, which is based on the first 142 or so pages of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s acclaimed work, has already garnered attention for its stunning climax, in which the end credits suddenly appear midway through Katerina’s tearful speech about an unpaid debt.

An example of “it’s funny cause it’s true”? Also, one of the best ONN segments in recent memory: Prague’s Kafka International Named Most Alienating Airport

One of my favorite Onion pieces ever is Did I Say That, Or Did John Updike? This deploys a totally random premise--a pompous man who confuses his own quotes with Updike quotes while insulting his wife at a dinner:

I’m glad we finally got this out in the open. I mean, “That a marriage ends is less than ideal, but all things end under heaven,” right? I believe that’s a quote of mine, or one of John Updike’s. Would you pass me a menu?

[...]

Le-Le Brauer said something or other, something about how I had to try Zabar’s, and I said, quoting Updike, I said, “I love those fancy groceries. I like the little weenies.” That’s Updike. Helen, I’m positive that’s Updike.

Who on earth thought that up? The Onion runs with the premise  though and the result is perfect. Another surprising but brilliant literary premise is in Lovecraftian School Board Member Wants Madness Added To Curriculum:

“Charles sure likes to bang on that madness drum,” fellow school board member Danielle Kolker said. “I’m not totally sold on his plan to let gibbering, half-formed creatures dripping with ichor feed off the flesh and fear of our students. But he is always on time to help set up for our spaghetti suppers, and his bake sale goods are among the most popular.”

Finally, here are some other classics from The Onion vaults for your perusal. Let me know if I missed one of your favorites:

New Terminator Movie Brings J.D. Salinger Out Of Hiding

Scholars Discover 23 Blank Pages That May As Well Be Lost Samuel Beckett Play

Science-Fiction Novel Posits Future Where Characters Are Hastily Sketched

Author Too Much Of A Pussy To Kill Off Characters

Third-Person Limited Omniscient Narrator Blown Away By Surprise Ending

Man Reading Pynchon On Bus Takes Pains To Make Cover Visible

NASCAR Cancels Remainder Of Season Following David Foster Wallace’s Death