Shit...

...I forgot I had a blog.

Happy Wednesday

Coney Island Gets Controversial

On 12th Street off Surf Avenue, you'll bump into this side show. If you climb to the top of the concrete steps, put a dollar into the little hole that the red arrow is pointing to and peek through the barred window, you'll see something you probably wouldn't expect to see on Coney Island. The show, created by artist Steve Powers, is called the "Waterboard Thrill Ride," and depicts Spongebob on the outside wall getting waterboarded by Squidworth and exclaiming, "It don't Gitmo better!" Pretty provocative stuff.

Put your dollar into the slot and a reenactment of a torture scene comes alive before your curious little eyes. There's literally a guy in a black hood pouring water into the mouth and nostrils of a figure in an orange jumpsuit for fifteen seconds.


A few things intrigue me about this. First, the juxtaposition of the scene you're watching through the bars with the backdrop of kids, the beach, rides, and hot dogs is pretty striking. Same kind of idea behind using a popular and notoriously naive cartoon character to advertise the show. And third, the following statement made by the artist (published in the Times today): "What's more obscene, the official position that waterboarding is not torture, or our official position that it's a thrill ride?"

What do you think? Is this an inappropriate show for Coney Island? Is the artist somehow trivializing or exploiting the torture method and/or victims of waterboarding?