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?
4 comments:
Are there any results or numbers of people who actually spend money to see this "art show"? Because honestly, if I were to walk by this I would probably just ignore it.
By the looks of the picture, it doesn't look like it stands out as some kind of attraction. It just looks hidden in the cut hoping that people come and look at it.
I think it's a perfect expression of free speech and I'm all for it. Waterboarding is ridiculous and its not like this guy is getting rich off this show.
In other news congratulations on your 10th post and hopefully you can someday reach 100! (Maybe like in 5 years?)
PS My word verification is "anpfgot".. is that pronounced Anp Faggot?
PSS nevermind thats a "q", not a "g"
Inappropriate? Maybe for children. It may not have been a good idea to use Spongebob since that would attract the curriosity of kids. Although the mere height of the window sort of ensures that children will not be able to see it, but that doesn't protect stupid, i mean impressionable teenagers from seeing it and trying to reinact it in thier parents' basements and garages.
Trivializing torture? I don't think so, especially since our wonderful President Mr. Bush has officially deemed it NOT a torture tactic. I think the artist is just simply trying to express that. (And I'm saying this in the most sarcastic way possible.)
Perfect example of how difficult it is to find the delicate balance between respecting people's freedom of speech and not encouraging uber retarded and offensive behavior. Ultimately, I think this "art show" should stay but I definitely won't let my kids or anyone around me pay to watch it.
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