What if he was Karl Pilkington?

(I do agree with you, though)

Also, at least according to a doctor I talked to years ago about it, the "worst pain known to man" is probably passing a kidney stone, with smashed kneecap and lower abdominal wound close runners up (the only reason they're behind is that the adrenaline release that you get with an injury like that has an anesthetic effect, so depending on your body's response you might be spared the worst of the pain, otherwise it would be kneecap without a doubt).

It's definitely not ants, although I'm sure they hurt a lot.

I knoe like fucking orange headed Karl Pilkington. Son of a bitch whitey white white imperialist hamming it up at the expense of... jesus christ i just cant

You beat me. :(

I didn't really like "An Idiot Abroad." I know the "joke" is that Karl Is culturally ignorant and reluctant to both travel and learn about other peoples, but the premise wore thin quickly.

I'd rather hear Karl sitting in a recording studio telling stories about bees having heart attacks.

I have a feeling their dumb ritual and their society remain perfectly intact and loaded with meaning to them even though an outsider tried it and failed

>> I didn't really like "An Idiot Abroad." I know the "joke" is that Karl Is culturally ignorant and reluctant to both travel and learn about other peoples, but the premise wore thin quickly.


Actually, Binro, that's not the joke at all!

The joke is that Karl is an honest everyman, presenting frank, guileless observations about the world outside his doors, all while being tormented by a pair of malicious, pseudo-cosmopolitan, stay-at-home twats (who aren't ACTUALLY malicious twats, mind you; Ricky and Steve just ham it up for the cameras). The joke is that the entire show is predicated on an ironic lie: Karl is NOT an idiot. We, the audience, and by extension our bullshit-obsessed society itself, are the true idiots here.


At least, this was the case in the first season, wherein each episode basically followed the same pattern: on Ricky's orders, Karl goes to a country to see a tourist trap, hates the tourist trap, winds up finding a genuine connection with the simple, everyday people who live off the beaten track. (this places "An Idiot" within the broader context of the postmodern anti-tourist movement, alongside - but not directly parallel with - things like the "authentic travel" trend and Terry Jones' class-conscious historical documentaries) However, the second and third seasons of An "Idiot Abroad", which I suspect were made with a more "international" audience in mind (i.e. one which generally can't pick up on subtext or subtly), were played a lot straighter than the first. They were still funny, and Karl's inner genius still shone through at times, but the episodes in those seasons were definitely making an effort to play up their hero as little more than a whinging knob.

EvilHomer, is this just the Monty Python argument clinic to you?

What? This website? Sort of, I guess. I never really thought about it like that, but yes, I suppose it is.

That said, everything I just posted is true! Go back and watch the first season on Netflix if you don't believe me. "An Idiot Abroad" is basically an extension of the anti-postmodernist social commentary Ricky Gervais was making in "The Office", and later, "Life's Too Short". If you're watching "Idiot" thinking *Karl* is the dumb, exploitative one, then you've missed the point of the show, and OF COURSE it's going to seem sucky to you!

Think about the interpretation I just offered, then go and watch "Jordan", or "India" (IMO the two strongest episodes). See if the show doesn't warm on you then.

HOW DARE THESE PEOPLE TRY THIS THING!

Honestly, there's only so much I can get angry about and demonizing whitey for trying other cultural things _on camera_ is just so fucking thin.

I don't have a problem with the attempted content - what I hate about this video is the presentation. LOL LOOK HOW ZANILY I FAILED THIS SACRED RITUAL

He's a jackass, but I don't think he's hamming it up for the cameras:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraponera_clavata

They're called bullet ants because people describe their bites like the pain of being shot. 100 stings of what is considered the most painful insect bite known to man. I'm sure the dude was in a lot of pain.

But I'm guessing the locals were happy to make sure the ants were good and angry before slipping on the mitts too.

I have no doubt this is incredibly painful but I still say the original title is bullshit. "Most painful insect bites known to man" sure. Maybe next time he can stick his dick on a box jelly and then compare.

I saw a doc once that said sea snail venom isn't enough to kill you, that people who die from it die from the pain. That seems worse, if that's true.

To be fair, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the people pretty much knew what to expect out of this guy and relished the opportunity to put ants all over him. "Primitive" doesn't mean ignorant and it's not as if this is a stone age tribe who have never seen a douchebag before.

Let's see how many communion wafers and holy wine I can drink before I throw up.

Pretty sure those folks have been getting thrill-seekers like this twit for a while now, probably since documentarians noticed this particular tribe. At least his weepy mugging has minimal impact on their normal way of life.

More dignity? Like the National Geographic video with the thriller movie editing? That dude didn't scream as much, I guess. Is not screaming the mark of dignity? I really think you're splitting hairs here. The dude was in agony and maybe screaming was the only way he could process it in that moment.

Your use of "sacred coming of age ceremony" displays noble savage romanticism. You are envisioning a reality where the white man is endowed with spiritual powers of destruction. Simply by going through the motions of some ritual, the white man can inflict direct damage on a culture, depending the "correctness" of his intent or behavior. The indigenous man's culture is seen as so flimsy that the opinion of a white man is enough to knock it down. This is just another form of a colonizer's mindset.

By all means, get up in arms about real colonialism, about Amazonian peoples getting enslaved and murdered. That is what I find "seriously offensive." Worrying about a white man's purported symbolic affront to some abstract "culture" or "ritual" through imperfect participation is like turning on the A/C when the house is on fire.

OZ is right. Amazonian people, generally speaking, have pretty laid back and jocular cultures. There is no way they did not find this HILARIOUS, and it was probably the highlight of conversations and jokes for weeks, if not months to come. I think it's more offensive to suggest that indigenous peoples shouldn't have the choice to pick up some extra money or goods in exchange for tormenting some pampered white dude in an entertaining fashion. (And if everyone "has dignity," i.e. toughs it our in truly manly-man fashion, then the narrative is "modern white people totally rock it at the native man's most punishing rituals.")