Uncyclopedia:Pee Review/UnNews:Post-structuralist engineer blamed for bridge disaster

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UnNews:Post-structuralist engineer blamed for bridge disaster

I want to put this on VFH. Please piss all over me.

-- sinister Ape (give) (Riot Porn) 04:13, January 10, 2011 (UTC)

PEE REVIEW IN PROGRESS Hyperbole is engaged in the dual processes of giving you his opinion and pretending you care.

Humour:	8	Boy, this is a tough one to review. I did find it funny, it did make me laugh, and I thought the writing was tight and didn't waste time. I think I'd vote for it on VFH - but I don't think it would be likely to make a Top 3 slot, at least not for me. So, if you're really shooting for the stars, let me just give you my two concerns, really quick. I think the concept gets a little fudgy in places. The whole thing is written in postmodernist nonsense - which is sometimes hilarious: Sokal's explanations about how the criticisms are "value-laden and essentialist" and how the bridge "dismantled itself" are very, very funny. Where it doesn't work so well is when the police spokesman and authorities talk in postmodernese. Isn't the point of the article to make fun of, basically, the notion that postmodernism could have any possible utility in reality? And isn't Sokal's idiocy the article's embodiment of the futility of putting postmodernism to practical use? So, basically, Sokal is our target. So why are the police, the authorities, and the narrating journalist all talking the same way? It's a little short. And by that, I don't mean "it's shorter than most of our features," but more "I'm not sure you fully explored this concept or set forth this story." For one thing, it's a little unclear what Sokal actually did - did he create a senseless blueprint for a bridge? Did he remove supports from the bridge, either in the blueprint or after the fact? Maybe there's no legitimate way to explain that without ruining your joke, but I get this head-scratching feeling: what is the story this news story is actually telling me? Who built the bridge? Why did it fall down? I mean, I understand it fell down because you can't use poststructuralism to build a metal structure - but then how the heck did it come to exist in the first place? Maybe the answer is "Stop thinking about that; you really should relax," but I can't shake the feeling that the article might be funnier if it didn't leave me with lingering questions. Other than that, this is pretty great.
Concept:	10	This is an incredibly great idea, and that's about all I can say about that. Cheers.
Prose and formatting:	10	Your prose is brilliant and I could not possibly complain about it. I think most English-language publications would probably refer to Lyon as "Lyons," but that's your call. I don't like the italicised quotes, but you already knew that and I understand that's a matter of taste. Pretty much, though, the writing is perfect.
Images:	8	Okay, now, this image gave me a few problems. Using a picture of a collapsed bridge makes perfect sense, but part of me is thinking "What made that bridge fall down? How did poststructuralist engineering create that bridge?" I have no idea how to fix that, other than writing a little bit of text about the actual bridge. In theory, you could use a picture of, say, Sokal himself, which would avoid those problems. But, then again, a collapsed bridge is more visceral and more interesting to look at. It's kind of a tough call. This isn't really an article about pictures; I frankly don't care that much what it's illustrated with. The caption is fantastic.
Miscellaneous:	9	In the future, all collapses will be replaced with simulacra of collapses; we will not experience them as genuine phenomena, but rather, with symbols that serve as stand-ins for the actuality of the events.
Final Score:	45	I enjoyed it. It's feature-worthy. It's not a perfect article, but it's better than the vast majority of our features in December, which, let's face it, was possibly our worst month since 2005. The satire here isn't quite as biting as UnNews:Tea Party supporters oppose plans to display severed heads of 9/11 victims at Ground Zero, but it's a very good article. And I enjoyed reading it. So: thank you!
Reviewer:	pillow talk 01:09, January 21, 2011 (UTC)