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Homer Simpson has taken his place beside an ancient fertility symbol of the British Isles the Cerne Abbas giant of Dorset. But some pagans aren’t happy.

Pagans have pledged to perform “rain magic” to wash away a cartoon character painted next to their famous fertility symbol – the Cerne Abbas giant.

A doughnut-brandishing Homer Simpson was painted next to the giant on the hill above Cerne Abbas, Dorset, to promote the new Simpsons film.

Many believe the ancient chalk outline of the naked, sexually aroused giant to be a symbol of ancient spirituality.

UPDATE: we were in a bit of a hurry when we wrote the above, but this deserves some more commentary. First off this story in the Pakistan Daily Times had the best title evah: Pagans say Homer is pants

Why is this such an epic moment in movie marketing? Well, we all know the Simpsons are the greatest cartoons of the 20th century. Jumping the shark or the whole aquarium, they are still icons of the greatest magnitude.

And this stunt shows why they are great.

Ponder one moment. A CARTOON CHARACTER HAS BEEN ETCHED ON A HILLSIDE BESIDE A 17TH CENTURY CHALK OUTLINE OF A NAKED, SEXUALLY AROUSED, CLUB-WEILDING GIANT. While that scarcely needs any embellishment to reinforce its wonderment, it becomes even more impressive when you compare the literacy and historical accumen of the Simpson marketers with other movie companies.

Did The Transformers set up shop at the Ring of Brodnor in Orkney?

Did Spider-Man swing through Petra?

Did Pirates of the Caribbean sail over to the Golden Buddha of Bangkok?

Did Shrek roll around the Caves of Lascaux?

NO NO NO and NO! Only the SIMPSONS had the guts to confront an ersatz neolithic fertility symbol on its own turf. Literally.

Plus, when you add it all up, the most amazing thing is that HOMER SIMPSON, A LICENSED CHARACTER KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD AND OWNED BY RUPERT MURDOCH IS ABOUT TO TOSS A DONUT ONTO THE JUNK OF A 17TH CENTURY CHALK OUTLINE OF A NAKED, SEXUALLY AROUSED, CLUB-WEILDING GIANT.
Game, set and match.

1 COMMENT

  5. Donut = stone circle =symbolic entrance to Gaia? D’oh!
    didn’t Homer knock over stonehenge domino style once?

  9. Best Cartoon Of The 20th Century? third, maybe.
    1st the MGM cartoons of Tex Avery.
    2nd the entire output of Chuck Jones.
    Then there are the Pixar shorts, the entire output of UPA, Disney’s Donald Duck and Goofy series, various Pixar features, Beauty and the Beast, the Iron Giant, Fantasia…
    For animated television, yeah, it’s probably the best. A distant second would probably be Chuck Jones’ television specials. Followed closely by Batman The Animated Series, South Park, and Animaniacs.

  10. “They’re protesting this? God sometimes I am so embarrassed to be a Pagan.”

    Well … I can understand some people being put off. According to one website (www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk), “The first written record of the giant appears in 1751 in a letter by Dorset historian John Hutchins, he suggested that the figure was cut in the mid 1600’s.” Homer Simpson, on the other hand, is a pop culture character who has been around for about 20 years. If someone parodied Homer Simpson in a similar vein, I wonder how long for FOX issued a cease & desist order.

    There was a similar brouhaha years ago when TV Land was placing “monuments” all throughout major cities. You can walk past the bus station in Manhattan and see the “Ralph Cramden” statue, and in Salem, Massachusets, you can see the “Bewitched” statue. Though endearing at first, many saw these statues as little more than promotional gimmicks.