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{{Short description|Fictional country}} |
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'''Lower Slobbovia''' (also sometimes |
'''Lower Slobbovia''' (also sometimes '''Outer, Inner, Central, Upper''' or '''Lowest Slobbovia''') is a [[fictional country]] portrayed as underdeveloped, socially backward, remote, impoverished or unenlightened. First coined by [[Al Capp]] in 1946, the term has also been used by Americans to refer in an informal way to any foreign country of no particular distinction. |
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==Origin== |
==Origin== |
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The term was created by [[cartoonist]] Al Capp to refer to a setting in his classic [[hillbilly]] [[comic strip]], ''[[Li'l Abner]]'' (1934–1977).<ref>[http://www.deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=bios.slobbovia "Biography" of Lower Slobbovia]</ref> Making its first appearance on April 4, 1946, frigid, faraway Lower Slobbovia was fashioned as a pointedly political satire of backward nations and foreign diplomacy.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090331050612/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778805,00.html Escape From Utopia - ''TIME'' Oct. 7, 1946]</ref> The term, having entered the language, remains a contemporary reference.<ref>{{cite news|last=Baker |first=Russell |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/13/opinion/observer-hillary-in-lower-slobbovia.html |title=Hillary in Lower Slobbovia - "NY Times" Jan. 13, 1996 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1996-01-13 |accessdate=2009-08-29}}</ref> |
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In ''Li'l Abner'', the hapless residents of Lower Slobbovia were perpetually waist-deep in |
In ''Li'l Abner'', the hapless residents of Lower Slobbovia were perpetually waist-deep in snow, and icicles hung from every frostbitten nose. The favorite dish of the starving natives was raw polar bear (and vice versa). Lower Slobbovians spoke with [[burlesque]] [[pidgin]]-[[Russians|Russian]] accents; the miserable frozen wasteland of Capp's invention abounded in incongruous [[Yiddish]] humor. [[General Bullmoose]] or [[Senator Jack S. Phogbound]]—Capp's caricatures of ruthless business interests and corrupt political interests, respectively—were often pitted against the pathetic Lower Slobbovians in a classic mismatch of ''haves'' versus ''have-nots''. |
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Capp conceived Slobbovia as a large iceberg. As real icebergs at intervals have their larger subsea components erode away, causing genuine icebergs to invert, so Slobbovia periodically overturned, making Upper Slobbovia into Lower Slobbovia & vice versa. Upper Slobbovia was the only habitat of the Schmeagles, birds who flew so fast they could not be seen. |
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Conceptually based on [[Siberia]], or perhaps specifically on [[Birobidzhan]], Capp's icy hellhole was ruled by King Stubbornovsky the Last (a.k.a. Good King Nogoodnik). The Slobbovian politicians were even more corrupt than their [[Dogpatch]] counterparts. Their monetary unit was the "Rasbucknik", of which one was worth nothing, and a large quantity was worth even less, due to the trouble of lugging them around. Conditions couldn't be worse, as tourists were readily assured by the miserable, highly vocal residents. |
Conceptually based on [[Siberia]], or perhaps specifically on [[Birobidzhan]], Capp's icy hellhole was ruled by King Stubbornovsky the Last (a.k.a. Good King Nogoodnik). The Slobbovian politicians were even more corrupt than their [[Dogpatch]] counterparts. Their monetary unit was the "Rasbucknik", of which one was worth nothing, and a large quantity was worth even less, due to the trouble of lugging them around. Conditions couldn't be worse, as tourists were readily assured by the miserable, highly vocal residents. |
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Besides biting political satire, Capp employed |
Besides biting political satire, Capp employed black humor, irony, social commentary, parody and slapstick in his Slobbovia stories; the series featured many memorable moments over the years. [[Basil Wolverton|Lena the Hyena]] was a resident of Lower Slobbovia, as was Slobbovian correspondent Quentin Rasputinreynolds (a parody of [[World War II]] journalist [[Quentin Reynolds]]). The local children were read harrowing tales from ''Ice-sop's Fables'', which were parodies of classic literary fables (with titles like "Goldilocks and the Three Bares" and "Liddle Blue Ridink Hood"), but with a darkly sardonic twist. |
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Liddle Noodnik, a local waif, was frequently employed to recite a farcical poem of greeting to visiting dignitaries, or sing the absurd Slobbovian |
Liddle Noodnik, a local waif, was frequently employed to recite a farcical poem of greeting to visiting dignitaries, or sing the absurd Slobbovian national anthem{{cn|date=November 2021}} |
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{{quote| |
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We are citizens of Slobbovia<br> |
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(Oh, that this should be happening to us!)<br> |
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We are giving you back to the Indians<br> |
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(But they are refusing, of cuss!) |
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PTUI on you, Slobbovia!<br> |
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We are hating your icebound coast<br> |
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Of all the countries in the world<br> |
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WE ARE HATING SLOBBOVIA MOST!!}} |
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==Trivia== |
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* In the [[Bugs Bunny]] cartoon ''[[Rabbit Romeo]]'' (1957), Millicent the rabbit—who arrives in a crate at [[Elmer Fudd]]'s home—is said to be from Slobovia (spelled with one "b" in the cartoon). She is loud, overweight, overbearing, socially inept, and speaks with a Russian or Eastern European accent. |
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* [[Fred Mertz]] refers to it in an [[I Love Lucy]] episode ("[[List_of_I_Love_Lucy_episodes#Season_4|First Stop]]", episode #14, aired Jan. 17, 1955) when at a run-down, decrepit, rest house outside [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], when traveling on their way to [[Los Angeles]]. |
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* The similarly fictitious cartoon nation of [[Dilbert#Elbonia|Elbonia]] in the ''[[Dilbert]]'' comic strip bears conceptual similarity to Lower Slobbovia. In particular, the Elbonians are always depicted as waist deep in ''mud''. |
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* Lower Slobovia Road is off of Highway 148 near Midway School, south of [[Henrietta, TX]]. |
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===Other examples of fictional [[dystopia]]<nowiki/>s in modern satire=== |
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* Costaguana in ''[[Nostromo]]'' (1904) |
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* El Paradiso in ''[[Why Worry?]]'' (1923) |
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* Klopstokia in ''[[Million Dollar Legs (1932 film)|Million Dollar Legs]]'' (1932) |
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* Freedonia and Sylvania in ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' (1933) |
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* Tomainia and Bacteria in ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' (1940) |
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* Moronica in ''[[You Nazty Spy]]'' and ''[[I'll Never Heil Again]]'' (1940 and 1941, respectively) |
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* [[Grand Fenwick]] in ''[[The Mouse That Roared]]'' (1955) |
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* [[Pottsylvania]] in ''[[The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show]]'' (1959) |
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*The Kingdom of Id in ''[[The Wizard of Id]]'' (first syndicated 1964) |
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* [[Vulgaria]] in both ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (novel)|Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]'' (1964) and ''[[Don't Drink the Water (play)|Don't Drink the Water]]'' (1966) |
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* San Marcos in ''[[Bananas (film)|Bananas]]'' (1971) |
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* Elbonia in ''[[Dilbert]]'' |
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* Ignoramia in the ''Lair of the Lummox'' episode from ''[[The Ren & Stimpy Show]]'' (1994) |
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* Nibia in ''[[Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls]]'' (1995) |
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* Kazakhstan in ''[[Borat]]'' (2006) (Although [[Kazakhstan]] actually exists, the burlesque version created by comic [[Sacha Baron Cohen]] is wholly imaginary.) |
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* The Republic of Wadiya in ''[[The Dictator (2012 film)|The Dictator]]'' (2012) |
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*[[Borduria]] in [[King Ottokar's Sceptre]] (1939), [[The Calculus Affair]] (1956) and [[Tintin and the Picaros]] (1976) |
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==Footnotes== |
==Footnotes== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==References== |
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* [http://www.nbtc.cornell.edu/mainstreetscience/kitlib/getlessonplan.php?id=48 "...[building a bridge in Outer Slobbovia. You can also challenge students to think about tides..."] ([[Cornell University]]) |
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* "The more I talked to the agent the more it seemed that the early June trip to Rome was turning into a July trip to Outer Slobbovia." (Fodor's Travel Guides) |
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* [http://www.fraudaid.com/dictionary-of-financial-scam-terms/bank_guarantee.htm - "ABC company has agreed to work with Outer Slobbovia to build a dam"] |
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* [http://forum.statcounter.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-15528.html "There's not much point in advertising your band in Outer Slobbovia"] |
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* [http://anitra.net/homelessness/columns/wes/oct0231.html "OK he didn't say Outer Slobbovia. He was descended from people from a real country with a real name that I didn't care about."] |
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[[Category:Fictional countries]] |
[[Category:Fictional countries]] |
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[[Category:Li'l Abner]] |
[[Category:Li'l Abner]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Fictional locations in comics]] |
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[[Category:Fictional elements introduced in 1946]] |
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[[Category:Fictional kingdoms]] |
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[[Category:Fictional floating islands]] |
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Latest revision as of 11:01, 17 April 2024
Lower Slobbovia (also sometimes Outer, Inner, Central, Upper or Lowest Slobbovia) is a fictional country portrayed as underdeveloped, socially backward, remote, impoverished or unenlightened. First coined by Al Capp in 1946, the term has also been used by Americans to refer in an informal way to any foreign country of no particular distinction.
Origin
[edit]The term was created by cartoonist Al Capp to refer to a setting in his classic hillbilly comic strip, Li'l Abner (1934–1977).[1] Making its first appearance on April 4, 1946, frigid, faraway Lower Slobbovia was fashioned as a pointedly political satire of backward nations and foreign diplomacy.[2] The term, having entered the language, remains a contemporary reference.[3]
In Li'l Abner, the hapless residents of Lower Slobbovia were perpetually waist-deep in snow, and icicles hung from every frostbitten nose. The favorite dish of the starving natives was raw polar bear (and vice versa). Lower Slobbovians spoke with burlesque pidgin-Russian accents; the miserable frozen wasteland of Capp's invention abounded in incongruous Yiddish humor. General Bullmoose or Senator Jack S. Phogbound—Capp's caricatures of ruthless business interests and corrupt political interests, respectively—were often pitted against the pathetic Lower Slobbovians in a classic mismatch of haves versus have-nots.
Capp conceived Slobbovia as a large iceberg. As real icebergs at intervals have their larger subsea components erode away, causing genuine icebergs to invert, so Slobbovia periodically overturned, making Upper Slobbovia into Lower Slobbovia & vice versa. Upper Slobbovia was the only habitat of the Schmeagles, birds who flew so fast they could not be seen.
Conceptually based on Siberia, or perhaps specifically on Birobidzhan, Capp's icy hellhole was ruled by King Stubbornovsky the Last (a.k.a. Good King Nogoodnik). The Slobbovian politicians were even more corrupt than their Dogpatch counterparts. Their monetary unit was the "Rasbucknik", of which one was worth nothing, and a large quantity was worth even less, due to the trouble of lugging them around. Conditions couldn't be worse, as tourists were readily assured by the miserable, highly vocal residents.
Besides biting political satire, Capp employed black humor, irony, social commentary, parody and slapstick in his Slobbovia stories; the series featured many memorable moments over the years. Lena the Hyena was a resident of Lower Slobbovia, as was Slobbovian correspondent Quentin Rasputinreynolds (a parody of World War II journalist Quentin Reynolds). The local children were read harrowing tales from Ice-sop's Fables, which were parodies of classic literary fables (with titles like "Goldilocks and the Three Bares" and "Liddle Blue Ridink Hood"), but with a darkly sardonic twist.
Liddle Noodnik, a local waif, was frequently employed to recite a farcical poem of greeting to visiting dignitaries, or sing the absurd Slobbovian national anthem[citation needed]
We are citizens of Slobbovia
(Oh, that this should be happening to us!)
We are giving you back to the Indians
(But they are refusing, of cuss!)PTUI on you, Slobbovia!
We are hating your icebound coast
Of all the countries in the world
WE ARE HATING SLOBBOVIA MOST!!
See also
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ "Biography" of Lower Slobbovia
- ^ Escape From Utopia - TIME Oct. 7, 1946
- ^ Baker, Russell (1996-01-13). "Hillary in Lower Slobbovia - "NY Times" Jan. 13, 1996". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-29.