Sun Media Is in it for the Lulz

The Sun's Photoshop fascimile, compared to VICE Canada's genuine photograph of a King.

It’s been a little while since we checked in on our favourite indie art collective Sun Media, the owners of an impressively outrageous shock art TV network called Sun News and a newsprint zine called The Toronto Sun—as well as some other new media art projects targeted to people who run in deeply obscure, alternative circles. But lately, Sun Media’s satirical coverage of Canadian culture has been gaining some high-profile negative attention. It seems like much of the Canadian media is missing the entertainment value of Sun’s ongoing attempt to troll the entire country. Sun Media’s own fanbase also appears to be losing track of the humour of Sun’s stunts. So as a result of all that, we thought we would catch you up on Sun Media’s latest outbursts of artistic obscenity.

Yesterday, as an April Fools gag, the Toronto Sun declared through a shoddy graphic design job on their front page that Justin Trudeau was their “man” and the “best choice for PM.” The Sun’s front cover is flatteringly reminiscent of VICE Canada’s exclusive photograph of King Robbie Ford of Toronto, as it depicts Justin wearing a cartoon crown. While our photo of King Robbie is a genuine photograph of a King speaking with his subjects—that was not doctored whatsoever, because he’s the King and it’s easy to find a real photograph of a King living that King lifestyle—one cannot help but notice the similarities between our image and theirs.

Anyway, given the Toronto Sun’s reputation for being a fairly conservative zine that balances out its radical ideals with crudely shot photos of half-dressed women, its readership was totally fuckin’ shocked to read that the Sun would back a dude like Justin Trudeau. A VICE Canada investigation into the online comment section of the Sun’s satirical announcement revealed that the paper had not yet schooled its audience on their own unique brand of shocking satire. A Sun fan named Norman wrote: “I was so angry as I read the column. I was ready to dump Sun news.” Some guy named Michael described his realization that the story was a prank, by commenting: “Good Lord! I was about to jump off the CN Tower!” A classy lady named Amy added: “You guys almost made me throw up breakfast.” And of course, Mitch from Stratford ON just had to chime in to say: “if Justin Idiot becomes the prime minister of Canada God help us.”

It’s clear that Sun Media is so shockingly cutting edge, it can even go over the heads of its own readers. But does Sun care that they are misunderstood, artistic geniuses? Nope! Because in the end, Sun Media gets all the lulz—and that’s what DIY art collectives like Sun Media truly care about. Even if they’re the only ones laughing.

Just last week, Sun News TV’s Vice President Kory Tenecyke hopped on CBC Radio’s “As It Happens” to clean up a mess left by his network’s loudest shock jock Ezra Levant, who implied that Romani people are a “shiftless group of hobos” who “rob people bind” in a controversial performance art skit that aired on Sun News. They called it: “The Jew vs Gypsies.” Carol Off of CBC Radio described Ezra’s performance piece about racial dichotomies as “racist” and said he should be fired. Kory Tenecyke—a man who knows how to play along with Sun News’s ongoing performance satire—quasi-admitted the segment was hateful by saying “I’m not saying it isn’t racist,” but then added that Ezra’s “intent” was not racist despite the segment’s wording and meaning. And he’s right: The intent was lulz!

While Ezra had already apologized for his rant that typecast all people of Romani descent as shifty, evil individuals who probably live in garbage cans, steal flatscreen TVs from the living rooms of Canadians, and shank their way towards stolen riches—people weren’t super stoked on his unconvincing, televised “sorry” speech. Unfortunately, the masses have once again misinterpreted a satirical shock tactic as the authentic thoughts of a rational man. Ezra Levant is not representative of anything other than an intentionally warped caricature of reality, and that’s the point.

Of course Ezra’s apology, in which he describes “The Jew vs Gypsies” as “for the most part… a pretty good rant,” is going to be insincere. He is paid to act controversially, and then create more controversy by faking an apology for his original controversial action. That’s what shock art is all about! Andres Serrano didn’t stick a crucifix in urine to make the whole world happy. Surely Chris Offil didn’t make a black Virgin Mary sculpture out of elephant dung and porn to score points with the Catholic Church. So keep on trollin’ Ezra, because trollin’ is where the lulz come from. And remember, lulz aren’t the same as lols. Lulz don’t have to be funny. They just have to make people mad in a way that you, the giver of lulz, will feel satisfied.

So how does Sun Media unwind after all of this trolling against its own readership, specific ethnic groups, and Canada at large? They throw a fuckin’ “family friendly” boat cruise, of course! Yes, Sun Media is giving their quirky and small-run TV station Sun News the money to have a boat party where, as of last week, an astounding 50 people had registered to set sail. This is a remarkably huge outpouring for the indie network.

Ezra Levant holding a scale model of the Freedom Cruise. via/via.

The so-called “Freedom Cruise” offers a week of summer fun with Sun News’s on-air hosts. It actually sounds like the at sea version of Sleep No More, except instead of wandering around a converted hotel where Macbeth is being performed throughout the building, you are stranded on a cruise ship off the pacific coast, in the company of Canada’s most talented and sharp conservative shock artists. Ezra has even promised that on each night, every guest will be seated at a dinner table with one of eight celebrity guests—an elite group that includes an oil industry communications VP and the author of a book called More Guns, Less Crime, Freedomnomics—who will rotate to a different cafeteria table to dine with Sun News cruise guests each night.

Evidently Sun Media is in the midst of a very difficult balancing act right now, to maintain their edgy satire in the face of mass criticism with only a small, indie audience to support them. However, if they stick to their core mission—stacking up negative comments from haters, using their zine to deliver confusingly satirical zingers, acting racist on TV just ‘cuz, and throwing great boat parties with their pals from the oil industry and pro-gun lobby—they are destined to expand the reach of their scathing, contemporary shock art collective that most of Canada is already so uncomfortably familiar with.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @patrickmcguire

More quirky Canadian happenings:

Sun News Is a Quirky DIY Television Station

Rob Ford Isn’t a Drunk. He’s a King.