Having a sense of humour is one thing, but having a bad sense of humour can be quite offensive for some people.
A 23-year-old Australian man now finds himself at the centre of attention after parodying “Where’s Wally?” (or “Where’s Waldo?”) with a children book about the missing Malaysian Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370.
The book, which is titled “Where’s MH370?”, was created by a self-proclaimed “evil genius” named Matthew Carpenter. He is the same internet entrepreneur who created “Ship Your Enemies Glitter”, a prank website that lets customers anonymously ship their enemies glitter.
Priced at AUD15 (RM46) each, the book features 12 illustrations of places that may deemed distasteful like the moon, hell, and North Korea. It challenges readers to search for plane debris like landing gear, the black box, and passenger suitcases in the illustrations.
The original book is a search-and-find children’s series where readers are challenged to search for a bespectacled character named Wally/Waldo in colourful illustrations. In an email interview with The Malay Mail Online, Carpenter told them that anyone”would find this book entertaining” if they grew up with “Where’s Waldo?”.
He said:
I had a really small team work on the book, all of whom wish to remain anonymous, which I find hilarious. The scenes were selected based on possible resting places for the plane.
“We didn’t rule anything out,” added Carpenter.
The Sydney-based internet entrepreneur doesn’t seem concerned about the consequences he might face in publishing “Where’s MH370?”. When asked if he considered the feelings of the missing victims’ families, he said:
I think a lot of people will love the book. Others may find it offensive and hate it which they’re entitled to do.
He also simply answered “no” when The Malay Mail Online asked if he was worried about the possibility of facing lawsuits for publishing the book. He even confirmed that he had designed a “false cover” for The Daily Telegraph newspaper in Australia, “claiming that MH370 has been found and placing the blame on North Korea”.
He said:
I did orchestrate that. It was done to promote the book. It was pretty simple to do, we simply designed the cover & had it printed out. We didn’t pay The Daily Telegraph.
Carpenter did not reveal the amount of people who had reserved copies of “Where’s MH370?” so far, but he noted that they’ll “have a large print run” if more people want the book.
The MH370 flight mysteriously went missing on 8th March last year.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak declared earlier in January that all those on board of the flight are “presumed to have lost their lives”. It was later revealed on 6th August (Thursday) morning that the aircraft debris found on the French island of Reunion this July are believed to belong to the plane.
What do you guys think of “Where’s MH370?” though? Is it insensitive and disrecpectful to the families of the missing victims? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Sources: The Huffington Post UK, The Malay Mail Online, Express UK, Mirror UK.
