# Senegal unveils 50m eyesore in Dakar **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936 "2010-04-04T18:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/41 "2010-04-06T22:13:52Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Sorta like a Senegalese counterpoint to this: > [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048\_182cbf070d.jpg](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/422240048_182cbf070d.jpg) > > šŸ˜ƒ Bwahahahahahahahaha! ROTFLMAO! WTF?!! Ohhhhhhhhhhhā€¦ you just made my day. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/42 "2010-04-06T23:00:23Z")
Did anyone else see this and think, ā€œman this needs to be in Civ 5?ā€ ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/43 "2010-04-07T05:17:19Z")
It is kinda charming-in a late-Stalinist-Russia kind of way. It reminds me of the Stalingrad Monument. Of course, blowing a lot of money on a useless monument is what dictatorships do, and it didnā€™t evn create any local jobs (the North Koreans imported their own labor). A regular triumph of the people! ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/44 "2010-04-07T13:33:47Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Did anyone else see this and think, ā€œman this needs to be in Civ 5?ā€ What effect would it have? ā€˜Increase tourism - 1 new trade route per airportā€™? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/45 "2010-04-07T14:59:18Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > Goodness, what isnā€™t sexist about it? The woman has no agency or activity at all; her feet arenā€™t even on the ground. Judging by her hair/dress/arms/legs sheā€™s literally [being dragged forward](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_12YpRV97LdY/SwZQ3lpMYfI/AAAAAAAAAiY/1HJwwBjWJrQ/s1600/STATUE+SIDE.JPG). The [front shot](http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/03/senegal.statue/?hpt=T2) is more forgiving as she seems to have her chin held high, but thatā€™s really just an illusion. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/46 "2010-04-07T15:21:11Z")
I have to admit, I do miss Soviet realism. And I also think Soviet realism could use some more volcanoes. And Iā€™d like to see more giant sculptures of ordinary everyday people. And I come from the city whose public art claim to fame is the, sigh, [worldā€™s largest fire hydrant.](http://www.flickr.com/photos/zen/11128365/) Itā€™s sort of a fountain. I do wish it werenā€™t so sexist, though. Itā€™s like a Boris Vajello painting. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/47 "2010-04-07T15:23:59Z")
> [@Gestalt](#): > > All that being said, I donā€™t think this statute is too outrageous . . . yes itā€™s really big and expensive in a poor country, and the revenue generated is going to the king of the country (which I think is the most reprehensible part), but at least itā€™s not a Dear Leader statue. Yeah, the fact that the king is taking a cut of the money really irritates me as well. I guess itā€™s good to be the king. > [@](#): > > I kind of like the Soviet statue. I wish we had more in the US dedicated to average people, like to the American farmer, or housewife, or teacher, or whatever. The closest that comes to mind is the Iwo Jima monument, although Iā€™m sure there are others. I wish I could find a picture of the entirety of [this building facade](http://bp1.blogger.com/_sh9NioK4r-E/Re5aWJb9S8I/AAAAAAAAAX8/OugEI39RMzI/s1600-h/_MG_4736WEB.jpg) in Lincoln, Nebraska. Not only do you get the whole family, but theyā€™re standing on a _giant hand_. Itā€™s very, very odd. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/48 "2010-04-07T15:24:57Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Heā€™s helping her over the rocks, with an arm on the back. Heā€™s not helping her, heā€™s holding off the ground. And heā€™s not looking at her or the rocks, which would not be very helpful if you were trying to help someone get over some rocks. > [@](#): > > Itā€™s not sexist and not possessive. It really is. Itā€™s an interesting looking statue but this is not a tough call. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/49 "2010-04-07T15:44:37Z")
Having been to Pyongyang (where there are loads of such statues) it was instantly recognizable as North Koreanā€¦ they need the money so if others want to buy ridiculous statues, wellā€¦ seems like a good deal for the DPRK. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/50 "2010-04-07T15:49:52Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Yeah, the fact that the king is taking a cut of the money really irritates me as well. I guess itā€™s good to be the king.I wish I could find a picture of the entirety of [this building facade](http://bp1.blogger.com/_sh9NioK4r-E/Re5aWJb9S8I/AAAAAAAAAX8/OugEI39RMzI/s1600-h/_MG_4736WEB.jpg) in Lincoln, Nebraska. Not only do you get the whole family, but theyā€™re standing on a _giant hand_. Itā€™s very, very odd. AAAAAAAHHHH! Creepy baby! ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/51 "2010-04-07T16:27:45Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It is kind of sexist. > > But I kind of like it. Beats a lot of the utterly bizarre 1960s public monuments you find in most African capitals. I particularly dislike [this one of Laurent Kabila](http://www.esquire.com/the-side/opinion/7totalitarianwonders-3) [ > [@](#): > > In a traffic circle near Kinshasaā€™s central bank stands a three-story high statue of the late President Laurent Kabila, who was a former ally of Lumumba and a Marxist guerrilla. Kabila fought against Mobutu for two decades. During the ā€™80s, he disappeared into Uganda, turning into a diamond smuggler. In 1997, Kabila was back, installed as president by invading Rwandan and Ugandan troops, to fill the vacuum after Mobutu died of cancer. > > From the neck down, the Kabila monument looks strangely like Kim Jong Il: baggy uniform, creased pants, the raised arm, a little book in his left hand. From the neck up, the statue is the thick, grim bald mug of Laurent Kabila (his son Joseph is the current president). ā€œThe body was made in North Korea,ā€ explains my driver Felix. In other words, the body is Kim Jong Ilā€™s, but with a fat, scowling Kabila head simply welded on. ]([http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3500/in\_search\_of\_lumumba/](http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3500/in_search_of_lumumba/)) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936/52 "2010-04-07T17:00:17Z")
I wonder if the Koreans would make me a statue of J P Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt and John Rockerfeller? They could include a tiny little worker sticking out from under Canregieā€™s heel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senegal-unveils-50m-eyesore-in-dakar/534936.md?page=2)