Editing 1262: Unquote

{{comic
| number    = 1262
| date      = September 9, 2013
| title     = Unquote
| image     = unquote.png
| titletext = I guess it's a saying from the Old Country.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
[[Randall]] is musing that even such a popular film as ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' will likely one day be forgotten. The comic ponders how long that may take to occur.

"{{w|May the Force be with you}}" is one of the many famous phrases (perhaps the most famous) from the ''Star Wars'' movies. ''Star Wars'' has become popular enough to remain part of today's popular culture (more than thirty years since its initial release), and the source and meaning of the quote is commonly recognized. This comic suggests that eventually even the enormously popular Star Wars will fade into obscurity -- by which time, ironically, Star Wars-like hovercraft will have been invented.

It is not uncommon for once-popular sayings to lose popularity and come into disuse; particularly when the sayings are sourced from a pop-culture reference such as a book or film. In fact, there are entire [http://www.amazon.ca/Lets-Bring-Back-Collection-Forgotten-Yet-Delightful/dp/1452105308 books] dedicated to such topics. Each generation generally develops its own pop culture references which frequently become unrecognized to the next generation. Only a handful of pop-culture quotes tend to survive for decades. For example, the phrase "Sit on it", coined by the creators of "{{w|Happy Days}}" as a TV-friendly but derogatory-sounding comeback for the character Fonzie. The phrase was very popular during the show's 1970s-80s heyday, but today is far less recognizable to those born after that era, and is not commonly referenced today.
 
The title text indicates that the characters will write off the phrase as a saying from the "old country" (the foreign country or place where one's ancestors immigrated from). This is a play on the fact that ubiquitous film and TV quotes have not been around long enough for society to generally forget their origins, and the most common source for unfamilar sayings in today's world are sayings from other countries where one's ancestors originated. The use of the expression in this comic implies that the speaker has no idea about the origins of the phrase and assumes it must be a translation of a foreign expression rather than an obscure cultural reference.

The title may be a reference to one of comedian Steven Wright's jokes, which goes like this: "I wish the first word I ever said was the word "quote," so right before I die I could say 'unquote.'".[1] This has later spawned numerous stories of people allegedly having "quote" as their first word.[2]

A similar topic was addressed in [[493: Actuarial]], with [[Black Hat]] predicting when the last of the original Star Wars cast would die, and in [[1093: Forget]], predicting when the release of ''The Return of the Jedi'' would be forgotten.

==Transcript==
:[Two figures with spiky hair and backpacks are conversing. One is riding in a hover-car, or similar.]
:Hairy: Bye!
:Friend: May the Force be with you!
:Hairy: Huh?
:Friend: It's just something my grandma used to say. No idea what it means.
:I wonder on what date ''Star Wars'' will be quoted for the last time.

==References==
1. ''[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Wright#When_the_Leaves_Blow_Away_.282006.29_.2F_I_Still_Have_a_Pony_.282007.29 Wikiquotes article on Steven Wright]'', 2013-07-8. Accessed 2013-09-09.<br />
2. ''[http://sagihairius.tumblr.com/post/45784925343/my-mom-just-informed-me-that-my-first-word-was Tumblr post by Sagihairius]'', 2013-19-03. Accessed 2013-09-09.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]