Editing 2384: Set in the Present
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by an ALTERNATE NO-COVID TIMELINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | [[Cueball]] is watching a wall-mounted television set that's showing either a movie or a TV program, and | + | [[Cueball]] is watching a wall-mounted television set that's showing either a movie or a TV program. On-screen, people are talking face-to-face without face masks, and other maskless people mingle in the background. Although he's not engaged with the plot, Cueball has picked up enough setting clues to know that the story is set in or near the present day. However, the actual present day includes a raging pandemic ({{w|COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19}}), the likes of which have not been seen in a century. The program doesn't reflect this, and Cueball is driven to distraction by the mismatch between his world and its. |
− | + | In a generic setting, stories can date themselves through the appearance of era-specific technology (such as cell phone models, which Cueball notes) or pop culture references ({{w|Billie Eilish}} is mentioned in the title text). These clues support the idea that the story is current, but the story's world is still fundamentally different without the pandemic. Attempting to resolve the question, Cueball considers the possibility that the story is set in 2019 (COVID-19 did not emerge until late that year and did not become a pandemic until 2020); a vaccinated future where COVID-19 has been cured; or that it is 2020, but the characters are simply being reckless with their own (and each others') health. Alternatively, this story could occur in an {{w|alternate timeline}} with no COVID. In the realm of books, writers in at least one subgenre within romance fiction have adopted the 'alternate timeline' approach, on the argument that COVID-19 is an element of the real world from which their readership is trying to escape. | |
− | + | Movies and television productions are enormously complex, and months, if not years, can pass between when a screenplay is written and the finished product finishes filming. There is often an additional gap between the end of production and a program's release. Together, these delays mean that most movies and TV shows still coming out in the pandemic reflect the world as it was before COVID hit. Even if produced after COVID-19 had already began, many movies and TV shows may not reference COVID or mask-wearing, leading to Cueball's confusion/distraction. Also, the production lag time would affect era-specific technology such as cell phones, which would reflect the time at which the production was filmed rather than the time it was released and viewed. Thus, a story set in "the present day" will actually reflect the world of some months or years in the past. | |
− | + | The idea of using thumbtacks and strings (usually accompanied by newspaper clippings and photographs) to study a problem is pop-culture shorthand for a conspiracy theory. Randall has previously mentioned this in [[2244: Thumbtacks And String]]. | |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Cueball is standing and watching a | + | :[Cueball is standing and watching a wall-mounted flat-screen television (everything else is just white, no indication of the wall other than the screen hanging there). On the screen, Megan and Ponytail are seen talking face to face gesturing at each other. Their faces are close together and there are no masks present. In the background behind them, a couple holding hands can be seen to the left and at least two people walking close to each other to the right. They all look like Cueball. Cueball is thinking while watching this, and his thoughts are shown in one large thought bubble above him:] |
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:Cueball: Okay, they're hugging, and no one has masks, but she has a modern phone. Is this story set in 2019? | :Cueball: Okay, they're hugging, and no one has masks, but she has a modern phone. Is this story set in 2019? | ||
− | :Cueball: Or is this a post-vaccine future? Or an alternate no- | + | :Cueball: Or is this a post-vaccine future? Or an alternate no-Covid timeline? |
:Cueball: Or are we supposed to think these characters are irresponsible? | :Cueball: Or are we supposed to think these characters are irresponsible? | ||
:[Caption below the panel:] | :[Caption below the panel:] | ||
− | :Movies and shows that are vaguely set in " | + | :Movies and shows that are vaguely set in "The Present" will be awkward for a while. |
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} |