2396: Wonder Woman 1984

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Wonder Woman 1984

Title text: 'Wait, why would you think a movie set in 1984 would do drive-ins as a retro promotion?' 'You know, 80s stuff. Drive-in movies. Britney Spears doing the hustle. Elvis going on Ed Sullivan and showing off his pog collection.' 'What year were you born, again?'

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by Walter Mondale. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

Ponytail, who was eager to see Wonder Woman 1984, the sequel to the acclaimed 2017 Wonder Woman film, decided to block all news media leading up to the film, to avoid spoilers. This is a common practice for people who do not wish to be "spoiled" by reading or hearing any plot points of the film, and want to experience it for the "first time" when watching it. Many early reviewers may inadvertently give away key parts of the film, which may "ruin" the experience for some watchers.

However, there have been many delays for release of the film, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was originally delayed from November 1, 2019 to June 5, 2020, and then was pushed to August 14, 2020, and October 2, 2020, before it was finally moved to December 25, 2020. The film studio announced a simultaneous release of the film in theaters and also on streaming platform HBO Max.

Absurdly, Ponytail did not turn off her news site blocker and so has not read any news for the past year. Because of this, she does not know who became the 2020 Democratic nominee, or who won the 2020 United States presidential election (both Joe Biden). Even more absurdly, she has not noticed others wearing masks, seen any Biden campaign signs, etc. It also seems that she does not know about the COVID-19 pandemic, as she seems confused as to why her movie is now being shown at a drive-in theater. Drive-in theaters have been seen as a much safer option than regular movie theaters during the pandemic.

Cueball tries to warn her about the ongoing pandemic, but in an effort to avoid spoilers, she refuses to listen to him. Cueball then tells her to wear a mask, but she is still confused. Ponytail says that she will dress up in costume as Wonder Woman, who is traditionally shown wearing a tiara, but not a mask (unlike Batman or many other comic characters).

The title text shows Ponytail’s even more remarkable historical imagination. According to Wikipedia, drive-in theaters were in fact in decline in the 80s due to the advent of cable TV, VCRs, and home video. Britney Spears was popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Hustle was a disco dance popular in the mid 1970s. Pogs under that name peaked in the mid-1990s. Elvis's appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show- one of the pivotal moments of American pop culture- occurred on September 9, 1956. Cueball points out this mess of inconsistencies by asking Ponytail when she was born, referring to the idea that she would subconsciously combine all these time periods because she didn't live through them, and only knows about them through pop culture.

This comic is similar to 2280: 2010 and 2020, which features someone who also is unaware of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

[Ponytail sitting at a desk, chatting with Cueball (off-screen) on a laptop]

Ponytail: Just two weeks until I see Wonder Woman 1984, learn who the Democratic nominee was, and find out how the election went.

Cueball: Huh?

[Close-up on Ponytail]

Ponytail: To avoid spoilers, I blocked all news sites ahead of the November 2019 release.

Ponytail: But then they bumped the date on my ticket to June 2020, and now December 25th.

Ponytail: It also moved to a drive-in theater? Some retro promotion, maybe.

[Cueball on his laptop, chatting with Ponytail (off-screen) on a laptop]

Cueball: Wait, you haven't seen any news?

Ponytail: Nope!

Cueball: So you don't know about -

Ponytail: No spoilers!

[Back to Ponytail sitting at a desk, chatting with Cueball (off-screen) on a laptop]

Cueball: Okay. Just...

Cueball: Bring a mask, in case you need to get out of the car.

Ponytail: Oh, I'll have a full costume! But it's a tiara, not a mask.

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Discussion

Is it really "common" as the explanation reads, to block "all news media" to avoid spoilers? Wouldn't most people just block the relevant keywords, or perhaps movie review sites and channels in particular? Blocking the entirety of news sources is rather absurd, in a fitting way for xkcd, but not a realistic way for real-world people to behave, as the explanation currently implies it is. PotatoGod (talk) 02:22, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

You are going to need two websites to answer your question. First, the PDP-11 emulator, and also, Fedora in jslinux. Good luck! 172.68.133.14 05:21, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

I don't understand. Are you referring to something PotatoGod did? Or is it a suggestion for recreating the 1984 Internet experience? These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For (talk) 07:07, 13 December 2020 (UTC)

I'd also guess that you'd block, lets say imdb or rotten tomatoes. Maybe even social media, but going to a regular news site would normaly be fine. Unlike for example on a sports event. (Let's say, an american person is not able to follow the super bowl, or someone else not following the Football worldcup finals, and they want to review it the next day in the afternoon...) - To be honest: Me, being born in 1990, I'd also would have expected drive in cinemas to be a thing in the 1980s. Alternatively it also seems possible, that they are a central plot point or something similar to the movie, so that THAT is the reason why it is a promotion. This of course would again be a spoiler in itself. --Lupo (talk) 06:21, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

Maybe Ponytail's making an assumption like you are, but her assumption is based on the date in the title, as that seems to be the only thing she knows about the film in the strip. 172.71.210.83 06:05, 14 August 2024 (UTC)

I think that there is a lot of excess in this "spoiler avoidance" thing, this urge to have a "fresh experience". --Tolueno (talk) 14:25, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure how to block keywords on news ... I would probably stop visiting news sites if I really wanted to avoid spoilers. It wouldn't be absurd if I did that for, say, week. I might even stop visiting comics which might post something related. However, avoiding anything related to covid would be much harder, even not counting I got something about it as an SMS. -- Hkmaly (talk) 00:47, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Is this referring to the 2020 election or to the 1984 election, which might be a plot point in the film? 162.158.79.137 16:40, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

I thought it was the 1984 election at first, but 2020 makes more sense. Blocking news sites wouldn't get rid of history. It's not until you read the title text that you get the idea that she's also oblivious about previous decades, although how that came about is unclear. Barmar (talk) 18:48, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

I guess it is lampshade hanging on the fact that advertising for a 1984 film with drive in cinemas is a bit off. --Lupo (talk) 06:12, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

I suppose the obvious closest thing to a retro-1984 reference to Drive-In Cinemas is the 1985 film Back To The Future that itself harks back to 1955, maybe slightly before the upswing of popularity... Though they don't actually feature in that film (cinema does, even 3d glasses), so it's a poor comparison. ;) 141.101.98.132 16:24, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

I clicked on on link and managed to go from this page to Prop 8 in 6 clicks, I passed through startrek, I invite you to find your own way there. Infestedlie (talk) 02:39, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

What is “Prop 8”? I tried a Google search and all I got for results was about some kind of ballot initiative in California way back in 2008 about same-sex marriage.172.69.62.249 06:56, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

That is exactly what it is, which is why it surprised me so much Infestedlie (talk) 15:31, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

Which link did you start on? Wonder Woman 1984 on Wikipedia? It took me 3: Warner Bros -> California -> Prop 8 --Lupo (talk) 07:52, 14 December 2020 (UTC)

Need an explanation of "pogs" - online sources indicate it was a 1990s thing, and Elvis was last on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957. 198.41.238.108 20:50, 23 December 2020 (UTC)