Editing 1575: Footprints
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The poem is seen by many as overly sentimental and is thus ripe for parody of this kind. The graph mockingly illustrates various times when Jesus or the narrator left the scene, or otherwise gives various reasons why the number of sets of footprints may have been other than two. | The poem is seen by many as overly sentimental and is thus ripe for parody of this kind. The graph mockingly illustrates various times when Jesus or the narrator left the scene, or otherwise gives various reasons why the number of sets of footprints may have been other than two. | ||
| − | + | "Ducklings {{w|Imprinting (psychology)|imprinted}} on Jesus and followed Him around" is a reference to {{w|Konrad Lorenz}}'s experiments. Three ducklings followed Jesus and the narrator. | |
| − | + | "Jesus disappeared for an evening each time a new ''{{w|The Twilight Saga (film series)|Twilight}}'' movie came out" could mean that Jesus went to see the movie and left the narrator alone. It could also mean that his support of people through their most difficult trials meant he had to carry a lot of emotionally scarred people. | |
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| − | + | "Got lost and followed our own footprints" may be a reference to "{{w|Winnie-the-Pooh}}" (1926), in which the titular bear and his friend try and hunt a "Woozle" by its footprints, actually following their own round and round a spinney, which also seems slightly childish for Jesus as traditionally portrayed. An alternate explanation is that they came to a dead end, and had to double back. | |
| − | + | "Rode around with Jesus in captured {{w|Walker (Star_Wars)#All_Terrain_Scout_Transport_.28AT-ST.29|AT-ST}}" is a reference to a two-legged combat "walker" from Star Wars. The implication is that Jesus would have participated in forcibly taking a war machine, which appears somewhat out of character.{{Citation needed}} | |
| − | The narrator punching Jesus is another | + | The reference at the end to Jesus drowning in a patch of quicksand, and then the narrator simply going home, again subverts the poem's earnestness. "Going home" may be a reference to dying, implying that the narrator died without Christ, or that the narrator and Christ were not traveling anymore. It is also possible that this is meant literally, and the narrator actually went home. |
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| + | The title text continues the parody by imagining that Jesus delivers the poem's climactic lines in stereotypical {{w|Bro_(subculture)|"bro"}} speak, a dialect perceived by many to be obnoxious. The reference to punching Jesus is possibly another reference to the poem's perceived excessive sentimentality. Another interpretation is that the narrator, like many people, dislikes usage of this lingo and punched Jesus as a result of this hatred. This might also be a pun on "totes"; with {{w|tote bags}} being used to carry things, but not people. The narrator punching Jesus might be because of his hatred for the pun. | ||
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| + | Yet another interpretation is that Jesus' obnoxious way of explaining himself indicated dishonesty, meaning he did not in fact carry the narrator during the most difficult parts of his life. The narrator sensed this and punched Jesus in retaliation. | ||
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| + | "There's one set of foot-p's cause I was totes carrying you, bro!" can be translated into normal English as "There's one set of footprints because I was definitely carrying you, friend!". | ||
An alternate explanation of some of the oddities of the strip is that "Jesus" is not Jesus Christ, but some guy merely ''named'' Jesus, as is common in some Latin American countries. | An alternate explanation of some of the oddities of the strip is that "Jesus" is not Jesus Christ, but some guy merely ''named'' Jesus, as is common in some Latin American countries. | ||
| − | Using the | + | Using the Twilight movies as reference points, it can be determined that the span of the graph is from approximately early 2004 to late 2018, with Jesus' death in the second half of 2017. |
The poem has appeared in xkcd before, at [[1110: Click and Drag|1110]] with coordinates 0.7601, -58.803. | The poem has appeared in xkcd before, at [[1110: Click and Drag|1110]] with coordinates 0.7601, -58.803. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
| − | :[A graph is shown with a single red line that runs through from left to right, showing different values at different times. Until the very end, the line always returns to the value 2, signifying two sets of footprints in the sand. The X-axis has a label followed by an arrow pointing right. The Y-axis has a label at the top, right of the axis, and numbers, one for each of the ticks from which five thin lines going horizontally across the entire graph. Every time the graph moves away from the value 2 there is an arrow pointing to the event and a label. The first two events has the same label. The only label below the line has five small arrows pointing to five small dips in the curve. All other labels only has one arrow pointing to one event.] | + | :[A graph is shown with a a single red line that runs through from left to right, showing different values at different times. Until the very end, the line always returns to the value 2, signifying two sets of footprints in the sand. The X-axis has a label followed by an arrow pointing right. The Y-axis has a label at the top, right of the axis, and numbers, one for each of the ticks from which five thin lines going horizontally across the entire graph. Every time the graph moves away from the value 2 there is an arrow pointing to the event and a label. The first two events has the same label. The only label below the line has five small arrows pointing to five small dips in the curve. All other labels only has one arrow pointing to one event.] |
:X-axis: Time | :X-axis: Time | ||
:Y-axis: Sets of footprints | :Y-axis: Sets of footprints | ||
