Editing 2384: Set in the Present
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{{w|Billie Eilish}} is an American singer and songwriter who first became active in 2015, and rose to stardom in 2019, so a reference to her implies a show set within the last few years, and likely only one year in the past. The presence of "modern" phones (presumably a late model smartphone) has a similar implication. But in a TV show or film series where time passes in-universe, this also creates problems. If it's set in the recent past, and the series continues for a few more years, then the characters should encounter the pandemic in later seasons. If it's set in the future, then the entire series must be set in the future (because none of it included the pandemic). If the series has gone on for several years, the current episode must be at least several years in the future, which raises the question of why all the technology and pop culture shown is familiar to us. | {{w|Billie Eilish}} is an American singer and songwriter who first became active in 2015, and rose to stardom in 2019, so a reference to her implies a show set within the last few years, and likely only one year in the past. The presence of "modern" phones (presumably a late model smartphone) has a similar implication. But in a TV show or film series where time passes in-universe, this also creates problems. If it's set in the recent past, and the series continues for a few more years, then the characters should encounter the pandemic in later seasons. If it's set in the future, then the entire series must be set in the future (because none of it included the pandemic). If the series has gone on for several years, the current episode must be at least several years in the future, which raises the question of why all the technology and pop culture shown is familiar to us. | ||
| β | The simplest explanation is that COVID-19 doesn't exist within the program's universe (an idea | + | The simplest explanation is that COVID-19 doesn't exist within the program's universe (an idea Randall briefly considers as an "{{w|alternate timeline}}," but doesn't dwell on). Perfect consistency with the real world in fiction is hard to achieve, and how accurately stories track to current events varies widely. Movies and television productions are enormously complex, and months, if not years, can pass between when a screenplay is written and the finished product is released. This means that rapid changes in the real world are rarely reflected promptly in fiction. Alternately, the production might have taken place in the COVID era but the creators consciously chose not to include the pandemic in the story. Some viewers can ignore these inconsistencies, but for others, they make suspension of disbelief impossible. |
Cueball has previously been distracted by minor details in film or television in [[1451: Background Screens]]. The idea of using thumbtacks and strings (usually accompanied by newspaper clippings and photographs) to study a problem is {{tvtropes|StringTheory|pop-culture shorthand for a conspiracy theory}}. Randall has previously mentioned this in [[2244: Thumbtacks And String]]. | Cueball has previously been distracted by minor details in film or television in [[1451: Background Screens]]. The idea of using thumbtacks and strings (usually accompanied by newspaper clippings and photographs) to study a problem is {{tvtropes|StringTheory|pop-culture shorthand for a conspiracy theory}}. Randall has previously mentioned this in [[2244: Thumbtacks And String]]. | ||
