Difference between revisions of "2384: Set in the Present"

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{{incomplete|Created by an ALTERNATE NO-COVID TIMELINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
 
{{incomplete|Created by an ALTERNATE NO-COVID TIMELINE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
  
In this panel, [[Cueball]] watches a show, and notices that none of the characters are taking the recommended precautions concerning the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} (such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance). This results in him speculating on the timeline and internal logic of the show, in typical [[Randall]] fashion.  
+
[[Cueball]] is watching a wall-mounted television set that's showing either a movie or a TV program, and notices that none of the characters are taking the recommended precautions concerning the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} (such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance). This results in him speculating on the timeline and internal logic of the show, in typical [[Randall]] fashion.  
  
 
Most films and television shows are assumed to be set in or around the present, unless otherwise specified. This can create an issue when real-world events occur of sufficient magnitude that we'd expect to see their impact. 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.  
 
Most films and television shows are assumed to be set in or around the present, unless otherwise specified. This can create an issue when real-world events occur of sufficient magnitude that we'd expect to see their impact. 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.  
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{{w|Billie Eilish}} is an American singer and songwriter who first became active in 2015 and released her first album in 2017, so a reference to her implies a show set within the last few years. 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 past, and the series continues for a few more years, then the characters should encounter the pandemic in later seasons (which the writers probably haven't thought of). 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 released her first album in 2017, so a reference to her implies a show set within the last few years. 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 past, and the series continues for a few more years, then the characters should encounter the pandemic in later seasons (which the writers probably haven't thought of). 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.  
  
Naturally, the simplest explanation is simply that COVID-19 simply doesn't exist within the universe of whatever show we're watching (an idea Randall briefly considers as an "alternate timeline", but doesn't dwell on). This is frequently true of popular fiction, as perfect consistency with the real world is implausible, and how accurately it can track to current events varies with the writers and producers. For some, these inconsistencies can be ignored, but for others, they make suspension of disbelief impossible.
+
Naturally, the simplest explanation is simply that COVID-19 simply doesn't exist within the universe of whatever show we're watching (an idea Randall briefly considers as an "{{w|alternate timeline}}", but doesn't dwell on). This is frequently true of popular fiction, as perfect consistency with the real world is implausible, and how accurately it can track to current events varies with the writers and producers. For some, these inconsistencies can be ignored, 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 pop-culture shorthand for a conspiracy theory. Randall has previously mentioned this in [[2244: Thumbtacks And String]].
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
 
:[Cueball is standing and watching a presumed typical wall mounted flat-screen television. There is no background, nor other physical features, just Cueball and the obliquely aligned screen positioned to also let us view its foreshortened image. In this, Megan and Ponytail are seen talking face to face with hands almost or actually in contact. Their faces are sociably close together and they are not shown as wearing masks. In the background of the scene are several other Cueball-like figures, not notably masked up or distanced from each other, and two may be holding hands. Cueball himself is given a large thought bubble above him, within which is written his current distracted train of thoughts:]
 
:[Cueball is standing and watching a presumed typical wall mounted flat-screen television. There is no background, nor other physical features, just Cueball and the obliquely aligned screen positioned to also let us view its foreshortened image. In this, Megan and Ponytail are seen talking face to face with hands almost or actually in contact. Their faces are sociably close together and they are not shown as wearing masks. In the background of the scene are several other Cueball-like figures, not notably masked up or distanced from each other, and two may be holding hands. Cueball himself is given a large thought bubble above him, within which is written his current distracted train of thoughts:]
 +
 
: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-Covid timeline?
 
:Cueball: Or is this a post-vaccine future? Or an alternate no-Covid timeline?
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:[Caption below the panel:]
 
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Movies and shows that are vaguely set in "The Present" will be awkward for a while.
+
:Movies and shows that are vaguely set in "the present" will be awkward for a while.
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}

Revision as of 01:04, 13 November 2020

Set in the Present
She referenced Billie Eilish, so this must be getting pretty close to the pandemic. But we've seen the last two years in-universe, so if it's set in the future, they must be in at least 2023 by now. [*adds thumbtacks and string to wall*]
Title text: She referenced Billie Eilish, so this must be getting pretty close to the pandemic. But we've seen the last two years in-universe, so if it's set in the future, they must be in at least 2023 by now. [*adds thumbtacks and string to wall*]

Explanation

Ambox notice.png This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by an ALTERNATE NO-COVID TIMELINE. 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.
Cueball is watching a wall-mounted television set that's showing either a movie or a TV program, and notices that none of the characters are taking the recommended precautions concerning the COVID-19 pandemic (such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance). This results in him speculating on the timeline and internal logic of the show, in typical Randall fashion.

Most films and television shows are assumed to be set in or around the present, unless otherwise specified. This can create an issue when real-world events occur of sufficient magnitude that we'd expect to see their impact. 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.

COVID-19 is a particularly pronounced example of this. The disease apparently began to infect humans in 2019, and was publicly identified (and began to spread outside of China) in early 2020. By mid-2020, the disease had spread throughout the world, impacting many aspects of life for pretty much everyone. The effects of this pandemic, and the responses to it, are so visible than they should be almost universally evident, even upon casual viewing.

In this strip, Cueball notes that, if the story takes place in the same reality and time as us, the absence of precautions should mark the characters as reckless or irresponsible (which impacts the story). Alternative explanations he comes up with are that the show might be set either prior to the pandemic or far enough in the future that the impacts are no longer visible, but those possibilities might be difficult to square with era-specific references such a technology and popular culture.

Billie Eilish is an American singer and songwriter who first became active in 2015 and released her first album in 2017, so a reference to her implies a show set within the last few years. 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 past, and the series continues for a few more years, then the characters should encounter the pandemic in later seasons (which the writers probably haven't thought of). 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.

Naturally, the simplest explanation is simply that COVID-19 simply doesn't exist within the universe of whatever show we're watching (an idea Randall briefly considers as an "alternate timeline", but doesn't dwell on). This is frequently true of popular fiction, as perfect consistency with the real world is implausible, and how accurately it can track to current events varies with the writers and producers. For some, these inconsistencies can be ignored, 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 pop-culture shorthand for a conspiracy theory. Randall has previously mentioned this in 2244: Thumbtacks And String.

Transcript

[Cueball is standing and watching a presumed typical wall mounted flat-screen television. There is no background, nor other physical features, just Cueball and the obliquely aligned screen positioned to also let us view its foreshortened image. In this, Megan and Ponytail are seen talking face to face with hands almost or actually in contact. Their faces are sociably close together and they are not shown as wearing masks. In the background of the scene are several other Cueball-like figures, not notably masked up or distanced from each other, and two may be holding hands. Cueball himself is given a large thought bubble above him, within which is written his current distracted train of thoughts:]
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-Covid timeline?
Cueball: Or are we supposed to think these characters are irresponsible?
[Caption below the panel:]
Movies and shows that are vaguely set in "the present" will be awkward for a while.


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Discussion

Although I've described the TV as being wall-mounted, a literal reading of the scenario is that it and Cueball are both floating in a featureless void (which has covid). Captain Video (talk) 02:09, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

Can I just say this is so true... GOOMHR! Anything even vaguely archival (repeats or first-runs of shows recorded before ~Marchish 2020) that don't have a prominent "This was recorded prior to..." announcement look... strange. Unsettling, even. 141.101.98.158 02:15, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

Just out of curiosity (because I mainly watch older stuff): are there any current, contemporarily-set shows that were filmed during COVID and where actors have (or have not) started wearing masks?
I think if I were a producer, I would simply add masks to the show in situations where people would wear them in real life, even if the script was written before COVID. You wouldn`t even have to mention it in the show. Would make it more realistic, safer for the actors, and would acknowledge that COVID is simply a reality in 2020.
Really really contemporary productions have famously made various concessions to make 'reality' film safely (not sure what they did about masks to film a 'safe reality', I don't watch that stuff myself). Anything that can be delayed seems to have been delayed, though, so we're yet to see 'new normal' pop up, and anything mid-shoot will likely start again with precautionary but pre-mask arrangements rather than reshoot the old shots to include face-coverings. It's going to be interesting to see what signs creep in (like radio dramas where clearly they Zoomed it in, just one character sounds like they're under a duvet, or ought to have been). 162.158.159.128 11:58, 12 November 2020 (UTC)
Like this? Láska v čase korony? Edheldil (talk) 13:22, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

Transcript has a typo for the year: " Is this story set in 2049?" should read " Is this story set in 2019?"162.158.166.247 09:40, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

Easily changed. Done! ;) 162.158.159.128 11:58, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

Reminded me of this tweet thread from @qntm in June ("do you feel like in the past six months all contemporary fiction became period fiction"): https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1275909147729551360.html Arcorann (talk) 00:06, 13 November 2020 (UTC)

I'm not affected. In movies I'm watching, missing covid is NOT the most fantastic element. (Also, there is enough CGI that filming each real character separately won't change the movie production much.) -- Hkmaly (talk) 06:53, 13 November 2020 (UTC)

The problem with including masks etc. in productions is that it dates the movie/show precisely and makes it *about* COVID (qv.: chechovs gun) 162.158.92.100 00:34, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

You're just a bit ahead of the scheduling vs recording of TV-shows. I've seen in this week alone at least four shows where Covid-19 is a major player and everyone has masks... is this the late autumn-winter season of TV? :S --162.158.134.84 00:49, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't have a "COVID-19 in popular culture" page yet, but I bet it will by the end of the year. I considered starting one myself but material is still kind of thin. Captain Video (talk) 17:44, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

He was a year off. SilverTheTerribleMathematician (talk) 23:59, 2 January 2023 (UTC)