Difference between revisions of "39: Bowl"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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(Explanation)
(Trivia: Last only on livejournal)
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*Original [[Randall]] quote: "This is not the barrel boy. Current Mood: Final Exam-y"
 
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "This is not the barrel boy. Current Mood: Final Exam-y"
 
*This is the forty-first comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[43: Red Spiders 2]]. The next was [[45: Schrodinger]]
 
*This is the forty-first comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[43: Red Spiders 2]]. The next was [[45: Schrodinger]]
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*This comic was the last that was only posted on livejournal. From [[45: Schrodinger]] the comics were posted both places (mainly in the same order) until livejournal closed
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
 
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
 
[[Category:Comics with color]]
 
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Revision as of 12:07, 21 April 2015

Bowl
For the moment it's a standoff
Title text: For the moment it's a standoff

Explanation

The comic roughly parodies a situation in which two characters are seeing who can wait longer to get the result they want. However in the comic, the model sailing ship is not alive and doesn't experience time (except perhaps if it absorbs water and falls apart, or beaches once the water in the bowl evaporates). The comic compares the patience of a boy with that of an inanimate object. Also, it could imply that the boy has too much time on his hands.

Like many of the earlier comics, some of this comic's humor comes from the surreality of the situation. The gravity of the boy's statement is juxtaposed with the insignificance of a child's toy floating in a bowl of water. On one level, the absurdity of this is funny in itself; on another level, the audience is invited to imagine what might possibly be going through the boy's mind to make him take this toy and bowl so seriously.

Alternatively, the comic can be taken to recognize the mortality and ultimate fate of death/decay for both the boat and the boy, creating a grim moral. But, if one goes deeper into meaning, one could realize that the comic itself is humorous for trying to make a fatalistic statement using a boy and a toy boat, still making the comic ultimately humorous.

Transcript

[A boy is glaring at a model sailing ship floating in a bowl of water.]
Boy: Sooner or later, my friend, one of us will run out of time.

Trivia

  • Original Randall quote: "This is not the barrel boy. Current Mood: Final Exam-y"
  • This is the forty-first comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was 43: Red Spiders 2. The next was 45: Schrodinger
  • This comic was the last that was only posted on livejournal. From 45: Schrodinger the comics were posted both places (mainly in the same order) until livejournal closed


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Discussion

How do we know that there isn't someone on the boat? They may be waiting for the boy to go to sleep before trying to escape.72.193.184.110 01:43, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Actually, this is an alternate ending to the clasic early eighties adventure movie "Time Bandits", but I would not expect you to know that as "you are so mercilessly free from the ravages of intelligence".--TheTimeBandit (talk) 21:52, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Agreed: There are several scenarios, including I think a Heinlein short story, Time Bandits, and others. Or it could even be some other situation Randal{1,2} just made up. The assumption that this is a child staring down an inanimate object is a bit of a leap. It's a plurality likelyhood at best. — Kazvorpal (talk) 01:16, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

the kid might be like some elder god, watch down on the boat

At first glance I thought the boy runs out of time when mom calls him for dinner (or some other boyish commitment) and the boat simply runs out of time when it sinks. I don't know if that can help interpret this scene. Just to say, I LOVE these comics and all the Muoroe stuff! 162.158.129.252 15:03, 22 May 2023 (UTC)