Editing 1108: Cautionary Ghost
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| title = Cautionary Ghost | | title = Cautionary Ghost | ||
| image = cautionary_ghost.png | | image = cautionary_ghost.png | ||
+ | | imagesize = | ||
| titletext = But then the Ghost of Subjunctive Past showed up and told me to stay strong on 'if it were'. | | titletext = But then the Ghost of Subjunctive Past showed up and told me to stay strong on 'if it were'. | ||
}} | }} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | The usage of a ghost from the past or future to deliver a message in fiction was popularized by Charles Dicken's ''A Christmas Carol'', in which the main character is visited upon by the ghosts of past, present and future during his sleep. | |
− | + | This comic is a comment on the futility of arguing over trivial matters, such as the usage of the word "literally" as mentioned in the comic. It also links to comic [http://xkcd.com/725/ 725: Literally] and probably to a parody at [http://www.explosm.net/comics/2923/ Cyanide & Happiness]. In the comic, a man is presented an idyllic scene of the future, then is given an identical scene and told that the second scene is the future if he gives up arguing over a word. The comparison is meant to signal the almost inconsequential impact on the world that some debates have. | |
− | The ghost | + | The title text is a reversal on this, where the man meets a contrary ghost who encourages him to continue with his argument on an equally trivial matter: the use of the phrase "if it were". The ghost is referred to as the ''Ghost of Subjunctive Past'' in reference to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_subjunctive subjunctive mood] and the phrase "if it were" being a usage of the subjunctive past construction to [http://sesquiotic.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/if-i-were-using-the-subjunctive/ describe an impossible past event]. Over time, "if it were" has been falling out of use in favor of "if it was", and thus the subjunctive form in this example is near extinction. |
− | + | ==Transcript== | |
− | + | [Man sitting in bed is facing a ghost.] | |
− | + | ||
+ | Ghost: ''Ooooooooooooooooo'' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Man: A ghost!? | ||
− | + | Ghost: I bring a '''cautionary vision''' of things to come! | |
− | + | [Cut to scene with two houses, a plane, a tree and a standing couple.] | |
− | + | Ghost: This is the future: | |
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− | + | [Identical scene] | |
− | + | ||
− | : | + | Ghost: And '''this''' is the future if you give up the fight over the word "literally": |
− | + | ||
− | : | + | [Cut back to man sitting in bed with ghost] |
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+ | Man: They looked exactly the same. | ||
− | : | + | Ghost: ''Oooooooooooooooo'' |
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− | : | + | Man: Ok, I get it. |
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− | + | Ghost: Seriously, this is duuuuumb. | |
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− | {{comic discussion}} | + | {{comic discussion}} |
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