2011-12-07
Original: 2011-12-07 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: Charlie Brown stands talking to Schroeder, who plays at his toy piano.
Charlie Brown: The redheaded girl kissed me.
Schroeder: And?
Panel 2:
Charlie Brown: And there was a blemish on her neck.
Schroeder: So?
Panel 3:
Charlie Brown: You don't understand, Schroeder.
Panel 4: A close-up of the redheaded girl's face, then a blooming flower, then a symbol resembling the female/Venus sign.
Charlie Brown (narrating): For so long, I watched her at a distance. She went from a person to my archetype to an idea...
Panel 5: Charlie Brown gestures dramatically, arms raised.
Charlie Brown: And what good is a god with a zit?!
Panel 6:
Schroeder: Charlie...
Panel 7:
Charlie Brown: Charlie, don't play me with words, Schroeder. Just play me a song. Play me Chopin. He died before. I could know him, and so he remains beautiful.
Charlie Brown: Why couldn't he have met dinner... then she'd have been a person, not a disappointment.
Panel 8:
Charlie Brown: Play me a nocturne, and let my idol hope die in it.
Panel 9: Schroeder sits at the piano; sheet music fills the scene.
Charlie Brown: Let it die because remembering dead hope is easier than keeping it alive.
Panel 10: Schroeder plays; a wash of musical notation.
Panel 11:
Charlie Brown: The grief.
Schroeder: It is good.
Votey: A bearded figure resembling Jesus is seated at a desk/laptop, head in hand, looking exasperated.
Jesus: Jesus Christ.
Charlie Brown: The redheaded girl kissed me.
Schroeder: And?
Panel 2:
Charlie Brown: And there was a blemish on her neck.
Schroeder: So?
Panel 3:
Charlie Brown: You don't understand, Schroeder.
Panel 4: A close-up of the redheaded girl's face, then a blooming flower, then a symbol resembling the female/Venus sign.
Charlie Brown (narrating): For so long, I watched her at a distance. She went from a person to my archetype to an idea...
Panel 5: Charlie Brown gestures dramatically, arms raised.
Charlie Brown: And what good is a god with a zit?!
Panel 6:
Schroeder: Charlie...
Panel 7:
Charlie Brown: Charlie, don't play me with words, Schroeder. Just play me a song. Play me Chopin. He died before. I could know him, and so he remains beautiful.
Charlie Brown: Why couldn't he have met dinner... then she'd have been a person, not a disappointment.
Panel 8:
Charlie Brown: Play me a nocturne, and let my idol hope die in it.
Panel 9: Schroeder sits at the piano; sheet music fills the scene.
Charlie Brown: Let it die because remembering dead hope is easier than keeping it alive.
Panel 10: Schroeder plays; a wash of musical notation.
Panel 11:
Charlie Brown: The grief.
Schroeder: It is good.
Votey: A bearded figure resembling Jesus is seated at a desk/laptop, head in hand, looking exasperated.
Jesus: Jesus Christ.
Alt text
A tall black-and-white comic drawn in a Peanuts style. A bald round-headed boy (Charlie Brown) tells Schroeder, who is hunched at his toy piano, "The redheaded girl kissed me" — "And?" — "And there was a blemish on her neck" — "So?" Charlie says, "You don't understand, Schroeder." Insert images show the redheaded girl's face, a blooming flower, and a female/Venus symbol as Charlie narrates that for so long he watched her at a distance, and she went from a person to his archetype to an idea. Arms raised dramatically, he cries, "And what good is a god with a zit?!" Schroeder says "Charlie...". Charlie refuses to be talked down: just play him Chopin, who died before Charlie could know him and so remains beautiful; if Chopin had met him at dinner he'd be a person, not a disappointment. "Play me a nocturne, and let my idol hope die in it. Let it die because remembering dead hope is easier than keeping it alive." Schroeder plays, the panels filling with sheet music. Charlie says "The grief." Schroeder replies, "It is good." Votey panel: a bearded Jesus-like figure slumps at a desk over a laptop, head in hand, saying flatly, "Jesus Christ."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.