life-of-a-salesman
Original: life-of-a-salesman on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Woman with blonde hair (red shirt): Have you noticed that the lessons in "Death of a Salesman" don't work anymore?
Man with dark curly hair (round glasses): Oh?
Panel 2:
Woman with blonde hair: Willy Loman's life is marked by boredom and pointlessness. That doesn't exist now.
Panel 3:
Woman with blonde hair: It got replaced by conspiracy-adjacent news opinions, sharing confused-yet-angry political memes, and parasocial relationships with online and TV personalities who claim to know the real truth about the state of things.
Panel 4:
Woman with blonde hair: Ennui got fixed in the worst way possible. Life didn't have enough meaning, so people overcorrected the problem by making every stub of the toe emblematic of the tragic state of the world and the dark forces in charge of it.
Panel 5:
Woman with blonde hair: Everyone thought engagement was a good thing, but look at us now.
Panel 6:
Man with dark curly hair (kneeling on the ground, arms raised): Less attention must be paid! Less attention must be paid!
Votey:
Handwritten text on a blank panel: If this comic makes you angry please share it on all social media platforms.
Woman with blonde hair (red shirt): Have you noticed that the lessons in "Death of a Salesman" don't work anymore?
Man with dark curly hair (round glasses): Oh?
Panel 2:
Woman with blonde hair: Willy Loman's life is marked by boredom and pointlessness. That doesn't exist now.
Panel 3:
Woman with blonde hair: It got replaced by conspiracy-adjacent news opinions, sharing confused-yet-angry political memes, and parasocial relationships with online and TV personalities who claim to know the real truth about the state of things.
Panel 4:
Woman with blonde hair: Ennui got fixed in the worst way possible. Life didn't have enough meaning, so people overcorrected the problem by making every stub of the toe emblematic of the tragic state of the world and the dark forces in charge of it.
Panel 5:
Woman with blonde hair: Everyone thought engagement was a good thing, but look at us now.
Panel 6:
Man with dark curly hair (kneeling on the ground, arms raised): Less attention must be paid! Less attention must be paid!
Votey:
Handwritten text on a blank panel: If this comic makes you angry please share it on all social media platforms.
Alt text
A six-panel SMBC comic. In the first four panels, a blonde woman in a red shirt talks to a man with dark curly hair and round glasses against blue and brown backgrounds. She says she's noticed the lessons in "Death of a Salesman" don't work anymore: Willy Loman's boredom and pointlessness no longer exist, replaced by conspiracy-adjacent news, angry political memes, and parasocial relationships with online and TV personalities who claim to know the real truth. She explains that ennui got fixed in the worst way possible, with people overcorrecting a lack of meaning by treating every stubbed toe as emblematic of a tragic world and dark forces in charge. She concludes that everyone thought engagement was a good thing, but look at us now. In the final panel, the man kneels dramatically on the ground with his arms raised, crying out, "Less attention must be paid! Less attention must be paid!" -- a parody of the play's famous line "Attention must be paid." Votey: a blank panel with handwritten text reading, "If this comic makes you angry please share it on all social media platforms."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.