propaganda-2
Original: propaganda-2 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: A woman with teal/blue hair and a man with a shaved head walk together along a path.
Woman: How do people ever fall for fascist propaganda, when it's invariably hamfisted and stupid?
Man: Stupid is a feature, not a bug.
Panel 2: Close-up of the bald man, now wearing round glasses, gesturing thoughtfully.
Man: Propaganda isn't stupid in order to reach stupid people. It's stupid because stupid beliefs are a great costly signal of in-group loyalty.
Panel 3: The man continues explaining.
Man: Imagine being part of a group where the price for entrance is believing a tiny minority with strong opinions on bagels controls the planet via invisible orbital weapons. Once you're in, you are WAY IN, and you have no friends outside the group.
Panel 4: The man speaks.
Man: Instant tight community, and no need to go to church or provide community service.
Panel 5: Profile of the man; the woman stands behind/beside him looking on.
Panel 6: The woman appears uneasy/concerned.
Man: Wait no, don't get the wrong message from-
Panel 7: The woman, looking alarmed, interrupts.
Woman: Those bastards with their space-powers!
The man looks shocked/dismayed.
Votey:
A close-up of the woman, mouth twisted in anger/conviction, shouting in a speech bubble:
Woman: They probably have a sasquatch and alien clones of Jesus!
Woman: How do people ever fall for fascist propaganda, when it's invariably hamfisted and stupid?
Man: Stupid is a feature, not a bug.
Panel 2: Close-up of the bald man, now wearing round glasses, gesturing thoughtfully.
Man: Propaganda isn't stupid in order to reach stupid people. It's stupid because stupid beliefs are a great costly signal of in-group loyalty.
Panel 3: The man continues explaining.
Man: Imagine being part of a group where the price for entrance is believing a tiny minority with strong opinions on bagels controls the planet via invisible orbital weapons. Once you're in, you are WAY IN, and you have no friends outside the group.
Panel 4: The man speaks.
Man: Instant tight community, and no need to go to church or provide community service.
Panel 5: Profile of the man; the woman stands behind/beside him looking on.
Panel 6: The woman appears uneasy/concerned.
Man: Wait no, don't get the wrong message from-
Panel 7: The woman, looking alarmed, interrupts.
Woman: Those bastards with their space-powers!
The man looks shocked/dismayed.
Votey:
A close-up of the woman, mouth twisted in anger/conviction, shouting in a speech bubble:
Woman: They probably have a sasquatch and alien clones of Jesus!
Alt text
A seven-panel SMBC comic. A teal-haired woman and a bald man walk and talk. She asks how people fall for fascist propaganda when it's hamfisted and stupid. He says stupid is a feature, not a bug: propaganda is stupid because believing stupid things is a costly signal of in-group loyalty. He elaborates that joining a group whose entry price is believing, say, that a tiny minority with opinions on bagels controls the planet via invisible orbital weapons gets you instant tight community with no friends outside the group, and no need for church or community service. He starts to say 'Wait no, don't get the wrong message from-' but the woman, now looking alarmed and convinced, interrupts: 'Those bastards with their space-powers!' The man looks dismayed that his explanation backfired and recruited her into the conspiracy. Votey: an extreme close-up of the woman, face contorted with conviction, shouting, 'They probably have a sasquatch and alien clones of Jesus!'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.