Tuesday 3 December 2013

I feel like Daniel looking for Masonic Compasses

I was repeatedly listening to Phineas and Ferb's "Pinhead Pierre" theme, as I'm known to do, when I caught this one. Not sure how to feel about this - if I'm not making it up out of thin air, I think I'm going to call it a literary reference and just continue sweating Phineas and Ferb for being formulaic, rather than having potential "hidden" religious messages. Of course, on the other hand, Disney. Alternately, I might have just spent entirely too much time in English courses.



The last seven seconds of this clip seem to be a clear reference to bible verse 2 Kings 2:23-2:24. To quote:
"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them." 
- King James Version, Kings 2:23-24.

Even the number of bears is right, although the number of kids isn't. That'd be one cluttered shot, though, and a P&F crowd sequence isn't always easy on the eyes to begin with.

For comparison, the lyrics to the Pinhead Pierre Theme:
"Pinhead Pierre,
Has the smallest head of which I'm aware.
It's about the size and shape of a pear.
Everywhere the children stare.
Life's cruel and unfair,
To Pinhead Pierre!"
- Povenmire/Marsh, "Magic Carpet Ride." Phineas and Ferb.

Pierre, obviously, is a "bald head" too, and the children's taunting is even more blatant in the animation than the lyrics. I'm pretty sure I should be creeped out right now - but whether it's because there actually is a shout-out to a particularly horrific passage in a largely horrific book, or because I'm capable of entirely inventing an unsettling "hidden reference" in something innocuous, is still up for debate. If this was placed there intentionally, it's clever yet disturbing. If it wasn't, strike that and apply same adjectives to poster.

Addendum: Since this post is all quotes anyway, here's another favourite Douglas Coupland one, this time from Microserfs, and the context of the reference from the title:

"Bug is here in the living  room watching "Casper the Friendly Ghost" cartoons on the VCR, "looking for subtext." I can't believe it, but I'm getting into it, too. ("Wait, Bug - rewind that back a few seconds - wasn't  that a Masonic compass?")
Karla was asleep ages ago. She stayed home and watched The Thornbirds on the VCR with Susan. ("It's a girl thing. Scram.") Karla has an unsuspected fathomless capacity for sleep of which I am most envious."
- Douglas Coupland, Microserfs

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