Warped Perspective

See it here.

If you read to rapidly, you might be tempted to believe that for the second time in a week, The Dinette Set has ventured into uncharted territory where narrative and visual are working together towards the same semblance of a joke (such as it is).

But the panel is deceiving, deliberately so.

What is so striking about this particular panel is that virtually every detail contains the main thrust (Burl and Joy are gluttonous, obese, and without impulse control) and a secondary odd detail that does not entirely contradict the main meaning, but certainly makes one puzzle over it.

The narrative, for example, leaves out the expected phrase "all-you-can-eat" which is certainly implied by "buffet" but is by no means certain. Also, the idea that even a Chinese buffet lacks dessert items is rather implausible.

Visually, we have:

• Oreos, curiously owned by "Mom"
• A shopping list with patently unhealthy food, plus tapioca
• A sign to call for pizza by 4:00, but no indication why the timing is crucial
• A sign with a pig and the cryptic phrase "Remember What?"
• A "Hair of the Dog" mug with a lipstick stain on the rim, but on the side away from which Joy would be using it
• The puzzling marriage of Pepto Bismol and Hostess Candies on Burl's shirt.

This overall strangeness is reflected in the perspective with which the kitchen is rendered. Are the wall counter, fridge, and pantry doors supposed to be on the same wall? They don't appear to be. The pantry doors appear to be perpendicular to the other two. In which case, the back of the fridge would take up most of the pantry, which would make no sense at all.

In the final analysis, the weight of rather odd detail does not wholly subvert the panel's apparent meaning, as is so often the case in The Dinette Set. Rather, in this case, the artist chides against complacency when reading. Facile examination of the work is to be avoided, lest the reader miss the larger meanings that are usually hidden in the details.

Only 3000 calories per marginalia:

• Joy's flowery Mu-Mu, while not looking the same, does seem to be a quotation of Homer Simpson.
• I can't read the label on what (I think) is the soda in the fridge, but if I had to guess I would think it says "7upies" which only makes a little bit of sense.