Sentient Data posted:

I get that being mad at the argument itself is part of the joke, but since it hasn't gotten any positivity yet i just want to break kayfabe to say that i appreciated the writeup

Blurred posted:

The confusion is understandable, because the line in the show mirrors a conventional syntactic structure which is used to convey one's relationship to an abstract discipline in other contexts. If I say, "Oh boy, philosophy! That's where I'm a champion!", or "Oh boy, break dancing! That's where I'm a beast!", it's clear that the anaphoric phrase "that's where" denotes a general field of activity rather than some concrete activity, and that the direct object of the main clause is to be understood metaphorically rather than as a direct identity claim. Transposing this structure onto Ralph Wiggum's utterance generates the same set of expectations (i.e. that "sleep" is a general field of activity, and that "viking" is a metaphor). While the process by which novel metaphors are understood in practice would require a separate post all of its own, they typically depend on the audience recognising the most salient elements of the concept evoked by the vehicle of the metaphor (i.e. "viking") and how they might aptly be applied the tenor of the metaphor (i.e. the discipline of "sleep"). If one understands that the properties of, say, strength and power are highly salient to the concept of "viking", then one interprets the metaphor as suggesting that Ralph is strong and powerful at sleeping; i.e., he is very good at it. The fact that "viking" is not a conventional metaphor doesn't prevent such a metaphorical implicature from falling out of the utterance as it is produced in the context of the show.

The problem here is that the main clause appears to imply an identity claim when taken literally (i.e. "I'm a viking" suggests on a literal reading that Ralph is actually viking) which viewers recognise as nonsensical in context (i.e. it is clear to the viewer that Ralph is not, in fact, a viking) which presses them almost automatically into metaphorical interpretation to make sense of the claim (i.e. Ralph is strong and powerful at sleeping). This could have been avoided if the writers had included a modal operator ("Oh boy, sleep! That's where I can be a viking!") or a causitive form (Oh boy, sleep! That's where I get to be a viking!") so as to make it clear that "being a viking" is an affordance generated by the process of sleep, rather than a metaphorical identity claim.

Of course, it could be argued that Ralph, in the context of the show, is not sophisticated enough to semantically distinguish these different structures (i.e. perhaps he really does believe himself to become a viking during the act of sleep, which is why he phrases it this way) but I still believe that there is a way that the writers could have avoided the ambiguity of the original line, while remaining true to the fundamental naivete of Ralph's character. Namely, they could have had him say, "Oh boy, sleep! That's when I am a viking!". The use of the pronoun "when" in this context makes it clear that Ralph's being a viking is contingent upon some concrete, temporal process (as opposed to the more abstract reading of "sleep" evoked by the original line) which makes it easier for the viewers to recognise that Ralph believes himself to become a viking while sleeping (i.e. because that is what he dreams about) instead of being a viking at sleeping (which the original structure, on a plausible reading, appears to imply). Boy I sure hope someone was fired for that blunder.

InsertPotPun posted:

but how do we know ralph views viking as "good"?
perhaps ralph is acutely aware that the viking people did engage in widespread death and destruction, maybe he means he's BAD at sleep because him sleeping is a detriment to greater society? are there any clues in earlier or subsequent episodes that solidify his opinion? perhaps something banana related?

Martman posted:

because he's smiling.

InsertPotPun posted:

but how do we know ralph views viking as "good"?
perhaps ralph is acutely aware that the viking people did engage in widespread death and destruction, maybe he means he's BAD at sleep because him sleeping is a detriment to greater society? are there any clues in earlier or subsequent episodes that solidify his opinion? perhaps something banana related?

morningdrew posted:

morningdrew posted:

Diet Poison posted:

Can we get Viking Literalist and Viking Metaphorist gang tags so I know who my thread friends and thread enemies are?

Diet Poison posted:

Can we get Viking Literalist and Viking Metaphorist gang tags so I know who my thread friends and thread enemies are?

Drink-Mix Man posted:

I've chosen my side.

Drink-Mix Man posted:

I've chosen my side.

holttho posted:

Mx. posted:

All the world is your posting enemy

ZixTheYeti posted:

All the world will be your enemy, Poster with a Thousand Enemies. And whenever they quote you, they will flame you. But first they must quote you.

Drink-Mix Man posted:

I've chosen my side.

Drink-Mix Man posted:

I've chosen my side.

Deviant posted:

Smithers, release the metaphorical Robot Richard Simmons's.

Uncle Wemus posted:

Uncle Wemus posted:

Budzilla posted:

Why is Duke wearing a LARD pig cop uniform?

Mr. Fix It posted:

ADKAB

Party Boat posted:

* the K stands for KWIMK

Wall Balls posted:

Uncle Wemus posted:

Mx. posted:

Thanks for completing the quote I was too lazy to look up, you and I are now posting enemies