When we look at the world, it becomes an image. That image detaches itself from the thing that it is an image of, just like a sound detaches itself from the thing that makes it. The image can, under certain circumstances, becomes the image-itself, the way that language became language-itself for Alice. The image-itself of the world becomes wider than the world itself is.

YEAR: 2016
RUNTIME: 8:47
VOICES: Craig Walker, Sharday Mosurinjohn
PIANO: John Burge
GUITAR: Antoine Mercier

Script

Daddy?

Yes sweet pea?

… can you tell me about … the wide, wide world?

Certainly, pumpkin. The wide wide world is just a theory, but it is a very old and distinguished
theory, and remains controversial to this day. There are some who are convinced that it is no
more than a fable, or a myth, while others doubt that it is reliable beyond merely regional
applications. But those who think that the wide wide world is authentic agree that it has the
following 3 key components.

One: The wide wide world is a cluster of overlapping cultural beliefs which suggest that it is
more efficient to steal your neighbour’s vegetables than to grow your own.

Two: The wide wide world is a contact zone where those who think that the universe is
orderly and intelligible confront those who don’t. But there is no need to be concerned
pumpkin; it all falls within statistical norms.

Three: The wide wide world is a controversial psychological theory which states that
exuberant experiences like joy, exaltation and triumph are just different labels for the
experiences of subordination, addiction, and abject dependency.

Mommy, why does the wide wide world support so many professional miracle workers
who never seem to produce miracles?

Well pumpkin, as you know, the wide wide world is assembled from a variety of different
musical instruments. But they aren’t just any sort of musical instruments. These are musical
instruments which make unmusical sounds. And when a musical instrument makes a
musical sound, it relieves those musical instruments which make unmusical sounds of the
responsibility to sound musical.

Is that why it’s so difficult for musicians to make a living in the wide wide world
mommy?

No pumpkin. Musicians are economically neglected for the same reason that we
mispronounce foreign words. The wide wide world is an irregular chemical compound. It has
an unusually high molecular weight, and is often classified with oils, and lubricants. Because
its essential properties are still not fully understood, the wide wide world can often appear
moody, and flammable. Some smaller worlds metastasize, and readily form bonds, which
unexpectedly transforms them into other worlds.
And that is why acts of state terrorism so frequently go unrecognized.

But mommy…

Yes sweet pea?

… why are the sky and the ocean and the world still only synonyms? Why aren’t there
any real replacements?

I know where to go to see the sky and the ocean and the world, but why are they still
only synonyms? Why aren’t there any real replacements?

I can see the sky and the ocean and the rest of the wide wide world whenever I want,
but why are they only synonyms? Why aren’t there any real replacements?

I know what to do if I want to see the sky or the ocean or the wide wide world,
Mommy, but I still don’t know why they’re still only synonyms? After all this time, why
aren’t there any real replacements?

I know what to do if I want to see wide wide world, Mommy, but I still don’t know why
they’re still only synonyms? After all this time, why aren’t there any real replacements?

I know what to do if I want to watch the wide wide world, Mommy, but I still don’t know
why it’s still there? After all this time, why aren’t there any real
replacements/substitutes?

Well darling, worlds are like words. Each one has a number. Some words have several.
Traditionally, only numbers from 1 to 999 have been assigned. As there are many more
words than that, all words must share the same number with many other words. This
continues to produce misunderstanding. The system has worked as well as can be
expected. Efforts are currently underway to modernize the system. But they will probably fail,
pumpkin.

Why will it fail mommy?

Well, because, while the wide wide world is labour-intensive, it is also, at the very same time,
fully automated. That’s what makes it so funny.

What does it mean to use the word funny, Daddy?

Well pumpkin, in the current idiom, funny has two uses:

  1. funny is used to express an inner serenity which has passed through a veil of tears, and
    which may be either authentic or inauthentic;
  2. funny is a type of emotional deception where one feigns indifference in order to avoid
    misfortune.

OK. Thank you daddy. (pause.) Ummm, Mommy can you provide me with a glossary
of key phrases that will help me navigate the vicissitudes of life, and allow me to find
my special place in the wide wide world?

Certainly darling.
The first key phrase is “the flickering light that beckons me”.
It refers to the sadness that comes with realizing that we are coerced by unknown forces into
separating things from words.

The second key phrase is “a tree forsaken in a clearing near a group of small children.” A
tree is a very tall plant so completely embodied in a particular theory that every time you see
one, your devotion to that theory becomes more fanatical.

The third key phrase is, “our picture must be flat, while our world is round.”
Anyone who has drawn a 3-dimensional representation of a lion on a piece of paper knows
that the gods communicate to us with pulleys and strings.

“it’s just a fluke that you’re alive at all:”
Someone who has been reproached for being either too clever, or not clever enough.

“the very end of the world”:
A theory of the origins of language. Once fire was in common use, the theory claims,
language developed as a way to tell jokes to help endure long dreary evenings.

(fade out) “dreams, and the overall lowering of standards”:

Beautiful but cruel conflicts where divisions and subtractions vie for dominance in a ruthless
competition where the losers are led away and never seen again.