# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 314
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6267 "2025-04-04T23:22:03Z")
In Pulp Fiction, Mia takes a baggie of white powder from Vince’s jacket pocket, snorts it like cocaine, and then overdoses. I only just figured out that the reason she overdoses is because it isn’t cocaine she snorts, it’s the heroine Vince bought earlier in the film. I blame the fact that I’m not that well versed in drug culture for the fact that I never put that together before. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6268 "2025-04-05T00:29:22Z")
I didn’t spot this one myself because I’m not a musician. But I watched a video today by a professional violinist. She was talking about “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Charlie Daniels and how a lot of people feel the Devil gave a better performance than Johnny. She refuted this with a technical discussion of playing the violin. The Devil’s performance may have sounded cool but he was only using a couple of basic techniques that a beginner would know (along with a backup band of demons). Johnny’s performance was subtler but much more sophisticated. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6269 "2025-04-05T00:58:42Z")
I believe you, but if more people enjoy the Devil’s performance, is Johnny really better? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6270 "2025-04-05T05:18:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > (along with a backup band of demons) That’s my complaint. It was supposed to be a **fiddle** contest, and the Devil just cheated the hell out of it. He should have lost as soon as that band of demons joined in! ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6271 "2025-04-05T05:29:39Z")
It’s set up in this scene, [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sRUsY8VYDJw/maxresdefault.jpg "Vincent Buys H From Lance | John Travolta, Eric Stoltz | Pulp Fiction (1994)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRUsY8VYDJw) where Lance asks “I’m outta balloons, is a baggie alright?” ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6272 "2025-04-05T06:47:20Z")
Ahh! I knew about the ‘mistaken identity’ regarding the drugs, but I had no idea that it was because of what they were inside. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6273 "2025-04-05T06:50:22Z")
I don’t get it. What are balloons and baggies? ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6274 "2025-04-05T06:51:49Z")
I assume heroin is usually dished out in an actual balloon (not blown up…obviously!) and coke just in a little plastic food bag thingy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6275 "2025-04-05T12:59:05Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > That’s my complaint. It was supposed to be a **fiddle** contest, and the Devil just cheated the hell out of it. Wait, the Devil… cheated? This upends my entire worldview! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6276 "2025-04-05T13:39:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But I watched a video today by a professional violinist. She was talking about “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Charlie Daniels and how a lot of people feel the Devil gave a better performance than Johnny. > > She refuted this with a technical discussion of playing the violin. The Devil’s performance may have sounded cool but he was only using a couple of basic techniques that a beginner would know (along with a backup band of demons). Johnny’s performance was subtler but much more sophisticated We’ve debated this earlier. I think the Devil won the poll (which didn’t carry over with the migration to discourse). > [@"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - Who was better: Johnny or the Devil?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-devil-went-down-to-georgia-who-was-better-johnny-or-the-devil/824941): > > In this song about dueling fiddlers, one being the Devil and the other being Johnny, who was the better player? [The Devil’s Entry](https://youtu.be/sh7BZf7D5Bw?t=1m12s)[Johnny’s Submission](https://youtu.be/sh7BZf7D5Bw?t=2m1s) Prize: One (1) fiddle made of gold. Public poll, as always… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6277 "2025-04-05T14:23:45Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I believe you, but if more people enjoy the Devil’s performance, is Johnny really better? > [@Horatius](#): > > It was supposed to be a **fiddle** contest, and the Devil just cheated the hell out of it. He should have lost as soon as that band of demons joined in! It was a three minute song. They didn’t go into the details. But my understanding, which fits the narrative, was that the contest was based on who played the fiddle better. So the back-up band sounded good but was not a direct factor (they were the equivalent of cheerleaders at a football game). Their function, like hypothetical cheerleaders, was to possibly have a psychological effect on Johnny and cause him to play poorly. This was why the Devil insisted on playing first. But Johnny ignored the distraction and gave a better performance. If you want an example of a narrative where the Devil and a mortal are competing to impress some third party, you want “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Stephen Vincent Benet. That contest wasn’t decided by who cited the law better (the Devil won the legal argument). It was decided by who was able to appeal more to the jury, which was Webster (_“Perhaps 'tis not strictly in accordance with the evidence…but even the damned may salute the eloquence of Mr. Webster.”_) ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6278 "2025-04-05T14:28:43Z")
I just now realized the fiddle contest in _Futurama_ with The Robot Devil is a parody of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6279 "2025-04-05T15:58:57Z")
“Wouldn’t a fiddle made of gold sound really crappy?” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6280 "2025-04-05T18:29:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I didn’t spot this one myself because I’m not a musician. > > But I watched a video today by a professional violinist. She was talking about “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Charlie Daniels and how a lot of people feel the Devil gave a better performance than Johnny. > > She refuted this with a technical discussion of playing the violin. The Devil’s performance may have sounded cool but he was only using a couple of basic techniques that a beginner would know (along with a backup band of demons). Johnny’s performance was subtler but much more sophisticated. We must have watched the same video. After watching it I had to agree with her. In the most forgotten sequel song Johnny is Mark O’Conner. Nobody beats Mark O’Conner on fiddle. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6281 "2025-04-05T20:20:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If you want an example of a narrative where the Devil and a mortal are competing to impress some third party, you want “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Stephen Vincent Benet. The film does justice to the book. 1941? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6282 "2025-04-06T00:51:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The film does justice to the book. The 1941 film, yes. The 2001 film, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6283 "2025-04-06T01:38:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The 2001 film, not so much. 2007 film, you mean maybe? _Shortcut to Happiness_, from what i read- really bad. Yes, the 1941 version is pretty damn good. Pun intended. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6284 "2025-04-06T01:52:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > The 2001 film, not so much. > > 2007 film, you mean maybe? I’m not sure what the convention is. The movie was made in 2001 but it wasn’t released until 2007. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6285 "2025-04-06T05:22:23Z")
Phil Foglio, the illustrator of the Girl Genius webcomic is _also_ the guy who did the covers and illustrations for the Myth Adventures series. Something I only just discovered looking him up on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Foglio) for other reasons, but should have realized long ago because his style is pretty distinctive and I’m a fan of both. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/6286 "2025-04-06T16:45:46Z")
Yeah, there are some jägermonsters that look just like Ahz. He (and Kaja) also have some Magic: the Gathering cards, though WotC has moved away from the cartoonish style in the ensuing decades. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=313) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=315)