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Sunday, February 4, 1990
Sledding down the hill, Calvin says television validates existence. The sled ride is fleeting and elusive. By tomorrow, they will have forgotten it, and it may as well have not happened. If they were on TV, countless viewers would share in the event and confirm it. This sled ride would become part of mass consciousness. On TV, the impact of an event is determined by the image, not its substance. With strong visuals, their sled ride could make them cultural icons. Instead of being boring ol' Calvin and Hobbes, they could be "Calvin and Hobbes - as seen on TV". They fly off the edge of the hill. Hobbes says at this moment, he likes his anonymity. Calvin thinks they should go for the high-brow public TV audience.
Transcript
Let's hurry down this hill and go home. What's the rush? There's a TV show on sledding I want to watch. In my opinion television validates existence. Take this sled ride, for instance. The experience is fleeting and elusive. By tomorrow, we'll have forgotten it, and it may as well have not even happened. But if we were on TV now, countless viewers would share in the event and confirm it! This ride would become a part of mass consciousness! And, on TV, the impact of an event is determined by the image, not its substance.