bloody-mary
Explanation
The Joke
A ghostly face appears in a bathroom mirror (the summoned spirit of Bloody Mary), and instead of being terrifying, she is defensively explaining herself: "Listen, it was a different time! And it was a popular measure! We didn't grow up liking Protestants! I'm not a bigot!"
The teenagers who summoned her respond with a skeptical "Uh huh." The caption reads: "Modern teenagers summon Bloody Mary to critique her intolerance."
The Humor
The "Bloody Mary" game is a well-known sleepover ritual where teenagers chant "Bloody Mary" three times in front of a dark mirror, supposedly summoning a terrifying ghost. The legend is typically associated with Mary I of England ("Bloody Mary"), who earned her nickname by executing nearly 300 Protestants during her reign (1553-1558) in an attempt to restore Catholicism to England.
The comic imagines that modern, socially conscious teenagers would not be scared by the ghost but would instead use the summoning as an opportunity to call her out for her religious intolerance and persecution of Protestants. Mary is put in the uncomfortable modern position of trying to explain away historical bigotry with the classic excuse of "it was a different time" -- the same kind of defense that contemporary public figures use when past prejudices are brought to light.
The role reversal is the core of the joke: instead of Mary terrorizing the teenagers, the teenagers are making Mary uncomfortable by applying modern moral standards to her 16th-century behavior.
References
- Bloody Mary (Mary I of England, 1516-1558): Queen of England who attempted to reverse the English Reformation and restore Roman Catholicism. She had nearly 300 religious dissenters burned at the stake, earning her the nickname "Bloody Mary."
- Bloody Mary (folklore): A popular sleepover game in which participants chant "Bloody Mary" (usually three times) while looking into a mirror in a dark room, supposedly summoning a vengeful ghost or spirit.