Bread

SHOP: A Pop Opera

**Bread** is the second episode of the mini-series SHOP: A Pop Opera, created by Jack Stauber and aired on Adult Swim at midnight on Tuesday, March 5th, 2019, at a runtime of one minute and fifty-five seconds. The main song featured in the episode was later officially released on March 8th, 2020, along with the other songs in the mini-series. The episode centers around the protagonist looking for the second grocery item on his list, bread, as they learn a lesson about being themselves and not worrying what others think of them.

## Synopsis and Lyrics

The continues off where Milk finished. The protagonist looks on his list and reveals the second item to search for, being bread. They then move their shopping cart into the next aisle and notice a unique loaf of bread labeled "Artisanal Multigrain 12 Nut Vitamin Bread". A very plump and wealthy man with a thick English accent then grabs the loaf of bread. The protagonist then notices him taking the bread and tells him that the bread is interesting and asks what he plans to do with it. The man then laughs and reveals that the bread is actually for his dog and that he gets his own bread from another more expensive place, claiming they make only "edible" bread in town. The man eventually leaves him, claiming that there is an antique walnut auction downtown that he wants to go to. Like the bread, the protagonist calls it interesting before the man says "thank you" and leaves. The protagonist then thinks about the word "artisanal" and starts existentially thinking about what the word truly means. It then transitions into the episode's main song about bread, being "artisanal", and how you appear to others.

(Artisanal, artisanal)

I could live in an artisanal house with an artisanal wife

Drive an artisanal car

Live an artisanal life

It'd be a treat to see what people think of me dressed to the ninth degree sipping artisanal tea

What's an artisanal me?

Where do my clothes end?

Can I stop them?

Which ones are my artisanal friends?

What's an artisanal me?

Do I impress you with my dress?

Who made this?

Can I hide behind your success?

Or is it excess when I talk less and I let my things talk for me?

What will I say when they go away and I'm on my own again?

(Artisanal)

After the song ends, the protagonist finds another more simple loaf of bread from the previous one, labeled "WOWZA", and eventually takes it with him.

## Meaning

> **"...and your bread isn't you!"**
>
>

The message of the episode is that **it's okay to be yourself** and you shouldn't let wealth speak for you, with being "artisanal" representing a wealthy and modest looking trait to the protagonist and the man he runs into. The protagonist after meeting the man then starts thinking about being "artisanal" just like the man and how it could change his life, such as having "artisanal" friends and "artisanal" items like impressing people with a dress. He then thinks what people would start thinking of him if he did so, talking less and just letting his wealth speak for him. But he then worries what would happen if they all were to go away and how he would be left on his own again, as well as questioning what an "artisanal me" even is. He eventually learns that you should be okay with yourself and that you are more than your wealth. This is represented at the end of the episode when he buys WOWZA bread, as it represents him understanding that he doesn't need an Artisanal Multigrain 12 Nut Vitamin Bread to impress others and how he should take the WOWZA Bread because its a more traditional and basic style of bread he's more comfortable with. The man the protagonist runs into also represents this message, with him resembling the artisanal loaf of bread and how he is focused on trying to live an "artisanal life" to impress others, such as the protagonist.

## Notes

Bread is liked for its jazzy and calm sound and its song portion for its usage of surreal claymation and imagery. The song, though, is best noted for its message and how important fans have found it in current times, as well as the message being explained through smart and impactful lyrics.

## Trivia

* Bread is barely the shortest episode of the SHOP: A Pop Opera mini-series, along with Oatmeal.
* The WOWZA brand of bread is a direct parody of the existing brand of bread, Wonder Bread.
* The artisanal faces used throughout the episode are noted for being very similar looking to the face of the father from OPAL.
	+ Some fans also speculate that the faces would eventually be a basis and inspiration for his face.

## Gallery

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