# Aspects of pop culture people seem to misunderstand **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417 "2013-01-16T20:56:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/101 "2013-01-22T19:37:24Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Furthermore, it’s his most famous movie and one of the most famous movie aliens of all time. I submit that it’s _entirely to be expected_ that a Spielberg alien could light up from the inside. OK, I’ll concede the E.T. point, but the flashes of light in the A.I. robots are very different looking. They aren’t a big biolumenscent glow. They looks like wires or spark gaps of some sort firing. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/102 "2013-01-22T19:41:12Z")
Also, though I forget the exact wording, the beings at the end of AI specifically refer to the little boy robot as their predecessor. They’re in awe that he may have actually met the mythical humans that created their kind in the first place. That would make no sense at all if they were aliens. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/103 "2013-01-22T19:42:47Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Or playing **Every Breath You Take** at your wedding. Or **That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be**. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/104 "2013-01-22T22:04:09Z")
Bryan, I understand what you’re saying. I was more of less making fun of the [tv trope](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RememberTheNewGuy) of a character having some supposed close friend, family member, or ex-lover appear in an episode and the audience is supposed to accept that the long-standing relationship has always been there even though it was never mentioned before and will never be mentioned again. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/105 "2013-01-22T22:33:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I don’t get people who think the “KHAAAAANNN!!!” yell is anything but a genuine moment of impotent fury, but how widespread this misunderstanding is, I couldn’t say. Huh? It is in no way impotent fury, since Kirk wasn’t impotent in the slightest. He knew he could beam out any time he wanted. He wanted Khan to think he was stranded, so he pretended to be enraged. I don’t see how it could be interpreted any other way. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/106 "2013-01-22T23:08:09Z")
Another song example - _Chumbawamba’s_ ‘Tubthumping’ is a slam aimed at mindless binge-drinking idiots that became the bands biggest hit (by far) once it was adopted as an anthem by the very people it was meant to mock. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/107 "2013-01-23T01:00:46Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Another song example - _Chumbawamba’s_ ‘Tubthumping’ is a slam aimed at mindless binge-drinking idiots that became the bands biggest hit (by far) once it was adopted as an anthem by the very people it was meant to mock. Including me! Even though I’ve listened to some of the rest of their oeuvre, I still get drunk and annoyingly sing Tubthumping. I call it “inappropriation.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/108 "2013-01-23T01:23:42Z")
Chumbawamba isn’t just some pop band who decided to make fun of pop, either. They are self-proclaimed anarchists and support other far left things. I’m not sure what they thought of that success. ---
**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:** [January 23, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/109 "2013-01-23T01:50:37Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Another song example - _Chumbawamba’s_ ‘Tubthumping’ is a slam aimed at mindless binge-drinking idiots that became the bands biggest hit (by far) once it was adopted as an anthem by the very people it was meant to mock. “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” by the Beastie Boys is another song like this. They meant the song to be a parody. But the people they were satirizing unironically adopted the song as a party anthem. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/110 "2013-01-23T02:13:18Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > Or **That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be**. People do that? That’s one of the most depressing songs I’ve ever heard. How could anyone miss it? ---
**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:** [January 23, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/111 "2013-01-23T03:21:11Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > People do that? That’s one of the most depressing songs I’ve ever heard. How could anyone miss it? They don’t listen to the verses. The song is about about failed relationships. But the chorus is an ironic counterpoint to that with its depiction of an ideal relationship. So people that only pay attention to the chorus get: _But you say it’s time we moved in together And raised a family of our own, you and me - Well, that’s the way I’ve always heard it should be: You want to marry me, we’ll marry._ ---
**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:** [January 23, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/112 "2013-01-23T03:23:47Z")
Another “love” song that people aren’t paying attention to is “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/113 "2013-01-23T04:02:05Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And Kirk never mentioned his son David again in later movies. Kirk mentions the death of his son in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He says something like, “I can never forgive the Klingons for the murder of my son.” ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/114 "2013-01-23T04:18:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > They don’t listen to the verses. The song is about about failed relationships. But the chorus is an ironic counterpoint to that with its depiction of an ideal relationship. I remember when I was in College a guy I didn’t know that well was making a mix tape for a girl (actually a CD mix since I am not quite that old :)) and the song he was dubbing was Bat out of Hell. I stopped him and said, “Do you realize what this song is about? It’s the opposite of a love song.” and he just kept saying, “But the chorus, the chorus.” (That being the part where he says “You’re the only thing in this whole world that’s pure and good and right”). I just shook my head. Then again, who knows, maybe him and who ever she was are married now with a half dozen kids. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/115 "2013-01-23T04:30:22Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I remember when I was in College a guy I didn’t know that well was making a mix tape for a girl (actually a CD mix since I am not quite that old :)) and the song he was dubbing was Bat out of Hell. I stopped him and said, “Do you realize what this song is about? It’s the opposite of a love song.” and he just kept saying, “But the chorus, the chorus.” (That being the part where he says “You’re the only thing in this whole world that’s pure and good and right”). > > I just shook my head. Then again, who knows, maybe him and who ever she was are married now with a half dozen kids. Interesting… Meatloaf’s _I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)_ is the opposite, way more romantic/positive than people think. He’s not being selfish and listing things he’s not cool with, or avoiding some weird sexual fetish, he’s saying he won’t do negative things, like “stop dreaming of you every night of my life.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/116 "2013-01-23T05:25:20Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This is true, that people use the name “Frankenstein” for the monster as well as the creature. But, again, this isn’t a recent error, as some seem to think. It was being done in reviews and the cast credits even in Shelley’s lifetime. As many writers on the topic have pointed out, there’s an implied duality between the Creature and the Creator that makes this a pretty natural thing. Besides, what should the Creature’s name be but its father’s? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/117 "2013-01-23T05:59:57Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Another song example - _Chumbawamba’s_ ‘Tubthumping’ is a slam aimed at mindless binge-drinking idiots that became the bands biggest hit (by far) once it was adopted as an anthem by the very people it was meant to mock. Is it? The lyrics are pretty straightforward in my opinion. > **[Chumbawamba - Tubthumping lyrics | LyricsFreak](https://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/chumbawamba/tubthumping_20031113.html)** > > Read or print original Tubthumping lyrics 2025 updated! (We'll be singing, when we're winning, we'll be singing) / I get knocked, down but While the song might not celebrate drinking, it doesn’t condemn it either. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/118 "2013-01-23T07:22:20Z")
You mean other than the female singer telling us he’s ‘pissig the night away’ throughout the entire song? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/119 "2013-01-23T07:31:21Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > You mean other than the female singer telling us he’s ‘pissig the night away’ throughout the entire song? And? The joke I used to hear in high school was that the “pissing” line was literal. I just don’t think there’s enough to the song to put it in the obvious satire category like “Fight For Your Right.” ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417/120 "2013-01-23T08:07:14Z")
Unless those whiskey drinks, vodka drinks, cider drinks and lager drinks are impossibly diuretic she has to be singing figurativly. And I’m pretty sure that at least 2 of the repetitions are “he’s pissing his life away” as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aspects-of-pop-culture-people-seem-to-misunderstand/647417.md?page=7)