# Books (and movies and plays) you should be familiar with in order to converse well in modern society **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528 "2009-06-22T00:23:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/21 "2009-06-22T17:51:09Z")
Just today I was talking with two Mormon missionaires and one of them asked me about my hat: What does “The Color Purple” mean? I was totally dumbfounded! They had never heard of the book, movie, or musical! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/22 "2009-06-22T20:13:03Z")
> [@Rainbowthief](#): > > I can’t believe no one mentioned Pulp Fiction. The phrase “I’m gonna get medieval on your ass” is used to death in conversations, tv shows and movies. . I don;t think that was original with the film. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/23 "2009-06-22T20:33:18Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Just to clarify a bit, I’m not looking for “stuff everyone should know to be well rounded” > > Rather, I’m looking for stuff that might easily come up in a conversation that is _not about the work_. Got it. OK, there are some good recommendations above, but you’re going to need a few more (I’m restricting myself to literature here, and assuming the conversations will be in English). Off the top of my head, here are a few. The Bible and Shakespeare have been mentioned. You’re going to want at least a passing familiarity with Homer’s \*Iliad \*and _Odyssey_ (I’ll bet you’ve heard “beware of Greeks bearing gifts,” or of Scylla and Charybdis and the Trojan horse, at least once, or heard something described as “Homeric”). Some knowledge of Charles Dickens would be useful. A working knowledge of Greek myths and legends (ever here something described as “Herculean”, or Sisyphean"?). Hesiod’s \*Works and Days \*and \*Theogony \* is a good source for a lot of stuff. A basic knowledge of some Roman history. The histories of Tacitus or Suetonius will do nicely. Someone mentioned _I, Claudius_ above – this is where Graves got his material. Orwell (or at least one of his books) was mentioned in the OP. In addition to _1984_, you should also read _Animal Farm_. Dante is essential, especially the _Inferno_. A collection of Arthurian legends would be a good read. You don’t have to read the whole collected works of Aristotle and Plato, but their writings are pretty foundational documents for Western civilization, and you’ll come across references to them pretty regularly. I’ll bet that I think of a dozen more in the next hour, but that’s what comes to mind immediately. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/24 "2009-06-23T00:49:11Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > A working knowledge of Greek myths and legends (ever here something described as “Herculean”, or Sisyphean"?). One time I was talking with my boss about a particularly horrid assignment that his boss had given me, where I had to build a team of folks to do … something … all while folks had their day jobs. As expected, unless I nagged everyone, all progress stopped. I described this as a [Sisyphean task](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus#.22Sisyphean_task.22_or_.22Sisyphean_challenge.22), and he had no clue what I was talking about. Oh yes… Another boss gave me a blank stare when I described a particular problem as a [Prisoner’s Dilemma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma). I’m not sure how common that book is to read, but it is on _my_ bookshelf. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/25 "2009-06-23T01:02:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I, Claudius. Why this? I’m aware that it’s a great book, and I’ve been told that it’s very helpful in learning Roman history, but what parts of it do people famously reference? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/26 "2009-06-23T02:24:06Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Ah yes. Faust. > > Where others might say “a deal with the devil” I prefer “a Faustian deal” > Never read it, but I did read a few summaries online, enough to get the gist. To be culturally literate WRT Faust you should know that there’s more than one “it” to read. The two best-known are [Marlowe’s play and Goethe’s opera.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust#Marlowe.27s_Doctor_Faustus) The former is short and easy to read (if you have an annotated edition). The latter’s more of a challenge. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/27 "2009-06-23T02:45:54Z")
Some more answers to the OP: The Graduate Catch-22 Apocalypse Now MASH Rocky Planet of The Apes The Tipping Point The Foutainhead Atlas Shrugged The Ten Commandments The Manchurian Candidate Marathon Man The French Connection Dirty Harry The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Rainman The Iliad and The Odyssey A few books about the founding of the U.S.A. Something on Einstein. And Newton. The Birds Psycho Saving Private Ryan Twelve Angry Men Star Trek Blazing Saddles Minority Report Silkwood Roots In the Heat of The Night The Right Stuff The Electric Koolaid Acid Test Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid Shane Bonfire of The Vanities The Great Escape Bullit Cool Hand Luke Death Wish Animal House Silence of the Lambs Goldfinger The Shining Obviously, the books where possible. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/28 "2009-06-23T02:53:21Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Obviously, the books where possible. Why? Some of these are much better known as movies. A person who’s read Robert Bloch’s _Psycho_ but is unfamiliar with Anthony Perkins’ portrayal of Norman Bates (and Bernard Herrmann’s score!) is arguably less culturally literate than vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Enniaunus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b2d939/32.png) [@Enniaunus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enniaunus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/29 "2009-06-23T03:35:09Z")
Going by movies I hear quoted most often not only among my circle of friends but also generally among Americans under the age of 30, it would be difficult to follow a typical conversation without a working knowledge of the one-liners in **Anchorman.** ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/30 "2009-06-23T04:42:09Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Why? Some of these are much better known as movies. A person who’s read Robert Bloch’s _Psycho_ but is unfamiliar with Anthony Perkins’ portrayal of Norman Bates (and Bernard Herrmann’s score!) is arguably less culturally literate than vice versa. You’re right. I agree with that. I didn’t mean to insinuate such a hard line. But the book versions of Fear and Loathing, The Fountainhead, and Bonfire, for example, are unquestionably superior to their film versions. While Goldfinger, to your point, is much more a part of the culture through the film. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/31 "2009-06-23T05:40:58Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Why this? I’m aware that it’s a great book, and I’ve been told that it’s very helpful in learning Roman history, but what parts of it do people famously reference? 😕 You make a point. But it does teach us quite a bit Roman history. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/32 "2009-06-23T05:45:06Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > G > You’re going to want at least a passing familiarity with Homer’s \*Iliad \*and _Odyssey_ > Some knowledge of Charles Dickens would be useful. > > A working knowledge of Greek myths and legends > Dante is essential, especially the _Inferno_. > > A collection of Arthurian legends would be a good read. > > You don’t have to read the whole collected works of Aristotle and Plato, but their writings are pretty foundational documents for Western civilization, and you’ll come across references to them pretty regularly.. All of these,\* esp Dante \*can be read in a summary version, or even the wiki page. ;)Hell, even a good kids book might do for the myths. **Enniaunus** : I have never known anyone to use any of the lines from Anchorman, unless it was in a line that existed prior. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528/33 "2009-06-23T14:08:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > All of these,\* esp Dante \*can be read in a summary version, or even the wiki page. ;)Hell, even a good kids book might do for the myths. Well, yes, but then you won’t really understand the references. You’ll know what people are referring to, but you won’t have the context. Besides, they’re all well worth reading. And Dante, in a good translation, is absolutely wonderful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-and-movies-and-plays-you-should-be-familiar-with-in-order-to-converse-well-in-modern-society/500528.md?page=1)