# Cultural Phenomenon That You Skipped **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325 "2008-04-21T23:41:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/1 "2008-04-21T23:41:56Z")
I’m talking about events, movies, TV shows, books etc. that have made a huge impact on pop culture, but that you have intentionally decided not to partake of. I’m not looking for cult shows like \*\*Buffy the Vampire Slayer \*\* or **The Wire** that the vast majority of people have never seen. I’m talking shows that were ranked #1 for several years, but that you never once watched. Here are my intentionally ignored pop culture icons: I have never: 1. watched even one minute of **American Idol** 2. read even one page of a \*\*Harry Potter \*\* book 3. watched a single episode of \*\*Star Trek \*\* (or seen a single Star Trek movie) 4. watched a single episode of **The Sopranos** How about the rest of you? ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/2 "2008-04-21T23:47:55Z")
I’ve never, ever, ever said “my bad”. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/3 "2008-04-21T23:48:33Z")
I’m right there with you on 1 and 2 (although I did see the movies). I’ll add 1. watched a single minute of Desperate Housewives 2. watched a single minute of Grey’s Anatomy 3. watched a single minute of any of the Friday the 13th movies 4. watched a single minute of any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/4 "2008-04-21T23:52:46Z")
I don’t have a MySpace page, and I’ve never purposely visited anyone else’s. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/5 "2008-04-21T23:53:50Z")
I gave _Dallas_ a miss. Ditto _Lost_, and _24_. In fact, when I won a boxed set of _24_ Season 1 DVD’s, I went to Wal-Mart and traded them in for a dress. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/6 "2008-04-21T23:56:17Z")
I was born in 1982 but I’d say I missed out an just about all the big trends of the '80s. Although I became a big Talking Heads fan about a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/7 "2008-04-21T23:57:56Z")
President Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/8 "2008-04-22T00:06:21Z")
No reality TV - in fact, _no_ TV since _the X-FIles_. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/9 "2008-04-22T00:10:41Z")
Since the end of the 16-bit era, I’ve never had a non-Nintendo game system. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/10 "2008-04-22T00:14:03Z")
Beside snippets of random reality shows and talent shows, I haven’t watched any of the bazillion series. I didn’t watch Star trek beyond the original series, because I never lived where it came in. I recently had a chance to watch The Next Generation, but it sucks now that it’s 20 years old. I missed the pants showing your ass phase in the 60’s and in the 90’s. I never went to a disco. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/11 "2008-04-22T00:18:08Z")
The bubblegum pop/boy bands of the late 1990s/early 2000s. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/12 "2008-04-22T00:25:18Z")
[QUOTE=Oregon sunshine] No reality TV - in fact, _no_ TV since _the X-FIles_. [/QUOTE] I think you would really like [Supernatural](http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural), **Oregon Sunshine**. It’s a Northwest Ohioan that’s taking up where X-files left off. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/13 "2008-04-22T00:32:25Z")
It’s a popular series created by a Toledo/Sylvania Homeboy that is mostly set in the PNW. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/14 "2008-04-22T01:02:46Z")
I don’t watch \*The Simpsons \*or \*South Park. \* I don’t have a MySpace or a Facebook page, and I really can’t see the urge to get an I-Pod. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/15 "2008-04-22T01:07:55Z")
(born in 1962) I have never had a pet rock. I did not participate in Hands Across American I have always hated disco music. (and still do) I’ll think of more… ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/16 "2008-04-22T01:13:28Z")
I have never played a video game. I have never owned a microwave. The last time I wore a watch was in high school. I have never watched American Idol (and I love music and competitions). ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/17 "2008-04-22T01:36:31Z")
(Born in 1966) Never owned a pet rock Never owned a CB Radio Had an 8-track player, but never owned an 8-track tape. Never saw any Rocky movie after the first one Never saw any generation’s big dancing movie - not Saturday Night Fever, no Flashdance, Footloose, Dirty Dancing, not even Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. The only first-wave slasher flick I saw in a theatre was the second Friday the 13th. Never saw Porky’s or any of its sequels. Never saw The Big Chill. Never saw Ghostbusters. The only John Hughes teen film I’ve seen is Weird Science - missed all the others. Never owned an IZOD shirt, a Swatch watch, or parachute pants. Never played a first-person shooter. While I watched the locally produced music video shows in the 1980s, I never had MTV until after they’d ditched videos and became the teen reality show network. So I never watched videos on MTV. Never saw Ren & Stimpy. Never knew how to do the Macarena. Never used MySpace, Facebook, or any other social networking site. Never watched any reality show, except for about 2 minutes of a Survivor where people were standing on logs in a pond. Yep, just standing on logs. I think the goal was to be the last one standing on a log. Pretty dull. ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/18 "2008-04-22T01:47:25Z")
I’ve never watched Star Wars. It’s even more impressive when you find out that I live with a guy who has [this](http://www.tk4950.com/) as one of his websites. I don’t watch reality TV. I don’t watch much of any TV beyond Scrubs. All that my cell phone does is make phone calls and text message. I asked for one that didn’t text, but I had to pay extra for that feature. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/19 "2008-04-22T01:50:03Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] Since the end of the 16-bit era, I’ve never had a non-Nintendo game system. [/QUOTE] I’m the opposite. I’ve had a lot of game systems. Starting with the 2600, I’ve had Atari, Sega, and Sony consoles. I even had an Atari Jaguar - with the CD add-on! But except for a Virtual Boy that I bought for the novelty factor as much as anything else after it was discontinued (the store was clearing them out $20 for the unit and games $1 each), I’ve never had a Nintendo system. No Mario, no Zelda, nothing. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325/20 "2008-04-22T01:50:24Z")
I have never seen an entire football game. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultural-phenomenon-that-you-skipped/446325.md?page=2)