# I just watched Animal House and I didn't like it. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733 "2017-12-06T19:21:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/141 "2017-12-10T15:47:50Z")
from the Trivia section of the IMDB article: > [@](#): > > The hole John Belushi makes in the wall with the guitar was the only physical damage incurred to the house during the entire production. Instead of repairing it, the fraternity placed a frame around the hole with an engraved brass tag to commemorate it. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/142 "2017-12-10T16:28:51Z")
I recall watching the movie again as an adult and being quite shocked at a racist joke I had missed in previous viewings. The scene where the delta boys have brought their dates from another college to the bar where Otis is performing. One of the Deltas asks his date about her major, which she states is “primative cultures”. :eek: I missed that when I was a teen watching the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/143 "2017-12-10T16:31:36Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I recall watching the movie again as an adult and being quite shocked at a racist joke I had missed in previous viewings. The scene where the delta boys have brought their dates from another college to the bar where Otis is performing. One of the Deltas asks his date about her major, which she states is “primative cultures”. :eek: > I missed that when I was a teen watching the movie. One could reasonably ask whether that joke, such as it is, was aimed at the patrons of the bar or the fraternity kids who were their dates. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/144 "2017-12-10T16:34:17Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > One could reasonably ask whether that joke, such as it is, was aimed at the patrons of the bar or the fraternity kids who were their dates. No. As soon as she says it, they cut to the band. That was the joke. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/145 "2017-12-10T18:17:21Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > So most folks who saw it in the theater had an extra laugh because they immediately recognized him as Stephen Bishop? Can we get some confirmation here? This is the chronology: Save it for a rainy day released December 1976, went to #22 billboard On and On released May 1977, went to #11 billboard. Bishop was the musical guest on the March 11, 1978, episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Animal House was released July 1978. He appeared “uncredited” because he was well known, not because he was unknown. It’s true that it was _not known to many in the audience_, but that only was true for the first audiences, until they got up to leave the theater and began talking about it to others, or read reviews in the paper. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/146 "2017-12-10T18:24:39Z")
ETA: Stephen Bishop actually sang the theme from Animal House too. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/147 "2017-12-10T18:44:45Z")
I saw this movie around 1981 when I was 17 on Showtime (when that was a brand new thing) at my boyfriend’s house, and I recall they showed it over and over. Seems Showtime only had a handful of things in rotation For us and our friends, it was such a novelty to see language and nudity on a “regular” TV. Of course my 18 year-old BF and his crew thought it was the epitome of high entertainment, I know he watched it at least 20 times either in whole or in part, and that was just when I was around. And none of us had any idea that it was Stephen Bishop on the stairs, despite being familiar with his music. It wasn’t so uncommon to have no idea what musicians looked like and still be aware of them at that time. All we had was the radio and grainy pictures in Rolling Stone, which no one I knew ever bought. I listened to the Eagles for years without knowing what a single one of them looked like. Even if you bought albums, pictures were not always featured. ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/148 "2017-12-10T20:10:46Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > In some closet, I still have my fraternity jacket with the name “Son of Flounder” Then shouldn’t your screen name be “The Centauri”? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/149 "2017-12-11T02:58:17Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > (Bluto fills his mouth full of mashed potatoes, then pounds both cheeks simultaneously, spraying the potatoes over his tablemates.) > > “A zit! Get it?” Cottage cheese, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/150 "2017-12-11T03:09:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Cottage cheese, actually. I just watched the clip to prove you wrong… …and you’re not. The whole Internet bows down to you. But everybody who maintains that only his parents recognized Stephen Bishop is 100% correct. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/151 "2017-12-11T03:26:08Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > I saw this movie around 1981 when I was 17 on Showtime (when that was a brand new thing) at my boyfriend’s house, and I recall they showed it over and over. Seems Showtime only had a handful of things in rotation For us and our friends, it was such a novelty to see language and nudity on a “regular” TV. Of course my 18 year-old BF and his crew thought it was the epitome of high entertainment, I know he watched it at least 20 times either in whole or in part, and that was just when I was around. > > And none of us had any idea that it was Stephen Bishop on the stairs, despite being familiar with his music. It wasn’t so uncommon to have no idea what musicians looked like and still be aware of them at that time. All we had was the radio and grainy pictures in Rolling Stone, which no one I knew ever bought. I listened to the Eagles for years without knowing what a single one of them looked like. Even if you bought albums, pictures were not always featured. Yeah, this. Animal House came out before MTV, and it took several years for MTV to gain a considerable market penetration. Once people started seeing videos in heavy rotation, they began to become familiar with what the artists looked like. I don’t know how often Stephen Bishop videos were played, though. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/152 "2017-12-11T03:42:15Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Yeah, this. Animal House came out before MTV, and it took several years for MTV to gain a considerable market penetration. Once people started seeing videos in heavy rotation, they began to become familiar with what the artists looked like. I don’t know how often Stephen Bishop videos were played, though. Some male artists were very recognizable from magazines too but Stephen Bishop wasn’t exactly Tiger Beat material. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/153 "2017-12-11T04:05:18Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Some male artists were very recognizable from magazines too but Stephen Bishop wasn’t exactly Tiger Beat material. “How many of these guys are named Corey?” ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/154 "2017-12-11T04:13:34Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > “How many of these guys are named Corey?” [Eight.](https://frinkiac.com/meme/S02E16/561245.jpg?b64lines=IEhlcmUncyB5b3VyIG1hZ2F6aW5lcy4KIEhvdyBtYW55IG9mIHRoZXNlIGd1eXMKIGFyZSBuYW1lZCBDb3JleT8KIEVpZ2h0LiBUaGFua3MgRGFkLg==) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/155 "2017-12-11T04:47:10Z")
I showed it to some college students in Korea and they had no idea what to make of it. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/156 "2017-12-11T06:02:25Z")
Don’t get me wrong. Stephen Bishop was invisible as a human being in the 70s, and for eternity. But he was sure part of that movie. He was the artist on the theme song, a billboard chart single no less, and he got hit on the head with a guitar as an uncredited actor in it, and was a decent top 40 artist at the time, with the SNL tie in, and lots of publicity and photos with him and NRFPTPs. Do you really think people didn’t talk about who that guy was?! The Studio kept it a secret, because that’s what they’re in business to do? It was pre-internet so no one knew anything? Basically all this is saying is that Stephen didn’t make it to the video era. I think we’ll survive. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/157 "2017-12-11T06:05:47Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I think we’ll survive. I’m not so sure about that. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/158 "2017-12-11T06:33:31Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > I’m not so sure about that. Yeah I lost control there for a sec. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/159 "2017-12-11T07:00:38Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’m old enough to be guilty of ignorance about how the world worked back in the 1960s. Fortunately, in retrospect, my being scared to even touch a woman was a good thing. But my ignorance of the bad things done to large classes of people doesn’t make them right in any way. > > Because \*\*they \*\*weren’t ignorant. Women knew. Blacks knew. Gays knew. Jews knew. Only straight white christian men had immunity from their behaviors. And they were always a minority of the population, even if they had a near monopoly on power. They were their own Electoral College. Excellent post. I remember absolutely nothing from Animal House. I think I watched it as a cultural experiment. I probably laughed in some places, cringed in others. Except that one event, where Belushi smashes that guy’s guitar. Absolutely hilarious. I started college in 2001 and that shit was still topical. Those fucking douchebags who thought playing the guitar would get them laid. Maybe it did get them laid, I don’t care. Smash the fucking thing, Belushi. Smash it for all of us. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-watched-animal-house-and-i-didnt-like-it/803733/160 "2017-12-13T16:56:42Z")
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