# Is there any cultural reference that every American knows?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 18, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147 "2011-08-18T12:51:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/21 "2011-08-18T16:20:58Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#):
>
> I disagree, I expect almost everyone has heard them, even if they don’t know what the source is.
First, thats not what I said. I said they could not identify the quote. I stick to that claim. Besides, just having “heard” of something is a pretty low standard.
That said, I work with people around that age and younger, and I can assure you that a minuscule percentage of them have seen Gone With The Wind, or Casablanca. I am close to 30, and haven’t seen either movie. Most people my age haven’t, unless they are movie fans or have parents that watched it often. Honestly, how often do you think major networks air 70+ year old movies? Do you think people constantly reminiscence about how great those movies are in the presence of young people? Do people quote those movies often? Where would a 25-year-old have picked up the cultural reference? Particularly, when you consider the changing demographics and interests of youth today. I would bet a considerable amount of money that fewer than half of people under 25 could identify the quotes, and not too many more are familiar enough with the quotes to know anything about their origin or context.
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### Author:  [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/22 "2011-08-18T16:49:57Z")
The OP threw me a bit, as the title says know, while the OP says understand. I suppose some people won’t know why he doesn’t give a damn, which disqualifies it. My guess is that most people could tell you more than just the quote, even if they have never seen it.
I think you are underestimating how widely these memes can spread. I’ve never seen Gone With the Wind or Casablanca, but somewhere I’ve picked up enough to understand them in context. Also, go back and read what I said about cultural osmosis. You might be surprised how much gets kicked around and riffed on, in comedy, drama and just day-to-day conversation. I can’t find a cite now, but I remember reading about a 1950s or 1960s study of UK playground games and rhymes. Many were near universal, despite there being no common medium to transmit them.
Schools are a very fertile ground for this kind of thing. I remember many times when a kid would see a film, and the catchphrases would be bandied around for weeks. I heard many an action movie cliche long before seeing the film itself.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/23 "2011-08-18T16:55:47Z")
The three most recognized theatre logos: CATS, Les Miz, Phantom.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/24 "2011-08-18T17:10:01Z")
Quoth **brickbacon** :
> [@](#):
>
> If you are going to go with a phrase, you’d be far more better off going with something like, “I am not a crook” said in a Nixon voice, or “One small step for man…” since both of those are gonna be taught in schools
History classes will probably cover Watergate (but only probably; many classes will run out of semester before they get that far), but that coverage won’t necessarily include Nixon’s “I am not a crook” line.
As for “One small step”, I would argue that it’s not really an American cultural reference. To the extent that there exists any _global_ cultural reference, that’s it.
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/25 "2011-08-18T17:20:51Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#):
>
> Having seen the Jay Walking segment a few times on Leno, I can promise that there is no single cultural or historical reference that is familiar to every American.
Indeed. Watching _Jeopardy!_ is another way to see that generation gaps apply to cultural references. It’s sad but true that some things our generation knew as fact aren’t even on the event horizon for younger folks. And I can attest to the fact that older folks see my generation as whipper-snappers.
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/26 "2011-08-18T17:23:37Z")
The combination of Kirk’s safe.
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### Author:  [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/27 "2011-08-18T17:30:37Z")
Seconding Darth Vader. Very close to 100% of Americans will get the deep voice and heavy breathing Darth Vader voice reference. EVERYONE has a Darth Vader impersonation.
The only other cultural reference with such universal understanding is probably the “baseball as a metaphor for sex” thing. Everyone knows that “did you reach second base?” means something relating to sex. Some people might think it refers to anything from touching over the clothes to kissing with tongue or even blowjobs, but I think most people at least understand that “second base” translates to some sort of sexual contact.
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/28 "2011-08-18T17:46:44Z")
> [@Zeldar](#):
>
> Indeed. Watching _Jeopardy!_ is another way to see that generation gaps apply to cultural references. It’s sad but true that some things our generation knew as fact aren’t even on the event horizon for younger folks. And I can attest to the fact that older folks see my generation as whipper-snappers.
Again, though, that’s why I like Superman for this: the comic book has been continuously in print since the '30s, sparking movie serials in the '40s and the George Reeves tv show in the '50s and a bunch of cartoons of the '60s and the Christopher Reeve films in the '70s and '80s and the Dean Cain tv show of the '90s and the Tom Welling show of the '00s with the Brandon Routh movie to boot, and yet another re-imagining now underway for the '10s – I’m not asking Americans to get all of 'em, I’m just asking 'em to get _ **one** _ of 'em, or to remember the Superfriends cartoon, or something; anything.
SNL was doing jokes about Superman back when Aykroyd and Belushi were in the cast; they kept doing 'em when it was Billy Crystal and Martin Short, and kept doing 'em when Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman were at it, and likewise in the Jimmy Fallon and Will Ferrell era – never stopping to spell out the set-up, but always just figuring the audience is already on board.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/29 "2011-08-18T18:07:12Z")
“We don’t need no steenkin’ badges.” - Yeah, I know, another misquote.
“You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?”
“Yo! Adrian! I did it!”
“Live from New York - it’s Saturday Night!”
“Kirk to Enterprise. Beam me up, Scotty.” - Yeah, again I know. Kirk never said those exact words, but that’s the way everyone knows it.
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### Author:  [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/30 "2011-08-18T18:17:14Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#):
>
> The three most recognized theatre logos: CATS, Les Miz, Phantom.
I don’t know any of them.
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### Author:  [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/31 "2011-08-18T18:19:30Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> “Yo! Adrian! I did it!”
I’d doubt that even half the 20 year olds in America would get that reference.
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/32 "2011-08-18T18:47:41Z")
At the age of three, Celtling was chasing her classmates around the schoolyard doing the Darth Vader breathing sounds. The really funny part was that she made it sound like Coooooo-Kiieeeee so the teachers and I called it the Darth CookieMonster game and laughed ourselves silly.
What’s really weird is that she had no idea about Darth Vader at the time, and didn’t know why that particular sound was scary. (She got it fromt he movie “The Reef.”) I remember a similar thing in third grade with the duh-Duh, duh-DUH of the Jaws music. Half of us weren’t allowed to see Jaws, and used the sound correctly nonetheless.
She’s now 4.5 years, and just last week I had to explain that it was Dar **th** Vader, not Dar **k** Vader. She finally accepted the correction when I cited the description in a Halloween Costume catalog. 😛
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### Author:  [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/33 "2011-08-18T19:12:19Z")
I’m 24.
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#):
>
> “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
I am aware that this is a quote from an old movie or something but I have no idea of the context or what it means. I would recognize this as an attempt at a cultural reference but it is meaningless to me.
> [@](#):
>
> “Play it again, Sam.” (actually a misquote)
I would not recognize this as a cultural reference, and have no idea where it came from.
> [@](#):
>
> “I am your father.”
Probably the best candidate, although that’s not the version I remember.
> [@](#):
>
> “We don’t need no steenkin’ badges.” - Yeah, I know, another misquote.
I’ve heard this but I have no idea of the context or meaning beyond the literal interpretation.
> [@](#):
>
> “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?”
I’m sure this came from a movie, but I recognize it as part of a generic tough guy / gangster impression. In my opinion it is too generic to actually be called a reference to anything.
> [@](#):
>
> “Yo! Adrian! I did it!”
No idea whatsoever. Never heard of this.
> [@](#):
>
> “Live from New York - it’s Saturday Night!”
I’ve watched SNL on TV maybe 5 times. It sucks.
> [@](#):
>
> “Kirk to Enterprise. Beam me up, Scotty.”
I think “Beam me up, Scotty” is pretty close to universal.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/34 "2011-08-18T19:28:59Z")
Seconding Darth Vader and Superman. Nothing else comes close.
Maybe “Beam me up Scotty”
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/35 "2011-08-18T20:06:40Z")
A while ago I recall reading that the two most famous American icons worldwide were Superman and Mickey Mouse.
As far as the OP is concerned, my money is still on something from _The Wizard of Oz_.
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/36 "2011-08-18T20:27:52Z")
Super Mouse!
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### Author:  [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/37 "2011-08-18T20:34:14Z")
This is perhaps an echo of several posts above, but I don’t understand why we’re even bothering with quotes from old movies and all that. What about standard references like a picture of Mickey Mouse (or Superman)? Isn’t that quite likely to be near-universally recognized?
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/38 "2011-08-18T20:35:39Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#):
>
> Super Mouse!
Andy Kaufman. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQNsqBcrn6g](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQNsqBcrn6g)
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/39 "2011-08-18T20:37:43Z")
“May the Force be with you”.
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### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/40 "2011-08-18T20:39:24Z")
This being the SDMB, it’s not surprising that a lot of science-fictiony stuff is being mentioned, but it isn’t remotely close to true that Star Wars and Star Trek references are universally known. Star Trek started 45 years ago and Star Wars opened almost 35 years ago. I was a kid when Star Wars opened, so my generation knows all about it, but for me the story has long since faded from my memory and all I remember were how the special effects were so revolutionary.
For anyone under about the age of forty, Star Trek and Star Wars are geeky things - the ones with the most crossover appeal, to be sure, but still geeky. I have a kid who is 20 now (how did that happen?), and throughout high school she and her friends, who were the female jocks, never mentioned Star Wars once that I can recall. None of the sequels that came out during their lifetime ever generated a bit of talk. Their cultural icons were Harry Potter and Twilight. If you said to them in your best James Earl Jones voice “I am your father…” it would draw blank stares.
I think the only really universal references I’ve seen in this thread would be McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.
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