# 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:** 3
### Author:  [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/41 "2011-08-18T20:47:23Z")
> [@Merijeek](#):
>
> Well, the people in comas are now classified as Category One and will be transferred to the Module.
>
> -Joe
Nice Torchwood reference that zoomed over most peoples’ heads (unfortunately).
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/42 "2011-08-18T20:48:35Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#):
>
> 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.
That’s why few people are talking about specific lines and citing characters such as Darth Vader and Superman that are known to pretty much everybody.
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### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/43 "2011-08-18T21:03:30Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> That’s why few people are talking about specific lines and citing characters such as Darth Vader and Superman that are known to pretty much everybody.
Superman possibly, but Darth Vader, no way. Superman has been a recurring character in widely distributed comics, films, and TV shows for what, 70 years? Darth Vader is a character in one set of films. Darth Vader is like Voldemort - if you haven’t read the books or seen the movies, you wouldn’t know who he is.
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### Author:  [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/44 "2011-08-18T21:04:17Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#):
>
> 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.
Ask your kid whether she knows anything about Darth Vader. You might be surprised. I have a girly-girl sister and a jock brother who are both under 21, and both would certainly get a Darth Vader reference. Star wars trademarks were plastered on Slurpee cups and Burger King wrappers and gift cards and bumper stickers, and took two aisles of Wal Mart store sections less than 5 years ago, and at least half an aisle today. There’s at least one new major Star Wars video game released every year. Random major network sitcoms will make some kind of reference to Star Wars every week. Youtube “trending now” videos frequently feature Star Wars references. Most costume shops will display a Darth Vader costume during Halloween season. I saw a bumper sticker that read “Darth Palin for President 2012.”
If your daughter and her friends were somehow insulated from Star Wars, I’d be very surprised.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/45 "2011-08-18T21:06:47Z")
I’m sorry OP, you’re really going to have to better define “cultural reference”. With people offering up “Coca Cola”, “light saber” and “Superman”… are you asking for one thing that virtually every American knows.
I nominate the President. Not _who_ the president is, just the fact that the “leader” of the government is the President.
Does this count? Does it have to be fictional? Or what?
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### Author:  [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/46 "2011-08-18T21:08:06Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#):
>
> Nice Torchwood reference that zoomed over most peoples’ heads (unfortunately).
“Is there any cultural reference that no Americans know?”
-Joe
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/47 "2011-08-18T21:13:00Z")
> [@Merijeek](#):
>
> “Is there any cultural reference that no Americans know?”
>
> -Joe
Yes. Me. I am a genuine cultural icon, but only my cat knows, and she refuses to acknowledge it.
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### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/48 "2011-08-18T21:22:03Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> That’s why few people are talking about specific lines and citing characters such as Darth Vader and Superman that are known to pretty much everybody.
> [@Mosier](#):
>
> Ask your kid whether she knows anything about Darth Vader. You might be surprised. I have a girly-girl sister and a jock brother who are both under 21, and both would certainly get a Darth Vader reference. Star wars trademarks were plastered on Slurpee cups and Burger King wrappers and gift cards and bumper stickers, and took two aisles of Wal Mart store sections less than 5 years ago, and at least half an aisle today. There’s at least one new major Star Wars video game released every year. Random major network sitcoms will make some kind of reference to Star Wars every week. Youtube “trending now” videos frequently feature Star Wars references. Most costume shops will display a Darth Vader costume during Halloween season. I saw a bumper sticker that read “Darth Palin for President 2012.”
>
> If your daughter and her friends were somehow insulated from Star Wars, I’d be very surprised.
I don’t doubt that she knows who Darth Vader is, it’s the quotes that she wouldn’t recognize (and most respondents in the thread, plus the OP, are referencing quotes, not characters.) Most Americans know who Harry Potter is, but there are a hell of a lot who don’t know what Quidditch is nor could they identify a famous quote of his (say, a spell.) You have to have deeper exposure to recognize quotes, and many Americans don’t have that exposure to Star Wars.
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/49 "2011-08-18T21:29:10Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#):
>
> I don’t doubt that she knows who Darth Vader is, it’s the quotes that she wouldn’t recognize (and most respondents in the thread, plus the OP, are referencing quotes, not characters.)
_“Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound; look, up in the sky; it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!”_
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/50 "2011-08-18T21:30:44Z")
I suspect the one cultural reference that both kids and people over 60 would recognize would be _Sesame Street_.
[QUOTE=JohnT]
A while ago I recall reading that the two most famous American icons worldwide were Superman and Mickey Mouse.
[/QUOTE]
My kids would pretty much only recognize Mickey Mouse from the Disney Channel (but that’s enough to count.) Somewhere in their memories they know Brittany Spears and Christina Aguillera were both Mouseketeers, but I don’t think if I shouted “M-I-C! K-E-Y!” they’d know how to respond.
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/51 "2011-08-18T21:35:04Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#):
>
> I’m sorry OP, you’re really going to have to better define “cultural reference”.
Yes. It seems that when many Americans hear “culture,” they think movies and brand-name products.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/52 "2011-08-18T21:40:20Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#):
>
> The three most recognized theatre logos: CATS, Les Miz, Phantom.
I very much doubt that **all** Americans over the age of twenty would recognize all three. Superman is a much better bet, but there are probably people who don’t know him either, like the Amish.
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/53 "2011-08-18T21:41:15Z")
> [@elfkin477](#):
>
> I very much doubt that **all** Americans over the age of twenty would recognize all three. Superman is a much better bet, but there are probably people who don’t know him either, like the Amish.
Presumably excluded by the OP: “apart from small, mainly religious, groups which separate themselves from Society as a whole”.
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### Author:  [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/54 "2011-08-18T21:44:29Z")
The moonwalk.
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### Author:  [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/55 "2011-08-18T21:44:47Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#):
>
> Superman, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse?
Joe Camel
At least, they used to tell us he was more recognizable than any of these three. Somehow I always found that hard to believe, and of course I’m sure it’s no longer true.
If there is an answer to this question, my bet is on Mickey.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [August 18, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/56 "2011-08-18T23:49:16Z")
I watch a UK Game Show called “Pointless” where they are asked to guess obscure answers from a list of pop culture things or phrases. Though it’s not directly related to the OP’s question, what it has taught me is people have no idea what everyone else knows or doesn’t know.
The touchstones of familiarity are generational, environmental, and cultural, so are totally unpredictable. Something you know so well may be completely unknown by your neighbour, best friend, or even immediate family members.
Most of us here at the SDMB are over 25. It always surprises me when a teenage Doper doesn’t know some pop cultural thing, because I forget it originated from before they were born.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/57 "2011-08-19T00:07:51Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Superman is a much better bet, but there are probably people who don’t know him either, like the Amish.
I wouldn’t count out the Amish. They have a tradition (called “Rumspringa”) of youths leaving the farms and mingling with the world at large for a few years, to give them a chance to decide that the Amish lifestyle is really how they want to live. If there’s something _everyone_ in America is exposed to, surely they’d be exposed to it during those years, too.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/58 "2011-08-19T00:10:41Z")
> [@Mosier](#):
>
> I’d doubt that even half the 20 year olds in America would get that reference.
The OP said over 20. So that would be people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, etc. FWIW, I know 20 year olds who are familiar with “We don’t need no steenkin’ badges” and “You talkin’ to me?”, so they’re sure as hell gonna know who Rocky is.
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/59 "2011-08-19T00:19:14Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#):
>
> …Is there any cultural reference that close to 100% of the American population over the age of 20 would understand?
This is actually a really important concept. I’ve been in advertising for decades, and now teach it, and if you make a reference that you’re SURE everyone’ll get and they don’t, an ad campaign can fall flat (and a lot of money is wasted).
I believe Susan Sontag coined the term “Semiotics” to refer to Things Everyone Knows.
The reference I use in class is that with globalization, I could refer to _“A three hour cruise…”_ (esp. using the Gilligan’s Island tune) and people in France or Fiji would get it.
Heck, even aliens from Thermia would (Galaxy Quest reference, which I pointed out because I know NOT everyone would pick up on that).
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### Author:  [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-cultural-reference-that-every-american-knows/593147/60 "2011-08-19T00:22:08Z")
During a presentation, I once showed a picture of a Confederate flag and asked how many people in class recognized it. There was one African American woman who had lived in the south all of her life who claimed she had never seen it before. I was absolutely flabbergasted.
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