After rereading the OP and comparing the wording to that of the thread title, I find that my main quibble is with the word “every” in the title. There are so many potential exceptions one can think of that prevent “every” from being possible, but when the leeway suggested in the OP is taken into account and when “every” gets interpreted as …
… then I suspect that a comprehensive polling of that subset of the population of the USA (excluding the other “America” groups) would likely produce a preponderance of recognition of some of the things mentioned in this thread.
As to what specific “cultural reference” would lead that poll, I’d love to know, but have no candidate I would predict would win.
I did set up another thread to play with the idea, but it’s not anywhere near convincing. Maybe somebody else would set up a poll on the answers suggested in this thread? I would vote in such a thing, and perhaps the argument could be tested that way.
I noticed that, but thought “This is The Dope. Someone will really enjoy correcting it.”
Sounds, though, like I’m getting old and need a more current meme that Tons O’ People will know, whether American or European (or Fijian). I’ll stay tuned to this thread for suggestions…
Indeed. If you showed me three different possible logos for Cats (for example) and asked me to pick out the one that was the real one, I’d blind guess.
Cultural reference is pretty broad. Strictly speaking, language is culture, and the word “water” is a reference, and I’d say virtually all Americans recognize that word. If by “culture” we’re talking about art, I’d suggest the American Flag, the Statue of Liberty, the dollar bill’s design, and apple pie.
But we may get more specific than that and talk about lines or images from movies, television shows, and books. If that’s our limit, I think Star Wars is a pretty good one. The flying saucer is also pretty good, since they basically didn’t exist in pop culture before about 70 years ago (with questionable outlying reports).
In 1999, my sister met a girl about her age (18-ish) from Appalachia who had never heard of Michael Jackson. She was pretty normal, just from a very isolated rural area. All his years of music, all the TV coverage, all the legal wrangling and publicity had simply never penetrated into her sphere of existence.
This convinces me that there is no one so famous or reference so universal that no one out there exists who has no knowledge of it.
I was going to mention Michael Jackson and all of his related contributions. Moonwalk, one white glove, Billie Jean, Thriller jacket, Jackson 5, Wacko Jacko, the trials… I would bet that the girl mentioned above would know at least one of these things, even if she didn’t know his name.
If you have a TV, social outlets, radio, Internet, I can’t see how you could avoid it. I think we can agree not knowing anything about Michael Jackson for an adult of 20 in america would suggest something odd, like living in a cultural void.
Next up? Mickey Mouse and McDonald’s. The American Flag. 4th of July.
Sesame street would have been close at one point, when it was the only way in the universe to shut kids up for an hour. I assume with the multitude of channels now many kids never see it.
Whenever this sure of question comes up, I think about my stepfather’s father, who’s 90. I doubt he could identify Darth Vader. I’d be shocked if he couldn’t identify Superman, though. I bet nearly every one could identify Superman from an image, tell you that he wears a cape, tell you that he flies, and complete the quote “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s __________!”
I know full well that my 91-y-o grandmother can identify Superman, since she watched the George Reeves show with her baby-boomer son before buying Superman comics aplenty for her grandson before proudly displaying pictures of her great-granddaughter in full Halloween regalia: blue dress with a red cape and red boots a red ‘S’ on her chest as, y’know, Supergirl.
I’ll echo those who say that we need a definition of “cultural reference” in order to properly answer this question. It’s also unclear to me whether we’re supposed to be talking about the products of American culture or the broader category of things that Americans would recognize. For instance, Romeo and Juliet isn’t an American work but it is very well known in America, is commonly required reading in American high schools, and I would bet that a large majority of American adults would recognize the title and have at least a vague idea of the basic plot.
Even bigger than Shakespeare is the Bible – even most of the isolated religious groups excluded by the OP would be familiar with that.
I doubt it – I once mentioned Gilligan’s Island in a conversation with a Japanese friend, and she had never heard of the show. And this was someone who was near fluent in English and had spent a year in the US as a college student.
We’ve got two claims of ninety-year-olds who wouldn’t know Darth Vader. I find this questionable. You do know they were only 56 when Star Wars came out, right? Do you really think no trick-or-treater has ever come to their door in a DV costume?
Come to think of it, I nominate “Trick-or-Treat!” Who doesn’t know Haolloween? Even the small religious groups who are agaisnt it know what it is.
No, they wouldnt, as that show was never broadcasted in France to my knowledge (or in so obscure a way that few people would have seen it). They wouldnt have any idea what’s that tune you’re whistling is.
