# Movies that made a big pop culture splash but are now disporportionately forgotten **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2014, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755 "2014-11-16T08:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/61 "2014-11-16T21:23:39Z")
All of Michael Moore’s films. Lots of hype at the time, but easily dismissed before the tape finished rewinding. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/62 "2014-11-16T21:42:05Z")
The original Airport movie. It first was considered the first and highest regarded ‘disaster movie’ of the 70’s. lts influence was enough so that \*Airplane \*was made to parody it (even though Airplane’s storyline was borrowed from a whole 'nother movie), and there were several sequels,each of them getting sillier. But in retrospect it is seen as little more than hackneyed plot with one-dimensional characters told by hack writers. The actors themselves later dismissed it as junk. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/63 "2014-11-16T21:46:55Z")
Possibly what we need is to get a bunch of 20 year-olds, read them lists of Oscar-nominated and/or top grossing films from 1950 onward and score the films accordingly: 1 point for the film for every 20 year-old who’s heard of it. 3 points for every 20 year-old who can describe plot elements and/or quote lines from it. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/64 "2014-11-16T21:48:48Z")
Love Story, Home Alone, Tootsie, The Smokie and the Bandit series … all very large grossers in their day, now perhaps known as allusions but would not be watched. I think the Potter series is on its way to that fate. The Passion of the Christ, not pop culture but media awareness and large grossing and mostly a huh now. Inception is already fading. The Matrix and its sequels too. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/65 "2014-11-16T21:53:58Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > \*Airplane \*was made to parody it (even though Airplane’s storyline was borrowed from a whole 'nother movie), … It wasn’t “borrowed.” It’s a straight-up licensed remake of the 1957 dramatic film “Zero Hour!” only done completely tongue-in-cheek and inserted gags and jokes. Much of the dialogue and scene structure survived intact. Cite: [http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-insane-unknown-backstories-behind-famous-movies\_p2/](http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-insane-unknown-backstories-behind-famous-movies_p2/) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/66 "2014-11-16T21:56:52Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What about I Know What You Did Last Summer? I know it’s going to be remade, and I remember the original because I was a teen when it came out (and it had huge–at the time–stars). But does anyone really remember it now? It seems a bit overshadowed by the far more clever Scream. I Know What You Did Last Summer was always overshadowed by the better and more clever Scream. So this is nothing new. All I Know What You Did Last Summer (and the sequel) really had going for it was Jennifer Love Hewitt in her peak “teenage boys think she’s hot” phase. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/67 "2014-11-16T22:09:10Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It wasn’t “borrowed.” It’s a straight-up licensed remake of the 1957 dramatic film “Zero Hour!” only done completely tongue-in-cheek and inserted gags and jokes. Much of the dialogue and scene structure survived intact. > > Cite: [http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-insane-unknown-backstories-behind-famous-movies\_p2/](http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-insane-unknown-backstories-behind-famous-movies_p2/) Oh, I know, but the point I was making was that Airplane was marketed to parody the Airport series, not ‘a Funny version of Zero Hour!’. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/68 "2014-11-16T22:15:56Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Oh, I know, but the point I was making was that Airplane was marketed to parody the Airport series, not ‘a Funny version of Zero Hour!’. That’s debatable. It was certainly made with the intent of spoofing the genre that includes both “Airport” and “Zero Hour!,” but the article makes the case that the Zuckers were inspired by “Zero Hour!” to spoof “Zero Hour!” “Airport” might have made such a spoof marketable by being the most recent, well-known representative of that genre, but it’s not so clear that it was made with the intent to spoof “Airport” specifically as opposed to “Zero Hour!” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/69 "2014-11-16T22:20:32Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > That’s debatable. It was certainly made with the intent of spoofing the genre that includes both “Airport” and “Zero Hour!,” but the article makes the case that the Zuckers were inspired by “Zero Hour!” to spoof “Zero Hour!” > > “Airport” might have made such a spoof marketable by being the most recent, well-known representative of that genre, but it’s not so clear that it was made with the intent to spoof “Airport” specifically as opposed to “Zero Hour!” Hence why I said it was _marketed_ as a parody of Aiport movies. Doesn’t matter what the Zuckers were shooting for when writing or filming - in everyone’s minds the target was Airport. The movie title alone should tell you that. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/70 "2014-11-16T22:52:10Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Hence why I said it was _marketed_ as a parody of Aiport movies. Doesn’t matter what the Zuckers were shooting for when writing or filming - in everyone’s minds the target was Airport. The movie title alone should tell you that. You originally said it was “made” as a parody of “Airport.” That’s the debatable claim I’m addressing. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/71 "2014-11-16T23:15:06Z")
Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland”. We forgot about it by the time we left the theater. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/72 "2014-11-16T23:23:14Z")
_The Sound of Music_ is still very relevant in Catholic circles… at least here in SA, where most of Sophia’s friends have a copy. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/73 "2014-11-16T23:28:32Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The Michael Keaton Batman movie. I had the tee shirt, the video game, the song on cassingle, the McDonald’s stuff. > > Maybe it kicked off a series of 50 more Batman movies and of course set the tone for the genre. But I don’t feel like people think about it as much as any other Batman movies. And I’d think that Toby as Spider-Man is more famous than Keaton as Batman. Yes, in 1989 it was the very definition of “huge.” It hasn’t just been overshadowed by the Nolan Batman films; it’s been forgotten in its own right, as it really just wasn’t that good. With the McGuire/Garfield Spider-Man movies, we see the reverse pattern: the latter films have been pretty much instantly dismissed as being inferior to the former, and the new Spider-Man “franchise” is already in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/74 "2014-11-16T23:35:40Z")
Wouldn’t it be easier to make a list of movies that _aren’t_ disproportionately forgotten? Dozens of new movies are released each year, so older ones have less and less cultural significance. I think that’s one reason so many remakes are released nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/75 "2014-11-16T23:41:53Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland”. We forgot about it by the time we left the theater. You seriously think that movie had a big cultural impact? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/76 "2014-11-16T23:42:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > You originally said it was “made” as a parody of “Airport.” That’s the debatable claim I’m addressing. Eh, point taken. But I would stand by my point that Airplane is probably considered the best thing to come from the Airport movies by most people & critics these days. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/77 "2014-11-16T23:48:48Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You seriously think that movie had a big cultural impact? It was extremely popular when it was released (it made over a billion dollars worldwide) and directly lead to a wave of fairy tale/fantasy movies like Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Oz: The Great and Powerful, and Maleficent. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/78 "2014-11-17T00:03:00Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > _The Sound of Music_ is still very relevant in Catholic circles… at least here in SA, where most of Sophia’s friends have a copy. Who the heck is Sophia? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/79 "2014-11-17T00:04:23Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > 1992: Winner: _Unforgiven_. Edged, I think, by _A Few Good Men_, though mostly on the performance of Jack Nicholson. At the very least, “You can’t handle the truth!” is still familiar, but I can’t think of a single quote from _Unforgiven_. We’ll have to disagree on this because I can remember some quotable lines for **Unforgiven**. –“It’s a hell of a thing killing a man. You take away everything he’s got and everything he’s ever gonna have.” –“I’ve killed women and children. I’ve killed everything that walks or crawls at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you done to Ned.” –“Hell, I even thought I was dead 'til I found out it was just that I was in Nebraska.” ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/80 "2014-11-17T00:07:58Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Possibly what we need is to get a bunch of 20 year-olds, read them lists of Oscar-nominated and/or top grossing films from 1950 onward and score the films accordingly: > > 1 point for the film for every 20 year-old who’s heard of it. > 3 points for every 20 year-old who can describe plot elements and/or quote lines from it. Screw that. I asked the 20 year old at work the other day to name the Vice-President, who won The Civil War and who did the US win its independence from. She failed all three questions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755.md?page=5)