# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 135
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2681 "2017-03-14T15:45:05Z")
Just noticed this last night. The [MPAA logo](http://i1.wp.com/pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/mpaa-logo.jpg?crop=177px%2C58px%2C656px%2C490px&resize=1000%2C750) has a film reel in the center. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2682 "2017-03-14T15:53:51Z")
I just realized last night that the landlord on Bob’s Burgers, Mr. Fischoeder, is kind of a lame pun/word play… Fish Odor… duh. Before I just thought it was a kind of odd name. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2683 "2017-03-14T16:00:44Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > This is going by the movie and not the novella, of course. The novella doesn’t make it quite clear. Well, in a very timely bit of news, [I guess we know the true answer now.](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2697875-bruno-signs-for-boa-esporte-after-release-from-prison-for-girlfriends-murder?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2684 "2017-03-17T17:41:08Z")
This is an old one but another thread spurred it to memory. There’s a Far Side comic with a couple of scientists staring at some goofy looking people behind a pane of glass. The caption is the lead scientist saying “Yes, they’re all fools, gentlemen. But the question remains: What kind of fools are they?” In my defense, the first time I read that comic I was likely in the single digits and not entirely familiar with the phrase “What kind of fool would…?” That doesn’t explain the hundreds of other times I read the comic while re-reading my collection until one day, some 25+ years later, I’d be sitting in my car thinking of something unrelated and then audibly say “OOOOHHHHHhhhhh…” That was a real event that I still vividly remember. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2685 "2017-03-17T17:46:05Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > This is an old one but another thread spurred it to memory. There’s a Far Side comic with a couple of scientists staring at some goofy looking people behind a pane of glass. The caption is the lead scientist saying “Yes, they’re all fools, gentlemen. But the question remains: What kind of fools are they?” > > In my defense, the first time I read that comic I was likely in the single digits and not entirely familiar with the phrase “What kind of fool would…?” That doesn’t explain the hundreds of other times I read the comic while re-reading my collection until one day, some 25+ years later, I’d be sitting in my car thinking of something unrelated and then audibly say “OOOOHHHHHhhhhh…” > > That was a real event that I still vividly remember. I always assumed that the caption was inspired by the 1962 song **What Kind of Fool Am I?** : > **[What Kind of Fool Am I?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Kind_of_Fool_Am_I%3F)** > > "What Kind of Fool Am I?" is a popular song written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and published in 1962. It was introduced by Anthony Newley in the musical Stop the World – I Want to Get Off. It comes at the end of Act Two to close the show. Bricusse and Newley received the 1961 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. > At the 1963 Grammy Awards, it won the award for Song of the Year and was the first by Britons to do so. > This song was recorded whilst Newley was on the ro... So, apparently, does Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2686 "2017-03-17T20:19:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I always assumed that the caption was inspired by the 1962 song **What Kind of Fool Am I?** : > > [What Kind of Fool Am I? - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Kind_of_Fool_Am_I%3F) > > So, apparently, does Wikipedia. What kind of fool would think that?! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2687 "2017-03-17T23:11:09Z")
The annoying commercials for some blood thinner. It was bad enough when the guy was worried about “my little buddy”, which is a phrase that just shouldn’t be used outside of \*Gilligan’s Island \*discussions, but the newer one has him worried about “this little girl”. Really? Some random little girl? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2688 "2017-03-18T00:09:15Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > The annoying commercials for some blood thinner. > > It was bad enough when the guy was worried about “my little buddy”, which is a phrase that just shouldn’t be used outside of \*Gilligan’s Island \*discussions, but the newer one has him worried about “this little girl”. Really? Some random little girl? Wrong thread? Or is there something you’ve only just realized? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2689 "2017-03-18T00:54:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Holy crap! I always thought Hadji on _ **Jonny Quest** _ was Hindu or Sikh. I just now realized that the name means he completed the pilgrimage to Mecca. So he’s actually a Muslim! > > Who’da thunk it?!? **DUH!!!** :smack: Weirder still…in a later incarnation of a Jonny Quest series, Hadji is given (along with a backstory as an Indian prince) a surname: Hadji [_Singh_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singh). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2690 "2017-03-18T09:02:44Z")
A few things I noticed watching Guardians of the Galaxy for, like, the 7th time. 1. John C. Reilly’s character says he had a family, and the GotG had saved them, as an explanation for why he arranged for Quill’s ship to be rebuilt. Initially I assumed he meant because they saved Xandar, and since they’re on Xandar, they saved them, and seeing them at the end was just meant to be a cute moment, but… Paying more attention to the battle this time, I noticed that at one point, they were going to get squashed, and Rocket personally saved them from it. 1. When Quill’s explaining his music to her, Gamora says she doesn’t dance. Then near the end, when he puts on Awesome Mix Vol 2…she starts swaying to the music. :smack: 2. At the end we see the ship fly past Xandar’s sun…or, rather…suns - it has a triple sun, just like the Nova Corps’s insignia. (I blame that last one on seeing it on DVD, on a smaller TV…this is the first time I’ve seen it in HD.) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2691 "2017-03-18T19:47:42Z")
Here’s an old one, that I have watched probably dozens of times over the years, and just realized the last time I watched it, the other day. And I have tried, through judicious searching, to be sure that it hasn’t already been mentioned in this thread. The original **The Day The Earth Stood Still** from 1951. What was Klaatu’s disguise name, when he was attempting to pass himself off as a regular human? Carpenter. And what happened to Klaatu? He was killed and resurrected. What was Klaatu’s message? Live in peace or die. Coincidence? Or a purposeful, though inexact, parallel? You decide. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2692 "2017-03-18T20:12:35Z")
More specifically, his name is John Carpenter - i.e., J.C. Later he went on to direct movies and be the first winner of _Who Wants to Be a Millionaire_? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2693 "2017-03-18T21:23:28Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Here’s an old one, that I have watched probably dozens of times over the years, and just realized the last time I watched it, the other day. And I have tried, through judicious searching, to be sure that it hasn’t already been mentioned in this thread. > > The original **The Day The Earth Stood Still** from 1951. What was Klaatu’s disguise name, when he was attempting to pass himself off as a regular human? Carpenter. And what happened to Klaatu? He was killed and resurrected. What was Klaatu’s message? Live in peace or die. > > Coincidence? Or a purposeful, though inexact, parallel? You decide. I’ve read about this before, and in my opinion it’s probably not a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2694 "2017-03-18T21:29:09Z")
Google to the rescue. From 2006: \*[The Day the Earth Stood Still: A Christian Allegory?](http://alexpeak.com/art/films/tdtess/christian/) \* "There have been many who have seen the 1951 science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still as a Christian allegory. Indeed, apparently the screenwriter Edmund North wrote Christian elements into the film without discussing the matter with director Robert Wise or producer Julian Blaustein. “It was my private little joke,” explained North. “I had originally hoped that the Christ comparison would be subliminal.” According to Wise, he never picked up on the Christ comparison until after the film had been released. I, for one, also didn’t pick up on the comparison until it was pointed out to me. So, perhaps we can say that North indeed achieved his objective at keeping the comparison subliminal." ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2695 "2017-03-18T21:37:55Z")
Yes, me again. A much more thoughtul article: _[http://www.kinema.uwaterloo.ca/article.php?id=553&feature](http://www.kinema.uwaterloo.ca/article.php?id=553&feature)_ (occurs just before image “figure 8”) “This claim is understandable when one discovers that The Day the Earth Stood Still was deliberately crafted to make Klaatu an alien Messiah, and thus the dominant intertextual appeal of the film. In fact, its scriptwriter Edmund H. North “only discussed the biblical interpretation decades later after auteurist/archaeologist-critics had unearthed it” (Frumkes 34). Yet, it is somewhat ironic that its deliberately designed religious nature is not well-known amongst religious communities, even though the Klaatu-Christ parallel is very well known amongst secular SF fans; especially Klaatu’s hi-tech resurrection scene.” ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2696 "2017-03-19T04:20:44Z")
Well, then, I don’t feel so bad that it took me so long to notice it, if the director and producer also missed it for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2697 "2017-03-19T06:21:22Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > More specifically, his name is John Carpenter - i.e., J.C. Lots of little ["J.C."s pop up in fiction](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SignificantMonogram), if you keep an eye out for 'em…John Coffey, John Connor, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2698 "2017-03-19T06:58:40Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Lots of little ["J.C."s pop up in fiction](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SignificantMonogram), if you keep an eye out for 'em…John Coffey, John Connor, etc. I’m partial to [this one](https://youtu.be/asUyK6JWt9U), myself. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2699 "2017-03-19T19:47:04Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Well, then, I don’t feel so bad that it took me so long to notice it, if the director and producer also missed it for a while. Nope, don’t feel bad. I’ve loved TDTESS since I was a kid in the 50’s, probably seen it a couple of dozen times. The Jesus allegory _never_ occurred to me, I had to read about it. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/2700 "2017-03-19T20:24:37Z")
I don’t know whether this counts, but I must have listened to The Jacksons’ _Destiny_ a million times, before I realized that Jermaine did not contribute to that album. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that they had changed their name from “The Jackson 5” to “The Jacksons” in part because Randy had temporarily replaced Jermaine in the group. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=134) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=136)