# one of the most parodied shots in film history? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155 "2009-06-27T06:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/1 "2009-06-27T06:52:33Z")
So I recently watched 2001: A Space Odyssey. First time I had seen it since I was a kid. (I’m 40.) Amazing film. I won’t bother trying to do it justice. Look it up on the web if you haven’t seen it. I had read some about the film prior to watching and knew this shot was coming, and knowing about it didn’t spoil it for me. But just in case … SPOILER ALERT The shot in question is after the modified proto-human tribe has bested the rival tribe, Moonwatcher (that’s the name; see the imdb page) tosses his bone/weapon in the air and it becomes a satellite orbiting the earth, thus indicating to the viewer that the story has jumped 4 million years into … 2001 !! So during my reading about the film I kept coming across writers mentioning this scene as having been frequently parodied in the years since. Example, [this critic](http://www.moria.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3871Itemid=1) says of the shot that it must be “one of the most parodied in cinema history,” Ok. Name one. What other film or TV show has parodied this specific shot? I know there have been many shows inspired by 2001, but I know of none hat referred to this particular shot, let alone parodied it. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/2 "2009-06-27T06:57:59Z")
Simpsons already did it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/3 "2009-06-27T07:26:06Z")
I think the baby carriage going down the steps in Potemkin is parodied far more often than the shot in 2001. I don’t doubt the Simpsons did it, but they also did Major Kong and the bomb from Dr. Strangelove - and no doubt every other interesting shot in movie history. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/4 "2009-06-27T07:33:23Z")
The Potemkin steps are a good choice, but has the benefit of being over 80 years old. Another famous shot from a more recent film is Dustin Hoffman framed by Anne Bancroft’s leg in _The Graduate_. And even more recently, the Neo-leans-back-to-bulletdodge managed to find its way into every spoof within a matter of months. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/5 "2009-06-27T07:44:35Z")
> [@TGWATY](#): > > Ok. Name one. What other film or TV show has parodied this specific shot? I know there have been many shows inspired by 2001, but I know of none hat referred to this particular shot, let alone parodied it. Monty Python’s Flying Circus. In one of Gilliam’s animated segments, a caveman throws a bone in the air, it turns into a modern bone-shaped satellite, then falls back down and hits the caveman on the head. Could be the first parody too, because it probably appeared shortly after the movie was first released. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/6 "2009-06-27T07:55:27Z")
I’d vote that King Kong trying to catch biplanes is the most parodied shot. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/7 "2009-06-27T08:19:30Z")
The slow motion Right Stuff march is parodied a lot. I have seen the 2001 shot quite often, but it’s hard to remember where. The only one I can recall is in Genesis’s _Land Of Confusion_ (Spitting Image) video. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/8 "2009-06-27T09:23:58Z")
Off the top of my head, I’d say the western gunfight shot is one of the most common. The setting is a long main street in a western town. The shot is framed from behind one of the gunfighters with the second gunfighter facing the first in the distance. The camera is slightly offset so you can see both gunfighters simultaneously in the frame. They draw and shoot. [example](http://www.black-hawk-design.net/wildwest/Gunfighters/gunfight1.jpg) [example](http://www.bullheadchamber.com/images/oatman.gif) [example](http://www.jainlemos.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gunfight1.jpg) [example](http://www.sobsoldwestproductions.com/img/shootoutatbloodygultch.jpg) It’s probably been done hundreds of times. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/9 "2009-06-27T13:54:22Z")
“Here’s lookin at you, kid.” ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/10 "2009-06-27T15:15:26Z")
Burt Lancaster & Deborah Kerr rolling in the surf in _From Here to Eternity_ > **[From Here to Eternity (1953)](https://www.imdb.com/media/rm226986496/tt0045793)** > > Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Jack Warden in From Here to Eternity (1953) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/11 "2009-06-27T16:40:26Z")
The scene where Kane says, “Rosebud.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/12 "2009-06-27T16:55:52Z")
FYI: If you go to the IMDB page for a movie and click on “Movie Connections” you’ll see a lot of references about (or within) a movie in other shows. [Here’s](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/movieconnections) the one for 2001. A very long list and a quick check of the top couple screenfuls shows some monolith/ape parodies. (But there’s another section of parodies further down. Hmm.) The “Battleship Potemkim” stairs shot is interesting since so very few people have probably seen the movie. (I’ve seen it maybe twice. Most recently in the past year when it was on TCM.) [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015648/movieconnections) indeed lists quite a few homages to the staircase scene. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/13 "2009-06-27T17:11:50Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Simpsons already did it. The Simpson’s parodied quite a bit from “2001”. The one I liked the best was the weightless Homer rotating to line up with the rotating potato chip - like the ship landing on the big wheel space station. Another parodied scene is the “Hills are Alive” scene of Julie Andrews twirling on the meadow mountain top from “Sound of Music”. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/14 "2009-06-27T17:24:31Z")
It’s not a single-instance “parody shot,” but throughout the entire series, MST3K’s Satellite of Love is bone-shaped. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/15 "2009-06-27T18:18:27Z")
I watched Casablanca for the first time a few years ago, and it was a little bizarre as though I’ve never seen the film, I’ve basically seen every scene, character and piece of dialog parodied at one time or another. Thelma and Louise driving off a cliff and freeze framing is another scene I’m familiar with the shot only through parody, I’ve never seen the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/16 "2009-06-27T18:27:09Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’d vote that King Kong trying to catch biplanes is the most parodied shot. I don’t think this counts. I’m not a film buff, but my understanding is that a “shot” is different then a “scene”. Having a big monster climb a building and swat at planes is often paraodied, but there isn’t really a single “shot” of that from the original film that sticks out as often parodied. The bone up in the air thing, when its parodied, actually tries to re-create the way it looked in 2001, down to how the scene is framed by the camera. I’ll grant it’s a pretty hazy distinction in a lot of cases though. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/17 "2009-06-27T19:05:52Z")
Zoolander parodied 2001, but I don’t think the exact bone throwing scene… ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/18 "2009-06-27T19:19:02Z")
Add **History of the World: Part I** to the _2001_ bone-throwing-scene parody list. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/19 "2009-06-27T22:13:17Z")
You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talking… you talking to me? Well I’m the only one here. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155/20 "2009-06-27T23:49:02Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The slow motion Right Stuff march is parodied a lot. I call it the hero walk. The parody I remember right now was in Monsters, Inc. And a vaguely similar scene was the one from Reservoir Dogs of the guys walking down the street in black suits, while smoking. I remember seeing it parodied on Coupling. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-the-most-parodied-shots-in-film-history/501155.md?page=2)