# What pop culture do you only know of from parody? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899 "2008-07-01T14:11:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/1 "2008-07-01T14:11:18Z")
OK, it’s a bit of a confusing thread title, so here’s a little background: In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=473773), **Sampiro** mentions _You are There!_, a 1950’s-style death ray – no, sorry, a 1950’s television program dramatizing famous historical events. I can even hear the stentorian “YOU ARE THERE” in my head . . . except that I never actually saw the show. I am familiar with it only through a _Looney Tunes_ cartoon. The same goes for _This is Your Life_, another TV series that I know of mainly from another _Looney Tunes_ cartoon. My familiarity with _Howdy Doody_ is similar: I know several things about it, but mainly from a _Mad Magazine_ parody (_iHowdy Dooit!_). _Mad_ also provided my only view of _The French Connection_, which I have never seen. Am I the only one like this? Any others of you out there? RR ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/2 "2008-07-01T14:15:55Z")
Davey and Goliath, the christian claymation series about a boy and his dog. I’ve seen it spoofed on the Simpson’s, Family guy, Morel Orel and in commercials (Mountain Dew?) but never seen the actual show. Indeed its kind of weird that so many shows/commercials geared toward audiences in their teens and twenties used it, when most of that audience would’ve missed seeing the actual shorts. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/3 "2008-07-01T14:24:49Z")
Also, I finally saw Casablanca for the first time a few years ago, and it was a surreal experience, as I was familiar with almost every scene from having seen them each parodied so many times, despite having never watched the actual movie. Like having a weird sort of deja-vu ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/4 "2008-07-01T14:26:46Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Also, I finally saw Casablanca for the first time a few years ago, and it was a surreal experience, as I was familiar with almost every scene from having seen them each parodied so many times, despite having never watched the actual movie. Like having a weird sort of deja-vu [/QUOTE] Now that you mention it, I had the same experience with _Gone With The Wind_. RR ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/5 "2008-07-01T14:29:55Z")
_Of Mice and Men_. Cartoons again. My Og, those Warner Bros. guys were full-out satirists in their day. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/6 "2008-07-01T14:36:00Z")
So much 70s and 80s pop culture. Lots of the Simpsons, lots of Family Guy. Some Futurama as well, but I often had to hit Wikipedia while watching Family Guy to figure out what the heck was being referenced. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/7 "2008-07-01T14:40:24Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Indeed its kind of weird that so many shows/commercials geared toward audiences in their teens and twenties used it, when most of that audience would’ve missed seeing the actual shorts. [/QUOTE] I recently saw a commercial featuring Mr. Bill, from Saturday Night Live, and was a little amazed – do young people now even know who Mr. Bill is/was? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/8 "2008-07-01T14:45:18Z")
Do you count Carmen Miranda? I only know her really because Bugs Bunny was always dressing up as her. ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/9 "2008-07-01T14:48:28Z")
Many years ago, I saw Mel Brooks’ _Young Frankenstein_. I thought it was funny, of course, but then I saw the original Frankenstein and that’s when the light really went on. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/10 "2008-07-01T14:52:19Z")
I’ve seen the Eurovision Song Contest mocked on Monty Python, Benny Hill, _The Young Ones_, etc., but I’ve never actually seen it for real. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/11 "2008-07-01T15:41:04Z")
I read the _Mad_ parody of [_Joe_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_%28film%29) many years before I saw the movie, and would never otherwise have heard of it, let alone rented it. (And I just **now** realized, from the Wiki link, that it was Susan Sarandon’s film debut!) ---
**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:** [July 1, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/12 "2008-07-01T15:46:37Z")
**Gail** writes: > [@](#): > > Many years ago, I saw Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. I thought it was funny, of course, but then I saw the original Frankenstein and that’s when the light really went on. Then go out and get **Son of Frankenstein** and really blow your mind. Young Frankenstein is a much more direct send-up of the seciond sequel, right down to Lionel Atill as the one-armed Police Chief. The Dart Game is even in the original! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/13 "2008-07-01T15:48:28Z")
Most people’s first exposure to opera is through Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. I have seen Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, but I have not yet seen “The Barber of Seville”. I was familiar with parodies of “We don’t need no stinking badges” long before I saw _Treasure of the Sierra Madre_. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/14 "2008-07-01T15:52:31Z")
And speaking of _Young Frankenstein_, I was in college before my parents explained to me what was funny about the dialogue between Dr. F and the shoeshine boy at the train station. It’s only a couple of months ago that I finally heard “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” in its entirety. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/15 "2008-07-01T15:58:56Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Davey and Goliath, the christian claymation series about a boy and his dog. I’ve seen it spoofed on the Simpson’s, Family guy, Morel Orel and in commercials (Mountain Dew?) but never seen the actual show. Indeed its kind of weird that so many shows/commercials geared toward audiences in their teens and twenties used it, when most of that audience would’ve missed seeing the actual shorts. [/QUOTE] I didn’t even know Davey and Goliath was an actual show on it’s own for a long time after seeing the parodies. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/16 "2008-07-01T16:05:23Z")
It’s kinda sad that I study physics and astronomy and have never watched Star Trek. Everything I know about Star Trek comes from references and parodies. It’s amazing how much one can gleam about the Star Trek universe just from pop culture. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/17 "2008-07-01T16:05:26Z")
I have never seen _The Godfather_ but have seen a million people imitate Marlon Brando from it. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/18 "2008-07-01T16:07:12Z")
[QUOTE=delphica] I recently saw a commercial featuring Mr. Bill, from Saturday Night Live, and was a little amazed – do young people now even know who Mr. Bill is/was? [/QUOTE] I’m 27 and know who he is. OH NOOOOOOOOOO!!! ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/19 "2008-07-01T16:07:34Z")
[QUOTE=mbh] Most people’s first exposure to opera is through Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. I have seen Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, but I have not yet seen “The Barber of Seville”. [/QUOTE] Let me tell you how it would go. The overture begins, and you will not, repeat NOT be able to avoid humming along with Bugs Bunny’s words. _How about a nice close shave, teach your whiskers to behave, Lots of lather, lots of soap, please hold still, don’t be a dope, Now we’re ready for the scraping – there’s no use to try escaping Yell and scream and rant and rave – it’s no use, **you need a shave!** **(ow! ohh! ouch! aggh!)** There! You’re nice and clean! Although your face – looks like it might have gone through a ma - chine…_ ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899/20 "2008-07-01T16:31:28Z")
“Your name… is Toby!” “Kunta… Kinte…” Whap! I know its from Roots, but only because of Family Guy and Chappelle’s Show [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-pop-culture-do-you-only-know-of-from-parody/454899.md?page=2)