# You are Rip Van Winkle – What surprises you most about current pop culture? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961 "2007-01-22T16:00:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/41 "2007-01-25T02:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=MrSquishy] That’s exactly what an old fart would say. Seriously. Every generation thinks the new music sucks, and every generation thinks they’re not just saying that because they’re old farts. Here’s the thing: saying “the music the kids listen to these days is all just noise” is **exactly what makes you an old fart**! 🙂 [/QUOTE] But eventually it is likely to become true. ---
**Author:** ![d11218w](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/258eb7/32.png) [@d11218w](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d11218w)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/42 "2007-01-25T02:22:42Z")
> [@](#): > > You fell asleep, say in the late 50s or early 60s. You just woke up. What facet of current pop culture surprises you the most? – I am stunned that Marlon Brando got so fat. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/43 "2007-01-25T02:36:42Z")
Having fallen asleep at a time when even Buddy Holly was viewed by some as corrupting the morals of society, I would be utterly astonished at the existence of rap. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2007, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/44 "2007-01-25T03:14:25Z")
“Whaddyamean Pepe Le Pew is considered a stalker?! What the hell is a _stalker_?” ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/45 "2007-01-25T03:46:49Z")
The RUSSIANS are our FRIENDS!!! ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/46 "2007-01-25T11:50:22Z")
I think Mr. Van Winkle would be amazed to discover that air travel is now so cheap it’s entirely possible to fly to a different country simply for a change of scenery or somewhere to go at the weekend… ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/47 "2007-01-25T12:12:10Z")
[QUOTE=d11218w] I am stunned that Marlon Brando got so fat. [/QUOTE] Also dead. “Son, fat and dead is no way to go through life.” ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/48 "2007-01-25T12:20:47Z")
A bottle of bourbon costs WHAT!?! ---
**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:** [January 25, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/49 "2007-01-25T13:26:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by McNew > The prevalence of people deemed “famous” despite a lack of anything notworthy about them except that they’re “famous”. > > If you mean people like Paris, she’s only the last in a long long line. Remember Pia Zadora? And **Charo**? And Zsa Zsa? Hey, Charo could play a mean guitar (I understand she plays classical guitar, too), and sing and dance. She does hokey pretty well, too, I admit, and she’s a publicity hound, but she definitely has talent. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/50 "2007-01-25T13:42:25Z")
[QUOTE=legalsnugs] The whole “throw-away” society. Not just disposable arts, as mentioned by **panache45** , but disposable diapers, meals, cars, appliances, jobs, soldiers, marriages, children. It just seems like people don’t value stuff like they used to. [/QUOTE] On the other hand, the whole recycling thing. And environmentalism. “You don’t throw away plastics, aluminium, and newspapers.” Worry about the effects of pollution on the world. This was all non-existant in the 1950’s. The tabloid industry. Back in the 1960’s nobody knew about who was zooming who (think JFK) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/51 "2007-01-25T19:17:13Z")
Heh. There’s one glaring omission from this thread. If I had fallen asleep in the 1950s and woken up today, I would be shocked (and probably appalled) that _nobody smokes!_ ---
**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:** [January 25, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/52 "2007-01-25T19:19:33Z")
> [@](#): > > The tabloid industry. Back in the 1960’s nobody knew about who was zooming who (think JFK) Oh, no – the tabloids were there, but their emphasis was different: **5 Year Old Girl Gives Birth to 12 Year Old Boy** …and like that. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/53 "2007-01-25T19:24:01Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Heh. There’s one glaring omission from this thread. If I had fallen asleep in the 1950s and woken up today, I would be shocked (and probably appalled) that _nobody smokes!_ [/QUOTE] Have some coffee and wake up fully, Rip. The lack of smoking in today’s world hasn’t been forgotten. Two examples: > [@Anne Neville](#): > > For that matter, a man or a woman RVW could have smoked pretty much anywhere, and not expect anyone to complain. The lack of ashtrays would probably be pretty surprising. > [@Spoons](#): > > To Rip, who would probably smoke (as many people did in those days), cigarettes would cost much more than he would have thought, but he wouldn’t be allowed to smoke them anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Emerald\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Emerald\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emerald_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/54 "2007-01-25T23:27:08Z")
If we’re talking pop culture, I would think video games would be my biggest surprise. They’re not just a new technology, but a whole new medium of expression. Did anyone predict in 1955 that we would have this kind of interactive TV? That people would play with and chat with others “online” from all over the world? Some of these games are based on sports, which would be familiar, but a lot of them are fairly plot less violence simulations or weird fantasy role-playing games(And I say this as a lover of these genres). I wonder if I would be amused or horrified to discover how much of it is fairly realistic simulations of World War II. I suspect that the war might be a little too fresh in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/55 "2007-01-25T23:39:14Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] Have some coffee and wake up fully, Rip. The lack of smoking in today’s world hasn’t been forgotten. Two examples: [/QUOTE] Barista: What kind of coffee- latte, cappucino, mocha, espresso, americano? Do you want a tall, grande, or venti? He’d be shocked that, not only are there vastly fewer cigarette ads, there are ads telling people not to smoke, or to quit smoking, some of which are sponsored by tobacco companies. Interracial couples aren’t uncommon, and are allowed to get married. Interfaith couples are common as well. It’s no longer socially acceptable to openly say that you don’t want people of certain races or religions living in your neighborhood or sending their kids to school with yours. When you call someone on the phone, you’re not unlikely to end up talking to a machine instead of a person. Some people will even let a machine answer all of their calls, then call you back immediately afterward if they want to talk to you. You have to be faster at answering your phone, too- most people and answering machines will only let it go for 4 rings now, while they would have waited longer than that before answering machines. A lot of people will know who’s calling before they pick up the phone. Long-distance calls are not so much of a big deal, because they’re much less expensive than they used to be. Many of the phone calls you get will be someone trying to sell you something. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/56 "2007-01-26T01:07:00Z")
What’s a Super Bowl? When did a football championship game become more popular than the World Series? When did the NBA become so popular, and where did all those black players come from? When did fart jokes become acceptable in children’s movies and TV shows? Hell, any movie or TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/57 "2007-01-26T01:56:11Z")
[QUOTE=e-bow] Yes, look at this thread for a start. [/QUOTE] I would look at the SDMB and be shocked that in the year 2007 we still don’t have shift keys that work correctly. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/58 "2007-01-26T02:03:20Z")
The utter extinction of the very concept of “respectability”. That nowadays there’s seemingly no such thing as bad publicity. That there’s almost nothing a person can do that will make them unmarketable as a celebrity. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/59 "2007-01-26T02:34:34Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] The utter extinction of the very concept of “respectability”. That nowadays there’s seemingly no such thing as bad publicity. That there’s almost nothing a person can do that will make them unmarketable as a celebrity. [/QUOTE] Up to and including murder. I think Ruby’s would have stunned most people from the 50’s and early-mid 60’s straight into catatonia: > [@](#): > > The RUSSIANS are our FRIENDS!!! I was born in 1956 and I still remember where I was (the basement) and what I was doing (laundry) the exact second I heard that the Berlin Wall was coming down (my husband came downstairs and told me). I was shocked then. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961/60 "2007-01-26T03:38:52Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Technology in terms of instant communication. Revealing clothing for everyday on the street wear. [/QUOTE] Note if RVW is a man he’s in for a rather embarrassing surprise when he steps of the lockerroom to go for a swim at the Y 😉 . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-rip-van-winkle-what-surprises-you-most-about-current-pop-culture/388961.md?page=4)