Cultural Literacy
Kim
I just realized my husband is a cultural moron.
I got some new DVD's today and wanted to share my excitement. So - to
emphasize my point - I used catch lines from the movies to let him know what
*great* movies I got.
His blank stare told all. He didn't get *one*!!! How could that be? Now,
these weren't *difficult* movies - I love classics. Here goes:
1. Squeal like a piggy.
2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
4. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn
Now, surely everyone recognizes what movies I got.
Question (point).
When do you know you have failed in cultural literacy - what would you
*have* to know to be considered culturally literate - is there a test? Is
there a different grading system for different age groups? Am I expecting
too much of my husband - or is he *really* a cultural moron?
Are there other catch phrases from movies he should know - and that I can
ask him to *see* if he knows?
--
*Behind every successful man is a surprised mother in law*
Joe Shimkus
"Kim" <ki...@NOSPAMfamily-net.org> wrote:
> Are there other catch phrases from movies he should know - and that I can
> ask him to *see* if he knows?
What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Oh, my God! It's full of stars.
Klatu barada nicto.
They call me Mr. Tibbs.
Rosebud.
- Joe
--
Why is Bush's tax plan bad for the U.S.? Read "Fuzzy Math: The Essential Guide to the Bush Tax Plan."
--
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N Jill Marsh
<ki...@NOSPAMfamily-net.org>wrote:
>When do you know you have failed in cultural literacy - what would you
>*have* to know to be considered culturally literate - is there a test? Is
>there a different grading system for different age groups? Am I expecting
>too much of my husband - or is he *really* a cultural moron?
Dunno, no (1). Yes. Yes, maybe.
Maybe he's better described as pop-culturally illiterate for a person
of his nationality, background, education, gender and age. Personally
I wouldn't consider any failure to identify your examples to be much
of an indication of anything other than not being terribly interest in
your-taste-in-movies minutae (2).
nj"why should he know any of them?"m
(1) okay, I have one, you have to identify the source and context of
every one of my sigs in the last two years, or I get to call you a
cultural moron. They're all easy as pie, but I'll even give you a
pass on five of them. Your choice.
(2) and I got them all, signs of time poorly spent maybe?
"Poor me beside her, pale and red-eyed,
held together by rashes and sores."
Hank Gillette
"Kim" <ki...@NOSPAMfamily-net.org> wrote:
> 1. Squeal like a piggy.
>
> 2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
>
> 3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
>
> 4. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn
>
> Now, surely everyone recognizes what movies I got.
>
Not everyone. I know 1 and 4, 3 sounds familiar, but as for 2, it's been
a long time since I've watched a porn movie.
> Question (point).
>
> When do you know you have failed in cultural literacy - what would you
> *have* to know to be considered culturally literate - is there a test?
There was actually a book out a few years ago, list what the author
thought Americans ought to know. It's title strangely, was:
"Cultural Literacy : What Every American Needs to Know" by E.D. Hirsch
Jr.
JmG
>|2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
>|
>|3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
?
J
Bob E.
Somebody's definition of culture, oddly enough. --Bob
================================================================================
Bob Ellingson bo...@halted.com
Halted Specialties Co., Inc. http://www.halted.com
3500 Ryder St. (408) 732-1573
Santa Clara, Calif. 95051 USA (408) 732-6428 (FAX)
Helge Moulding
> I just realized my husband is a cultural moron.
Apparently, so am I.
> 1. Squeal like a piggy.
Huh? This is a catch phrase?
> 2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
Sounds like something Clint Eastwood might say.
> 3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
Actually, I thought this was a line from WWF.
> 4. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn
Hey! I know that one. "But Rhett, what *am* I going to
do?" "Eat my grits!"
> When do you know you have failed in cultural literacy
Certainly not when you haven't seen the last twenty years'
crop of cinematic crap. Though since I don't recognize your
references, and since there are a number of movies that I
wanted to see but never did, I can't tell if they were crap.
Cultural literacy isn't determined by *pop* culture, in my
opinion, so I'd let your husband off the hook, for now. Of
course, if he doesn't know the story of the fox and the
stork, or know who Leibniz was, or know where they have
Shinto Buddhism, then I'd start to worry.
--
Helge Moulding
mailto:hmou...@excite.com Just another guy
http://hmoulding.cjb.net/ with a weird name
Helge Moulding
> Oh, my God! It's full of stars.
I feel I ought to recognize this one. Is that from 2001,
when Dave falls into the monolith? Believe it or not, but
I've never seen that movie from beginning to end.
> Klatu barada nicto.
Never saw it, but I do know this is "The Day the Earth
Stood Still."
> They call me Mr. Tibbs.
Um. A quick Google search brings up a forgettable 1970 crime
flick starring Sidney Poitier.
> Rosebud.
Citizen Kane. I started watching it once, and kinda lost my
enthusiasm about ten minutes into it.
But, see, Kim, *these* are catch phrases. People recognize
the reference *even though* they never saw the movie. Now,
possibly we have a generational gap, too. I'm 43. How old is
Joe? How old are you?
Joe Shimkus
"Helge Moulding" <hmou...@excite.com> wrote:
> Joe Shimkus wrote,
> > Oh, my God! It's full of stars.
>
> I feel I ought to recognize this one. Is that from 2001,
> when Dave falls into the monolith?
Yes.
> But, see, Kim, *these* are catch phrases. People recognize
> the reference *even though* they never saw the movie. Now,
> possibly we have a generational gap, too. I'm 43. How old is
> Joe? How old are you?
I'm pushing 38 (just where am I pushing it is a different question).
ctc...@hotmail.com
>
> His blank stare told all. He didn't get *one*!!! How could that be? Now,
> these weren't *difficult* movies - I love classics. Here goes:
>
> 1. Squeal like a piggy.
A movie with some inbred guy playing a banjo.
> 2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
Silence the Lambs
> 3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
Kingpin
> 4. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn
Gone with the Wind.
Xho
--
-------------------- http://NewsReader.Com/ --------------------
Usenet for the Web
ctc...@hotmail.com
Ferris Beuler's day off
> Oh, my God! It's full of stars.
Contact.
> Klatu barada nicto.
Something with George Burns in it.
> They call me Mr. Tibbs.
Mr. Tibbs Goes to Washington
> Rosebud.
That movie with a bunch of whites beating up and burning a bunch of
blacks.
Xhoron
Just this guy ya know
>emphasize my point - I used catch lines from the movies to let him know
>what *great* movies I got.
You paid dollars for a bunch of movies you already seen?
>His blank stare told all. He didn't get *one*!!! How could that be?
And you think your hubby is the wierdo?
You can tell when times are good. Why, you proly pay more for water than gas.
Johnny
For the benefit of Spambots everywhere:
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Paul Guertin
> I just realized my husband is a cultural moron.
> >
> His blank stare told all. He didn't get *one*!!! How could that be? Now,
> these weren't *difficult* movies - I love classics. Here goes:
>
> 1. Squeal like a piggy.
> 2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
> 3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
> 4. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn
Nope, nope, nope, maybe.
Looks like I'm a cultural moron too. Or maybe someone who just doesn't
watch movies very much.
I've heard some of them used before and recognized them as references
to something I didn't know. Is there a word for this? Linker errors,
maybe. Anyway, it happens to me all the time.
Paul Guertin
p...@sff.net
Nostradamus (no longer a Jingleheimerschmidt)
<hmou...@excite.com> wrote:
>Cultural literacy isn't determined by *pop* culture, in my
>opinion, so I'd let your husband off the hook, for now. Of
>course, if he doesn't know the story of the fox and the
>stork, or know who Leibniz was, or know where they have
>Shinto Buddhism, then I'd start to worry.
>--
I suggest we test him with something along these lines:
1. Name the author of Summa Theologica.
2. Provide a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.
3. Name at least one signer of the Declaration of Independence.
4. Who was the Merchant of Venice?
5. Who made the "I Have a Dream" speech?
6. What is polyphony?
7. What is the Hajj?
8. Where is the Belgian Congo?
9. Who was Kong-fu zi?
10. Who is Tracy Marrow?
I'm not claiming this is the perfect list with which to test hubby's
cultural literacy, but I think it ain't bad. What do you say?
GrapeApe
>
>A movie with some inbred guy playing a banjo.
Misquote too I think.
Nostradamus (no longer a Jingleheimerschmidt)
11. What is a clutch basket?
Jay R. Ashworth
to Hawkeye and me and said:
> 1. Squeal like a piggy.
Deliverance?
> 2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
Nope; me neither.
> 3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
Weird Al's video for Amish Paradise?
> 4. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn
The Wind Done Gone.
Cheers,
-- jra
--
Jay R. Ashworth j...@baylink.com
Member of the Technical Staff Baylink
The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think
Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 804 5015
OS X: Because making Unix user-friendly was easier than debugging Windows
Jay R. Ashworth
to Hawkeye and me and said:
> to something I didn't know. Is there a word for this? Linker errors,
> maybe. Anyway, it happens to me all the time.
Precisely.
The code is making a library reference, and you don't have the proper
library loaded.
Mark Brader
I think these two haven't been identified yet:
> What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Cool Hand Luke.
> They call me Mr. Tibbs.
In the Heat of the Night.
--
Mark Brader "I can say nothing at this point."
Toronto "Well, you were wrong."
m...@vex.net -- Monty Python's Flying Circus
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Shawn Wilson
"Kim" <ki...@NOSPAMfamily-net.org> wrote in message
news:Cl9Z6.5561$f4.1...@e420r-atl1.usenetserver.com...
> 1. Squeal like a piggy.
Deliverance
> 2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
Dirty Harry?
> 3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
Pulp Fiction?
> 4. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn
Gone With the Wind.
Shawn Wilson
"Joe Shimkus" <j...@shimkus.com> wrote in message
news:joe-3FF9E2.1...@nntp.ix.netcom.com...
> What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Some prison movie. Brubaker?
> Oh, my God! It's full of stars.
2001: A Space Odyssey.
> Klatu barada nicto.
The Day the Earth Stood Still.
> They call me Mr. Tibbs.
In the Heat of the Night.
> Rosebud.
Citizen Kane.
My questions-
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"Do ya feel lucky?"
"An intelligent carrot?"
Never go against a Sicilian when death's on the line."
"Oh, that's alright, we're married."
"Yippie ki yay, motherfucker."
"I see dead people."
"What's your favorite scary movie."
Dutch Jingleheimerschmidt
>Joe Shimkus wrote,
>> Oh, my God! It's full of stars.
>
>I feel I ought to recognize this one. Is that from 2001,
>when Dave falls into the monolith? Believe it or not, but
>I've never seen that movie from beginning to end.
Huh. But that's kind of the point of cultural literacy. You don't have to have
read "Wealth of Nations," you just have to be able to match Adam Smith to
"Invisible Hand."
>
>> Klatu barada nicto.
>
>Never saw it, but I do know this is "The Day the Earth
>Stood Still."
>
>> They call me Mr. Tibbs.
>
>Um. A quick Google search brings up a forgettable 1970 crime
>flick starring Sidney Poitier.
Forgettable?
>> Rosebud.
>
>Citizen Kane. I started watching it once, and kinda lost my
>enthusiasm about ten minutes into it.
Well, your bad.
-"Ain't gonna hang no picture, ain't gonna hang no picture frame
ain't gonna hang no picture, ain't gonna hang no picture frame
Well, I might look like Robert Ford, but I feel just like Jesse James"
Alan Hamilton
wrote:
>> Joe Shimkus wrote,
>> > Oh, my God! It's full of stars.
>>
>> I feel I ought to recognize this one. Is that from 2001,
>> when Dave falls into the monolith?
>
>Yes.
Nope. In "2001", the camera pans up from the monolith floating in
space, then the streaky light show starts shooting out from a point in
space. There's no dialog.
The line is actually from "2010". They seem to have done a good job
retconning "2001", though, if people are remembering this from the
original picture.
--
/
/ * / Alan Hamilton
* * al...@arizonaroads.com
Dutch Jingleheimerschmidt
>Kim wrote,
>> I just realized my husband is a cultural moron.
>
>Apparently, so am I.
>
>> 1. Squeal like a piggy.
>
>Huh? This is a catch phrase?
I think it's just "pig." Often combined with references to someone having a
pretty mouth.
Deliverance, you turd. Very important movie. People who've never actually seen
deliverance immediately know you're talking about scary rednecks who might be
inbred when you say something about banjo players.
>> 3. I'm going to get medieval on your ass.
>
>Actually, I thought this was a line from WWF.
No, Charlie Verrick, by way of Pulp Fiction.
>
>> 4. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn
>
>Hey! I know that one. "But Rhett, what *am* I going to
>do?" "Eat my grits!"
>
>> When do you know you have failed in cultural literacy
>
>Certainly not when you haven't seen the last twenty years'
>crop of cinematic crap.
Charlie Verrick and Deliverance are older than 20 years, and of course not
properly characterized by "crap."
> Though since I don't recognize your
>references, and since there are a number of movies that I
>wanted to see but never did, I can't tell if they were crap.
But, um...how can you not have figured that out? I mean, I knew the deal with
deliverance before I ever saw it. Everyone knows that's the movie where the
city dwellers are attacked by vengeful rednecks, and Ned Beatty gets raped. How
can you appreciate the Simpsons, for example, if you don't know about stuff
like that?
>
>Cultural literacy isn't determined by *pop* culture, in my
>opinion,
Well, it's not the sum of it, of course, but a fair knowledge of it is...you
know, if you couldn't pick out allusions to Beatles songs or Deliverance, you
know, you'd be at a disadvantage.
>so I'd let your husband off the hook, for now. Of
>course, if he doesn't know the story of the fox and the
>stork, or know who Leibniz was, or know where they have
>Shinto Buddhism, then I'd start to worry.
Nah, that's just exactly backwards. I mean, you're probably not going to see a
newspaper story where a reference to Leibniz is used to quickly convey a lot of
information, but you will see one where Deliverance is used in this way. I
mean, if you had no idea what Star Wars was, or what it was about, you'd
probably have some trouble understanding what is meant when SDI is referred to
as "Star Wars," huh?
Meanwhile, you'll note it's not called "Allegro from the second Brandenburg
Concerto Wars," is it?
Dutch "it's fine not to know things, just don't be proud of not knowing them"
Courage
Dutch Jingleheimerschmidt
>1. Name the author of Summa Theologica.
>2. Provide a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.
>3. Name at least one signer of the Declaration of Independence.
>4. Who was the Merchant of Venice?
>5. Who made the "I Have a Dream" speech?
>6. What is polyphony?
>7. What is the Hajj?
>8. Where is the Belgian Congo?
>9. Who was Kong-fu zi?
>10. Who is Tracy Marrow?
>
>I'm not claiming this is the perfect list with which to test hubby's
>cultural literacy, but I think it ain't bad. What do you say?
Lousy. Hardly any Americans really have to know Confucious's real name.
merchant of venice good, I have a dream good, rest...not so good. Cultural
literacy isn't just knowing a lot of obscure shit, you know.
Mark Brader
>>>> Oh, my God! It's full of stars.
Helge Moulding guessed:
>>> Is that from 2001, when Dave falls into the monolith?
Joe Shimkus said:
>> Yes.
And Alan Hamilton says:
> Nope. In "2001" ... There's no dialog.
> The line is actually from "2010".
Hmm. I guess the original context was movie quotes, which makes Alan
right. However, in terms of general cultural literacy, Joe and Helge
are right. The line *is* originally from "2001: A Space Odyssey" --
the book, not the movie.
--
Mark Brader "It is always dangerous to send authors to jail.
Toronto This removes their chief excuse for not writing."
m...@vex.net -- Arthur C. Clarke
mike
"Bob E." <bob...@halted.com> wrote in message
news:3B35673B...@halted.com...
> JmG wrote:
> >
> > On Sat, 23 Jun 2001 19:11:35 -0400, "Kim" <ki...@NOSPAMfamily-net.org>
wrote:
> >
> > >|2. I'd like to introduce you to my little friend
izzat "say hello to my little friend"?
JmG
Jingleheimerschmidt)) wrote:
>|I suggest we test him with something along these lines:
Okay, without cheating now:
>|1. Name the author of Summa Theologica.
No idea.
>|2. Provide a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.
a2+b2=c2
>|3. Name at least one signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Button Gwinnet
>|4. Who was the Merchant of Venice?
The stereotypical Jew, thanks to Billy Shakespeare
>|5. Who made the "I Have a Dream" speech?
Martin Luther King
>|6. What is polyphony?
A (musical) chord.
>|7. What is the Hajj?
The pilgrimage to Mecca
>|8. Where is the Belgian Congo?
In Africa, though the name has changed.
>|9. Who was Kong-fu zi?
I am forgetful, Grasshopper.
>|10. Who is Tracy Marrow?
I haven't a clue.
J
Oriole Adams
Die Hard, the first one, the only *good* one, and that was thanks to Alan
Rickman.
~ Oriole ~~
The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw...
Jay R. Ashworth
to Hawkeye and me and said:
> going to see a newspaper story where a reference to Leibniz is used
> to quickly convey a lot of information, but you will see one where
> Deliverance is used in this way. I mean, if you had no idea what Star
> Wars was, or what it was about, you'd probably have some trouble
> understanding what is meant when SDI is referred to as "Star Wars,"
> huh?
Knowing anything about the movie isn't likely to help you even one
little bit in figuring out anything about the misguided government
boondoggle.
Cheers,
-- jr 'how does it detect a nuclear mine in a speed boat?' a
Boron Elgar
<hmou...@excite.com> wrote:
>> They call me Mr. Tibbs.
>
>Um. A quick Google search brings up a forgettable 1970 crime
>flick starring Sidney Poitier.
>
Actually, the line was first spoken by Sidney Poitier in the film "In
the Heat of the Night," with Rod Steiger. (1967) The line was then
used as the title of the 2nd film.
Boron
David Wilton
<hmou...@excite.com> wrote:
>> They call me Mr. Tibbs.
>
>Um. A quick Google search brings up a forgettable 1970 crime
>flick starring Sidney Poitier.
The line is originally from "In the Heat of the Night," which is quite
unforgettable and very, very good. The 1970 sequel is indeed
forgettable.
--Dave Wilton
da...@wilton.net
http://www.wordorigins.org