I ran across this article today in the Washington Post and was immediately drawn in.
The topic was interesting to an old-timer who has experienced having to retire "go-to" cultural references over four decades of teaching. I got a lot of mileage out of my amateurish Steve Martin impressions and injecting lines like, "Someone must hate these cans."
Trust me, but that line is perfect for so many occasions when pointing out woeful ignorance is required.
BTW, the headline for this post is another line from the same film, and without context doesn't make much sense.
If the audience has not seen "The Jerk," such references elicit nothing but blank stares.
If you haven't heard about the Keystone Cops, you might have found the opening paragraph of the Post article puzzling. And adding that explanatory second graf is not very satisfying, in the same way that being forced to stop and explain all the components of joke might be.
I'm not sure exactly how much time it takes for a cultural reference to become dated, like the Cops, but my guess is that I learned about the originals from my parents or grandparents. I am fairly certain that my own children did not hear about them from me... and those old black and white films don't appear on even the most obscure cable networks. But I saw them on TV sometime in the 1950s.
In the high school classroom, I learned that no matter how "perfect" a cultural reference might be in explanations or assignments, insisting on dated references was doomed. I can't tell you how many teen-oriented TV programs I watched over the years in a never-ending quest to remain relevant. It was tough to tell whether my teen audience was impressed or creeped out, but at least they could follow along.
Maybe old age comes when we simply give up the quest.
But it is also possible to "get ahead" in terms of cultural references. There are many times when I am watching the Samantha Bee show "Full Frontal," and I simply don't get some names or event references. I assume they involve some pop culture figure and that Ms. Bee's writers have chosen to highlight the hippest references, appealing to an younger audience.
When I don't "get it" I sometimes fire up a web browser and look it up. More often, I just mentally shrug and wait for what comes next, not really bothered by whatever I missed.
Having an audience not be bothered to understand our references is NOT a good strategy for any writer or performer.
But I know I am guilty of "getting ahead of things" when I wax poetic about "Ted Lasso," a show that requires Apple TV to access. NO matter how earnestly I recommend the show and try to capture its appeal, the audience won't really get it until THEY see the show.
In the classroom, my solution occasionally was to bring in a video that contained the origins of whatever I felt was an indispensable cultural reference (like something from early seasons of The Simpsons). Then we could all imagine being members of "the cool kids" club.
I often argued that one reason we studied Shakespeare was so we could "get the jokes," since so many cultural references refer to the Bard.
For writers looking for cultural references, the secret is to find the "sweet spot" that works for a particular audience. If your audience is quite broad, consider avoiding certain material.
As always, it's all about audience and purpose.
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