Board 8 > Is there a more ingrained piece of pop culture (in America) than...

(+) Yeah! (+)

...The Wizard of Oz.

I was thinking about this, and I can't think of much else where virtually every line, every moment, could be quoted or referenced and many people would know instantly what you're talking about. I mean, sure, a song or something would work, but I'm looking at longer form pieces of culture.

I don't know the term for this, but I'm also kind of fascinated by the concept of phrases like Stepford Wife, which originate as something from a cultural product and then eventually become part of the vernacular without consciously referring the original work. Does that make sense? I feel as if The Wizard of Oz has a ton of these too.

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I actually once asked one of my classes if everyone had seen Star Wars, and when almost no one had, I asked if they'd seen Wizard of Oz, and almost no one had. The movie I found with the highest number of kids who'd watched it was Titanic, and that was only because the girls all had.

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as far as entertainment goes, hard to think of something that ingrained itself more.

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Yeah it might have been a few decades ago but probably not anymore

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I submit to you good sir, the night batman's parents were murdered

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MZero posted...

Yeah it might have been a few decades ago but probably not anymore

It's very much the result of a shift in the way we consume entertainment.

Also partly due to the simple passage of time. The movie is over 80 years old; there are no more kids whose parents grew up with it, either in theaters or on CBS or NBC.

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Captain America got this reference.

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The Wizard of Oz is a great answer. Other strong contenders include The Simpsons, The Godfather and Thriller (the album; I know you mentioned songs were "iffy" as answers).

You could also make a strong case for Romeo and Juliet, despite that obviously not being an American work per se.

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The problem is that we used to pass down movies. Kids of the 40s watched The Wizard of Oz, so their children in the 60s watched it, so their children in the 80's and 90's watched it.

But there's too much media today. We were once limited to only 6 or 7 TV shows before cable. We didn't have 8 billion content creators at our fingertips on the internet. We certainly didn't have streaming services. So cultural awareness has become way too fragmented, and there's this massive divide between pre-internet and post-internet. Sure, you can find movies that weren't originally digital on Netflix, but you have to seek them out.

I've made this argument before regarding video games, but it's far more true for other components of culture. I suspect the answer is going to be something that's not actually a movie, which has been handed to younger generations because it's important, goshdarnit! Like, I dunno, the moon landing or something. That doesn't have quite the same imprint on most of us born after the 60's, but at least we know about it.

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The Phantom Menace

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Sesame street?

No I think Wizard of Oz is the big one still. The under 20 crowd might be too far removed to know it well but old people still exist. Even speaking of songs it'd be tough to find a more recognizable (American) tune than Over The Rainbow.
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Unless you are talking about specific pieces of media, superheroes and cartoons like Mickey Mouse and Looney Tunes have this beat. Predate Wizard of Oz, are more culturally relevant, and show no signs of going anywhere anytime soon. I would also argue that American superheroes and cartoons have a larger impact on pop culture outside of the US.

Wizard of Oz is pretty strong though and might be true based on the criteria you seem to have in mind. Alice in Wonderland was something else that came to mind, but that isn't American.

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Superman.

Does Wizard of Oz have an MMA move? I don't think so.

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

Predate Wizard of Oz

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NFUN posted...

My bad, was thinking of just the movie

Would still argue everything else is true

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azuarc posted...

The problem is that we used to pass down movies. Kids of the 40s watched The Wizard of Oz, so their children in the 60s watched it, so their children in the 80's and 90's watched it.

But there's too much media today. We were once limited to only 6 or 7 TV shows before cable. We didn't have 8 billion content creators at our fingertips on the internet. We certainly didn't have streaming services. So cultural awareness has become way too fragmented, and there's this massive divide between pre-internet and post-internet. Sure, you can find movies that weren't originally digital on Netflix, but you have to seek them out.

I've made this argument before regarding video games, but it's far more true for other components of culture. I suspect the answer is going to be something that's not actually a movie, which has been handed to younger generations because it's important, goshdarnit! Like, I dunno, the moon landing or something. That doesn't have quite the same imprint on most of us born after the 60's, but at least we know about it.

Great analysis. I remember as a kid having vhs tapes of almost all the disney movies throughout the decades. Now most kids today havent even seen the Renaissance movies, much less anything before that. although the advent of Disney+ and the live action remakes has maybe changed that a little bit.

There is definitely more media than ever before, specifically more low quality content media. Kids can spend hours just watching crap on Youtube. Not even tv or movies. Just crap from different people's channels. Media overload just doesnt leave any time for the classics.

I would say Wizard of Oz was a great answer maybe circa year 2000. But not anymore. That along with Mary Poppins and other icons of old are finally being laid to rest, and by the next generation will just be obscure trivia.

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Maybe this day and age the simpsons

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I think the Simpsons are less culturally relevant than they've ever been!

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guffguy89 posted...

Kids can spend hours just watching crap on Youtube. Not even tv or movies. Just crap from different people's channels.

Hey man
Having a base set in video game videos, egirls and animated internet shorts is way more solid then actual products.

20 years from now they will quote animated memes about that time the egirl sold her bathwater while playing fortnite.

Right up there with 'theres no place like home' imo

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my cousin's kids are dressed as characters from oz and it's 2020 so i guess so

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A lot of boomers in this topic btw

Just because there is MORE media today doesn't mean nothing will endure. People still consumed crap media in the 1930s we've all forgotten about too.

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

A lot of boomers in this topic btw

Just because there is MORE media today doesn't mean nothing will endure. People still consumed crap media in the 1930s we've all forgotten about too.

Bullshit. Wizard of Oz is being talked about in this very topic.

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Assuming it's still the most popular kid's play (IIRC my junior high did it), then I'm sure the youth of today are still getting plenty of exposure to it.

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scarletspeed7 posted...

Bullshit. Wizard of Oz is being talked about in this very topic.

holy shit

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