Wednesday, October 20, 2010

AND HE SMELLS LIKE STRAWBERRIES: Michael Cieply of the NYT wonders why it's been so long since a movie line became ubiquitous in our culture like the ones on the American Film Institute's Top 100 Movie Quotes list.

18 comments:

  1. Jordan9:07 AM

    Sheeeeit, we have to go back.  (That's what she said)

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  2. The closest to ubiquity from a film in recent years has been impressions of Dug from Up.  Squirrel!

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  3. Melba C. Toast9:28 AM

    "I wish I knew how to quit you." Often misquoted, which I'd say bolsters its claims to ubiquity

    And the article mentions "I drink your milkshake". These are the biggest 2 from the 2000s, in my opinion.

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  4. Eric J.9:44 AM

    "You stay classy, San Diego"

    "I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!"

    "You know how I know you're gay..."

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  5. Meghan9:46 AM

    Maybe because there are other accessible media sources that give us memes much more quickly?  For instance, I'm seeing a lot of, "You are so dumb.  You are really dumb.  For real," these days.  And I love it every time I see it.

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  6. Eric J.9:49 AM

    Also:

    "THIS IS SPARTA!"

    "Why so serious?"

    "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

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  7. Andrew9:55 AM

    "I've had it with these [monkey-fighting] snakes on this [monday-to-friday] plane" isn't ubiquitous? But I guess you could say that it doesn't actually originally come from the movie, since the Internet was quoting that line before it was even in the film. See: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1219727,00.html

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  8. It's a memorable line, but I don't know that it has entered conversations generally.  I was thinking about some of RDJ's stuff in Tropic Thunder the same way.

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  9. Jordan10:15 AM

    my point being that tv (and the internet as well) has taken over for movies in terms of quotability.  also quality.

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  10. If someone asks if you want to go to Starbucks and you say "we don't have enough time for a handjob," it really helps if they've seen Idiocracy.

    Also, "cuss this" is in frequent rotation.

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  11. isaac_spaceman10:54 AM

    I think Melba and Eric J. have nailed the big four (I would not include "you know how I know you're gay?").  But if anyone is looking for a reason why it seems like there are fewer recent quotes that have entered the popular lexicon, isn't it true that the dominant writing style in the 2000s and beyond tends to favor more circular, wordy patter and frequently mocks the catchphrase-laden writing of the 1980s and 1990s? 

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  12. And the memes probably fall out of favor much faster these days, too, given how far and wide they spread.  People remember "I'm Rick James, bitch!" or "Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch?"  but they became obnoxiously ubiquitous and totally uncool.  

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  13. "Not so much" started with Borat?

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  14. Carrie12:18 PM

    You know what's cool? A billion dollars.

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  15. Professor Jeff2:49 PM

    Actually, in a misguided attempt to be hip, I used "I drink your milkshake" the other day in a lecture on extractive industries (rule of capture, underground petroleum deposits, etc.).  Unfortunately, I think only two or three students really got the reference.  Small sample size, yes, but maybe that one's not as widely known as we might think.

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  16. That's what I thought.

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  17. Genevieve4:42 PM

    I definitely picked it up from Mad About You. 

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  18. isaac_spaceman9:03 PM

    Jeffrey Goldberg and Alana Newhouse attribute the phrase to "the Jews." 

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