An interesting anecdote about two days ago...

[plynch]

Re. the DC anecdote: Those of us posting in an online forum about a sci-fi show probably have little understanding of the world kids grow up in, in extreme poverty, what they know and don't know. A friend did a mission year on west side of Chicago. Kids there didn't know they were near Lake Michigan.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Re. the DC anecdote: Those of us posting in an online forum about a sci-fi show probably have little understanding of the world kids grow up in, in extreme poverty, what they know and don't know. A friend did a mission year on west side of Chicago. Kids there didn't know they were near Lake Michigan.

That doesn't surprise me. Children living in poverty are often extremely limited in what they're able to experience because their family may not have the means to expose them to an environment other than the one they live in. Now, I'd like to believe that technology has helped people overcome some of these limitations, but technology costs money to use and maintain, and if money is an issue for many of these families, it's not surprising- but no less tragic- that many children grow up ignorant of the world around them.

--Sran

 

[Kevman7987]

Hmm. I wonder if the old guy's name is Han? (He shot first)

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

^

--Sran

 

[JarodRussell]

I don't expect non-fannish types to know who "Aeryn Sun" or "Odo" or "Zatanna" are, but Yoda? He's on lunchboxes, paper plates, and greeting cards for Obi-Wan's sake! I thought Yoda was mainstream.

There might as well be just as many things on greeting cards and lunchboxes that "everyone knows" but that you don't know either.

 

[Greg Cox]

I don't expect non-fannish types to know who "Aeryn Sun" or "Odo" or "Zatanna" are, but Yoda? He's on lunchboxes, paper plates, and greeting cards for Obi-Wan's sake! I thought Yoda was mainstream.

There might as well be just as many things on greeting cards and lunchboxes that "everyone knows" but that you don't know either.

Oh, certainly, especially where sports are concerned. Still, I figured "Yoda" was pretty mainstream, so that even if (amazingly) you'd never seen a STAR WARS movie, you'd probably have kids or grandkids who were into the toys and games and such, and would have picked up some of this stuff by osmosis. So that, at the very least, running into someone who is unfamiliar with STAR WARS is rather more surprising than running into someone who has never heard of, say, DEEP SPACE NINE or THE 4400 . . .

On a practical level, it's probably safe to assume that you don't have to explain who "Darth Vader" is when talking to the average person. Unlike, say, Professor Quatermass or Hawkman.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

I remember this...

And my mom thought that "Smallville" was a show about little people. (Really!)

lol

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I've mentioned this before.. my oldest friend has zero idea who any of these people are or what any of these franchises are. Yoda, Spock, she has absorbed none of it.

 

[R. Star]

The fact that you resort to maths to even try and prove 9 out of 10 people don't know a cultural icon from the last 50 years is embarrassing.

Embarrasing? It's just the way it is. Not everyone knows the "icon", and that's perfectly fine.

The people on the high horses are those who chuckle or find it strange when someone doesn't know their "icon".


Entertainment (and pop culture) is indeed a big bubble, but it's still a bubble, and there are A LOT of people who are not in it.

Yeah, I gotta agree. As I said before, not everyone's going to like the same things. You tend to assimilate information you either like or is important to you in someway. For a lot of people it simply isn't Captain Kirk. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a bit high horsed in itself to assume everyone should know about what -you- like, even if you're in the majority... which let's face it, us Trek fans aren't.

I find it a bit surprising I'm being told to take a "chill pill" in the same post that contains phrases like, what is wrong with you people, stupid logic, embarrassing oh and described the chill pill with the adjective fucking. Though I suppose you could be going for irony points there.

 

[-Brett-]

I was driving one day, and saw a dude on the sidewalk wearing coveralls, a bright red, long sleeved shirt and matching bright red hat. I said outloud "Was that Super Mario?" Naturally, the person I was with had no idea who that was.

I'd thought that everyone had at least heard of Super Mario.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

^

--Sran

 

[The Old Mixer]

If it was a young person, I'm not surprised. Captain Kirk probably has a much higher profile amongst people who were watching TV in the 70s and early 80s....There are newer generations of Trek fans who aren't into TOS, so it's not hard to imagine people in the general populace who've never seen it.

Also, I'm not sure what the nature of the call was, but might it have been outsourced to India...?

 

[JarodRussell]

I was driving one day, and saw a dude on the sidewalk wearing coveralls, a bright red, long sleeved shirt and matching bright red hat. I said outloud "Was that Super Mario?" Naturally, the person I was with had no idea who that was.

I'd thought that everyone had at least heard of Super Mario.

Why should they?

It's a blatant misconception that when you and your social environment have heard about a thing that everyone else must have heard about it as well. The world is not a village.

 

[scotpens]

It's a blatant misconception that when you and your social environment have heard about a thing that everyone else must have heard about it as well. The world is not a village.

True, but some fictional characters have near-universal recognition.

 

[The Old Mixer]

^The benefits of being a corporate logo.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

Also, I'm not sure what the nature of the call was, but might it have been outsourced to India...?

Nope. The call occurred within San Francisco, between two people within San Francisco.

True, but some fictional characters have near-universal recognition.

He looks familiar.

It's not Felix the Cat, because he's a mouse....


(I'm joking, of course...Disney is such a worldwide conglomerate now, it's insane).

 

[The Old Mixer]

A little-known fact...long ago, Mickey Mouse used to be a cartoon character!

 

[Jon1701]

I had to give someone my password to set me up on one of the computer systems at work.

The password is "1701D"

There were 4 people in the room. Three of them never batted an eyelid apart from the computer geek (who I don't really know) who gave me a knowing look and quietly nodded his head.

He knew.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

^Well, of course the computer geek would understand.

--Sran

 

[Jon1701]

^Well, of course the computer geek would understand.

--Sran

As I typed I had a sixth sense that he would