6 ms·

I'm ambivalent about the movie but consider it a cultural literacy requirement: you have to watch it once so you can talk about it.

germinalphrase 10y ago
I'm thirty and have never talked about TSOM in a meaningful or public way. Really, my only memory associated with the film is my father humming Edelweiss to comfort me as a child. The film may clearly have that importance for others, but hasn't played that role for me. Which makes me curious what other art/media are important enough to stand in as a cultural literacy requirement? Perhaps, "The Matrix"? I've used it as an entry point for real conversations.
- ashark 10y ago
  I was so ignorant of the movie I didn't even know there were Nazis in it until reading this article. I've already thought of several major pieces of media that were probably influenced by it, just based on the article's description, not counting parodies and more direct references. I definitely ought to have watched it, and now I will.
- phillmv 10y ago
  >Which makes me curious what other art/media are important enough to stand in as a cultural literacy requirement? The cultural cannon is rather large and you're likely steeped in it whether you realize or not! Pierre Bayard rather humourously explores this in "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read" https://www.amazon.com/Talk-About-Books-Havent-Read/dp/1596915439 https://www.amazon.com/Talk-About-Books-Havent-Read/dp/15969..., to wit: The important thing behind the cannon isn't that you necessarily have consumed every bit of the media but that you at least know what position it occupies in the culture and your position relative to it - what signals your peers send when they discuss a given piece of art. The most accessible example of this is watching The Simpsons or Family Guy: most of the time you see them make pop cultural references they're, arguably, pointing to entries in the cannon.

germinalphrase 10y ago

I'm thirty and have never talked about TSOM in a meaningful or public way. Really, my only memory associated with the film is my father humming Edelweiss to comfort me as a child. The film may clearly have that importance for others, but hasn't played that role for me. Which makes me curious what other art/media are important enough to stand in as a cultural literacy requirement? Perhaps, "The Matrix"? I've used it as an entry point for real conversations.

ashark 10y ago
I was so ignorant of the movie I didn't even know there were Nazis in it until reading this article. I've already thought of several major pieces of media that were probably influenced by it, just based on the article's description, not counting parodies and more direct references. I definitely ought to have watched it, and now I will.
phillmv 10y ago
>Which makes me curious what other art/media are important enough to stand in as a cultural literacy requirement? The cultural cannon is rather large and you're likely steeped in it whether you realize or not! Pierre Bayard rather humourously explores this in "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read" https://www.amazon.com/Talk-About-Books-Havent-Read/dp/1596915439 https://www.amazon.com/Talk-About-Books-Havent-Read/dp/15969..., to wit: The important thing behind the cannon isn't that you necessarily have consumed every bit of the media but that you at least know what position it occupies in the culture and your position relative to it - what signals your peers send when they discuss a given piece of art. The most accessible example of this is watching The Simpsons or Family Guy: most of the time you see them make pop cultural references they're, arguably, pointing to entries in the cannon.