4 ms·

Thanks to the Cape Feare episode of the Simpsons that I watched way back in 1993, I understood references to Scorsese and Gilbert & Sullivan that I couldn't rea

by dfxm12 3y ago

Thanks to the Cape Feare episode of the Simpsons that I watched way back in 1993, I understood references to Scorsese and Gilbert & Sullivan that I couldn't really explain to adults at the time... I think if you watch whatever the kids are watching, you'll find there are little references here and there to stuff the writers enjoy. These little moments, often non-sequiturs, tend to stick out, maybe because they seem a little out of place.

NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
I've been collecting movies for my Plex server for a few years, and I went through the phase where I was getting all the classic movies, all the Oscar-nominated movies for every calendar year, etc. And I stumbled on a movie I would never have watched. But in reading the synopsis for it, I recognized a reference I had picked up as a small child from what was either the very late 1970s or maybe early 1980s. For less than a year (I'd imagine), everyone must have been making jokes about "Turkish prisons". The kind of thing that stand up comedias on Carson would have joked about, SNL, etc. And I overheard one of those jokes (or several), filed it away, and never figured it out. Midnight Express (1978). It's funny to me, there have been other such instances. Only took me 40-some years to solve.
- idontwantthis 3y ago
  I only knew the reference from Airplane! A few years after.
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
    Oh, maybe that's where I heard it. I remember what age I first heard it, but couldn't place the reference.
    - v64 3y ago
      Thanks for sharing this! I also knew the Airplane reference, but assumed it was some kind of non-sequitur or a joke about a Turkish stereotype I was unfamiliar with.
      - idontwantthis 3y ago
        I also had no idea it was a reference to another movie! I thought Turkish prisons were just known for some sexual connotation.
- dfxm12 3y ago
  I always wanted to watch the movie, not because of the critical acclaim, not because I want to see graphic prison scenes, but because of the Giorgio Moroder score. The wrestling tag team Midnight Express, Dennis Condrey and Beautiful Bobby Eaton, managed by Jim Cornette used the main theme as their entrance music, and Art Bell used it to introduce his radio program. I figured if these guys, who I was a fan of, were so into it (whether they were actually into the movie, only wanted to piggyback off its success, or just liked the song, I don't actually know), I should check it out. The last straw that made me actually watch it was when my gf happened to live around the corner from an all night diner that we went to a lot named "Midnight Express". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD4Ks_EMQBY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD4Ks_EMQBY
  - jstarfish 3y ago
    The Midnight Express theme song is pinned on my "strutting" playlist. It's a great story but if Moroder is your only interest in it, you're probably going to be disappointed (I like crime/thriller/escape movies myself). The song itself plays in an early scene and the rest of the movie is pretty bleak.
- slyall 3y ago
  The 1982 song "Some People (Have All The Fun)" was a minor hit in Australia, New Zealand. It includes the lyrics: A Oh mumma make me happy, send me lots more cash Don't worry, I saw the Midnight Express thirty-six times And I know where to keep my stash Young me took a few years to understand the reference.
lotsoweiners 3y ago
Completely agree. My kids watch lots of Spongebob, Teen Titans Go, etc and there are so many pop culture references from before their time and before mine even. Reminds me of how much I learned about older things from watching the Simpsons as a teen.

by dfxm12 3y ago

NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago

I've been collecting movies for my Plex server for a few years, and I went through the phase where I was getting all the classic movies, all the Oscar-nominated movies for every calendar year, etc. And I stumbled on a movie I would never have watched. But in reading the synopsis for it, I recognized a reference I had picked up as a small child from what was either the very late 1970s or maybe early 1980s. For less than a year (I'd imagine), everyone must have been making jokes about "Turkish prisons". The kind of thing that stand up comedias on Carson would have joked about, SNL, etc. And I overheard one of those jokes (or several), filed it away, and never figured it out. Midnight Express (1978). It's funny to me, there have been other such instances. Only took me 40-some years to solve.

idontwantthis 3y ago
I only knew the reference from Airplane! A few years after.
- NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
  Oh, maybe that's where I heard it. I remember what age I first heard it, but couldn't place the reference.
  - v64 3y ago
    Thanks for sharing this! I also knew the Airplane reference, but assumed it was some kind of non-sequitur or a joke about a Turkish stereotype I was unfamiliar with.
    - idontwantthis 3y ago
      I also had no idea it was a reference to another movie! I thought Turkish prisons were just known for some sexual connotation.
dfxm12 3y ago
I always wanted to watch the movie, not because of the critical acclaim, not because I want to see graphic prison scenes, but because of the Giorgio Moroder score. The wrestling tag team Midnight Express, Dennis Condrey and Beautiful Bobby Eaton, managed by Jim Cornette used the main theme as their entrance music, and Art Bell used it to introduce his radio program. I figured if these guys, who I was a fan of, were so into it (whether they were actually into the movie, only wanted to piggyback off its success, or just liked the song, I don't actually know), I should check it out. The last straw that made me actually watch it was when my gf happened to live around the corner from an all night diner that we went to a lot named "Midnight Express". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD4Ks_EMQBY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD4Ks_EMQBY
- jstarfish 3y ago
  The Midnight Express theme song is pinned on my "strutting" playlist. It's a great story but if Moroder is your only interest in it, you're probably going to be disappointed (I like crime/thriller/escape movies myself). The song itself plays in an early scene and the rest of the movie is pretty bleak.
slyall 3y ago
The 1982 song "Some People (Have All The Fun)" was a minor hit in Australia, New Zealand. It includes the lyrics: A Oh mumma make me happy, send me lots more cash Don't worry, I saw the Midnight Express thirty-six times And I know where to keep my stash Young me took a few years to understand the reference.

lotsoweiners 3y ago

Completely agree. My kids watch lots of Spongebob, Teen Titans Go, etc and there are so many pop culture references from before their time and before mine even. Reminds me of how much I learned about older things from watching the Simpsons as a teen.