Breaking Pop Culture!
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- oduguy22
- Swimming with the Jeopardy! Fishes
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Breaking Pop Culture!
Hello, i have a question for you guys, especially those of you well versed in pop culture. When i was younger i never really was a pop culture junkie, much of the 90s and early 00s i never focused on fashion, food/drinks, lingo, music, TV, movies and other random things besides stuff that i really liked, read or just heard randomly, but still there is so much more out there. I always was more academic with my trivia knowledge anyways. So i'm curious if there were some you guys that have been in a similar boat, how did you make up for lost time and catch up with knowledge of pop culture, especially pre 2000s? Or even if you are a pop culture junkie, how did/do you get so strong in it? What resources do you use? I have been working the backlog with a combination of wiki, IMDB, and youtube for a lot of things, but there is still so much out there that i can't even think of just trying to find out. I know the Simpsons is a good source of pop culture but are there any other recommendations out there that encompasses a wide variety of pop culture knowledge that i could potentially pick up that i can use to find new things. The one thing i am already pretty strong in concerning pop culture would be sports but still most things from the pre 1990s is not in my generation. Pop culture is much different than academics since it is much more fluid. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
- triviawayne
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
Depending on what trivia you're playing, I wouldn't worry about pre-1990 pop culture, especially if you're looking to improve your Jeopardy scores since there isn't too much asked from that era anymore.
Total game show career losings = $171,522
- MarkBarrett
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
Entertainment Weekly is a good starting point as that magazine by its nature covers Movies, TV, & Music along with Books, Stage, and sometimes Video Games. Some issues will cover things of the past so it's not always only current week things exclusively.
If you are a YouTube person then look for those VH1 things of "I Love the..." for different years and decades.
The J! Archive should be used to review clues of the past since the material gets recycled. The Seinfeld clue from last week is an example of one show the writers like. Put "Seinfeld" into the search box and it's a much more efficient use of time to scan the clues than watching a bunch of episodes.
A starting point for Music is matching song & artist and not going nuts trying to get up to speed on lyrics. Use yearly best of lists.
For Movies start with Best Picture, Actor & Actress lists.
If this is for J! then pop culture is one or two categories at best? Don't sweat it and get by with what you know and then starting today try add some new habits.
The "starting today" approach is read a newspaper(s) and spend a little more time on whatever section in the past has been skimmed over the most. If you see a list take the extra minute to give it a little more attention whether bestselling books, top movies at the box office, top 10 TV shows in the ratings, music singles, etc.
For a TV approach to pop culture it's a matter of what one can stomach. Pick a talk show with entertainment field guests whether daytime or late night.
For those good at multitasking then do something useful like work a crossword puzzle and have one one of these shows on:
Entertainment Tonight
The Insider
Access Hollywood
TMZ
Extra
Pop Culture can also be learned from click bait that comes up on the computer.
The other approach to pop culture is to hate it. Watch only PBS and listen to classical musical.
If you are a YouTube person then look for those VH1 things of "I Love the..." for different years and decades.
The J! Archive should be used to review clues of the past since the material gets recycled. The Seinfeld clue from last week is an example of one show the writers like. Put "Seinfeld" into the search box and it's a much more efficient use of time to scan the clues than watching a bunch of episodes.
A starting point for Music is matching song & artist and not going nuts trying to get up to speed on lyrics. Use yearly best of lists.
For Movies start with Best Picture, Actor & Actress lists.
If this is for J! then pop culture is one or two categories at best? Don't sweat it and get by with what you know and then starting today try add some new habits.
The "starting today" approach is read a newspaper(s) and spend a little more time on whatever section in the past has been skimmed over the most. If you see a list take the extra minute to give it a little more attention whether bestselling books, top movies at the box office, top 10 TV shows in the ratings, music singles, etc.
For a TV approach to pop culture it's a matter of what one can stomach. Pick a talk show with entertainment field guests whether daytime or late night.
For those good at multitasking then do something useful like work a crossword puzzle and have one one of these shows on:
Entertainment Tonight
The Insider
Access Hollywood
TMZ
Extra
Pop Culture can also be learned from click bait that comes up on the computer.
The other approach to pop culture is to hate it. Watch only PBS and listen to classical musical.
- threearruda
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
I'll drop my $0.02 as I understand how the OP feels; I am younger than most (if not all) of the folks on this board and understand some of the "challenges" described.
Mark hit it right on the head by suggesting, for movies, to start with Oscar winners. A lot of my (albeit very small) movie knowledge comes from looking over best actresses/actors/pictures lists. I recall sweeping a movie directors category and getting a triple stumper Final right about Eddie Redmayne watching J! earlier this year... That would have never happened had I not devoted a couple weekends in 2016 to the movies section of the World Almanac. That book has a nice compact section with the lists and other popular titles (movies and TV, IIRC) that should get you going in the right direction in that field.
Adding on to the "Start today" approach, another thing that helps me sometimes is pay attention to commercials when you watch TV - if you watch sports like I do this is easy. Lots of older/fading into obscurity celebrities will make appearances to pitch products. MC Hammer is a new spokesman for 3M.. identify him and google search him. Lou Bega has been part of some insurance commercials lately, and now I know he sang Mambo #5. Aaron Rodgers' latest series of State Farm ads features the song "Believe it or Not", which I now know is The Greatest American Hero theme and a #2 hit by Joey Scarbury. Learning about one of those guys can get you curious about another guy the wiki article mentions, starting a chain reaction of sorts. I don't think I'd know Rick Springfield without first encountering Dexys Midnight Runners. Dumb stuff like that can make a difference.
One more piece that helps me - I've been a listener of the Elvis Duran Morning Show for several years, and they are a pop culture based show. I can say with absolute confidence that I have gleaned entertainment facts from their show that I would not know otherwise. You may want to listen to Seacrest's American Top 40 too, which can be a pop culture trivia gold mine (though regretfully I haven't listened in some time). Recent J! information I learned from Seacrest includes Aloe Blacc's full name. And once you start to hear songs on repeat like every top 40 station in the world, artists and songs will become more familiar to you.
Most importantly, remember that you got good at trivia by being a curious person who wants to know information about all sorts of things in the world. Continue to keep your eyes and ears open to all the new things you can, welcome the new into your life! In my experience, if you're committed and take it bit by bit, the holes will slowly start to fill themselves in later. It just takes time, patience and diligence, but the results will come in time. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can.
Good luck!
Mark hit it right on the head by suggesting, for movies, to start with Oscar winners. A lot of my (albeit very small) movie knowledge comes from looking over best actresses/actors/pictures lists. I recall sweeping a movie directors category and getting a triple stumper Final right about Eddie Redmayne watching J! earlier this year... That would have never happened had I not devoted a couple weekends in 2016 to the movies section of the World Almanac. That book has a nice compact section with the lists and other popular titles (movies and TV, IIRC) that should get you going in the right direction in that field.
Adding on to the "Start today" approach, another thing that helps me sometimes is pay attention to commercials when you watch TV - if you watch sports like I do this is easy. Lots of older/fading into obscurity celebrities will make appearances to pitch products. MC Hammer is a new spokesman for 3M.. identify him and google search him. Lou Bega has been part of some insurance commercials lately, and now I know he sang Mambo #5. Aaron Rodgers' latest series of State Farm ads features the song "Believe it or Not", which I now know is The Greatest American Hero theme and a #2 hit by Joey Scarbury. Learning about one of those guys can get you curious about another guy the wiki article mentions, starting a chain reaction of sorts. I don't think I'd know Rick Springfield without first encountering Dexys Midnight Runners. Dumb stuff like that can make a difference.
One more piece that helps me - I've been a listener of the Elvis Duran Morning Show for several years, and they are a pop culture based show. I can say with absolute confidence that I have gleaned entertainment facts from their show that I would not know otherwise. You may want to listen to Seacrest's American Top 40 too, which can be a pop culture trivia gold mine (though regretfully I haven't listened in some time). Recent J! information I learned from Seacrest includes Aloe Blacc's full name. And once you start to hear songs on repeat like every top 40 station in the world, artists and songs will become more familiar to you.
Most importantly, remember that you got good at trivia by being a curious person who wants to know information about all sorts of things in the world. Continue to keep your eyes and ears open to all the new things you can, welcome the new into your life! In my experience, if you're committed and take it bit by bit, the holes will slowly start to fill themselves in later. It just takes time, patience and diligence, but the results will come in time. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can.
Good luck!
J! S39 - 1/27-2/1. '24 ToC ???
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5x TD champ - 7x TD host
- AFRET CMS
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
Aha -- I think you nailed my problem.triviawayne wrote: ↑Mon Dec 04, 2017 3:53 pm Depending on what trivia you're playing, I wouldn't worry about pre-1990 pop culture, especially if you're looking to improve your Jeopardy scores since there isn't too much asked from that era anymore.
PRE-1990 pop culture, especially pre-1980, is close to being a wheelhouse category for me. Post-2000 pop culture, on the other hand, leads to a lot of blank looks.
"Kardashian? Isn't that a Star Trek DS-9 alien species? I don't remember them being interested in basketball players"
I'm not the defending Jeopardy! champion. But I have played one on TV.
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
I think I see the problem (since I share it). We know pop's (as in grandpop's) culture. Not pop culture.AFRET CMS wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 1:54 pmAha -- I think you nailed my problem.triviawayne wrote: ↑Mon Dec 04, 2017 3:53 pm Depending on what trivia you're playing, I wouldn't worry about pre-1990 pop culture, especially if you're looking to improve your Jeopardy scores since there isn't too much asked from that era anymore.
PRE-1990 pop culture, especially pre-1980, is close to being a wheelhouse category for me. Post-2000 pop culture, on the other hand, leads to a lot of blank looks.
"Kardashian? Isn't that a Star Trek DS-9 alien species? I don't remember them being interested in basketball players"
--Peter
- Blue Lion
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- oduguy22
- Swimming with the Jeopardy! Fishes
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
Thanks for the starting points, i am going through the I love... shows and cross-referencing what i can find, and work from there. Also, I appreciate you seeing where i come from, there is so much pop culture that has happened in the past and it's just overwhelming to figure out what is important and what isn't. Not as cut and dry as academics. I know Jeopardy continuously likes to mix in little hints from past pop culture to get answers. Also i do play a lot of quiz bowl and it's been a constant weakness of mine that i want to correct. It'll be a bit of catchup but i am willing to put in the work!
- zerobandwidth
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
"POP CULTURE" in J! followed by "POP'S CULTURE" in the same column in DJ! sounds like a category gimmick the writers might do for real someday.Peter the accountant wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:16 pmI think I see the problem (since I share it). We know pop's (as in grandpop's) culture. Not pop culture.AFRET CMS wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 1:54 pmAha -- I think you nailed my problem.triviawayne wrote: ↑Mon Dec 04, 2017 3:53 pm Depending on what trivia you're playing, I wouldn't worry about pre-1990 pop culture, especially if you're looking to improve your Jeopardy scores since there isn't too much asked from that era anymore.
PRE-1990 pop culture, especially pre-1980, is close to being a wheelhouse category for me. Post-2000 pop culture, on the other hand, leads to a lot of blank looks.
"Kardashian? Isn't that a Star Trek DS-9 alien species? I don't remember them being interested in basketball players"
Battle of the Brains contestant, 1995-1997
Jeopardy! match 34:13, 2017-09-27
LearnedLeague: PatersonP (LL76: D Summit Div2)
The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.
— from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
Jeopardy! match 34:13, 2017-09-27
LearnedLeague: PatersonP (LL76: D Summit Div2)
The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.
— from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
Would one of them cover the Popsicle? Or maybe the sound effect balloons in the old Batman TV show? (Biff!, Pop!, Kazow!) Or bubbles popping?zerobandwidth wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:01 pm"POP CULTURE" in J! followed by "POP'S CULTURE" in the same column in DJ! sounds like a category gimmick the writers might do for real someday.Peter the accountant wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:16 pm I think I see the problem (since I share it). We know pop's (as in grandpop's) culture. Not pop culture.
--Peter
- Volante
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
"Wearing one of these on your belt was the style at the time."Peter the accountant wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:44 pmWould one of them cover the Popsicle? Or maybe the sound effect balloons in the old Batman TV show? (Biff!, Pop!, Kazow!) Or bubbles popping?zerobandwidth wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:01 pm"POP CULTURE" in J! followed by "POP'S CULTURE" in the same column in DJ! sounds like a category gimmick the writers might do for real someday.Peter the accountant wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:16 pm I think I see the problem (since I share it). We know pop's (as in grandpop's) culture. Not pop culture.
The best thing that Neil Armstrong ever did, was to let us all imagine we were him.
Latest movies (1-10): An Autumn Afternoon (7), Europa Europa (7), Tampopo (9), Baby Doll (6)
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
Volante wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:11 pm"Wearing one of these on your belt was the style at the time."Peter the accountant wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:44 pmWould one of them cover the Popsicle? Or maybe the sound effect balloons in the old Batman TV show? (Biff!, Pop!, Kazow!) Or bubbles popping?zerobandwidth wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2017 4:01 pm"POP CULTURE" in J! followed by "POP'S CULTURE" in the same column in DJ! sounds like a category gimmick the writers might do for real someday.Peter the accountant wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:16 pm I think I see the problem (since I share it). We know pop's (as in grandpop's) culture. Not pop culture.
Spoiler
What is a pop gun?
--Peter
- rouquinne
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Re: Breaking Pop Culture!
*giant thumbs up*
One thing that helps me is this site: http://www.440int.com/twtd/today.html
I read the list for a given day - it's good for celebrity births/deaths and major events.