Pop culture fiction is a genre of fiction where stories are written intentionally to be filled with references from other works and media.[1][2][3] Stories in this genre are focused solely on using popular culture references.[4]
Criteria[edit]
Some works in the genre use pop culture references to elicit nostalgia among its consumers, while other examples have the whole setting and universe themselves built upon and revolves around pop cultural references (sometimes even relying on well-known and/or obscure pop culture references as humor as in the case of the cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000).[1][5][6][7][8] Pop culture fiction doesn't just reference one or two titles, but works under this genre reference several titles across different genres and media.[9][4]
Many types of postmodern works and modern-day homage, metafiction, satires and parodies fall under this category.[1][4] But unlike more typically comedic satires and parodies, pop culture fiction contains depth and serious themes, with many even garnering critical acclaim.[9] Many stories inspired by games and geek culture have also been examples.[10] According to author Gary Westfahl, works under this genre demand an "aura of immaturity, of incompleteness, while projecting no pretenses."[11]
This genre should not be confused with Pop culture non-fiction, which are researches, encyclopedias, and other academic works focused on the study and analysis of pop culture, rather than stories centered around pop culture references.[12][13]
Examples[edit]
Notable pop culture fiction books[edit]
- One of the oldest and longest-running example is Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, which takes place in an alternate history where Count Dracula became the King of Great Britain. Over the years, the series began to incorporate or reference famous fictional characters from Spider-Man to Scooby Doo.[9]
- Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho (both the book and film) became one of the earliest examples of this genre with its endless use of brands and criticism on business and mindless consumerism.[2]
- Ernest Cline's Ready Player One and Ready Player Two which extensively use 1980s pop culture as its themes.[1][5][6][14]
- Louis Bulaong's Escapist Dream and its sequel Otaku Girl are novels that genre-busts popular geek culture and topics into one virtual reality story.[1][15]
- Chris Fox's The Dark Lord Bert is a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired gamelit filled with pop culture references.[10][4]
- Gideon the Ninth by Tansyn Muir is a science fantasy book that had references taken from popular internet memes and quotes.[9]
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is a coming-of-age novel featuring the relationships of the Avery siblings, two individuals who are writers and fans of fantasy books. The book known for its use of references from the fantasy genre, such as bookending chapters with the titles of many famous fantasy series.[16]
List of pop culture fiction authors[edit]
- Bret Easton Ellis
- Ernest Cline
- Louis Bulaong
- Chris Fox
Notable pop culture fiction films[edit]
- Jean-Luc Godard's Band of Outsiders (1964) was influenced by Golden Age B-movie film noirs and Westerns[14]
- Blazing Saddles (1974)[17]
- Phantom of the Paradise (1974)[14]
- Young Frankenstein (1974)[18]
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) satirizing epic cinema[19]
- Life of Brian (1979) satirized Biblical epic cinema[19]
- Airplane! (1980)[17]
- Spaceballs (1987)[18]
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)[20]
- Army of Darkness (1992)[14]
- True Romance (1993)[17]
- Clerks (1994)[21]
- Pulp Fiction (1994), the critically beloved Cannes-winning multi-genre film that drew numerous aspects of popular culture.[22][14]
- Scream (1996)[17]
- Swingers (1996)[17][23]
- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), the hip-hop gangster film infusing Japanese warrior culture with influences of filmmakers Jean-Pierre Melville and Seijun Suzuki.[17]
- Galaxy Quest (1999)[24]
- Scary Movie series (2000-2013)[17]
- The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (2004-2013)[14]
- Ted (2012)[25]
- The Editor (2014)[17]
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)[17]
- The aforementioned American Psycho (2000) and Ready Player One (2018)
- Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)[26]
- Free Guy (2021)[9][4]
- Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)[27]
- Once Upon a Studio (2023)[28][29][30]
- Wish (2023)[31]
- Animated franchises, such as Spider-Verse (2018-present),[32] Wreck-It Ralph (2012-2018), Hotel Transylvania (2012-2022), Shrek (2001-present), The Lego Movie (2014-present) and Toy Story (1995-present)[17]
List of pop culture fiction filmmakers[edit]
List of pop culture fiction in comic format[edit]
- Scott Pilgrim which used various 1980s gaming references.[1]
- Warren Ellis's Planetary.[1]
- Outside of Western media, works such as Hayate The Combat Butler and Gin Tama have also become famous examples.[1]
List of pop culture fiction in television[edit]
- Saturday Morning All Star Hits![35][36]
- The aforementioned Mystery Science Theater 3000[8]
- Animaniacs[37]
- Seinfeld[38]
- WandaVision[39]
- X-Men '97
- Community[40]
- Stranger Things[41]
- Arrested Development[42]
- Futurama[43]
- The Simpsons[44]
- Rick and Morty[45]
- Robot Chicken
- Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
- South Park[46]
- Family Guy[47]
See also[edit]
- Pop art
- Postmodernist literature
- Parody film
- Satire (film and television)
- Retro style
- Vaporwave
- Synthwave
- History of animation
- Cinephilia
- Crossover fiction
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kidd, Dustin. Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media, and Society. Routledge; 2nd Edition (Updated: August 2020). pp. 143–145. ISBN 978-0813350875. Excerpt
- ^ a b Pickard, Kevin (19 January 2016). "Should Fiction Be Timeless? Pop Culture References in Contemporary Novels". Electric Lit. January 19, 2016
- ^ Editorial. "Popular Culture in Literature". Enotes. May 5, 2015
- ^ a b c d e Sweden, Stephen R. (12 November 2022). "Pop Culture in Literature: Styles, Themes, and Genres". New York University.
- ^ a b Alexander, Jonathan. The Uses and Abuses of Pop Culture in Ready Player One and Grandmother's Gold (July 7, 2020)
- ^ a b Martin, Emily (3 April 2018). "CAN'T GET ENOUGH RP1? TRY THESE 25 BOOKS LIKE READY PLAYER ONE". Book Riot. April 3, 2018
- ^ Jubas, Kaela (16 March 2015). "Profs explore what pop culture fiction teaches us about health care". University of Calgary. March 24, 2017
- ^ a b Returning 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' was a pre-Internet web series - Austin American-Statesman
- ^ a b c d e Mountain, John. "The 5 Best Pop Culture Fiction". Substack. August 23, 2023
- ^ a b Almond, John (8 July 2021). "The Dark Lord Bert: A Quirky Video Game Literature". Gonevis. July 8, 2021
- ^ Westfahl, Gary. Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture: Coming of Age in Fantasyland. Praeger; 1st Edition (April 30, 2000). pp. xi–xii. ISBN 978-0313308475
- ^ Malatesta, Mark (10 February 2019). "Pop Culture Definition – Complete List of Book Genres". Book Genre. February 10, 2019
- ^ What is “Pop Culture Narrative Nonfiction”?
- ^ a b c d e f g The 10 Best Movies That Are Full of Pop Culture References - Page 2 - Taste of Cinema
- ^ Hannigan, Carl. "Otaku Girl (Book Review): Where Memes and Literature Mix". Voice Media Group. July 1, 2021
- ^ Zutter, Natalie. "The Best Sci-fi and Fantasy Books About Pop Culture Fandom". Den of Geek. August 23, 2023
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The 10 Best Movies That Are Full of Pop Culture References - Taste of Cinema
- ^ a b c 10 Mel Brooks Jokes Modern Audiences Wouldn't Understand
- ^ a b How 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' Influenced Film By Satirizing It - The Atlantic
- ^ Drawn That Way: 10 Behind The Scenes Facts About Who Framed Roger Rabbit - CBR
- ^ a b Clerks: 10 Ways It Established Kevin Smith's Style|ScreenRant
- ^ Pulp Fiction at 20: How a phenomenon was born - BBC Culture
- ^ Double Down: Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn Take Another Swing With 'Made' - Screens - The Austin Chronicle
- ^ Hoffman, Jordan (July 23, 2014). "'Galaxy Quest': The Oral History". MTV.com. MTV Networks (Viacom International Inc.). Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ^ Ted movie review & film summary (2012)|Roger Ebert
- ^ Every Piece of IP That Appears in Space Jam: A New Legacy|GQ
- ^ Price, Joe (May 20, 2022). "Listen to Post Malone's Theme Song for New 'Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers' Movie". Complex Networks. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Mccall, Kevin (2023-09-21). "'Once Upon a Studio' Trailer Celebrates 100 Years of Disney Magic". Collider. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ Steele, Bruce C. (October 10, 2023). "Meet the Characters of Disney Animation's Once Upon a Studio". D23. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ Croll, Ben (June 11, 2023). "Annecy Opens on Note of Artistic Defiance as Disney Premieres Centenary Short Once Upon a Studio". Variety. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023.
- ^ Polowy, Kevin (2023-11-15). "As Disney turns 100, 'Wish' filmmakers stacked new animated movie with more than 100 Easter eggs". Yahoo. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ^ SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE EASTER EGGS AND FUN FACTS|Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Edgar Wright: "I am a film school reject. Twice!"|Features|Roger Ebert
- ^ Askew Facts About The Films Of Kevin Smith|Fascinate
- ^ Keller, Joel (December 10, 2021). "Stream It Or Skip It: 'Saturday Morning All-Star Hits!' On Netflix, Kyle Mooney's Twisted Tribute To Kids Show Lineups Of The '80s And '90s". Decider. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ The Obsessive Brilliance of Saturday Morning All Star Hits! – Nathan Rabin's Happy Place
- ^ Animaniacs: 10 Funniest References You Didn't Get As A Kid - Screen Rant
- ^ Seinfeld: 10 Pop Culture References New Fans Won't Understand - Screen Rant
- ^ All the WandaVision Easter eggs you may have missed, from sitcom references to comics callbacks|EW.com
- ^ 10 Best Pop Culture References In 'Community' - Collider
- ^ Stranger Things 4's Most Significant '80s References - Vulture
- ^ The 20 Most Obscure ‘Arrested Development’ Pop Culture References - UPROXX
- ^ The Sci-Fi References We'd Love To See In Futurama's Return - Game Rant
- ^ The Simpsons: 10 Old Pop Culture References That Still Aged Perfectly - Screen Rant
- ^ All the Rick and Morty Easter Eggs You Missed in Seasons One and Two|TIME
- ^ The Philosophy of ‘South Park’ References - Tastefully Offensive
- ^ Family Guy "Something, Something, Something Anniversary" Giveaway|WIRED
