h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ickle-pedia

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"I suspect we could fairly easily re-run this exercise for other genres: books, TV shows, magazines, Theatre, Bands, songs - even other things like celebrities, festivals, even politics maybe. The types of information we would see as essential would be different in each case."

I miss something before starting the exercise. You say
"essential popular culture" I miss the frame, the context, the people who share that culture, who are they?

""Star Wars" came out when I was in my thirties, when I was happy about having moved on from teen angst. I didn't really want to relate to 12-year-old issues any more."

There are no 12-year-old issues in Star Wars. It's the eternal struggle of Good vs. Evil. Order vs. Chaos!

Where, intriguingly, Good takes on the mantle of Chaos and Evil takes on the mantle of Order. Because people don't usually appreciate the problems with Order.

But enough of that. My point is that Star Wars addresses just as many so-called "adult" issues as it does so-called "teenage" issues.

which are those adult and teen issues?

I have been tempted to post here.

This reminds me of the situation in World War II where the Germans trained several groups to pass themselves off as as US servicemen to disrupt their advance. They were given counterfeit uniforms and were taught the speak without a perceivable accent. At least in the films, and probably in fact too, the American soldiers started asking details about American baseball teams and players to reveal the German saboteurs.

This has always bothered me, as I have never had any interest in professional sports, and I probably would have been shot under the circumstances.

F S

I think FS that you would have no problem proving you were American. There are so many little things about America that the rest of us don't know. Who is Walter Kronkite? What does an old-fashioned TV presenter wear? What's a cootie? What's a twinkie? What are the two uses of a mail box? Why are the house numbers so big? And what do you do when you see a school bus stopped on the other side of the road?

>>And what do you do when you see a school bus stopped on the other side of the road?

That depends of if it is a divided highway, with a centre grass island, or just a painted stripe. If there is grass between, you just drive past, but in the latter situation you must stop and wait for all the little dears to find their seats

F S

"There are so many little things about America that the rest of us don't know. Who is Walter Kronkite?"

Beats me.



"What does an old-fashioned TV presenter wear?"

A suit?



"What's a cootie?"

An excuse to fit in with your boyhood peers.



"What's a twinkie?"

Delicious.



"What are the two uses of a mail box?"

1. Receiving mail.

2. Bashing it with a baseball bat.



"Why are the house numbers so big?"

Because everything's bigger in America. USA! USA!



I heard a story once about a guy being stopped at a checkpoint and being asked, "Who was our sixteenth president?" and his response was "I don't know." and without further ado or needless ceremony he was waved right past. Because if he had been a German spy, he would've known the answer.

Now i have to answer them all;

>>"Who is Walter Kronkite?"

Uncle Walter was everyone's favourite News Anchorman. We trusted him, even if we might not have agreed with his views on an issue, we knew he was being honest in the facts. If Walter said it - it was so.

>>"What does an old-fashioned TV presenter wear?"

This is the US, we do not have any 'presenters' we have Anchormen (and much later Anchor Women) on the news, all the rest are Hosts. The men all wear a suit and long necktie, the woman wear a conservative dress that does not expose too much flesh.

"What's a cootie?"

Cooties are disgusting bugs that are carried by people you don't like. Before dating age these are usually a trait of the opposite sex. If you have a disagreement they will re-emerge at any time.

>>"What's a twinkie?"

>> >>Delicious.

Close, but they are really are disgusting sweet cake that are almost indestructible. When mankind has been destroyed only cockroaches and twinkies will remain. They will fit well with each other.



"What are the two uses of a mail box?"

Receiving and sending mail.

The first part is simple, the mail carrier drops your letters in the box. The second part can be a little tricky. If you have a rural mailbox mounted on a post next to the road it has a little red flag you raise if uou have a letter to mail inside. With an urban mailbox you need a spring clothes pin to secure your letter so the postman can see it.

>>"Why are the house numbers so big?"

I did not realize that our house numbers are any bigger than others, but each one needs a unique number. Our auto licence plates are a lot smaller then those in the UK

>> >>I heard a story once about a guy being stopped at a checkpoint and being asked, "Who was our sixteenth president?" and his response was "I don't know." and without further ado or needless ceremony he was waved right past. Because if he had been a German spy, he would've known the answer.

I can believe that, except that our sixteenth President was Abraham Lincoln, What with the whole Civil War thing and freeing the slaves several of us do remember him. Any other number would probably produce a blank stare



F S

"Which are those adult and teen issues? "

Um... lightsabers...


Okay, so, for teenagers --- At its core, the first three Star Wars films are a coming-of-age story for Luke Skywalker who has to cope with a world that's much bigger, much scarier, and completely different from the one in which he grew up. This despite the fact that the world in which he grew up is still a pretty dangerous place, being a brutal desert full of bloodthirsty Sand People, hungry, hungry Krayt Dragons, and all of it overseen by a ruthless criminal mastermind: Jabba the Hutt. (The coolest giant slug in the history of Sci-Fi.)

Luke first decides to become a Jedi because his aunt and uncle are killed. Whatever his motivations would eventually become, he initially joins the Rebellion not for idealistic reasons or out of any kind of altruism, but purely for vengeance. If the Force were really as black and white as Yoda and Emperor Palpatine would have you believe, wouldn't he have been lost to the "Dark Side" right there?



Now, for adults --- It was pointed out in Knights of the Old Republic 2 (an otherwise lackluster and forgettable game) that much of the pain, misery, and death in the galaxy comes, not from the Dark Side or the Light Side of the Force, but from the [word deleted by overly sensitive censors] at the top who keep unceremoniously plunging the galaxy into destructive warfare over which group gets to run the show.

The question arises: Is it really worth it to get millions of people killed so that you can replace a brutal but efficient dictatorship with a previously failed democratic system that failed to address the needs of its citizens and the Jedi can triumph over the Sith?

Or is this all a big waste of energy?



Furthermore: The Rebellion constantly cooperates with and recruits from the galaxy's seedy criminal underbelly. They never have any scruples about it either. Because for them, working with criminals is fully justified for the sake of overthrowing the Empire. And let's face it, warped and twisted as it may be, the Empire is following the law every step of the way. Totally legal.

What are laws really worth?



And so on. I may be back with more later.

Now, for the record, despite what my previous post might have you believe, my actual political views come out in favor of the Rebellion every single time. And also,

"An unjust law is no law at all."

I live in number 45. My brother-in-law in the States lived in something like number 30127. The numbers are bigger because they indicate the nearest junction. In this case it means he lived near 30th Avenue.

>>"Who is Walter Kronkite?"

"Uncle Walter was everyone's favourite News Anchorman. We trusted him, even if we might not have agreed with his views on an issue, we knew he was being honest in the facts. If Walter said it - it was so."


So, basically, what you're saying is: he was an older generation's version of Jon Stewart?

I don't think I have ever had a house number with more than four digits, except when we were living on our sailboat and had to add the pier and slip numbers.

My current address is 7810, as there are less than two dozen homes on our street I suppose it could be less. It does have to do with the grid system, the other houses on longer streets have the same numbers in our area. I guess this sometimes makes it easier to locate for mail and packages.



F S

"Now, for adults...much of the pain, misery, and death in the galaxy comes, not from the Dark Side or the Light Side of the Force, but from the at the top who keep unceremoniously plunging the galaxy into destructive warfare over which group gets to run the show" [Mr. X]

This is something that teens can eagerly relate to, because the in their lives are parents, teachers, and other authority figures. I grant you that the poor and downtrodden adults have to put these figures up against the wall when the revolution comes, but can you picture graying adults being the main demographic in this? It's the younger adults, many of them barely past thei teen years. Think the revolutionaries in "Les Miserables." Not a graybeard among them.

There are a few aging hippies in my country, but they are regarded as pathetic.

>>I live in number 45. My brother-in-law in the States lived in something like number 30127. The numbers are bigger because they indicate the nearest junction. In this case it means he lived near 30th Avenue<<


Aaaaah!

Today I learned something

In Massachusetts, especially the Boston suburbs, there are some very long roads that radiate out [i.e., to the west] from Boston. Beacon Street, for instance, starts near the State House on Beacon Hill. Number One Beacon Street is a tall and important office building. The numbers get larger from there, and continue getting bigger through Brookline. I believe that the numbers start again from one when beacon Street enters Newton. From this, you know that a street address with a low number will be near the eastern edge of a town, and a high number will be near the western edge. Even numbers on the right, odd numbers on the left as you head west.

Oh, you want something for old people, do you? Let me see...

If Obi-Wan and Yoda don't pass along their wisdom soon, then the Jedi will become extinct. Is that something you can relate to?

How 'bout how in Empire Strikes Back, Luke takes off without heeding their advice? Only to regret it later.