What knowledge does the average American need in order to effectively interact with their culture? Which idioms, allusions, and references are necessary in order to understand and communicate with each other? Those are questions English professor E.D. Hirsch examined in his controversial and influential book Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Included with his argument for why “cultural literacy" was necessary, Hirsch presented a list of 5000 items which included such items as phrases (“Go West, young man."), historical references (the Alamo), and literary allusions (The Emperor’s New Clothes).
Hirsch’s list and subsequent Dictionary of Cultural Literacy are invaluable tools for developing a framework of references for understanding Western culture. But while Hirsch includes items from pop culture, the list tends to favor anachronistic and dated references that are already rather common (i.e., Santa Claus). Such terms are often so widely shared that their definition and connotation are easily discerned. What is needed today, however, is a list that includes material from popular culture that is more relevant and for whose meanings are harder to find.
Perhaps you overhear the slang terms “whips" and “ice" in a rap song. Where do you turn to find a relevant definition? Unless you are familiar with hip-hop terminology, how will you know the terms are references to “cars“ and “diamonds?" Where would you go to find out about references to the Soup Nazi, the comics of Alan Moore, Kevin Smith films, or the allusions in a Radiohead song?
At a minimum, developing pop cultural literacy requires knowing what references a person should be familiar with. But that requires knowing what should be known. The Pop Culture Literacy Project is a modest attempt at compiling jsut such a list of items. While there’s no Platonic list that includes all the allusions needed to understand culture, I believe there are common references that would be required for a person to be reasonably fluent in the language of pop culture.
By tapping into the collective wisdom of the blogosphere, a useful list of terms and definitions can be compiled. That's why I need your help in answering the question, "What references are essential for pop culture literacy?" The comments section in each category will be open for suggestions and recommendations on how that question should be answered. Feel free to list the terms that you feel should be included along with any commentary that you wish to add.
If you prefer to offer a definition or explanation for what is significant about the item, you can write about it on your own blog and submit the link to me either in the comments or by email. I’ll include your link under both the main body of the category and in the main dictionary page.
Please submit the entries under the appropriate category. The comments section of this post will be reserved for comments and suggestions on the project itself.
