->'''Soujirou:''' Oh, [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII back then]], Bison was dressed up as Mike Tyson. Pretty cool.\\
'''Konata:''' Who's Mike Tyson?\\
''(later that day)''\\
'''Soujirou:''' Today, I felt the generation gap in a deep and very personal way.
-->-- ''Manga/LuckyStar'' Manga vol. 6

-> Wait...[[TheBeatles Paul McCartney]] was in a band BEFORE ''Wings''?
-->-- Popular joke from the late 70s.

This is a subversion of PopculturalOsmosis. When used in-universe, it's usually as a means of showing the difference between people from two different groups (usually generations) in which a character from Group A makes a pop culture reference (or mentions a famous person or movie or work) and one of four things happens:

# "Who's X?" -- The person from Group B doesn't get it at all because of a failure of PopculturalOsmosis. This seems to be the most common.
# "Oh, X! He was in Y, right!" -- The person from Group B ''gets it wrong'' because of a failure of PopculturalOsmosis (and he's guessing).
# "Wait, Y was based on a real X?" -- The person from Group B gets it wrong because of a ''clash'' of PopculturalOsmosis, and he's [[TheWeirdAlEffect referencing something that referenced the original]], [[LostInImitation referenced a reference]] [[OlderThanTheyThink of the original, etc.]]
# "Impressive, you know X... oh, you don't" -- The person from Group B gets it wrong because of a clash of PopculturalOsmosis, when person A is referencing something more recent (the reverse of 3).

This can happen because the person from Group B:

* A) is a bumpkin or is otherwise cut off from modern pop culture;
* B) is an outsider of the clique or subculture or is an immigrant or [[FunnyForeigner foreigner]];
* C) is old-fashioned and not knowledgeable of current popular culture;
* D) is young and [[IveHeardOfThatWhatIsIt the bit of pop culture]] is (relatively) old;
* E) is [[InTheOriginalKlingon amusingly]] [[FishOutOfTemporalWater displaced]] from the time of origin;
* F) simply is not familiar with a genre or a work;
* G) the work itself is [[FanMyopia thought to be so popular]] that all who know it think it will be passed on through PopculturalOsmosis -- with the result that it ''isn't''.

Note that A-F can go both ways (for example, someone too old to know Music/BritneySpears or The Music/BackstreetBoys may have fond memories of ''Series/ILoveLucy'' or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman%27s_Hermits Herman's Hermits]]), and G is the natural conclusion of PopculturalOsmosis, when even AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame is forgotten (along with ''TheCryingGame'' itself) except for the [[TropeNamers trope name]] itself, rendered a NonIndicativeName.

This, by the way, is the reason character-named tropes are often renamed. For example, if you're not familiar with original SherlockHolmes tales, you won't know who InspectorLestrade is; if not well-read in 19th-century French literature (or [[AllMusicalsAreAdaptations Broadway musicals]]), InspectorJavert may be unknown to you.

With the advent of cable television, the internet, and more things to do in less time, this is becoming more and more TruthInTelevision. Most everyone in the US watched ''Series/ILoveLucy'' because it was one of three television choices; not everyone watches ''AmericanIdol'' because it's one of a thousand television choices.

One of the many, many reasons for NotSelfExplanatory.

Compare SeinfeldIsUnfunny, AdaptationDisplacement, ForgottenTrope, ItsBeenDone, FleetingDemographicRule, RecognitionFailure, PopCultureIsolation, LampshadedTheObscureReference.

Contrast: ItWasHisSled, AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame, and especially PopculturalOsmosis.

!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

!!!Type 1

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' #1 (2010 series), Lady Blackhawk (a time traveller from World War 2) doesn't get a reference to "PuttingTheBandBackTogether". However, she has been in the present long enough to understand one to {{Twitter}}.
* Agent 355 from ''ComicBook/YTheLastMan'' never gets pop culture references; at the end, when Yorick brings up ''{{Moonlighting}}'' he explains what it is "before you ask". [[spoiler: In the DistantFinale, set 60 years after the rest of the story, when Yorick asks his young clone, if he knew that [[ElvisPresley Elvis]] [[BookEnds had a twin brother]], he asks: "Who's Elvis?"]]
* Using in-universe media, ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'' sees this happen to Spider Jerusalem. When a band comes up on the TV, he mentions an earlier musician that did the same genre better, then asks Channon if she's heard them:
-->'''Channon:''' My dad liked him...
-->'''Spider:''' Christ. ''Never'' tell me I'm old.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''
** Little Rock doesn't know who WillieNelson is, much to Tallahassee's horror.
** Or who BillMurray is, ALSO to Tallahassee's horror.
-->'''Little Rock:''' Who’s Bill Murray?\\
'''Tallahassee:''' Alright, I’ve never hit a kid before. I mean that’s like asking who Gandhi is.\\
'''Little Rock:''' Who’s Gandhi?
** Also done in reverse with a hilarious scene where Little Rock is trying to explain the concept of ''Series/HannahMontana'' to Tallahassee, which crosses into RealLife, as that scene was, in fact, the two actors just talking as they left the camera running.
* ''Film/TheRunningMan'': "Who's Mr. Spock?"
* In ''Film/SisterAct 2'', Delores wants to hear her students sing, so she singles them out and has them sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb". One girl doesn't know it. Yet oddly enough, she ''does'' know the theme from ''TheLoveBoat''. This is truth in television for a lot of first and second generation immigrants.)
* ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'': Generational differences are a major theme in this belated sequel, and so variations of this come up frequently. For instance, Justin Long's character fails to understand what "Fortunate Son" by Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival is -- to him, it's noise. (The writers and [=McClane=] are hit with IsntItIronic here, but oh well...)
* ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'': Owen Wilson's character says he hates when someone says Music/JethroTull [[IAmNotShazam is the name of the lead singer]]. The psychiatrist asks back "Who is Jethro Tull?"
* This exchange from ''NottingHill'':
-->'''William:''' Is this your first film?\\
'''Actress:''' Well... actually, it's my 22nd!\\
'''William:''' Any favorites among the 22?\\
'''Actress:''' Working with Leonardo.\\
'''William:''' [=DaVinci=]?\\
'''Actress:''' [=DiCaprio.=]\\
'''William:''' Of course. And is... is he your favorite Italian director?
* In ''How Do You Know'', George tells Lisa how his mother left his father after watching ''Film/KramerVsKramer'', but she's never seen the movie, and doesn't get why his story was supposed to make her see him in a different light.
* Occurs in ''Jolly Roger: Massacre at Cutter's Cove'' when a character brings up ''Film/DirtyHarry'' ("Dirty who?")
* Dirty Harry also causes puzzlement in ''Film/RedHeat''.
-->'''Ridzik:''' Captain Danko, congratulations. You are now the proud owner of the most powerful handgun in the world.\\
'''[[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Danko]]:''' Soviet Podbyrin, 9.2 millimeter, is world's most powerful handgun.\\
'''Ridzik:''' Oh, come on, everybody knows the .44 Magnum is the big boy on the block. Why do you think Dirty Harry uses it?\\
'''Danko:''' Who is Dirty Harry?
* In ''Film/IAmLegend'', Anna doesn't know BobMarley (but apparently knows his son Ziggy).
* ''Film/TheAvengers'': FishOutOfTemporalWater CaptainAmerica has only a blank expression when Phil Coulson drops StephenHawking's name in a conversation. Used from the other perspective when Thor mentions an animal from Asgard that Coulson has clearly never encountered. Later, Cap is happy when he gets a ''[[Film/TheWizardOfOz Wizard of Oz]]'' reference that is lost on Thor.
* Subverted in ''Film/{{Taken}}''.
-->'''Bryan Mills:''' Who's Music/{{Beyonce}}? ''({{beat}})'' Just kidding.
* In the 2003 version of Film/FreakyFriday, Tess (in Anna's body) complains that she "looks like Music/StevieNicks." Anna replies, "[[TomboyishName Who's he?]]"
* In ''Film/{{Ted}}'', John's ringtone for his girlfriend Lori is [[StarWars "The Imperial March"]]. And even though that basically became a StandardSnippet for evil characters:
-->'''Lori''': Is that my ringtone? What is that? Cause it sounds negative.\\
'''John''': No. I-it's from ''Film/TheNotebook''.
* Denis Domaschke in ''GoodbyeLenin'' is a West Berlin amateur filmmaker showing off his talent to Alex Kerner, his East Berliner co-worker just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He displays a wedding video he made referencing ''[[ASpaceOdyssey 2001ASpaceOddity]]'' - which Alex has never seen or heard of due to cultural isolation.
* ''Film/TheWorldOfHenryOrient'' is about two young teenage girls, Valerie and Marian, who develop a crush on concert pianist Henry Orient. Valerie's mother finds out and gets Valerie into trouble, which Marian doesn't appreciate. Boothy brings up her own childhood crush on John Barrymore, and Marian asks, "Who's he?"
-->'''Boothy''': [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Excuse me, it's later than I think]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* This is both the title and the subject of Robert Cormier's ''Bunny Berigan -- Wasn't He a Musican or Something?'', much to the dismay of the Berigan fanboy who serves as the protagonist.
* ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}: Legion'':
--> Barclay grunts softly. "''[[Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds War of the Worlds]]''."\\
Gould blinks. "Huh?"\\
"Nineteenth-century novel," Barclay says.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* In a ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' episode, the Janitor tells Eliot that he changed the address in his personel file to "[[Series/TheAddamsFamily 1 Cemetery Lane]]" because Dr. Kelso keeps calling him "Lurch". Eliot just looks at him in polite incomprehension.
* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
-->'''Shirley:''' You remind me of [[Series/{{Cheers}} Sam and Diane]]... I hated Sam and Diane.\\
'''Anne:''' Who are Sam and Diane?\\
'''Shirley:''' ''(furious)'' Okay, I get it! You're young!
** Another example is when they are suggesting Abed change his personality:
-->'''Abed:''' You're gonna ''Can't Buy Me Love'' me. You know, transform me from [[TrainingMontage Zero to Hero]], GeekToChic?\\
'''Troy:''' ''Ohhhhh'', he wants us to ''Love Don't Cost a Thing'' him.\\
'''Shirley:''' Ohhh!\\
'''Troy:''' ''Film/CantBuyMeLove'' was the remake for white audiences.\\
'''Shirley:''' That's so uncomfortable when they do that, I can't believe they didn't insult anyone.
* Temperance "Series/{{Bones}}" Brennan's CatchPhrase for virtually any PopCulture reference: "I don't know what that means." (She notably ''did'' know who [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Stewie]] was when it came up.) She is sliding from Type 1 to Type 2, albeit slowly. In one episode, she tries to console Sweets (who's just broken up with his girlfriend) by offering to take him to the [[GretzkyHasTheBall "bowling rink"]]....
* ''Series/{{Lost}}''
** Sawyer constantly uses pop-culture references in his sarcastic quips and derisive nicknames. This backfires when he calls another character "Bobby", and specifies that he's referring to ''Series/TheBradyBunch'', only to get the response "What the hell is ''The Brady Bunch''?" This exchange implies that the character grew up on the island and has little knowledge of the outside world.
** Sawyer himself fell victim to this in a Season 6 episode where Hurley mentioned Anakin, prompting a response of "Who the hell is Anakin?".
* Sam on ''Series/QuantumLeap'' occasionally fails to get Al's pop-culture references, such as in "Glitter Rock," when he doesn't know who [[Music/TheWho Pete Townshend]] is, leading to a WhosOnFirst exchange. This is mostly due to time-travel-related memory loss, although (as in this example) it might occasionally occur just because Sam is a huge nerd.
* The scene in ''Series/{{Angel}}'' (which, not by chance, is similar to the Captain America example, above) where the green-skinned demon Host of Caritas reveals that his actual name is Lorne:
-->'''Lorne:''' Though I generally don't go by that because -- Green. ''(points to his face)''\\
'''Cordelia:''' Huh?\\
'''Angel:''' ''(smiles)'' Right. Lorne Greene. ''(Cordelia and Wesley stare at him)'' ''{{Bonanza}}''? Fifteen years on the air not mean anything to anyone here? Okay, ''now'' I feel old.
** Holtz is warned about this when he's brought forward in time to the present day. He takes any strange references in stride:
-->'''Recruit''': So, what, you're going to go all [[TheKarateKid Mr. Miyagi]] on me?
-->'''Holtz''': You will find that your modern pop culture references are lost on me.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
** Giles is unaware of Spider-Man or Jimmy Olsen. Spider-Man came out in America in 1962, when Giles would have been about 8, if we go by Anthony Head's age. Giles has likely ''heard'' of ''Franchise/{{Spider-Man}}'' and ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'', but doesn't know any details about them. He never gave any indication that he read comic books/watched American cartoons as a kid, so there's no reason to suppose he's lying just to maintain his image as Stuffy British Man. (There's definitely reason to suppose he's lying about never having done magic prior to becoming Buffy's Watcher...)
* ''Series/CriminalMinds''
** Apparently, Reid's never heard of the sitting in a tree song. He's also completely unaware of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''.
** And then there's this:
-->'''Rossi:''' This from someone whose favorite album is Music/TheBeatles' ''White Album''.\\
'''Hotch:''' Just because Manson liked it doesn't mean that it has to be ruined for the rest of us.\\
'''Reid:''' That's why I stick to Beethoven. No chance of negative associations.\\
''(beat)''\\
'''JJ:''' ... really? You've never heard of a movie called ''Film/AClockworkOrange''?
** Hilariously subverted by Rossi, who knows Niko Bellic is a character from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto''.
* ''Series/CornerGas''
** When Emma delivers wise words to her son Brent, he tells her, "You're like Yoda." Emma replies, "I don't know what that means."
** And Emma again, explaining that Brent's father is a "Trekkie" (i.e., he's a fan of Neil Diamond).
* Happens all the time in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' with Penny not getting the geeky references.
** In one episode, Penny sees failure while asking some regular pop-culture questions to Sheldon and Leonard ("Singer who sang 'Oops!... I Did It Again'?"). Best summed up by:
-->'''Penny:''' [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Tweety Bird]] tawt he taw a what?\\
'''Sheldon:''' [[Franchise/StarTrek Romulan]]?[[note]]This is a bit of BitingTheHandHumor against Creator/WarnerBros, which owns both ''Big Bang'' and ''Looney Tunes''.[[/note]]
** Sheldon will often not get references of popular subjects he deems to be beneath him.
-->'''Sheldon:''' I know everything about the universe.\\
'''Penny:''' What is Music/{{Radiohead}}?\\
'''Sheldon:''' ''(pause)'' I know everything ''[[TakeThat important]]'' about the universe.
* In the ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' episode "Archie and the Computer", Mike complains about the increasing role of computers in society:
-->'''Mike:''' Pretty soon, we're not gonna be names, just numbers! It's ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''!\\
'''Archie:''' Eh, shut up, you don't even know what year is!
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The Empty Child", Rose jokingly refers to the Doctor as "Mr. Spock". Jack, who's from the future, doesn't get the reference and assumes it's actually the Doctor's name.
* Happens a lot in ''Franchise/StarTrek'' due to the various alien races interacting with a mostly human main cast. The largest examples are Data's various failures in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and Kira being frustrated several times by Sisko's references to baseball and never having heard of Captain Kirk in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** In the episode "Bad Guys", Cameron compares someone to John [=McClane=]. Daniel doesn't understand. Teal'c, who is not even from Earth, explains, ''Film/DieHard''.
** Vala also regularly complains about her teammates using Tau'ri pop culture references, which she never get.
* Comes up twice in StargateAtlantis, both time involving Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Dr. Keller. First, in "Trio", Colonel Carter uses Brian Greene and Neil DeGrasse Tyson in a game of "Who would you rather?", explaining to Keller that she chose physicists who were on TV so Keller should know them (she doesn't.) A season later, in "Brain Storm", Tyson introduces himself to Keller and adds "from television" when she seems confused.
* In one episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Robin mentioned several canadian celebrities in a row, none of which her friends knew about.
-->'''Barney:''' What's the ''opposite'' of name dropping?
* In the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Stranded" Elaine quotes the line "Maybe the dingo ate your baby?" from ''A Cry in the Dark''. The woman she's saying it to doesn't get the reference.
* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': In "Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man", the African visitor compares a situation in a laundromat to ''Series/{{Friends}}''. Monk assumes that it is an African TV program.
** Also, in "Mr. Monk Gets Lotto Fever," Natalie tries to teach Monk that their friendship is comparable to Simon and Art Garfunkel, to no avail as Monk is unfamiliar with the duo, mistaking Garfunkfel for ''Garfield'' and for a ''carbuncle''.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': In "Last Call," the eponymous character is quite disappointed when nobody gets his ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' reference:
-->'''Beckett:''' Any chance he [the VictimOfTheWeek] went overboard?
-->'''Lanie:''' Classic indicators point to deliberate blunt force, so I’d say no. This was no boating accident.
-->'''Castle:''' Then we'd better close the beaches.
-->''[Beckett and Lanie stare at him blankly]''
-->'''Castle:''' No boating accident? Chief Brody? Hooper?
-->''[They still don't get it]''
-->'''Castle:''' Seriously?
* A bit character in ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' thought one of his employees was childish for being into video games; said employee apparently ran a ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' message board in his spare time. After he insults [=McGee=] by assuming (correctly) that he's into ''dweeby'' role-playing games, [=McGee=] responds, "I used to, but then I took an arrow to the knee." The guy looks confused and glances at [=McGee's=] legs.
* In ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', Olivia doesn't get Peter's reference to [[{{Ghostbusters}} crossing the streams]].
* Castiel, of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' as he is a LiteralMinded angel, much to PopCulturedBadass Dean's annoyance. From an episode that deals with CartoonPhysics:
-->'''Dean:''' [[LooneyTunes It's wabbit season]].
-->'''Cas:''' I don't think you pronounced that correctly.
* In ''Series/TheNanny'' episode "Material Fran", when Maggie talks to Fran about going to a concert with her boyfriend:
-->'''Maggie:''' Fran, I need a favor. Billy Harper wants to take me to a concert.
-->'''Fran:''' Oh, great, what concert?
-->'''Maggie:''' You wouldn't know them...
-->'''Fran:''' Maggie, how old do you think I am?
-->'''Maggie:''' The Music/StoneTemplePilots?
-->'''Fran:''' I'm 100...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* In the Music/{{Weezer}} song "El Scorcho", the singer sees this as another attractive trait of the girl he's wooing: "I asked you to go to the Music/GreenDay concert. You said you'd never heard of them. ''How cool is that?''"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''FoxTrot'': In one strip, Jason is musing about winter and makes references to ''TheEmpireStrikesBack'', ''TheAbyss'' and ''{{Terminator}} 2''; none of which mean anything to his father. Roger then remarks on how one particular cloud looks like [[RoyRogers Trigger]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/VinceMcMahon apparently doesn't watch TV very often. He didn't understand that Wrestling/ScottHall's Razor Ramon gimmick was a homage to ''Film/{{Scarface}}'' and thought he made it up himself. He also didn't understand that Paul Birchill's pirate gimmick was a homage to ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* ''Series/{{Mongrels}}'': In episode 3, cat Marion's JailBait girlfriend Lollipop fails to understand references to ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', [[Series/{{Friends}} Ross and Rachel]], and ''GavinAndStacey'' because she is just that young, making it a type 1D.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIII'', Vanille doesn't know who the Primarch of Cocoon is. Sazh has to explain, after wondering aloud if she fell asleep during History or something.
* In ''MassEffect'', Liara doesn't get the reference when Kaidan jokes that it's always best to RTFM before pushing buttons.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* TVTropes: This is the reason that many tropes named after characters got [[RenamedTropes renamed]] (for example, [[Literature/EncyclopediaBrown Bugs Meany Is Gonna Walk]] to ConvictionByContradiction.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/PvP'': [[http://www.pvponline.com/2001/10/18/ This strip]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/867-5309/Jenny Explanation]], in case you don't get it either.
* [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=236 This page]] of ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', where it indicates that Annie barely knows anything about pop culture because (as we learn elsewhere) she grew up in a hospital.
-->'''Kat:''' Welllll, he's not ''perfect!'' I mean, he thinks Music/TheProdigy's ''Fat of the Land'' is better than ''Music for the Jilted Generation''.\\
''(Antimony thinks about this for [[BeatPanel a panel]])''\\
'''Antimony:''' I have no idea what you just said.
** Antimony is similarly confused when Kat refers to "the ''PrincessMononoke'' look you got going on!"
* The comic ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' had this happen with Grace when confronted with a Santa look-alike. Of course, this is someone who was [[RaisedByWolves cut off enough from society]] to ask the question "World War Two?! How many have we had!?"
** Another example:
-->'''Raven''': Have you considered [[LordOfTheRings Mount Doom]]? I'm sure we could rustle up some sacrificial hobbits...\\
'''Abraham''': I... What?\\
'''Raven''': Mount Doom? A fictional volcano? How ''dare'' you survive to this age and not get that reference.
** And again, same story:
-->'''Damien''': Who are you?
-->'''Elliot''': Tell me your name, horse master, and I will tell you mine.
-->'''Damien''': Horse master?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Much of the humor in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' is derived from the fact that Omi [[RaisedByWolves has lived his entire life in the Xiaolin temple with virtually no exposure to the outside world]], meaning that he usually has no clue what the other characters in the show are talking about.
** Later in the series, Omi will frequently attempt to make a pop culture reference or use a common figure of speech but badly misword it, prompting another character to correct him, only for Omi to misinterpret the actual reference.
-->'''Omi:''' ''(taunting the villain)'' Defeating you will be a piece of pie.\\
'''Clay:''' Cake, you mean a piece of cake.\\
'''Omi:''' Cake? This is no time for food.
** In one instance, Omi miswords one of his attempted references so badly that none of the other characters can figure out what he was actually trying to say.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' Brian once took Frank Sinatra, Jr. out club hopping, where his attempts to flirt with one vapid young woman fall completely flat because she doesn't recognize any of the names Sinatra keeps dropping. Brian has intervene and stop the increasingly frustrated Sinatra from backhanding the girl.
** Brian himself had this happen when he attempted to hit on another vapid girl, mentioning that he's an author. It falls flat as the girl appears to have no idea what ''books'' are, leading Brian to resorts to explaining it's like an iPad made out of paper.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Stan's repeated bafflement at things Steve mentions probably is the reason they haven't bonded well. Notably, during a father-son road trip when Stan needed a door to complete the [=DeLorean=] he was restoring, he's continuously annoyed and confused when Steve drops references to ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', which he claims to have never heard of.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons 2011'' episode; when Cheech and Chong are making a reunion tour -- ironic considering ''The Simpsons'' ran throughout the 90s, but ComicBookTime may apply:
-->'''Bart:''' Who the hell are Cheech and Chong?\\
'''Homer:''' Cheech and Chong were the [[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead Beavis and Butt-Head]] of their day!\\
'''Bart:''' Who are Beavis and Butt-Head?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* TruthInTelevision: A teacher didn't think a kids choir needed to have the lyrics or music to the song "One Tin Soldier" since those kids should have [[SeenItAMillionTimes heard it a million times]] and learned it through PopculturalOsmosis. They hadn't, resulting in a very awkward moment on performance day.
* As described on our very own page for ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', in the entry for BelligerentSexualTension: "When describing Brooklyn and Katana's relationship in "Timedancer", [creator] GregWeisman mentioned [[Series/{{Cheers}} Sam and Diane]]. No-one got it. Then he mentioned [[Theatre/MuchAdoAboutNothing Beatrice and Benedick]]. ''That one'' people got, which should tell you a lot about the kind of fans this show has."
* On the 4/4/13 episode of ''[[DavidLetterman Late Show with David Letterman]]'' guest Martin Short told about a group shot taken of the "5 Time Hosting Club" for ''SaturdayNightLive''. He noted SteveMartin tweeted with the picture. "If you recongnise any of these people, you are over 50 years old.".
[[/folder]]

!!!Type 2

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* From ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'':
-->'''A.J.:''' Have you ever heard of Evel Knievel?\\
'''Lev:''' No, I never saw ''Franchise/StarWars''.
* ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'': When John [=McClane=] finally gets to "Warlord"'s place, his reluctant ally tries to pass him off as another of the culture, which fails fast. Notable is when [=McClane=] fails to recognize a cutout of Boba Fett and tries to cover it by saying he's only familiar with ''Franchise/StarWars''. ([=McClane=]'s smirk seems to suggest he's just screwing with "The Warlord" with that one.)
* In ''Film/{{Waxwork}}'', one of the young people asks if the Phantom of the Opera figure's mask is the original from the movie, and the owner is surprised that someone made a movie about the Phantom. It's implied that the owner is not merely pop-culture clueless, but that he knows the Phantom ''actually existed'' in the movie's Verse and is amazed Hollywood would resort to filming his tale.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Tony on ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' is a major movie buff and is constantly quoting movies. In one episode he loses his voice from overexertion. Ducky throws his quoting habit back in his face with, [[Film/TopGun "Your ego's writing checks your body can't cash."]]
--> '''[[BadassIsraeli Ziva]]:''' Oh, I know that one! Um, ''GoneWithTheWind''!\\
'''Tony:''' ''(cringes and groans)''
* A RunningGag in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' is that J.D. refuses to admit he knows nothing about sports, so when other characters make sports references he tries to join in and gets them completely wrong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Fountains of Wayne's "I'll Do the Driving" includes an example, although the subject of the song makes the mangled reference without any prompting:
-->''We're out, the jukebox plays "Jumping Jack Flash"\\
She says "I love Johnny Cash, the man in red"\\
I turn my head and pretend not to hear what she said''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* [[http://www.venisproductions.com/angelmoxie/archives/1/5/154.html This]] exchange in ''Webcomic/Angel Moxie
--> '''MR. KYOKASHO:''' Well, you know Doogie Howser?\\
'''TRISTAN:''' What's that? A kind of meatloaf?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In [[{{WebAnimation/AfterHours}} After Hours]], Daniel is the nerdiest of the four characters, and apparently knows ''nothing'' about sports, which is lampshaded.
-->'''Katie:''' Careful. Daniel doesn't follow sports terms.
-->'''Daniel:''' We're supposed to follow sports ''"terms"''? I've been saying "teams".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut'':
-->'''Chef:''' Have you ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?\\
'''General:''' I don't listen to hip-hop.
[[/folder]]

!!!Type 3

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* This frequently happens on ''HowIMetYourMother'', between Robin (who is from [[CanadaEh Canada, eh]]) and the rest of the gang. For example:
--> Robin: I love [[BruceSpringsteen Springsteen]]! He's like the American Music/BryanAdams! [[hottip:*:For those who are unfamiliar with these artists (due to age, musical taste, or geography), they have similar artistic styles, but Springsteen is ''much'' more famous around the world, and particularly in the US.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Magazines]]
* In its episode guide to ''Series/LoisAndClark'', ''SFX'' magazine explains that Perry's anonymous source Sore Throat (who actually refers to the line "[[AllThePresidentsMen Follow the money]]" at one point), is a parody of Deep Throat ... from ''Series/TheXFiles''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* ''Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra'' is
** a book by Nietzsche;
** a 30-minute orchestral tone poem composed by Strauss, the first 2 minutes of which is used by:
*** the movie ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' and
*** [[ProfessionalWrestling Professional Wrestler]] Wrestling/RicFlair as his {{Leitmotif}},
** and a JRPG (''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} 3: [[GratuitousGerman Also Sprach Zarathustra]]''),\\\
pretty much in that order.
* Likewise, Ride of the Valkyries is either 1) the beginning of Act III of Wagner's ''Die Walküre'', 2) the piece played during the air cavalry attack in the movie ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', or 3) [[WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc "Kill the Wabbit! Kill the Wabbit!"]]
** Or more recently, 4) [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan's]] Wrestling/{{WWE}} theme music. Of course, like many examples from Type 2, TheMiz thought it was from ''Franchise/StarWars''.
* Basically the reason CoveredUp and SampledUp exist (just see the opening quote for the former entry).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] and [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony's]] crossover review of "Warrior #1", Spoony mocks the Ultimate Warrior's disjointed speech patterns by quoting [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68mbFvenlaQ Col. Campbell's infamous line]] from ''{{VideoGame/Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'' near verbatim (only adding a "Hoak Hogan" to keep with the theme). Months afterward, TGWTG fans who apparently never played [=MGS2=] would often spout "I need scissors! 61!" when talking about the Ultimate Warrior, as if believing the line only came from that review.
* Happens in-universe in ''WebVideo/UltraFastPony''.
** In "The David Bowie Drinking Game" (which, true to its name, is loaded with DavidBowie shout outs), Spike says that Rarity was kidnapped by "scary monsters and super creeps!" Twilight corrects him: "It's [[Music/{{Skrillex}} scary monsters]] ''[[Music/{{Skrillex}} and nice sprites]]!''" Everyone else is aghast at Twilight's ignorance, and at the episode's end Twilight admits that she has no idea who Bowie is.
** In "The Longest Episode", Pinkie shares her ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' SelfInsertFic, and her audience tells her that she's ruining a classic book. Pinkie is shocked to realize that "There's a book of ''Lord of the Rings''?"
[[/folder]]

!!!Type 4

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* An example from OlderThanTheyThink fits here, as a clash of PopCulturalOsmosis: An in-universe example has {{Superboy}} saying to {{Superman}} "Second star to the right and straight on till morning." When Superman says "''Literature/PeterPan''. How appropriate." Superboy replies "What are you talking about? [[Franchise/StarTrek Captain Kirk]] said that," in reference to Kirk's closing line at the end of [[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry the 6th movie]] where he was clearly quoting ''Peter Pan''.
* In a ''ComicBook/{{Robin}}'' annual, Huntress tells Robin it was a clever idea of his to wear mirrors under their ponchos (to blind their enemies in a gunfight). He says he got the idea from an old movie. She says "''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', huh?" and he replies "No. ''Film/BackToTheFuture III''."[[note]]It might make you want to {{Headdesk}} when you realize Marty got the idea from seeing ''that very scene'' from ''A Fistful of Dollars'' in ''Back to the Future Part II'', and that Marty had identified himself as ''ClintEastwood'' upon arriving in 1885.[[/note]]
* In one issue of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', Matthew the Raven [[Literature/TheRaven perches on a bust and says "Nevermore!"]], then says he got it from the RogerCorman movie.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* This is very common when a cover or parody of a song becomes popular.
* From the comments on Youtube, it appears that many think that "The Devil Went Down to Jamaica" is the original and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is the parody.
* The youngest generation is currently confused about who sings the song "Single Ladies". Elders know that it's Beyonce's song, but the little ones insist that it belongs to the Chipettes.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Comics]]
* An ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'' strip starts with Arthur's [[ShowWithinAShow journal/Life Embellished webcomic]], with several of the characters playing cards. Gawaine says "He who steals these cards steals trash", Pellinore replied "[[AuthorCatchphrase You can't beat the classics]]", and Gawaine asks if he's a ''Series/{{Mash}}'' fan too. Cut to the real-world Gawaine saying "I don't get it", because Arthur's portrayal of him as not knowing the line is a paraphrase of ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' is completely accurate.
[[/folder]]

!!!Various

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/musically-oblivious-8th-grader Musically Oblivious 8th Grader]] [[MemeticMutation meme]] uses various types.
[[/folder]]

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