Of Bunny Boilers and Ruby Slippers

There are some popular culture images and words that evoke something very strong when you talk about them. "Think of this example" I said to a friend: "When you say Bunny Boiler.. What do you think of"? He, to my surprise, did not know what the hell I was talking about.

Of course ,most people will know I am talking about a scary stalky woman who has had a one night stand with a married man but wants more and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. The term Bunny Boiler comes from the Glen Close character in Fatal Attraction who (Spoiler alert) boils the bunny of Michael Douglas' daughter to prove she loves him and wants him back (end of Spoiler alert).
Yah!.. good tactic!

Groundhog day is another term that now has a life of its own. I am sure it has all but replaced the term Deja Vu for some people. I know I use " Groundhog Day" often when I feel that I have experienced something before and I am sure that people have never seen this movie, still know what you mean when you use the term. It is a scary thing to be doing the same fecking thing day in day out...... Wait... isn't that is already happening to me?..

Jaws, The Matrix, The Shining, 2001: A space oddyssey and Alien all have left their mark on us and on subsequent movies. For example: In Toy Story, the carpet used in that vicious boy Sid's house (if that isn't a reference to the Sex Pistols I will eat my socks) was the exact same design as the carpet of the overlook hotel in The Shining.

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What about the word Munchkin? Everyone knows it means a small person. The remarkable thing is, this word never existed until after it was used in the Wizard of Oz to describe the small people that inhabited the land of Oz. The Wizard of Oz has had an enormous influence on popular culture. Nearly every movie made makes a tribute to Dorothy and her little dog. I think the line "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto" and all its variations is widely used. "I'm Melting!" is another one that is commonly used by all.. If you go to IMDB.com and look at the movie connections of this movie, it is astounding. The list is endless. It has become a movie cliché like telephone numbers beginning with 555-XXX. And to top it all, the song "Over the Rainbow" was ranked #1 by the American Film Institute in 2004 on the 100 Greatest Songs in American Films list. Ruby Slippers are wanted by every girl on the planet and the chant of the guardsmen of the Wicked Witch has been used in a song by Prince.

Quite a feat for an old movie made for children.