Pop go the Pop References!

I teach Public Speaking to college and high school students, and one thing we talk about is “Shared Meaning.” When you are trying to relate to an audience, you must strive for a mutual understanding of things you are talking about in your speech. Shared Meaning is just as important in writing as it is in speaking. I am currently learning and experiencing this issue with my much-younger students.

When I have a rather large class, as I do this semester, I play an icebreaker game, in which students must ask each other basic questions, like the following:

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

What’s your favorite time of the year?

What’s your favorite TV show?

That last question is the point where it has gotten dicey this semester. Students are encouraged to ask me these same questions, and one inquired about my favorite TV show. I don’t watch much current TV at all, so my answer is always the same: my all-time favorite is I Love Lucy.

DISCLAIMER: Even though I am much older than my students, I was NOT ALIVE during I Love Lucy’s initial run. I have always watched it in reruns, on tape, or on DVD (see, I am old, but not THAT old).

The student wrote my answer on his paper and then delivered the dagger to my heart with his reply: “Hmmm, never heard of that one!”

NEVER heard of that one? NEVER felt the joy of the Vitameatavegimin routine? NEVER bent over double from laughing at the candy factory episode? NEVER heard Lucy cry “WAHHHHH?” I.Can’t.Even.

I decided to poll my other classes, and, out of all of them, ONE student had heard of and watched I Love Lucy. I guess I need to reserve my place at the Old Folks Village ASAP. Maybe I can get a part in those “People Becoming Their Parents” insurance commercials.

I wanted to know something my students currently watch, and they mentioned the show Stranger Things. I know just a smidge about that show: it’s on Netflix, it’s about the ’80s, and it brought back the song “Running Up That Hill,” which I didn’t like in the ’80s and certainly don’t like now. Get off my lawn!

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Please don’t suggest I watch Stranger Things. It’s not my cup of tea, I will never watch it, so maybe you can tell me your favorite I Love Lucy episode instead.

The lesson here? In speaking and in writing, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. In my day job, I work with mostly teenagers—I probably don’t need to make references to I Love Lucy, E.T., or Jessie’s Girl when I am speaking to them. If I’m writing a piece geared toward younger people, I need to find out what they relate to and address those things. What’s hip and “with it” right now?

Um, maybe I need to reword that last remark.

If I am addressing a “more mature” audience (of which I am a part), I can include references to the “oldies but goodies” of pop culture. They are my people and know who Jenny is and her phone number, who shot J.R., and who and what hit Marcia to make her say “Oh, my nose!”

If you don’t know those references, I am sorry. Really sorry. Grab your sippy cup and watch an episode of Bluey. Yes, miraculously, I have heard of that show.

Now, give me your pop culture references. Hit me with your best shot.

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate—all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.