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17 January 2007

don't you hate it when college professors try to use outdated pop culture references during lectures? →[More:]

the first lecture of my humanities class was last night. this is "humanities ii", so it's covering the renaissance to the present day. part of the lecture was devoted to four renaissance artists - donatello, leonardo da vinci, raphael sanzio, and michelangelo. you probably could have heard my eyes rolling for miles around after she referred to them as "the ninja turtles".

i'm sorry; just talking about this is pissing me off. i'll shut up now.

post by: syntax at: 10:06 | 32 comments

Obligatory xkcd link.

posted by chrismear 17 January | 10:09

Actually, I rather like outdated pop culture references; I had a prof. in the 80s who liked to quote Alice's Restaurant, and I was so proud of myself for recognizing it. However, Ninja Turtles is a bit cheesy, I will concede.

posted by JanetLand 17 January | 10:10

In this age of retro-fashion, 24-hour-cable and the internet, is there really such a thing as an 'outdated' pop-cultural reference?

posted by jonmc 17 January | 10:15

when it comes to mentioning the teenage mutant ninja turtles in the middle of, well, anything... yes. i believe there is such a thing as an outdated pop culture reference. i'm surprised that the humanities professor didn't show up to class wearing rubber bracelets and a "frankie say relax" shirt.

posted by syntax 17 January | 10:28

*takes off t-shirt and flourescent rubber bracelets, looks sad*

posted by loquacious 17 January | 10:33

Soon it will be in-dated, as a new TMNT movie is coming out this summer. Yep, they've finally answered our long-ignored cries for another one.

posted by black bile 17 January | 10:33

(This comment is to ensure that nobody misses the sarcasm in my previous comment.)

posted by black bile 17 January | 10:33

will the new movie have vanilla ice performing "ninja rap 2007"?

posted by syntax 17 January | 10:36

Dude, I LOVE the ninja turtles. The turtles did more for art history than any other cartoon characters before or since! Not only did I stand in line to attend the grand opening of the ninja turtle movie, my 4 or 5 year old daughter was interviewed on the radio about it! And I still have the cassette! And it goes like this:
Interviewer: "So, little girl, what did you think of the movie?"
MGL's daughter: "It was kind of fight-y. And there were hardly any parts for women and I don't like that."
Interviewer: "What?"
MGL's daughter: "I don't like movies that don't have girls in them and the boys do everything and the girls just kiss."
Interviewer: "Well all right! Let's hear it for this young woman who knows what she likes!"

posted by mygothlaundry 17 January | 10:38

*dons CHOOSE LIFE t-shirt and puts Wham! video in the VCR*

posted by iconomy 17 January | 10:46

I'm actually looking forward to the new TMNT movie, it's supposed to be much darker and more authentically inspired by the original Eastman-Laird books. Which are really quite dark and violent. Not Sin City dark, really, but still very atmospheric and moody.

The original TMNT books also helped kickstart a very seriously lagging indie comics industry. If it wasn't for TMNT we probably would have never had Dark Horse or any of the other indies go big, and there'd be nothing left of comic books as an independent art form except for flaccid men in tights and the same rehashed story lines - and, indeed, TMNT was to flaccid men in tights as punk rock was to crappy soft rock. Artisticly and economicly.

Few remember the original Eastman/Laird TMNT books, much less have read them. All everyone ever remembers is the scrubbed up kids version and pizza, skateboards and "cowabunga!". This is more due to the for-kids cartoon TV show than anything.

posted by loquacious 17 January | 10:47

"It was kind of fight-y. And there were hardly any parts for women and I don't like that."

She should review movies, mgl.
i am already a fan.
but this also can apply to gay porn

posted by ethylene 17 January | 10:48

Yeah, that turtle money did a lot but not even turtle money could survive the caprices of the comic industry.
Eddie Campbell's Alex book on it will if you the good behind the scenes skinny.

posted by ethylene 17 January | 10:51

syntax, it's sad when you can tell exactly how long someone has been recycling their material.
It's sadder when they haven't noticed yet.

posted by ethylene 17 January | 10:56

All everyone ever remembers is the scrubbed up kids version and pizza, skateboards and "cowabunga!". This is more due to the for-kids cartoon TV show than anything.

and i'll bet my paycheck that this is the tmnt that the humanities professor was referring to, not the original comic series that got thanked in the liner notes of metallica's "master of puppets" (along with everyone else in the god damned world).

posted by syntax 17 January | 10:56

'Ninja' was not considered suitable for broadcast on teatime children's BBC, so we had 'Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles'.

posted by altolinguistic 17 January | 10:57

In this age of retro-fashion, 24-hour-cable and the internet, is there really such a thing as an 'outdated' pop-cultural reference?

jonmc has a point. I remember once a long time ago I was at a party, and some 50s song came on the radio, and I was singing along, and an older person asked me, "Isn't this song before your time?" The implication being that I shouldn't know it at all. Which I thought was silly, because how can it be before my time when it's on the radio right now and I'm listening to it? Might as well say Beethoven is "before my time."

posted by JanetLand 17 January | 10:57

too right, ethylene.

maybe conan o'brien should pitch the idea of the "embryonic rockabilly polka-dotted fighter pilots" movie to the same company making the tmnt movie? i'd pay to see that.

posted by syntax 17 January | 11:04

There is a new TMNT cartoon on TV currently so the reference isn't outdated at all. I've only seen snippets as I channel surf and it seems to be slightly less cheesy than the original cartoon.

posted by LunaticFringe 17 January | 11:14

shit, I was just listening to Frankie Goes To Hollywood

posted by matteo 17 January | 11:14

So, y'know how some people, rap artists and 13-year-old kids who come into my library and whatnot, use the word 'ninja' these days, seemingly instead of, y'know, that other well-known n-word? 'My ninja,' etc.? Am I nuts, or does this appear to be something borrowed from fans of the Insane Clown Posse? Did you know that the Insane Clown Posse once recorded a song with Three 6 Mafia, and that said song features a Portishead sample?

Also, this TMNT-referring professor? I'd be inclined to give the old fool a little bit of credit just for making a (little bit of) effort, myself.

posted by box 17 January | 11:24

Now I feel really unhip and stupid for always referring to our shredder here in the office as DA SHREDDA, said in a low, gravelly, menacing voice (I can imitate The Shredder from TMNT really well). No one has any idea why I call it that, but the hilarious thing is that now everyone who works here calls it DA SHREDDA, and they say it just like I do....teehee. Very drawn-out, and like you expect to hear some DUN DUN DUN!!!! music right afterwards.

posted by iconomy 17 January | 11:40

maybe i am being a bit of a curmudgeon here, but damn it, after chipping away at it for years and paying every expense out of pocket, i'm this close to graduating. in fact, most of the people in that class are in the same boat - 30-ish, dead-end job, trying desperately to change careers before they're to old to be taken seriously by 20-something human resource managers, and wouldn't be sitting in this dank room in the basement of the elm building if it weren't for the fact that this is a graduation requirement - and i think i speak for them when i say "professor, please cut the shit and teach the damn class already."

(icp sampled portishead? now i'm really depressed... )

posted by syntax 17 January | 11:51

I'd never make outdated references to the turtles. ermm. Especially in any comments I made today. I mean... That's be... ermmm.

right.

posted by seanyboy 17 January | 12:01

i think i speak for them when i say "professor, please cut the shit and teach the damn class already."

Part of her job is also to show you how all these ancient things are relevant to the modern world. The 'Ninja Turtle' reference more likely an ironic commentary on what the modern world thinks of these men than just a failed attempt to be "hip".

posted by Daniel Charms 17 January | 12:35

When something like this is a persistent mannerism, or takes away significantly, it can be pretty annoying (and legitimately so). On the other hand, I think it's a shame if, as a learner, you let yourself get so focused on some cockeyed notion of "efficiency" that you'd rather just lock yourself up with a book and a bottle of wite-out so you can cover up everything that isn't a cold hard fact.

To "teach the damn class" properly, at some point, one has to do more than "Repeat after me: an acre is the area of a rectangle whose length is one furlong and whose width is one chain."

If you lament the shortage of brilliant teachers who can unfailingly figure out what little bit more they can do that will make the class come alive for dozens of vastly different people simultaneously without wasting a moment's precious time - well, yeah. I wish there were more of those, too.

posted by Wolfdog 17 January | 13:43

When I taught, I was a ball of outdated references. The blank stares, the one older student coming back smiling in recognition. I loved it. It ffueled a desire to use more and more outdated references.

Then again, I teach copywriting. Snark and trivia is my stock and trade.
If I got straight to the point, my class would be an hour long, "Write like a human and be funny, ok?"

I'd get on her case for the joke being overused and obvious. If it were a sly, old reference, I'd say more power to her.

posted by gucky 17 January | 14:06

Part of her job is also to show you how all these ancient things are relevant to the modern world. The 'Ninja Turtle' reference more likely an ironic commentary on what the modern world thinks of these men than just a failed attempt to be "hip".

i guess it could be looked at as an ironic commentary if you squint and hold your head just so.

i've got it. if she does it again, i'm going to raise my hand and ask "who are these 'ninja turtles' you speak of?" i think it would be a hoot to listen to a humanities professor explain who they are. :)

On the other hand, I think it's a shame if, as a learner, you let yourself get so focused on some cockeyed notion of "efficiency" that you'd rather just lock yourself up with a book and a bottle of wite-out so you can cover up everything that isn't a cold hard fact.

it's a class i've taken - and aced - before at another school in another state back in 1990, but the credits didn't transfer, so here i am. to that professor's credit, he was quite adept at making the material "come alive" in other creative ways without having to resort to tmnt references when they were in the public eye!

honest, i'm really trying not to go into this class with the same dry approach i would apply to algebra (where x=(-37/4) if 4x+20=-17, and that's that). but, like ethylene said earlier, she's probably been using that same schtick for close to twenty years.

ah well. it's my last semester at this school. i'll tolerate it with a smile on my face.

posted by syntax 17 January | 14:11

Matteo! Relax, don't do it!

posted by deborah 17 January | 14:24

syntax, I'm not a big believer in "A for effort" - it's terribly easy to expend a lot of "effort" to no good end whatsoever. So I'm not giving your prof any credit for the Turtles reference, and if it causes annoyance, then it was probably worse than nothing at all. To be honest, I'm pretty impatient with that kind of cheap, obvious "humor" too.

posted by Wolfdog 17 January | 15:33

The Beloit Mindset List is an annual list of cultural events and references and how they relate to the incoming freshmen. (eg, 'There has always been only one Germany.')

It's is a great way to make yourself feel elderly, no matter how old you are.

posted by ardgedee 17 January | 18:49

Cowabunga, dude!

posted by drezdn 18 January | 09:56

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