I think good trivia, in the context of trivia contests, is information that fits into a web of other information so can be reasoned out, rather than just memorized. That way, it's less binary whether someone gets the question or not. Something like "What does K.A.R.R. stand for?" is a great question. You could easily imagine the team huddling, trying to decide if A stood for automated or autonomous. Does anyone remember that Knight is the name of the car company or do they think it must stand for Killer? Even if you don't know the answer exactly, you can get closer if you know much about the show or have a good vocabulary and could back fill an acronym. It's a much more interesting question than "What's the rank of Francis Furillo?" even though Hill Street Blues won a lot more emmies than Knight Rider.
Consider the following two questions about an oscar nominated role:
1. What husband/wife duo portrayed Muhammad Ali and his wife in a 2001 biopic?
2 What roles did Will and Jada Pinkett Smith play in 2001 when they worked together?
While these questions could both be answered by someone with encyclopedic knowledge of 2001 award bait, the first one is much more interesting. You could arrive at the answer by thinking of men that could portray Ali 20 years ago, but then limit it down to men with acting wives. Do you know anything about the actual Ali's wife? Even better, someone born a decade after the movie might be able to get the answer, since Will Smith's punching (or at least slapping) ability is recently relevant in a context that involves his wife.
There's definitely "good" and "bad" trivia for these types of shows but it's more complicated than just focusing on the subjective quality of the topic. There's a reason that a trivia show was the public's first introduction to computers using natural language processing and machine learning. The questions aren't just about recalling things.
That’s So Raven was exceptional for what it was: one of Disney Channel’s first standout live action shows for the new millennium, along with lizzie McGuire paving the way for later kids shows turn full on a list celebrities: Miley Cyrus, Serena Gomez,Ariana grande, Olivia Rodrigo.
Comparing it to something like MASH* doesn’t make sense—they’re completely different genres and audiences. And to suggest that children’s and teen programming isn’t part of pop culture? That’s just incorrect.
As a millennial who grew up loving anime, video games,retro toys and pop culture history in general I disagree heavily with that portion. I was also hoping you’d dive deeper into the idea of the “death of monoculture.” Cause I think there’s a core point you’re making I agree with.
Today, with so much programming available across countless platforms, devices, and personalized algorithms, we’re no longer consuming the same content as we did before the 2010s. That’s a huge factor in the decline of trivia, where shared cultural knowledge isn’t as universal anymore.
That said, even in this fragmented media landscape, I’d argue that certain pop culture moments still manage to break through, giving people enough general knowledge to answer trivia questions.
People tend to mishear my first name, thinking it is Kurt. I got in the habit of saying "like the starship captain", but recently seems like saying as in Kirk Douglas would (not) work just as well. 😆 World moves on.
Might the idea of pop culture trivia be dead? The deluge of content, not to mention its bifurcation across myriad platforms, means that we don't necessarily share a national pop culture in the way we once did. Perhaps a collective media is a thing of the past.
Here's some trivia: Who told Mike that it was not the word 'love' that Fonzi couldn't say, but the word 'wrong'? Henry Winkler, the Fonz himself, in an interview with Mike in 2017 and rebroadcast in December of 2023.
Mike--I was born one month after you, also grew up in the Long Island suburbs, and also lost on (unpopular culture) Jeopardy! but I know not a one of the Gen X-specific questions you pose. None! What have I been doing with myself?
Right you are! As genX, I know all the words to songs I don't like because I couldn't escape them. I know the pop culture around TV shows and movies I never saw because my friends did and it's all people talked about back in the day.
I think good trivia, in the context of trivia contests, is information that fits into a web of other information so can be reasoned out, rather than just memorized. That way, it's less binary whether someone gets the question or not. Something like "What does K.A.R.R. stand for?" is a great question. You could easily imagine the team huddling, trying to decide if A stood for automated or autonomous. Does anyone remember that Knight is the name of the car company or do they think it must stand for Killer? Even if you don't know the answer exactly, you can get closer if you know much about the show or have a good vocabulary and could back fill an acronym. It's a much more interesting question than "What's the rank of Francis Furillo?" even though Hill Street Blues won a lot more emmies than Knight Rider.
Consider the following two questions about an oscar nominated role:
1. What husband/wife duo portrayed Muhammad Ali and his wife in a 2001 biopic?
2 What roles did Will and Jada Pinkett Smith play in 2001 when they worked together?
While these questions could both be answered by someone with encyclopedic knowledge of 2001 award bait, the first one is much more interesting. You could arrive at the answer by thinking of men that could portray Ali 20 years ago, but then limit it down to men with acting wives. Do you know anything about the actual Ali's wife? Even better, someone born a decade after the movie might be able to get the answer, since Will Smith's punching (or at least slapping) ability is recently relevant in a context that involves his wife.
There's definitely "good" and "bad" trivia for these types of shows but it's more complicated than just focusing on the subjective quality of the topic. There's a reason that a trivia show was the public's first introduction to computers using natural language processing and machine learning. The questions aren't just about recalling things.
That’s So Raven was exceptional for what it was: one of Disney Channel’s first standout live action shows for the new millennium, along with lizzie McGuire paving the way for later kids shows turn full on a list celebrities: Miley Cyrus, Serena Gomez,Ariana grande, Olivia Rodrigo.
Comparing it to something like MASH* doesn’t make sense—they’re completely different genres and audiences. And to suggest that children’s and teen programming isn’t part of pop culture? That’s just incorrect.
As a millennial who grew up loving anime, video games,retro toys and pop culture history in general I disagree heavily with that portion. I was also hoping you’d dive deeper into the idea of the “death of monoculture.” Cause I think there’s a core point you’re making I agree with.
Today, with so much programming available across countless platforms, devices, and personalized algorithms, we’re no longer consuming the same content as we did before the 2010s. That’s a huge factor in the decline of trivia, where shared cultural knowledge isn’t as universal anymore.
That said, even in this fragmented media landscape, I’d argue that certain pop culture moments still manage to break through, giving people enough general knowledge to answer trivia questions.
People tend to mishear my first name, thinking it is Kurt. I got in the habit of saying "like the starship captain", but recently seems like saying as in Kirk Douglas would (not) work just as well. 😆 World moves on.
There was a time when Cameron would have been most relevant.
Might the idea of pop culture trivia be dead? The deluge of content, not to mention its bifurcation across myriad platforms, means that we don't necessarily share a national pop culture in the way we once did. Perhaps a collective media is a thing of the past.
Here's some trivia: Who told Mike that it was not the word 'love' that Fonzi couldn't say, but the word 'wrong'? Henry Winkler, the Fonz himself, in an interview with Mike in 2017 and rebroadcast in December of 2023.
Who are the Tuscadero sisters? I'll take 1970s baseball brawls for $200.
Mike--I was born one month after you, also grew up in the Long Island suburbs, and also lost on (unpopular culture) Jeopardy! but I know not a one of the Gen X-specific questions you pose. None! What have I been doing with myself?
Molly Ringwald. There's one.
Okay, yes: I should have remembered that The Funky Phantom's life-name was Molly Ringwald.
Right you are! As genX, I know all the words to songs I don't like because I couldn't escape them. I know the pop culture around TV shows and movies I never saw because my friends did and it's all people talked about back in the day.