The Hate U Give is a book written by Angie Thomas and released in 2017. This book has so many cultural references that I am not sure if I will get them all. This post will be written in two parts. Read the first part here. Now Let’s get started on the second part.
Guess Who
Starr’s dad discovers that her boyfriend is white and the relationship is suddenly reference to the movie Guess Who starring Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, and Zoe Saldana. Guess Who is a 2005 American Comedy about race relations It’s a remake of the 1967 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (starring Sidney Poitier), which depicts an interracial couple of a black man with a white woman. The 2005 version is about a black woman bringing her white boyfriend home for her parents 25th wedding anniversary. Both are good movies. I watched the older one when I heard about the 2005 one.
Bernie Mac
After discussing Guess Who, they continue the conversation by discussing Bernie Mac as one of the Kings of Comedy. Bernard Jeffrey McCullough aka Bernie Mac was an American stand up comedian, actor, and voice actor. Born and raised in Chicago South Side, he joined other comedians (Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D.L. Hughley) as on of the Kings of Comedy.He starred in the Bernie Mac show which ran from 2001-2006. I’m not going to lie, I watched the show regularly. Some of the film he was in besides Guess Who are Ocean’s Eleven, Mr. 3000, Friday, The Player’s Club, Head of State,Transformers, and Old Dogs.
Adventure Time
When Starr visited her friend, Maya. Her friend’s room include a lot of Adventure Time memorabilia. Adventure Time is an american animated TV series. It follows a boy Fin and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake–a dog with magical power to change shape and size at will. I have never seen the show, but I do have friends who have suggested I watch it. One day.
Michael Jordan’s Jumpman Pose
Also in Maya’s room, there was a picture of Michael Jordan performing his famous jumpman pose. After doing research on the pose, I was surprised at the information found. Like I didn’t know that the origin of the pose comes from a 1984 photo shoot with a magazine. The photo was staged with Jordan perfoming the ballet move called a grand jete to make it appear as if he was leaping for a slam dunk. The photo was made before he signed with Nike.
Jonas Brothers
Starr and her two friends from Williamson, Maya and Hailey, love the Jonas brothers. They also love to pretend to be them. The Jonas brothers were an American pop band formed in 2005 and gained popularity through their appearances on Disney. The three brothers, Kevin, Joe, and Nick come from New Jersey. In 2008, they starred in the Disney original movies, Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: Final Jam. They also had their very own show. The band broke up in 2013.
Candy Crush
Starr mentions that the only reason her mom has a Facebook is so that she can get more people to help her in Candy Crush. The funny thing is I think my mom does the exact same thing. When Candy Crush was first release, my mom was one of the addicted people.
Candy Crush is a free-to-play match three puzzle video game released by King in 2012. The Candy Crush Saga is considered to be one of the first and most successful uses of the freemium model–the game can be played all the way through completely without spending money.
Grand Jury
While the officer is on trial, Starr has to meet with the grand jury. The grand jury is a group of citizens empowered by the law to conduct legal proceedings and investigate potential criminal conduct, and to determine whether criminal charges should be brought. It is usually composed of 16-23 citizens and has more jurors that a typical jury. The first instances of a grand jury can be traced back to the Assize of Clarendon in 1166, an act of Henry the II of England. The United States and Liberia are the only countries that have grand juries.
Wedgie
At Seven’s graduation party, Starr is pushed in the pool by him and in return she gives him a wedgie. I’m not entirely sure if this is just an American culture thing, but I don’t think I have seen wedgies given in any other countries movies or shows. The wedgie is an uncomfortable tightening of the underpants between the buttocks, typically produced when someone pulls the underpants up from the back as a prank.
What cultural thing interest you the most?
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