Quote:
Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
I guess it's a fine line. A quote has to be somewhat recognized or it's missed, yet it shouldn't be played. Like I once quoted Virginia Wolff to echo a Paigow/Slave fight, and only a few recognized it. How could Virginia Wolff not be a favorite movie of this board? It seems like several of us are living that life.
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You can't quote AN because its overexposed. To be good, a quote or reference must be obscure to at least a portion of a the audience. I doubt there is a single breathing male alive in the United States who is not familar with AN. Worse, I used AN occasionally in the past when referring to your posts ("I... see... no... method... at all...).
If you were to quote Satisfaction, no one would respond. But quoting the fifth line in the third verse of Before They Make Me Run would probably get a few chuckles. That said, you can't pull a Dennis Miller and get too obscure or too faux-high-brow with your references because then you just sound pompous. Unless you are the Flower, who for some reason can pull that shit off. So be forwarned - if you go googling for quotes from The Stranger or Yeats' Noh Plays, you've gone too far in the other direction.
Properly utilizing the good comedic reference is a studied art. I stuggle with it constantly.
