Dr. Bob's minions tire away endlessly to help the good Doctor in the name of science,
but with what little downtime they get they would like to share with you fine people!
"Say hello to my leetle friend..."
By Richard
“Say hello to my leetle friend!”
“We’re going to need a bigger boat……”
“I’ll be back."
“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!”
These and many more are an example of what I am going to muse about today. The great fantasy writer, Sir Terry Pratchett wrote many a story about the power of words. Indeed, his Unseen Academics Library is the source of great power in his universe due to the staggering amount of power accumulated by the mystical power of words to transport, transform and transfigure the reader. And even in a visual medium like the cinematic, words have tremendous power.
You want examples, I gave you four right up there. Every one of those quotes can be immediately identified by the reader and known for the movie (and usually the character) it is from. Gangster Tony from Scarface, Sheriff Brody from Jaws, the Terminators from almost every Terminator movie, and of course, Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind. Not only do most people immediately recall the character, they recall the scene, the actor, the setting, even the movie- just from a single quote.
Of course, the best movies are slam bang full of quotable quotes. Some movies (looking at Whedon movies here) actually seem to exist as nothing but quote factories. Look at Marvels The Avengers and start trading quotes with friends. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
See what I mean? You start with something simple like “Puny God” leads to “We have a Hulk” to “Hulk…. Smash” to, well, the list goes on for a while. It was one of the strongest things about that particular movie. But a good, great or mediocre movie does not have to have a plethora of quotes to stand out. Some only need one to be remembered. “I came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I am all out of bubble gum” comes to mind.
Some actually feed other movies and become new quotes. One of the most famous examples of this is the “Klaatu Barata Nikto” from the sci-fi classic The Day The Earth Stood Still. It was used in several movies before being re-imagined in the wonderfully anarchic Army of Darkness when Ash tries to fudge it by saying “Klaatu Barata Nic-choo”.
So as I close this mercifully short –but hopefully entertaining and thought provoking – essay, I task with a simple and enjoyable chore. Think back and remember that one quote that made you love a movie- even a bad one. Maybe a few more of my favorites to get your juices flowing (it is not a test, but see how many YOU can identify from just a quote.
“Welcome to Earth!”
“No. Be afraid, be very afraid.”
“Where’s the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earthshattering Kaboom!”
“Give my creation life!!”
“How do you do, I see you’ve met my faithful handyman!”
“Nuke ‘em from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”
And of course, to close this quote fest off properly……
“Hasta la vista. Baby.”
Previously on Minion Musings...