I'll Put It On The List, Part the First
One of the more interesting parts of this movie is located in the notebook that Steve carries around; it has a list of historical items that people have told him he has to know in order to get all caught up. The funny thing is, this list changes in the movie theater depending where in the world you’re located. It’s a whole DVD feature. But I don’t remember seeing anybody in any article going through and researching all the items Steve uses to get himself in the 21st Century. The US gets a list, UK, Spain, etc. All different things, but the final items are all universal and one (Troubleman soundtrack) is essential to the plot.
United States and Canada
·
I Love Lucy
(Television): A classic American sitcom that “aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with 180 half-hour episodes
across six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian Vance and William Frawley, and follows the life of Lucy Ricardo (Ball), a young, middle-class housewife living in New York City,
who often concocts plans with her best friends and landlords, Ethel and Fred
Mertz (Vance and Frawley), to appear alongside her bandleader husband, Ricky
Ricardo (Arnaz), in his nightclub. Lucy is depicted trying numerous schemes to
mingle with and be a part of show business (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Lucy).”
·
Moon Landing: July 20,
1969. A manned NASA space mission where astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil
Armstrong walked on the moon for the first time in human history.
·
Berlin Wall (Up + Down):
The Berlin Wall was first erected in 1961 by communist East Germany in order to
keep citizens from defecting to the Democratic West. It was 96 miles long and had
13 foot high walls. To try to go over illegally was essentially a death
sentence, leading to clever and daring attempts to escape. Its most famous area
was known as Checkpoint Charlie. 140 people died attempting to escape. It
epitomized the Cold War. In November of 1989, it was torn down, enabling
thousands of Germans to see relatives they haven’t seen in decades and to taste
freedom.
·
Steve Jobs (Apple):
Born in 1955 and died in 2011, Steve Jobs was an American computer pioneer. He
co-founded Apple Computers in 1976. He was subsequently fired in 1985 after he
revolutionized the home computer industry. He had several other business
ventures like founding Pixar before surprisingly returning to Apple in 1997 as
CEO. He then went on to create Apple’s biggest products like ITunes, the IPhone
and many others.
·
Disco: Emerging in the
1970’s from the gay and alternate lifestyle dance clubs, this is a genre known
for its high energy dance music with a “four on the floor” drum beat, funky
instruments and a distinct vocal style. It went mainstream after the movie Saturday Night Live (1977) and took over
radio stations all over the country for a while. It gradually died in America
after a “Disco Sucks” backlash. It reemerged as house music.
·
Thai Food: This is,
essentially, food from Thailand. It must be very popular although I’ve never
tried it! According to this website: "Some of the essential dishes include: “Pad
Thai (stir-fried noodles), Pad
Krapow (basil stir-fry), and Tom
Yum Goong (spicy shrimp soup). Signature curries include green curry and
Massaman, while street food favorites include Khao Man Gai (chicken rice) and
papaya salad.” Cap and Falcon don’t have to go too far though: Ban Siam, Zom
Tum and Sampannee Thai are very close.
·
Star Wars/Trek: This refers to two different science fiction properties that continue
to amaze and entertain audiences to this day. Star Wars was created by
filmmaker George Lucas in 1977. It followed the space adventures of Luke
Skywalker and his friends fighting a galactic Empire. Two more sequels followed
in the next several years. In 1999, there were 3 prequels like The Phantom
Menace and in 2015, sequels followed with The Force Awakens. There
have subsequently been spinoffs in both TV and movies. Star Trek was
created in 1966 by Gene Rodenberry. This TV show followed the optimistic space
adventures of Starfleet and the ship USS Enterprise, commanded by
Captain James T. Kirk. “to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Once again,
movies and TV shows over the past 60 years have followed to continue the
series.
·
Nirvana (Band): The
band that helped usher in the age of Grunge in America. Nirvana was a punk band
consisting of lead singer and song writer Kurt Cobain, Bassist Krist Novoselic
and drummer Dave Grohl. Their song Smells
like Teen Spirit and its album Nevermind
was huge on MTV and led to two other albums. Sadly, Cobain committed suicide in
1994. Novoselic became a politician and Grohl founded the Foo Fighters.
·
Rocky (Rocky II?): A series of boxing movies starring Sylvester Stallone as
Rocky Balboa. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck boxer who gets a shot at
becoming the Heavyweight Champion of the World. He fights Champion Apollo Creed
twice, Clubber Lang in II, defeats the Soviet Union’s champion Ivan Drago in
IV, Tommy Gunn in V, Mason “The Line” Dixon in VI. The series follows Rocky as
he achieves the American dream through hard work, and watches as he loses it.
The series continues with Apollo’s son, Adonis Creed in the movie series Creed. This clip showcases the second
greatest song in the series (the first is its theme song).
·
Troubleman (Soundtrack): More on this later...
United Kingdom and Ireland
·
TV Show - Sherlock: A great show that
depicts legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner John Watson in
modern-day England. The show, created by Mark Gattiss and Stephen Moffat, is
based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 19th century detective. Starting in 2010, it
starred Benedict Cumberbatch (later Doctor Strange) and Martin Freeman (later
Everett Ross) solving impossible crimes in modern times but based on Conan
Doyle’s original mysteries. I still can’t figure out how Holmes survived the
Reichenbach Falls. The faithful are still waiting for new episodes.
·
Moon Landing
·
The Beatles: One of the greatest rock bands in the world that have
influenced everybody who came after them. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo
Starr and George Harrison all grew up close to each other in Liverpool, England
and formed a band in 1960. By 1964, they were a huge pop culture sensation and
had many #1 hits on the charts. They broke up after only a decade of playing
music together but still changed the musical landscape.
·
World Cup Final (1966):
The first of our FIFA championships. This one involves England and West Germany
with England winning 4-2. The game was won in overtime. The only time England
has hosted and won the World Cup.
·
Sean Connery: Only one of the greatest actors of his (and any other)
generation! He starred as James Bond in the 1960’s and ‘70’s before graduating
to hits like Highlander, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade and The
Rock. He was a Scottish native and a Knight, considered one of the world’s
greatest movie stars. He passed away at 90 in 2020.
·
Thai Food
·
Star Wars/Trek
·
Nirvana (Band)
·
Rocky (Rocky II?)
·
Troubleman (Soundtrack)
South Korea
·
Dance Dance
Revolution: A video game from Konami from Japan in 1998 where players
have to dance in rhythm and hit colored arrows with their feet. They’re judged
by their timing and speed and are immensely popular all over the world. The
cabinet version can still be seen in arcades but a plastic mat can be used at
home. In Wandavision, the twins are playing it in the beginning of Episode6.
·
Ji-Sung Park: Considered one of the greatest Asian soccer (football)
players in the world. He played for a number of teams, including Manchester
United. He played in the early to late 2000’s and retired in 2014, still
actively involved in the sport.
·
Oldboy: A 2003 South Korean
action film starring Choi Min-sik and directed by Park Chan-wook. According to
Google, the plot is as follows: “Dae-Su is an obnoxious drunk bailed from the police station yet again by
a friend. However, he's abducted from the street and wakes up in a cell, where
he remains for the next 15 years, drugged unconscious when human contact is
unavoidable, otherwise with only the television as company. And then, suddenly
released, he is invited to track down his jailor with a denouement that is
simply stunning.”
·
2002 World Cup: The 17th
FIFA World Cup hosted in Korea and Japan. For a county like America, European
football can be really confusing. The final was won by Brazil.
·
Disco
·
Thai Food
·
Star Wars/Trek
·
Nirvana (Band)
·
Rocky (Rocky II?)
·
Troubleman (Soundtrack)
Spain
·
Rafa Nadal: A former Spanish professional tennis player. Playing for
over 20 years, he won numerous tennis tournaments and is considered one of the
top tennis players in the world.
· Chupa Chups: Unknown in America, these are an immensely popular brand of Spanish lollipops. They’ve been around since 1958 and sells over 4 billion lollipops annually. Their logo was designed by Salvador Dali! Some can even play music:
·
Héroes del Silencio: A Spanish rock band formed in 1984 and still active
today. Their name means Heroes of Silence. They are considered one of the
foremost contributors to the Rock en Espanol scene, meaning rock music
using Spanish vocals. Like many bands, they’ve had lineup changes, numerous
albums and tours and are considered Spain’s top rock band.
·
1978 Constitution: Ratified December of 1978, it states that Spain is now a
democracy. Following the death of Francisco Franco, the dictator of Spain, it
established a parliamentary monarch with a prime minister in charge. It
guarantees civil rights and liberties along with freedoms, equality and
justice.
·
Camilo José Cela: A Spanish writer associated with the Generation of ‘36
movement (Spanish artists writing during the Spanish Civil War). He won the
Nobel Prize in 1989 among other accolades. He was controversial and wrote
dozens of poems, novels, essays and even dictionaries. He died in 2002.
·
Thai Food
·
Star Wars/Trek
·
Nirvana (Band)
·
Rocky (Rocky II?)
·
Troubleman (Soundtrack)
Hispanic America
· Chilean Miners' Rescue: In August of 2010, 33 Chilean miners were trapped 700 meters underground. There was a cave-in at the Copiaco Mine in Chile. They were unable to escape due to a safety ladder was missing, one of many safety hazards and blatantly unsafe conditions that were ignored by the parent company of the mine. A video camera was used by the miners to send messages to their families on the surface while an international effort was being undertaken to free them. They were all rescued successfully 69 days later.
·
Maradona's Hand of
God: Refers to Argentinian soccer player
Diego Maradona. In the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Maradona used his left hand in
order to score a goal against England. Although he illegally used his hand to
score, none of the referees saw it happening (there was even a world-famous
photograph). The goal counted and was considered controversial. It’s also the
name of a 2007 Argentinian/Italian movie based on the life of Diego Maradona.
·
Shakira: A Columbian singer, songwriter and producer who can shake
her hips like nobody else. She popularized Spanish music worldwide and had hits
like “Hips don’t lie” and “Whenever, Whenever” (both of which are extremely
catchy). She’s currently on tour in the Middle East.
·
Neri Vela (1st
Mexican Astronaut): As Cap wrote, he is
the first Mexican Astronaut and scientist who flew in the Space Shuttle
for NASA in 1995. He’s a highly educated engineer who has written several books
and made tortillas standard space food.
·
Octavio Paz (Nobel
Winner): A Nobel Prize Winner writer,
essayist and poet who won in 1990. In the ‘50’s, he wrote The Labyrinth of
Solitude and Sunstone. Also became Mexico’s ambassador to India.
Died in 1998 in Mexico City.
·
Thai Food
·
Star Wars/Trek
·
Nirvana (Band)
·
Rocky (Rocky II?)
·
Troubleman (Soundtrack)
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