A 'The Zeppo' Poll
POSTED BY: batmarlowe
UPDATED: Thursday, June 8, 2006 20:42
VIEWED: 21956
PAGE 4 of 7
Got it, 44 next week.
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Sorry, didn't mean to offend.
It doesn't strike me as "strange" that a 17-18 year old would know who Zeppo was but rather impressive. But my comment was specifically about Cordelia and not any 17-18 old.
Scott Hope seemed more the type to be into Buster Keaton (same with Xander), whereas Cordelia doesn't come off as being interested in anything that occurred before she existed. Therefore, I have to respectfully disagree in this case--I do believe it is "stranger" for a 17-18 year-old Cordelia Chase to know who Zeppo Marx is than it is for me to know who Zeppo Marx is.
My intent was to compliment rather than insult. As far as my other comments go, I'm impressed that anyone of any age knows about GUMMO Marx because he did not appear in any of the Marx Brothers' movies. And the younger the person who knows who Gummo is/was the more impressed I'm going to be because as time goes on Gummo becomes increasingly obscure.
Chaplin is such an iconic figure that his image is universally known whether someone actually knows the origin of that image or not.
So let's go with Keaton. Because of all the outlets you mentioned you have the equal POTENTIAL to know who both Julia Roberts and Buster Keaton are. But since JR is a contemporary A-list movie star you'd have to live under a rock not to know who she is. It requires no effort. To know who Buster Keaton is requires openess and curiosity even though it's almost as easy to rent "The General" as it is "Pretty Woman".
So when someone demonstrates the openess and curiosity to find out about pop culture, art, music, or anything that occured before their time--it impresses me.
I used to work with a woman named Laura who was close to 15 years younger than I. I was talking to her about the song "Laura". She dismissed it as something she couldn't know about because it was before her time (as if it weren't before mine). This is my experience with people in general--"If it didn't happen before I was born how could I be expected to know about it?".
Why does it impress me when people demonstrate the openess and curiosity to find out about things that occurred before their time? Because to paraphrase Inara--so few people do.
Glad you stumbled across this thread--it's a pleasant surprise that someone dug it up.
P.S. Happy birthday, Ursula.
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Originally posted by batmarlowe:
Sorry, didn't mean to offend.
Oh, I'm not really offended, just slightly put off by what I saw as implied criticism towards the younger folk. If I wanted to be offended, I could wander over to one of those delightful flame wars/whining matches going on in the FF Gen. Disc. forum. An intelligent discussion is a welcome change of pace.
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It doesn't strike me as "strange" that a 17-18 year old would know who Zeppo was but rather impressive.
Same diff, love, same diff. It's patronizing, either way.
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But my comment was specifically about Cordelia and not any 17-18 old.
Well, that being the case, I'll second what Captbaggytrousers posted:
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As Cordelia once said "What, I can't have levels?"
It's amazing what people pick up by osmosis. I could believe Cordy would know the Marx Brothers, if for no other reason than she dated Xander who's likely be familiar with them.
And Cordy would probably kick herself for having picked up more than a few cultural tidbits like that from dating the big geek.
The girl does know how to woo her geeks, which she does in one of the episodes where she's campaiging for prom queen or somesuch. Knows about a wider range of things than you'd think she would.
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My intent was to compliment rather than insult. As far as my other comments go, I'm impressed that anyone of any age knows about GUMMO Marx because he did not appear in any of the Marx Brothers' movies. And the younger the person who knows who Gummo is/was the more impressed I'm going to be because as time goes on Gummo becomes increasingly obscure.
I'll grant you that. It's easier to know something your parents know than something your grandparents know.
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So let's go with Keaton. Because of all the outlets you mentioned you have the equal POTENTIAL to know who both Julia Roberts and Buster Keaton are. But since JR is a contemporary A-list movie star you'd have to live under a rock not to know who she is. It requires no effort. To know who Buster Keaton is requires openess and curiosity even though it's almost as easy to rent "The General" as it is "Pretty Woman".
Actually, you remind me of yet another point to back up your argument (ow, I hate being honest)
: it isn't as easy to rent "The General" as "Pretty Woman". Luckily the library in my area and the local video chain are very good, but not every library system is so well stocked, and I wouldn't go placing my faith in Blockbuster. (Also...don't go knocking us rock-dwellers ;) )Quote:
This is my experience with people in general--"If it didn't happen before I was born how could I be expected to know about it?".
Why does it impress me when people demonstrate the openess and curiosity to find out about things that occurred before their time? Because to paraphrase Inara--so few people do.
If it isn't an age issue, why, then, did you ask for people's ages? Was it to see if the media's right: kids are getting shallower as time goes on?
But it's true that some people don't want to know anything that happened before their time. It's a pity, because with such a small ratio of good works to dreck, if you stick to only the most recent, you can't watch too many movies at a time. You have to sit around waiting desperately for new good things to come out. It's a sad state of affairs, and some of us like our passive entertainment too much to be passive about it.
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Glad you stumbled across this thread--it's a pleasant surprise that someone dug it up.
Oh, good! I always worry I'm upsetting the natural order of the universe when dredging up old threads. I'm glad to hear otherwise.
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Early: Where'd she go?
Simon: I can't keep track of her when she's NOT incorporeally possessing a spaceship, don't look at me --
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Okay VMI, you got me thinking. Why did I ask for age when creating the poll?
It's because I jumped to a conclusion. When I first saw "The Zeppo" and Cordelia called Xander the Zeppo, my immediate reaction was "There is no way in hell a girl like Cordelia Chase knows who Zeppo Marx is!"
I realize that's a stereotype of "a girl like Cordelia Chase" but she is fictional and my gut reaction was that it was out of character that she would know who Zeppo was.
And it always kind of nagged at me. So when 7 or so years later someone else at this site started a thread about that episode it inspired me to try and find out if I my conclusion was or wasn't off the mark.
So the reason why I asked for age was an attempt at a hem-semi-demi-quasi scientific way of testing a hypothesis, which was "Did fans of BUFFY and specifically younger ones know who Zeppo Marx was?"
In other words--I jumped to this conclusion, maybe I'm wrong.
I'm taking these computer classes at night and they're given at a local high school. We have a teacher and two interns named Any (pronounced Ah-nee) and Joe. They're both 17 and very intelligent and all-around impressive people. If all teenagers were like Any and Joe--I'd be a teacher.
So I asked them. Showed them the name "Zeppo Marx" and asked if they had ever heard of this person. Any said she had never heard of that guy in her life. Joe made a vague connection to the name Marx but he realized he was thinking of Karl Marx (the 6th Marx brother).
But then I asked them if they heard of the Marx Brothers and they were like "oh yeah, sure, of course". The Marx Brothers were a no-brainer for them as were the names Harpo, Chico, and Groucho.
So what does this prove? Absolutely nothing!
It was not my intent but I guess it came across that I was implying that there's no way any (not to be confused with Any) 17 year-old circa 1998 would know who Zeppo was.
But on the bright side, I do now have a sample size of exactly two 17 year olds who know who the Marx Brothers are but did not know there was a fourth (or a fifth or a sixth).
There are many responses above that provide plausible explanations as to how Cordelia could know who Zeppo was. But still in the case of Cordelia not only knowing the name Zeppo Marx but also knowing that he was kind of a fifth wheel so that she could make the metaphorical connection to insult Xander...I still ain't buyin' it. I just think it was out of character for her.
More importantly, it's a great episode, a great title for an episode and the line works in terms of the effect Cordelia's insult has on Xander.
Now let's see if anybody knows who the Ritz Brothers were! 
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Now let's see if anybody knows who the Ritz Brothers were!
The cracker dudes?
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Didn't expect an actual guess. Al, Jimmy, and Harry--a comedy team of brothers who were contemporaries of the Marxes. They were pretty much a poor man's Marx Brothers. Even though they didn't have the same kind of impact, they were featured in a few movies and starred in some of their own. They didn't achieve "greatness" but they were definitely survivors.
Just imagine Cordelia saying: "Xander, you're the useless part of the group. You're the Harry". Not nearly the same resonance. 
So, did you have a happy birthday?
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I got it. I'm 23. I'm also a huge fan of what the title references.
Hail, hail Freedonia!
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Land of the free and brave!
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I got it, but then I'm a 32 year old geek with a black and white movie fetish ...
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Okay, I'm lost, I'm angry, and I'm
armed.
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i guess i was like 19.
and i didn't get it.
no one here (denmark) knows the marx brothers (well very few).
i got the Gilroy one though, but only because my van broke down while passing the Gilroy exit and i had to walk several miles to a mexican garage, then give directions to the tow truck guy who didn't understand english. so i spent a day, a night and about $300 in parts in Gilroy.
good garlic chips though.
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