Is there a pop culture marker you completely missed? For example, are you in your 40s but have never seen Star Wars?
Against all odds, I have somehow never seen Top Gun. I'm willing to bet very few movie-watching guys in this country who are my age can make the same claim. It wasn't intentional, it just ended up this way.
Top Gun was released in May 1986 when I was 11 years old. At 11, I may have been slightly too young to catch the movie in theatres. How I never caught it on VHS is rather puzzling. I rented a lot of movies in the late 80s.
Then there comes a point where you avoid the movie on television, because if you're going to see Top Gun, you don't want any editing or ads. But for one reason or another, you're never compelling to seek it out. I've never had that moment where I thought "I need to see Top Gun so I understand all the references that have been flying about for thirty years".
My buddy Elvis drops a Top Gun reference as part of his daily lexicon. I know it's from Top Gun, but I sure don't know Top Gun.
Is there a pop culture phenomenon that somehow eluded you? And at this point, are you afraid to admit it?
