Quotes and Quotability

So, last Wednesday night, I was in the pub with friends and someone mentioned liking 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' which promptly exploded the conversation into an intense, thoroughly geeky [in the best possible way] conversation about films and television series that we all shared one of those fanboy/girlesque passions for. And this got me thinking. This kind of devotion to visual media is not often expressed in conversation as you have to be a). in a dialogue with someone who shares an equal love for said film or programme, or is at least willing to acknowledge that it might be worth their time and b). be courageous enough to express your love in such an enthusiastic manner. However, there is one other way in which this is manifested and that is through the eternally fun medium that is quoting.

Is there anything more fun in this world than quoting your favourite characters? Probably. But there is a certain unbridled joy that exists in having an entire conversation in quotations from 'Friends' or in my family's case, 'Hot Shots' or 'Airplane!'. I can receive a text from my brother that simply says 'Harry, it's an inanimate fucking object' to which I will promptly reply 'You're an inanimate fucking object!' [In Bruges], something which will mean nothing to anyone attempting to read the conversation, but it is something all to ourselves, a joke that will make both of us smile.

Then there are particularly good things to quote, films in which quotations have passed into a social consciousness. A website [I can't for the life of me remember which] recently ran a list of quotes that were so good, the films from which they came are now remembered so well because of these lines. For example, who can think of 'Casablanca' without immediately thinking of 'Here's looking at you, kid' or 'Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship'. Then there's 'Some Like It Hot' in which one line singlehandedly outshone an entire film. I am of course referring to the very last line of the film 'Nobody's perfect' (Tip: Do not watch the end of this film whilst sipping a drink). Let's face it, anyone can quote 'Star Wars' whether they've actually seen it or not. There's the more sinister ones too, 'I'll make him an offer he can't refuse' or 'You talkin' to me?'. These are lines that carry meaning all by themselves to be dropped into conversation when one wants to look and sound like a film buff.

Being a film and TV nerd myself, I personally find it much more fun to drop less obvious quotes into conversation and see if I get a reaction. Anything by Joss Whedon is instantly useful for this as the dialogue from Buffy, Angel or Firefly especially are key to discovering other Whedonverse fans. I've lost count of the amount of times I have slipped 'I'll just jump off that bridge when I get to it' or 'Out for a walk. Bitch' into conversation [Ok, maybe not the last one but I've always been tempted to use it]. I discovered one of my friends was a fan of Dr. Horrible when I said 'I don't go to the gym, I'm just naturally like this' as a joke when discussing exercise, and she responded with 'Captain Hammer, Corporate Tool'. Cue lots of laughing, mutual appreciation and a complete geek out. Thanks to Battlestar Galactica, my new favourite swear word is 'frak!'. [Sadly no one else I know is actually a fan so I just look a bit weird...] But this is also fun in public situations. I was once having a phone conversation with my dad in which I had said the word 'Inconceivable' many times. After I got off the phone, the woman opposite me leant over and said in a faux Spanish accent, 'you keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means'. This was a wonderful moment for two reasons; one, the subsequent conversation helped a long journey pass quite quickly and two, I realised, perhaps gratefully, that I am not the only person who can quote every line of dialogue in The Princess Bride.

I guess the point I am trying to make is quoting is fun. Yes its nerdy and sometimes inappropriate but it allows you to both show off and connect with people at the same time. Earlier today, I randomly dropped a Blackadder quote into conversation with a friend, provoking a little giggle. It is these moments that I love, receiving a text from my friend that consists solely of a Friends quote, connecting with a random person on a train through a mutual love of the most awesome film ever [if you haven't seen The Princess Bride, you must, and if you don't like it, don't expect me to talk to you for a while].

So here is my challenge to you, dear reader. Go forth and quote! Discover things your friends liked that you didn't know you had in common, smile whenever you hear someone on a train quote some obscure piece of dialogue that you thought only you knew and, most importantly, see how many Whedonverse quotations you can drop into any one conversation. Trust me, no one else will have a clue what you're on about, but it is just too much fun.

On that note, 'go, experience this thing called fun!'

So say we all.