Cinema is one of the most personal mediums because it depicts real people and real life. Watching movies is often a group event where family, friends, or partners come together to enjoy action and story-telling on the big screen. Seeing a film in a theater on opening night with a bunch of other fans is an unmatched experience.
This is why movies stick with you long after you’re done watching them. The social aspect allows it to build relationships and find common ground with others. Some movies have impacted audiences and pop culture so much that hearing a certain line or song takes you directly back to the film. Between memorable one-liners, perfectly timed music, and unforgettable scenes, there are a plethora of movies that have forever changed your everyday behavior without you even realizing it.
‘A Night At The Roxbury’ (1998)
What is love? Truly. Everyone desires it, and the best of us search our entire lives for it. But this sentence was changed forever when Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan bobbed their hands to the Haddaway electronic song, “What Is Love,” in 1998’s A Night At The Roxbury.
The two actors played a couple of dim-witted brothers, Steve and Doug, who still live at home with their parents and exist only at nighttime to hit on girls in clubs. They are repeatedly unsuccessful in their chasing of women until they are invited to the Roxbury, a swanky, elite club. While the film is a ton of nostalgic fun, Haddaway’s song was the real treasure. Ferrell and Kattan’s ridiculous head dance turned it into a pop culture phenomenon. It became a cult classic hit, and it would be hard to find someone who does not start bobbing their heads whenever the opening synths sound in the distance.
‘Final Destination 2’ (2003)
The Final Destination franchise is beloved by horror fans for good reason: all of its sick and twisted death scenes. This can be said of most horror movies, though, so why do these movies stand out so much? It is partially because of how the franchise poses discussions on fate and other philosophical questions surrounding death. Mostly though, it is how the characters die.
The deaths in the movies hit a little too close to home. They take everyday things that people do, like driving a car or riding a roller coaster, and turn them into some pretty terrifying ways to die. The Final Destination 2 pole scene changed how everybody drives their car to this day. In it, Kat Jennings misses a pole through the head when a van carrying poles runs into her car, and they go straight through her window. Take a look the next time you’re driving down the freeway and notice how many drivers switch lanes when they’re behind a vehicle carrying anything faintly sharp and thin.
‘Candyman’ (1992)
Many kids played a few traumatizing games that they probably learned from their older cousins: Bloody Mary, Light As a Feather, Stiff as a Board, and Candyman. Each of the games had a demonic undertone and a nice folklore legend attached to it — the most terrifying, though, was always Candyman, based on the 1992 movie starring Daniel Robitaille.
The game is pretty simple. Like the movie, mention the name “Candyman” five times in front of a mirror, and you’ll summon his murdered, vengeful specter to kill you. Ever since the movie was released, people from all walks have become afraid of mirrors. And the mere mention of the name Candyman will have grown adults fleeing to cover any mouths.
‘The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ (2001)
Gandalf is among the wisest and most powerful wizards in The Lord of the Rings. He cares about those close to him, keeps a watchful eye on evil, and wants to do right in the world. Overall, he’s a pretty cool dude. He also birthed one of the most iconic lines in the entire franchise right before his death in The Fellowship of the Ring.
When the fellowship crosses through Moria, Gandalf chooses to fend off the Balrog while the others escape. During this scene, the wizard shouts the words, “You shall not pass!” before sending the Balrog into a chasm and being dragged down himself. The line has become synonymous with The Lord of the Rings and is more popular than any other quote in the movie trilogy. You’ll find it being used in the most interesting of places, and even after all these years, it is the best way to get keep someone out.
‘Jaws’ (1975)
Jaws infiltrated the minds of beach-goers around the globe in the 70s. With each passing decade, new fans still seem to find their way across the Stephen Spielberg classic to worsen their fear of open water. In the movie, a young woman is killed by a shark near a tourist town. The mayor refuses to close the beaches in fear of losing revenue, and a battle ensues between shark and man.
The thumping score of Jaws is permanently etched into most film fans’ minds, and it’s hard not to start singing it out of instinct when close to the ocean. The fear of sharks that comes from Jaws is palpable. It has ensured that most people who have seen it develop some sort of distress around open water and anything that slightly resembles a fin.
‘The Truman Show’ (1998)
There is nothing quite as uncomfortable as having strangers watch you – whether running errands, eating dinner, or playing with your pets. What’s even worse is not knowing they’re watching you and believing you’re living an everyday, regular life. Welcome to The Truman Show.
In the film, Jim Carrey played Truman, a man whose life is unknowingly being broadcast to the world through hidden cameras. Ever since, people have pondered if their life is all part of a television show too, and wondered just how real their lives are. The movie changed the idea of anonymous life forever, and you’ll still hear people talking about how they feel like they’re on The Truman Show while going about their business.
‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’ (1977)
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope forever changed sci-fi movies in the late ’70s. It became one of the biggest and most well-known sci-fi franchises of all time. The first movie was most important because it introduced iconic pop culture phrases, objects, and characters.
One of the most popular objects that came from Star Wars was the lightsaber, a laser weapon of the Jedi that can slice through most things that come into its path. People of all ages have long wished for them to be real and will do whatever it takes to make one, even if they’re using an old wrapping paper tube. The lightsaber changed the world forever because it’s difficult to find someone who won’t pretend to be wielding a lightsaber when holding anything remotely long and cylindrical.
‘The Lion King’ (1994)
The Lion King opens with all of the creatures in the animal kingdom coming together to welcome the new prince of Pride Rock, Simba, a newly born lion cub. The song “The Circle of Life” plays during the scene, making it especially memorable.
Most remember the music so vividly that it became a part of their everyday lives. Rafiki holds up Simba for the entire animal kingdom to see him while the beating music plays in the background. It is because of this scene that every single person has the urge to hold their pets up Rafiki-style and utter the words from the song, pretending that they’re Simba. While the movie remains the saddest of the animated Disney films of the ’90s, the cry is worth it when seeing Simba’s welcome into the world before finding the strength to avenge his father.