Talk:Fallout: New Vegas cultural references

Duke Nukem reference
Sometimes an NCR soldier will say something along the lines of "All this waiting has me almost wish for a nuclear winter." In Duke Nukem 3D, when the player is idling he may say to the player, "Whatcha waiting for, Christmas?" Also, an expansion to Duke Nukem 3D called Nuclear Winter had been made. Zretar (talk) 01:36, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

Colonel Moretti
Colonel Moretti (mentioned on a magazine cover and a terminal) was the villain in the graphic novel Give Me Liberty by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons.

There is an achievement for Fallout: New Vegas called "You've got to know when to hold em'" A reference to the song The Gambler by Kenny Rogers

The Kings are of course a reference to Elvis and Elvis impersonators (a Las Vegas staple) --Shane for Wax 17:24, October 19, 2010 (UTC)

One of the Headstones (head-planks-of-wood?) in the goodsprings cemetary reads benny lava. referencing this video?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNw

The Knock-Knock is obviously a reference to the shining.

Slander references
There is a poster that says "Careless Talk Costs Lives" and a trait called "Built to Destroy," separately I'd think nothing of them but both together seem like references to the NWOBHM band Slander

Actually, the first is probably inspired (or taken directly from) WWII propaganda posters reminding troops not to discuss orders and battle plans openly for fear of discovery by enemy spies. The naval equivalent is "Loose lips sink ships." --JustAnotherUser 08:20, November 13, 2010 (UTC)

reference to fallout 3
I don't know if references to other games in the series qualify for this page, so I haven't posted it yet, I was playing fonv yesterday and when I finally caught up to benney he said something about a giant robot hidden down in house's bunker, I think that he is referencing liberty prime from fallout 3.
 * It's not a cultural reference if a game talks about stuff from the immediately previous game in the same franchise.--Gothemasticator 22:55, October 22, 2010 (UTC)

Johnny Cash
I was walking through the wasteland when I found a guy named "The Mysterious Stranger" (Or something to that effect). He was dressed in a black suit and black hat, and was carrying an acoustic guitar. When you ask him what his story is, he tells you his Father ran away and left him and his Mother alone, leaving only the guitar. He says he has come the the Mojave Wasteland to look for him and is going to "punch him in the face" when he sees him. This sound so much like the Johnny Cash song "A Boy Named Sue", (Wouldn't you want to hide your name if you were called Sue?), so do you think it should be added? --Mikeh12 10:12, October 24, 2010 (UTC)
 * The boy named Sue wanted to punch his dad in the face because he named him Sue. Our guy wants to punch his dad in the face because dad left. Different stories. Good song, good game, but no connection between the two.--Gothemasticator 03:17, October 25, 2010 (UTC)

This is actually suposed to be the son of the mysterious stranger from the mysterious stranger perk. If you have a high enough barter/speech he will give you a gun that his dad gave him. It is the mysterious strangers .44 and when you pull it out it plays the ssame music as the mysterious stranger.
 * Not to mention Shel Silverstein wrote that song, and it's sequel "Father of a Boy Named Sue". Mictlantecuhtli 08:11, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

Cottonwood Cove inscription
On one of the walls in Cottonwood Cove, the words "Romanes eunt domus" (which means "romans are going home", if I remember my latin correctly) are scribbled. This is a reference to a scene in Monty Python's The Life of Brian.

The Tops
The Tops casinos slogan, "We're the Tops" is a clear reference to the Cole Porter song "You're the Top." 75.74.58.162 03:03, October 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * Being "the tops" was an idion, or slang, for being "great." "We're the tops" means "We're great." The song didn't invent the idiom, it just used it.--Gothemasticator 03:15, October 25, 2010 (UTC)

RoboCop
One of the things Securitrons will say when you walk by them is "Your move, creep." This is a line from the movie RoboCp. I'm not sure if it requires the Wild Wasteland perk or not, I have it.

Six-String Samurai
The achievement New Vegas Samurai is a reference to the indie movie Six-String Samurai about a man named Buddy is trying to get to Las Vegas after a nuclear apocalypse. The picture for the achievement is a direct take on the cover image.
 * We still haven't seen the perk icon. If it visually corresponds to the movie, then the reference is legit. If it doesn't, name alone is too much of a stretch.--Gothemasticator 00:10, October 27, 2010 (UTC)
 * Someone tried to say the same thing about Four Eyes, but it isn't a reference either. Mictlantecuhtli 08:13, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * Compared the images, they are in the same pose, holding the same things in the same hands, wearing glasses with a significant stubble/beard growth. I would say it is a direct reference without question.--Snake Plissken 04:34, December 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, once the icon image became available it was clear. The ref has been on the six string samurai page for some time now.--Gothemasticator 04:50, December 2, 2010 (UTC)

Indiana Jones
Climbing black mountain right before you get to the top, theres a shortcut on the left of the road, with a falling rock warning. when you climb up guess what one of the rocks rolling down is...the famous ball in the temple.

Megaton Atom
No one else posted this so i thought i might tell you guys, it says you can activate it, but you can only scavenge it for some energy cells, yeah i know it sucks. Its located east of the farthest north eastern ranger station, where theirs a bunch of the glowing one ghouls.

Beleve it or not it's actually a Toy Story reference. Sonictheblade 19:47, October 29, 2010 (UTC)

Care to elaborate? Anon 21:17, February 17, 2011 (EST)

ROTLD
In the nuke test facility, you find a dead redhead named "Trash" and her diary. This is a call back to a "Return of the Living Dead" character.

"Someone get some light over here Trash is taking her clothes off again."

EDE
On the robot ED-E there is a sticker that says : "My child is an Honor Student at Roosevelt Academy". This might be the same Roosevelt Academy from Fallout 3.

it probably is considering ed-e came from the capital wasteland.Omggivemaafningusername 03:23, November 2, 2010 (UTC)

Portal/Half-Life reference.
Sorry for editing without permission previously, I was too rush.

Just to point out that Portal is officially part of Half-Life series as both game make clear reference to each other, therefore existed on the same universe.

Please edit my sentence and others, my English is yet to improve. Chawit Chiwarattanaphan 03:01, November 3, 2010 (UTC)

Get Chip's spleen
Fiends sometimes shout (well, at least one outside their vault did) "I'll eat your spleen!". That immediately reminded me of Fallout 2 side quest "Get Chip's spleen", so I think it might be a reference. Does anyone else agree to that? --Turhake


 * I wouldn't say that referring to the same organ can be called a cultural reference xNOKIx 12:51, February 10, 2011 (UTC)

Korova Milkbar from Clockwork Orange
If you go into the main cafe area in Vault 3 you find milk bottles(an unusually large amount) scattered along the floor, and various addicting drugs on almost every table. Not sure if a mannequin was present, but the two items themselves in such quantities are a reference to A Clockwork Orange, where addictive drugs were always taken with milk, by raider-esque teenage criminals.

-Zanshikaze

Two references I spotted
In Goodsprings Cemetary there is a grave marked "Jay Frenzal." Jay Frenzal is a song by Less Than Jake about the singer from Frenzal Rhomb, Jason "Jay" Whalley.

Also, one of the things Jerry the Punk can be heard muttering as he composes poetry is "What rhymes with indulgent? Efful- No, no, that's terrible." (or something to that effect) which is a reference to the character Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The character was once an aspiring poet, whose use of the word effulgent caused others to mock him. --JustAnotherUser 05:50, November 4, 2010 (UTC)

The Godfather Part II
The Omertas being an obvious tie-in with the Mafia, they also did something very similar (not quite explicitly stated, I don't believe, but it is heavily implied) to a scene in The Godfather Part II. In Fallout: New Vegas, the character Troike is indebted to the Omertas for their covering up of his murder of a hooker while high on Psycho. His story, however, has him suddenly waking up in the room with a dead hooker and the Omertas telling him about what he did and how they can help him cover it up. This is very similar, point-by-point, to the scheme the Corleone family used to blackmail Senator Pat Geary into dropping the inquiry against the family. In this scheme, the Corleones set the senator up with a girl for the night and then knock him out, kill her in a particularly bloody way, and then wake him up and agree to cover it up if he would just do them a favor. Hitman640509 19:36, November 5, 2010 (UTC)

Billy Knight = Rodney Dangerfield?
I was thinking that Billy Knight might be a reference to the famous comedian, Rodney Dangerfield. Not only are many of his jokes taken from Rodney ("I take my wife everywhere, but she always finds her way back." for instance), but his style is also the same.


 * Knight's style used to be pretty common. Also, Dangerfield tended to be much more self-deprecating than Knight is. 71.63.129.124 04:06, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

Buster Sword
In what way does the bumper sword resemble Cloud's Buster Sword? The bumper sword seems to be that large since it's made from a car's bumper and it seems to only be used by super mutants, which would explain the size. The fact that it's large doesn't seem to cut it. I'll wait for agreements or disagreements before it's taken out of it. Nukey  ☢ talk 04:12, November 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it doesn't really look alike, does it? Cloud's sword is much more angular. I'll take out the ref. Thanks.--Gothemasticator 04:18, November 7, 2010 (UTC)

WB Yeats
Near the Nevada Highway Patrol Station is a piece of grafitti which reads "The centre cannot hold", could this possibly be a reference to the poet WB Yeat's poem "The Second Coming", as in the text it is reference to an oncoming catlyclism; a reference to the Great war or say the upcoming war between the NCR and the Legion?Wyrmalla
 * Yub, that's Yeats.--Gothemasticator 16:19, November 7, 2010 (UTC)

Rad(t) Pack
When you go to the tops you will talk in the back to an entertainer called Tommy Torini. He will tell you that he is part of the Rad Pack: a group of entertainers. This is a reference to the rat pack with Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Dean and Sammy Davis Jr. The rat pack actually made a lot of appearances in Las Vegas.


 * The whole setting of the Strip, the Tops (+Chairmen) and some more things are heavily influenced by the Rat Pack era. Not to mention a big part of the games soundtrack. I think the Rad Pack is a pretty obvious nod but you can't limit the reference to this. Oh and of course Tommy Torini himself is a clear nod to Sammy Davis Jr. (which is mentioned on the respective page, I think) xNOKIx 12:47, February 10, 2011 (UTC)

Citizen Kane reference
Mr house will ask you the collect snowglobes. This seems to me to be a reference to Citizen Kane. Also if you look at the picture of Mr house you notice he looks a bit like Orson Welles did in Citizen Kane. In addition the movie shows Kane as a man in a relentless pursuit of power.... not unlike mr House.

Lol(what else is new?)

Bison Steves
Bison Steves is a play on Buffalo Bills Casino, which has a roller coaster, in real life Primm, Nevada

Aaron Kimball - Arnold Schwarzenegger reference
i noticed how the president of the New California republic "Aaron Kimball" shares the same surname of "detective john Kimball" a character in Kindergarten Cop played by Arnold Schwarzenegger the current Governor* of California. the two also seem to share similar hairstyles which reinforces the possible connection that Kimball was influenced by Schwarzenegger. --elboydo 19:19, November 9, 2010 (UTC)

i hope you know Californa is a state in the United States, as such they have Governors, not Presidents.Omggivemaafningusername 21:55, November 9, 2010 (UTC)

aha my bad that was a lapse in judgement, i'll change that accordingly still think it could be a link but that i'd say was down to me not drinking enough coffee today. * - edited --elboydo 00:33, November 10, 2010 (UTC)

no problem, i havent seen kindergarten cop but it sounds like it might be a reference. Omggivemaafningusername 17:31, November 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * This is not a reference. "This character has the same last name as a character that an actor with a similar hairstyle played" is not a connection. It is a coincidence.--Gothemasticator 18:18, November 10, 2010 (UTC)

This Man Is Your Friend
I have noticed several NCR posters depicting NCR rangers with the caption 'this man is your friend, he fights for freedom'. This is a reference to a series of American WWII posters that depict soldiers of allied countries. I edited the article using the above title, i'm not sure if it's apropriate though.

http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/ww2/ww42.html GreyMullen 03:07, November 10, 2010 (UTC)GreyMullen

Van graaf reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_de_Graaff_generator

Stumbled upon this. If anyone wants to post it go ahead.

Return of the Living Dead
In the shack at the nuclear testing grounds, there is a dead redheaded woman named Trash. By reading her "Die-ary" entry (3/3), it appears that she was trying to make herself a ghoul by staying in the radioactive area. This seems to be a reference to the 1985 film "Return of the Living Dead" and a character of the same namesake who was obsessed with death and was easily recognizable by her red hair. Viperviscera 02:38, November 13, 2010 (UTC)

Shouldn't this be mentioned on the page itself? It's not speculative; it's obviously a reference to Return of the Living Dead. Of course, I'm just a lowly anonymous user, so what do I know ... 71.63.129.124 04:02, December 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * It is not obvious. It is a real stretch. The name alone doesn't do it. The red hair - the way the models in these games are, we haven't seen any references-by-facial-resemblance. And, as to the fascination with death - that's so vague it could mean or not mean just about anything. Direct visual or textual correspondance - that's what we're looking for.--Gothemasticator 04:08, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * But this particular name, "Trash," is extremely rare, even in fiction. And it's not just the fact that she had red hair, but that her red hair was so heavily emphasized in her "die-ary."  She wasn't exactly obsessed with death, but her entries make clear that she certainly hated life.  And she was trying to become the "living dead."  What more do you need?  IMO, it's far less likely that in this scenario, these similarities all came about by random chance. 71.63.129.124 04:30, December 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Does she say the exact words, "living dead?" Or is that your characterization of her interest in death and attempt to become a ghoul? Direct textual or visual correspondence. Characterizing something in the game and then characterizing something from another work of fiction and saying that the two characterizations match up is not how the game is played.--Gothemasticator 05:41, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * No it doesn't literally say "living dead" in the journal, though it does talk about her hair. Here are the three pages: One, Two, Three. Other than her name and hair color/length there isn't anything else to connect them. --Pongsifu 05:53, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * Sorry; she doesn't actually say living dead, those were just scare quotes. I think you're applying this direct correspondence test a little too narrow-mindedly in this case.  The rare name, the character's hair coloring and hair style, the emphasis on her hair in her journals, and the personality of the character which can deduced from those journals, all together convince me that this is not some fluke similarity.  In fact, dismissing it as a fluke similarity seems borderline absurd to me.  This is, after all, a videogame.  Everything has to be purposefully crafted (and in this case, by people who probably saw Return of the Living Dead during their formative teen years and drew an inordinate appreciation for it), and when these many variables happen to match, especially in a setting and in a manner which is entirely redundant to the rest of the game, then I think the odds become extremely remote that the characters similarities are the product of chance.71.63.129.124 06:24, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, you're right. I've been looking over the pics again, and for once the hairstyle does matter. That coupled with the name and the location at a nuclear testing site plus the death-focus. It does add up to a reference. Here's what bugs me about it, though:
 * The die-aries don't call to mind Trash from the film, not really. They just contain some clumsy 80s language.
 * Trash from the film is known primarily for two things: she took her clothes off and she became a very sexy zombie. Referencing Trash without referencing either of those things is just pushing it.

So, yes, I guess it is a reference to the character from Return of the Living Dead. A clumsy reference, but a reference.--Gothemasticator 12:23, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

Additional song reference
The quest "I Put A Spell On You" is named for a Screamin Jay Hawkins song. --JustAnotherUser 08:14, November 13, 2010 (UTC)

I Got Better
During the Boulder City Showdown one of the responces to Jessup saying "you should be dead" is "i got better" this is an idiom.Omggivemaafningusername 19:53, November 13, 2010 (UTC)

This is Spinal Tap
In the Nellis Air Force Base, when Loyal says he has trouble finishing his anti-ant weapon, one of the possible responses (the one with a Science check) is "Well, crank it up to 11!".

John Mellencamp
The Khan Drug dealers are named Jack and Diane. This could be a reference to the John Mellencamp song?


 * I think so.71.63.129.124 04:01, December 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, according to my dad the slogan for their chilli dogs was at one time "Groovalicious" which is very similar to the phase Jack uses ("Groodalicious") when you teach him a new recipie, and the hair color/styles are as close as they can get (using the presets) to the people in the music video.

Fallout 3
Inside a room at the El Rey Motel, there is a placard for the Super-Duper Mart, a notorious Raider hangout in Fallout 3.SupremeSlacker 00:30, November 19, 2010 (UTC)


 * Ok? There are characters that mention places and people from other games all over New Vegas. Not a cultural reference but rather just one of the many inter-game connections in the Fallout universe. --Pongsifu 17:39, December 4, 2010 (UTC)

Escape from L.A.
The very name of "New Vegas" could be a reference to "New Vegas, Thailand" from the movie 'Escape from L.A.' Directed by John Carpenter and Starring Kurt Russel. In the beginning of the film, as Snake is being removed from the transport vehicle a news reporter states that Snake was "Arrested two weeks ago on a charge of gun fighting for profit in New Vegas, Thailand, U.S. territory." As this movie was produced one year before any Fallout Game it predates all references made to New Vegas in the fallout series and is possibly the origin of that name in such a distopian context. --Snake Plissken 22:06, November 24, 2010 (UTC)
 * No. It's "New" Vegas the same way it was "New" Reno in FO2. "New" because the world was blown up, remember? The "old" or "original" Vegas doesn't really exist any more, because there's no United States or Nevada. The old world has passed away...--Gothemasticator 04:10, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * But with it being a distopian game, along with the plethora of other Snake Plissken, Escape from N.Y./L.A. references that occur within the series I don't think that it is a stretch to say that the creators could have been inspired by Escape from L.A., nor does it discredit that this would be the first time that the name "New Vegas" was used in such a context.--Snake Plissken 08:54, December 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * New is common, and not a movie reference. New England, New Amsterdam, New Hampshire, New York, etc, etc. Mictlantecuhtli 09:02, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * See above. Just because it is a common term does not mean it is without reference.--Snake Plissken 09:05, December 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * No, it just means the reference is a common naming practice unless a dev specifically says it was related to that movie. Mictlantecuhtli 12:55, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * As stated before, the fact that this appears the earliest reference to the name "New Vegas" in a distopian/post apocalyptic context lends more credence to the movie having at least some direct reflection on this game, whereas there is nothing to make a claim that this this film had no influence.--Snake Plissken 17:53, December 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * No one is claiming the John Carpenter films had no influence on the game. They do. The only question at issue is whether the name "New Vegas" itself has anything to do with the films. And the answer there is, no.--Gothemasticator 18:01, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * Without having taken part in the creation of the game there is no definitive way of saying it had nothing to do with the film and will be under speculation as a cultural reference until such information could be determined by a source that does have such knowledge. --Snake Plissken 18:13, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

Cultural references are not something that exists only in the author's mind. They are deliberate allusions to other works, meant for those familiar with the other works to "get." If they are a bit obscure, it is only in the spirit of fun, so that when you do find it out, you feel oh so clever. Obscure or not, though, they are capable of being pointed out and explained to others, who in turn "get it" themselves. Our behind the scenes sections are for the recording of such deliberate allusions. We do not cover what the devs might have in their minds secretly influencing their creative process. That is of course unknowable. And we do not cover speculation.--Gothemasticator 18:45, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * That definition is far to narrow, and in fact without the devs input all we cover is speculation and nothing more. --Snake Plissken 22:01, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

It is not too narrow. It is how allusion works in fiction, which includes videos games. Allusion is a literary technique. We didn't make it up. And we're not trying to do mind-reading either. What we term "cultural references" here at The Vault are what you would learn as allusions if you were to pursue a degree in literature or English or some other language. I am not just making stuff up out of thin air here.--Gothemasticator 22:07, December 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * As an author I would say that I fully understand the definition of allusion. What I find too narrow is that you believe that it is not allusion because you didn't "get" it, or that despite explanation it did not come across to you as a cultural reference. I made this wiki contribution because during a conversation I was having several people agreed with my finding that the title of "New Vegas" could have stemmed from John Carpenter's works. The process you were explaining earlier, "Obscure or not, though, they are capable of being pointed out and explained to others, who in turn "get it" themselves", worked just fine in practice. I simply find that you rejecting it as a cultural reference simply because you don't find it to be one, and without another means of discrediting it to be flawed and narrow.--Snake Plissken 22:21, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

Scribe Ibsen
Scribe Ibsen (Brotherhood of steel) is a reference to the great Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Ibsen). The very fact that the character in the game works with litterature (scribe) and knowledge makes me pretty sure of it.

futurama reference
the Euclid's C-Finder is a reference to futurama becuase it looks almost exactly like the ray guns they use on it
 * Futurama is a show that exists almost solely to make cultural references, so any similarity between the show and the game is bound to be a parallel reference and therefore not notable.--Gothemasticator 22:38, November 29, 2010 (UTC)
 * ^Ditto. Love Futurama, but unless I see something extremely blatant, like a robot named "Bender," I'm going to assume any similarities between New Vegas and Futurama are because they're both referencing the same things.

Fable II
There is a plaque on the wall of Tabitha's second-story broadcasting room at Black Mountain. It has a two-headed brahmin mounted on it. This reminded me strongly of the trophies in Fable II which players could mount on the walls of houses they owned. The shape and color of the plaque itself seems virtually identical to those found in Fable II, and at least one of Fable II's trophies (possibly the first players will acquire) was a severed head, which makes me think it this was an intentional nod. Anyways, go take a look and judge for yourself. 71.63.129.124 04:00, December 1, 2010 (UTC)Anon.
 * Trophies are nothing new, nor specific to Fable II. Neither are severed heads as trophies. And there's not a huge variety of plaque shapes out there in the world. Coincidence.--Gothemasticator 04:12, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

The brahmin plaque is also from Fallout 3, which was released well before Fable 3...¬¬

Italics
About half the "sources" of the references are italicized and the rest are not, which should it be? --Pongsifu 17:37, December 4, 2010 (UTC)

The Professional
There is a perk with the image of a guy with a trench coat and a fern behind him, obvious reference to he movie of the same name, but I dont know if anyone mentioned it yet. -Bot


 * Already in the article --Pongsifu 09:54, December 5, 2010 (UTC)

Sneakers?
Can someone check the Sneakers entry from the game side? From what I recall of the movie, it's not "My voice is my password" but "My voice is my passport".

Looney Tunes
If Cass is your follower and you go into sneak mode, she may say 'shh, we're hunting shitheads'. An obvious reference to Elmer Fudd's famous line from looney tunes 'be verry verry quiet, im hunting rabbits'.

-brandonspooky


 * Yeah, it has been on Cass' page for a while, seems like a pretty obvious reference to me. --Pongsifu 07:52, December 7, 2010 (UTC)

Howard Hughes / Mr. House
The references to Howard Hughes are more than just personality: The H&H tool company is a reference to Hughes Tool Company. The tool company gave Hughes the initial capital to build up the rest of his empire. In game, the dates and times on the tool company terminal data would indicate that Mr. House got his start there. House's monitor image, complete with mustache, is consistent with how Hughes looked after his crash.

RavenNagicxx 14:37, December 19, 2010 (UTC)

Hackers
The trophy awarded for successfully hacking 25 terminals (Hack the Mojave) is a reference to the 1995 movie 'Hackers' staring Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie. The slogan of the group in the movie is "Hack the Planet".

Acumenhokie 18:25, December 24, 2010 (UTC)acumenhokie

Freeside / Neuromancer
"Freeside" is a reference to a orbital space station of the same name in William Gibson's Neuromancer. Also the motif of the crazed siblings, like Jean-Baptiste and Gloria Van Graff, is present in the novel: The station Freeside is controlled by the mad clones of Jean und Jane Tessier-Ashpool.

How about...not. They share a name, and a POSSIBLE connection with the siblings thing. Except Fallout's Freeside isn't in space, and connecting a ghetto to a space colony is a bit of a leap. Sonictheblade 03:55, January 4, 2011 (UTC)

I dunno... Freeside was a gambling hub and New Vegas' Freeside has its share of gambling. Given that, the "controlled by siblings" angle, and the pop/sci-fi culture reference in the franchise (including at least one other Neuromance reference I can immediately recall) I'd be willing to bet it's a reference. Scarymike23 15:13, April 14, 2011 (UTC)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
When talking to Ranger Ghost at the end of the "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" quest, Ghost says "Fucking Mojave's going to hell, and all I can do is sit here and watch." This could be a reference to General Shepard's quote "Five years ago, I lost 30,000 men in the blink of an eye, and the world just fuckin' watched."

Her name could also be a reference to Simon "Ghost" Riley in MW2. Both also wear sunglasses and never take them off.

--ChikenNugget 12:42, December 28, 2010 (UTC)ChikenNugget


 * The quote is nothing alike... extremely tenuous connection. --Pongsifu 11:34, January 3, 2011 (UTC)

Fear and loathing in las vegas
the great khans will reffernce "kill the body and the head will die" in fear and loathing when entering the fort they will ask you to give you chems up and you can say you have "heart condition" another referecne to the movie and book

Johnny the homicidal maniac
- The character Trash kept a die-ary before she died with her thoughts of death. The main character of JTHM, johnny, also kept a Die-ary where he contemplated suicide and homicide alike. (This is an example of multiple cultural references in one area.)

I think that with the lack of true evidence that Trash had, and the fact that she is still mentioned in the cultural reference area, then Johnny and his Die-ary should also be mentioned
 * With Trash there is direct textual and visual evidence. She does indeed physically resemble the movie character, what with her unique red hair and haircut, plus the name is an exact match. Johhny is based on vague thematic similarities and the name "Die-ary" which is an easy play on words. Not much to go on.--Gothemasticator 04:26, January 1, 2011 (UTC)

The Grapes of Wrath
The name of one of the companions, Rose of Sharon Cassidy, is a direct reference to the 1930s novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Cass herself indicates as much - "some Old World book about dirt pilgrims." 74.32.226.88 01:08, January 5, 2011 (UTC)


 * What is the "reference" exactly? As in, what is the name of the company in the book? The exact same name? --Pongsifu 01:40, January 5, 2011 (UTC)
 * Rose of Sharon is the name of one of the Joad children in the book, and Rose of Sharon Cassidy is the name of one of the companions in Fallout: New Vegas. 74.32.226.88 01:56, January 5, 2011 (UTC)

Dead Money Dr. Who Reference
In dead money when making your way to the watch tower to activate the Gala event, in the wine cellar. On one of the pillars is "I am NOT your mummy" scratched into the stone. This is a reference to the episode where the WWII children would have gas masks on (much like the ghost people) and constantly ask "Are you my Mummy?"

Horowitz?
Some anon posted this on the Horowitz page:

"Horowitz's name may have been originated from the famous author, Anthony Horowitz the creator of the famous, "Alex Rider" series."

I'm not very familiar with the series or the author, but I don't see any connection beyond the name itself. Figured I'd run it up the flag pole here.

The Night of the Hunter/Robert Mitchum Reference
The unique brass knuckles weapon Love and Hate could possibly be a reference to the actor Robert Mitchum, who is most famous for his role in The Night of the Hunter. He has the words LOVE and HATE tatooed on his knuckles, which match the unique weapon. Search on Yahoo! or Google using "Robert Mitchum" and "Love/Hate knuckles" and you'll see what I mean. Scipio3767 03:50, January 26, 2011 (UTC)Scipio3767

That thing is too common to be a reference.

Or it could be from "Do the Right Thing", where the character Radio Raheem has brass knuckles that look pretty much exactly the same as the game model, but alas, there's no way any of the admins are gonna let anyone edit it either way TheMindRobber 18:23, May 9, 2011 (UTC)

Star Wars
There are some burnt corpses named Owen and Beru. Obviously a reference to Lukes Uncle Owen and his Aunt Beru.

http://www.galacticbinder.com/images/DarkestMoments/beru-lars-dead.jpg

http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Games/F/Fallout%20New%20Vegas/Everything%20Else/Wild%20Wilderness/Wild%20Wasteland%202/oab2--article_image.jpg

Nivek1993

Manhunt 2
The super mutant companion Lily refers to a person named Leo as her violent alter ego. This is clearly a reference to Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 where the main protagonist Daniel Lamb is guided through the plot by Leo Kasper, a personality which was implanted to his brain. The voice of Leo tells the player (controlling Daniel Lamb) to kill his first victim similar to the way Lily is referring to Leo. -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhunt_2

xNOKIx 12:26, February 10, 2011 (UTC)

Fat Man and Little Boy
Fat Man and Little Boy were separate bombs.

Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Man

Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy

The Fat Man ammo has a huge resemblance to the casing for the actual bomb (though smaller in scale).

I Like Ike
Anyone notice the similarities between the Vault 11 election slogan "I Hate Nate/Kate" and President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1952 campaigne slogan "I Like Ike"? The Emporer 18:09, March 16, 2011 (UTC)

K's Choice
The challenge Maybe That's a Lie is a reference to the song Not An Addict by K's Choice.

Do the Right Thing
The unique spiked knuckles Love and Hate might be a reference to the movie Do the Right Thing:

The character Radio Raheem (played by Bill Nunn) has a set of brass knuckles with Love and Hate on them. Perform a Google Image search for "do the right thing, love and hate" (without the quotes) to see them. An excerpt taken from IMDB of Radio Raheem describing Love and Hate: "Let me tell you the story of Right Hand, Left Hand. It's a tale of good and evil. Hate: it was with this hand that Cane iced his brother. Love: these five fingers, they go straight to the soul of man. The right hand: the hand of love. The story of life is this: static. One hand is always fighting the other hand, and the left hand is kicking much ass. I mean, it looks like the right hand, Love, is finished. But hold on, stop the presses, the right hand is coming back. Yeah, he got the left hand on the ropes, now, that's right. Ooh, it's a devastating right and Hate is hurt, he's down. Left-Hand Hate KOed by Love."

Yes, there have been tatoos and such of "Love and Hate" on knuckles for some time before the movie came out, but this is different. In the movie, they are specifically brass knuckles, not tatoos, and the brass knuckles from the movie look almost exactly the same as the game model of Love and Hate, besides the spikes.

This isn't to say that they couldn't be influenced by those tatoos, but be realistic; if you can say without a doubt that 'holy frag grenades' are supposed to be references for 'The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch' from monty python when they don't even have the same name or even remotely the same model, then why can't you say that 'Love and Hate', which share the same name and model as the spiked knuckles from the movie, might be a reference to Do the Right Thing.


 * If you'll look at the Love and Hate page, you'll see when trying to edit any section that "ANY REFERENCE TO THE SPIKE LEE MOVIE "DO THE RIGHT THING" OR ANY THING ELSE WILL BE REMOVED, THE "LOVE" "HATE" REFERENCE IS NOT UNIQUE TO ANY FILM, BOOK, T.V SHOW OR ANYTHING ELSE AND HAS MANY CULTURAL REFERENCES". This has been brought op many times and it has always ended the same way. Kastera(talk) 03:06, May 2, 2011 (UTC)

^Which is why i didn't post it under the weapon's page. I love that you didn't even acknowledge my amazing argument, and that your statement isn't even a remotely good argument. And I love how any of the moderators can decide with no reasoning or counter-argument that something can't be posted.

I want to hear from that Gothemasticator guy, cause he seems to know what he's talking about and also seems like he's king of the vault.

Also, i really think its wrong for you to not allow people to post what they think something is. At least put it to a vote or something. The only reason I edit this is to help people, but you guys make it really hard to do that. Take this case:

"I think the assault rifle is a pretty cool guy. He kills everything and doesn't afraid of anything. I wonder if its a real gun, or at least based off of one? I know! I'll go to the page about the assault rifle on the Fallout Wiki!" (In a few minutes) "Alright, I got to the page about the assault rifle from Fallout 3, but wait, there's nothing about the design of the gun or whether if its based off the real gun." or: "I think 'love and hate' is a pretty cool guy. He punches bad guys in the face and doesn't afraid of anything. I wonder if this was based off anything in pop culture? I know; I'll go to the page on the wiki! Alright i'm at the 'love and hate' page, but wait, there is absolutely nothing about what its influences are. I know, I'll go to the culture references, it's bound to be there! Now I'm at the page, but alas there is nothing about whether 'love and hate' are inspired by anything, leading me to the conclusion that Fallout: New Vegas was the first one to make it up."

Geez, see what you did. You made this person think that two items found in Fallout are completely original, where in fact they are based on real things.

I see it as if you can get at least five people or an admin to confirm it, then it should be included in the entry, no matter what. If 'love and hate' could be influenced by many things than why not include them in the entry.

I thought this place needed people to help edit it, but really, its just moderators telling people to not edit things because democracy is not a real thing anymore.

(O yeah, sorry about the 'cool guy' meme)

FIGHT THE POWER!108.16.142.147 16:47, May 2, 2011 (UTC)

^oh sorry, i forgot to log in to my profile, so thats my post.TheMindRobber 16:54, May 2, 2011 (UTC)


 * As a matter of fact, Gothe is one of the bureaucrats here at The Vault and is responsible for removing most of the "cultural references" bunk that has been thrown around in the past. People try to make something out of nothing and as a result, it gets taken down because there is no concrete evidence to back it up. If you have some solid evidence behind the naming of Love and Hate, by all means, add it to the page and cite your reference. Kastera(talk) 00:59, May 3, 2011 (UTC)

^okay here you go, a link

just scroll down a bit http://med1915a.blogspot.com/2010/04/do-right-thing_18.html

And if you compare them to the 'love and hate' spiked knuckles you can see that they are pretty much the same. In my search for I found many other love and hate brass knuckles but they were just regular brass knuckles with love and hate inscribed in the small hitting surfaces. Like so: http://weaponcollector.blogspot.com/2010/08/love-hate-knuckle-dusters.html

Unlike those, the ones from the movie and the game are big and rectangular, obviously made to be that way, and don't just 'tack on' love and hate after the fact. Really the only differences between the two are the spikes and the fact that the background of "love and hate" for the game model is filled in instead of left open unlike in the movie. TheMindRobber 03:27, May 3, 2011 (UTC)
 * Since the Love Hate knuckles/tattoos thing appears in numerous sources, we would need corroborating evidence to suggest a connection to one source in particular. There's nothing else to my knowledge that suggests the Spike Lee movie instead of just the general cool factor.--Gothemasticator 02:09, May 4, 2011 (UTC)

Securitrons and Fear Factory?
The Securitrons might be a reference to the song Securitron (Police State 2000) by Fear Factory from the album Obsolete --DannyK92 15:59, May 31, 2011 (UTC)

Crusoe
The detective Crusoe may actually be a reference to Inspector Cleausseau from the Pink Panther movies.

Blazing Saddles
It may be just me but in the film there are scenes that have random cattle running through the set. When on the strip I have occasionally seen a brahmin running from gate to gate in the first section of New Vegas strip (Lucky 38 & Gommorah). I would imagine that his would be a reference as this game and the movie both contain crude humor. Thoughts? --Kingclyde 02:43, June 17, 2011 (UTC)
 * As much as I love that movie, I don't think it's a reference. 1) I've actually never seen a Brahmin on the Strip, and 2) it was only one brahmin. Unless it was 10-15, it could be a reference, but that's still a stretch. Kastera (talk) 04:32, June 17, 2011 (UTC)
 * I've seen the brahmin on the strip - an NCR trooper is usually chasing it. Not supporting it as a reference, just an FYI. BILLYOCEAN 04:45, June 17, 2011 (UTC)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 2
a user called S1mone56 in a italian forum of fallout has found this references to this film:

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is a fairly well-known film of Terry Gilliam which features Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his lawyer, Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro). In this sort of comedy the two make their way to Las Vegas, with the excuse to do a reportage on a motorcycle race, to Fully get high with drugs of any kind.

Back to us, I found two references in the game about this movie:

The first is inside the Bison Steve Primm hotel: in a room you will find two skeletons, one of them is in the bathtub with a knife,infact in one part the movie one of the two protagonists is in a bathtub with a knife. Also in this room over the bed the'are is a suitcase full of drugs of all kinds: at the beginning of the film the protagonist do the list of substances that have showed it in a suitcase.

The second reference is found instead in the DLC Honest Heart where you will meet at the beginning of the adventure Ricky a character very similar in all aspect to Johnny Depp in the film: first, Ricky is a psycho junkie and phrases that says more reminiscent or not some of the film.second the two are really,really similar in aspect.



(sorry for my bad english) however i think that we can put in the article,right?

Run, Goodsprings, Run
Is there any sort of confirmation that it's a Forest Gump reference? Owing to the plethora of quests named after old songs, particularly western-themed songs, I think it's more likely it's named after Run Rabbit Run. --NotGodot 21:59, July 24, 2011 (UTC)

Public Enemy reference?
The "Fight the Power!" Perk included in the Honest Hearts DLC is quite possibly an homage to the hip hop group Public Enemy. PE released their song "Fight the Power" in 1989, which was featured in the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing the same year. The song is included on Public Enemy's third album Fear of a Black Planet (1990).

Ambermonk 04:17, July 25, 2011 (UTC)
 * And it was a longstanding protest phrase before that. History didn't start when they released that song. 9_9 UserGreatMara.png pistol.png 04:34, July 25, 2011 (UTC)

Kilroy
In Old World blues i happened across a Kilroy was Here graffiti so i thought it was kinda relevant as it widely used in WWII i know it might be a weak join but anyway Nbyk goughy 15:26, July 25, 2011 (UTC)

The Jerk
Miss Fortune's outfit bears a stark resemblance to the character Patty's daredevil outfit from the 1972 film The Jerk.

For a few hollars/dollars more.
Somebody should add "For a few hollars more" = For a few dollars more (the movie) and "A fistful of hollars" = A fistful of dollars (the movie) to the cultural references page. I would do it but I haven't got the slightest idea on how to do it.

Mick Ralphs
The Better Off Ted, John Mellencamp, Less Than Jake, and Professional Wrestling references on the page are namedrops just as tenuous as the Mick Raphs/Mick and Ralph's one. So why does it get reverted while they don't? 70.72.163.182 22:54, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

Heart of Darkness
It might come into mind that this reference would be far-fetched, as the fictional character Kurtz, who serves here as inspiration for Caesar, himself was inspired by many real world people. J.E. Sawyer, however, explicitly mentions him as source in the cited reference : "[…] I believe at the time my rationale for that Karma setting is that Caesar is in a Mr. Kurtz-like state of unmoored morality. […]" --  -- You like to talk to me? -- cCContributions -- 14:21, 11 January 2017 (UTC)