Walt Whitman in popular culture
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Walt Whitman and his works have been featured in many aspects of popular culture.
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[edit] Theater, Film, & Television
- In The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), Evie Roy, played by Nicole Ari Parker, gives her future girlfriend Randy Dean a book of Whitman's poetry
- Homer Simpson of The Simpsons who, after discovering that a grave his father told him was his dead mother's was actually that of Whitman, says along with intermittent kicks to the gravestone, "Damn you Walt Whitman! I … hate … you … Walt … freakin' … Whitman! Leaves of Grass my ass!". (Episode #136, "Mother Simpson")
- Whitman is heavily referenced throughout the film Dead Poets Society
- In an episode of the television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Walt Whitman comes to Colorado Springs town to inspire a young writer
- The title and some lines from the poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" are used as intertitles in the D.W. Griffith film Intolerance.
- In the film With Honors, Walt Whitman's book "Leaves of Grass" is a major prop in the film.
- In the 1994 Canadian Independent film titled Beautiful Dreamers documenting the time Whitman spent with compassionate psychiatrist Dr. Richard Bucke in London, Canada. Critics noted that the film obscured the sexuality of this Walt Whitman character, with a brief bit of dialogue where a nurse wonders aloud why Mr. Whitman never married.
- Whitman is also heavily referenced in the movie The Notebook
- In episode #2 of Northern Exposure, the town DJ is fired for bringing up the topic of Whitman's alleged homosexuality
- In a short play entitled The Open Road, the protagonist, Allen, thinks he is Walt Whitman; it was an off-off Broadway show
- An episode from the third season of The Twilight Zone is called "I Sing the Body Electric" and was written by Ray Bradbury
- In 2002 the horror movie Hellraiser: Deader when Pinhead read from one of Whitman's works and said to one of his victims "Walt Whitman. I like your taste in books"
- The play "Ancient Pinnacles", first produced in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1998, and again at the RSC Summerhouse in 2001, is a two-hander that uses the last day of Whitman's life to take the audience on an emotional, humorous, and challenging journey through the contradictions, love, and above all, the honesty of the poet's life.
- Partway through the film L.I.E., the main character recites an excerpt of Whitman's "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." The use is interesting given the film's theme of burgeoning homosexuality
- In the Family Guy episode "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Junior High", There is a reference to O Captain! My Captain! in the end of the episode. This is a parody of the ending of the film, "Dead Poets Society"
- In The Notebook, Leaves of Grass was in Noah's breast pocket during the War, the book takes a bullet that otherwise would have killed Noah.
- Whitman was one of the main characters in Romance Language, a play by Peter Parnell. In it, Whitman and Huckleberry Finn interact with Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, and other figures of the mid-19th-century literary scene.
- Whitman is mentioned by Roberto Benigni in the film Down by Law by Jim Jarmusch as his favorite poet (along with Robert Frost) while in prison with Tom Waits and John Lurie.
- In the 1993 TV-series Wild Palms the poem O Captain! My Captain! is repeatedly used as a prayer by the "Friends" faction.
[edit] Literature
- Allen Ginsberg wrote a comical poem called A Supermarket in California in which he muses about meeting Walt Whitman in a supermarket and, in a more subdued tone, wonders how Whitman with whom he feels a poetical kinship would relate to modern life. Ginsberg also quotes Whitman in the opening few pages of 'Howl'
- The storylines in Michael Cunningham's 'Specimen Days'(2006) are intertwined with references to and quotes from Leaves of Grass and include an appearance from Mr Whitman himself in the first section.
- In the book "Idol Hands, Bleeding Heart" by American Poet Joshua Mansfield his dedication begins with "To those who came before A.G., J.K., WSB., & W.W." referring to Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Walt Whitman
[edit] Music
- Whitman is referenced in a song by Billy Bragg and Wilco on the Woody Guthrie unpublished songs album Mermaid Avenue
- Gino Vanelli pays homage in his song Walter Whitman Where Are You from the album Yonder Tree
- Jesse Malin mentions Whitman in his song Brooklyn
- Singer Madonna uses the lines from the poem Voices in her song Sanctuary from her 1994 album Bedtime Stories
- Whitman's poetry was used by Leonard Bernstein in his song cycle Songfest, which uses a number of poems by poets of the Americas.
- Walt Whitman is also a southern rock/metalcore band based out of Jasper, Indiana. [1]
- Whitman is referenced in a song by The Descendants on their album Cool To Be You album
[edit] Other
- In the computer game World of Warcraft there exists an obscure reference to Whitman through the use of an anagram. In the fictional village of Darkshire a non-player character (NPC) named Whit Wantmal lives in a cabin on the hill. "Whit Wantmal" is adorned with a hat and beard similar to that shown in the photograph accompanying Leaves of Grass.
