'She's a phony, but she's a real phony'

In my high school I was involved in theatre, so I knew a lot of kids in the drama department. During lunch period, they enjoyed the occasional, impromptu play and performing the usual off-Broadway show tune. However, the drama kids I knew tended to have conversations turn into movie quotes. The only reason I knew that the quote conversation had turned on was because they would switch to their version of a British accent. They liked to quote "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." I had only seen the television show, so I was never able to participate. \nHowever, my problem was not that I wanted to join in, but more that I thought they needed to use these quotes in a way that is more effective, especially since they took all that time to memorize them. Additionally, I always felt isolated, since I had no idea what they were talking about. It was not like I could add to the conversation with a different movie's quote. I think movie quotes are great. They have the potential to be funny and perfect for the moment in question. However, sometimes they can become superfluous and tend to drown out the real situation, instead of adding to the conversation. \nAs a result, I propose two rules for the use movie quotes in everyday life: 1) practice/show off knowledge through the correct use of the quote and 2) implement the quotes into their corresponding meanings. Of course, I am only proposing these rules to be followed, but to make them easier to understand I will explain with an example.\nFor instance, lets start with the classic Hollywood film "Scarface" (that is, the second classic version from 1983). At the end of the film, Tony Montana, played by the lovable Al Pacino, stands up with his machine gun, and with a fierce look in his eye he yells, "Say hello to my little friend!" More than likely, the average college student is not going to be standing in a similar situation. Well, at least I have not found myself holding too many machine guns in my life, so this quote seems difficult to reenact. However, there are ways to present this quote successfully without buying a super-soaker water gun. Lets look at the rules ... \nFirst, we have to make sure we say the words in the correct order. A movie quote loses all its power when someone forgets the actual quote and it gets even worse when they continue trying to fix the quote. So, we want to memorize the words found in the quote in the exact order that Montana yells them. Repeat after me: "Say hello to my little friend!" Good job. It is after we have the words down that we can begin to bring them into conversations. This is where things can become tricky or even a bit confusing. We want to use the quote in a situation where we can show off our knowledge in front off people who enjoy the film. Yet, the key here is striving to also keep those folks who have no idea who Montana is, and may have not met his "friend," feeling like they can be part of the conversation. \nThus, this is what I propose for this quote. Imagine working this summer at a children's day camp where you are in charge of walking your cabin to a campfire event. When you enter the event raise your hands with the children standing beside you and say, "Say hello to my little friends!" Not only will the "Scarface" fans catch the crucial phrase, but also the line fits perfectly in the situation. The children are certainly not machine guns, but they sure are little. \nI understand not everyone will be working with the children this summer, but I am asking people to look at the function of their chosen movie quote and the important role it plays in conversations. They are fun to say, but try not to make people who lack the previous knowledge feel like idiots because they did not see the film. \nMy last name, for example, is Hansell. Until I saw "Zoolander," I was completely stumped on why people kept talking about my modeling work and how hot I was. Accordingly, I think these rules could change the critical role of everyone's favorite movie quotes. No longer will we misunderstand when someone is quoting David Bowie in the "Labyrinth" or Amy Sedaris' hilariousness in "Strangers With Candy." The quotes will begin to make sense. Moreover, I think it is possible to effectively implement movie quotes in everyday life. The key is looking at the situation and casting the quote into its correct role. So, next time you are about to quote Arnold Schwarzenegger or "Napoleon Dynamite" just think about the rules and you may notice a greater response from your audience.