History Main / ViewersAreGeniuses

* You can read all the way through Erskine Childers' ''The Riddle of the Sands'' just for the gripping conspiracy that invented the modern espionage novel or the beautifully verbose and poetic descriptions of the sea... but having extensive knowledge of sailing in small boats certainly ''helps''.

* The MindScrew in ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' is a lot more comprehensible if you have knowledge of UsefulNotes/{{Kabbalah}} and [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Jungian psychology]].

* ''Film/TheMirror'': You need a pretty extensive knowledge of Russian literature and the ability to pay extremely close attention (the same actors play multiple characters in multiple timeframes; in the lead actor's case the two characters are even referred to by the same name to make it even more confusing) to make sense of it. It doesn't help that the subtitles on the Kino DVD don't translate or even mistranslate bits of dialogue.

* While ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' would seem to have ContinuityLockout due to a huge cast, the characters that the reader needs to know are sufficiently introduced. But to fully appreciate the story, the reader needs to be familiar with the general evolution of the genre over the last 4 or 5 decades, especially then-recent trends in [[NinetiesAntihero characterization]] to understand what the story is commenting on and, in retrospect, its own place in [[UsefulNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks changing the direction of the genre itself.]] The book is also replete with Biblical symbolism and imagery, and references to Christian theology. If you know that many Christian theologians consider Jesus to be fully God and fully human, and that this unique biology is essential to his self-sacrifice being meaningful, you appreciate Superman's speech to Captain Marvel a lot more (just as one "for instance").

* Most UsefulNotes/{{Unix}} manual pages are confusing even to people who have doctorates in computer science. And the Unix system itself, where one mislaid command as root can hose your entire system.

* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'''s plot is already pretty difficult to follow due to a GroundhogDayLoop, {{Alternate Timeline}}s and one heck of a TimeyWimeyBall, but that's just the beginning of your brain's struggle to keep up with the creators: Both characters and the lore include allusions to UsefulNotes/{{Christian|Mythology}}, Myth/{{Classical|Mythology}}, Myth/{{Norse|Mythology}} and Myth/JapaneseMythology, history and legends. Taxonomies, character names, {{Significant Birth Date}}s and character crests all include some level of GeniusBonus and not even the command lists go safe what with the ThemeNaming of the special moves (e.g., MadScientist-[[WasOnceAMan turned]]-EldritchAbomination Arakune's command list consists entirely of references to advanced mathematics). Finally, there's also the importance of things like [[QuantumMechanicsCanDoAnything "Observers" and "Phenomena Intervention"]], which are allusions to UsefulNotes/QuantumPhysics, most importantly stuff like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_superposition Superposition,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_function_collapse Wave Function Collapse,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement Quantum Entanglement,]] the UsefulNotes/SchrodingersCat Paradox and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation Many-Worlds Interpretation.]]

* Creator/TSEliot's long poem ''Literature/TheWasteLand''
** It is either an example of this, or of TrueArtIsIncomprehensible. For example, it contains quotes from various famous sources, still in their original language. If you're not reading an annotated version, it will make no sense.
** The notes don't really help much; they were described by Louis Menand as "[[http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/wasteland.htm simply another riddle -- and not a separate one]]". Eliot himself wrote in ''The Frontiers of Criticism'' that he started out just citing his quotations "with a view to spiking the guns of critics of my earlier poems who had accused me of plagiarism", before realising he had to come up with more material if the poem was going to be released as a book "with the result that they became the remarkable exposition of bogus scholarship that is still on view to-day".
** It also doesn't help that ''even Eliot'' seems to admit that some of the references make no sense without the notes. One of the cards during the Tarot reading represents the Fisher King, but not only is this not indicated in any way, Eliot claims to have no idea why he associates the two.

* Pretty much anything Creator/GrantMorrison has ever made. ''ComicBook/TheInvisibles'' gets special mention, since in order to fully follow it, you would need: a degree in history; a biography of Morrison; a complete and unabridged summary of British popular culture of the past 80 years with an emphasis on the 1960's; a fine knowledge into various revolutions (Mainly the King Mob, French situationism, the Cabaret voltaire and the Dada Society) a reasonable understanding of the Voodoun, Aztec, and Native-Australian belief systems; an understanding of the underlying symbolism of the Egyptian tarot; books on metaphysics, homeopathy and the various theories of the holographic universes; a familiarity with the works of the Creator/MarquisDeSade; a copy of every single piece of conspiracy theory literature ever published from the 1940s to the present day; and a bucket full of enough psychoactive drugs to make Charlie Sheen run away screaming. Even then, you probably wouldn't get it all.

* Pretty much anything Creator/GrantMorrison has ever made. ''ComicBook/TheInvisibles'' gets special mention, since in order to fully follow it, you would need: a degree in history; a biography of Morrison; a complete and unabridged summary of British popular culture of the past 80 years with an emphasis on the 1960's; a reasonable understanding of the Voodoun, Aztec, and Native-Australian belief systems; an understanding of the underlying symbolism of the Egyptian tarot; books on metaphysics, homeopathy and the various theories of the holographic universes; a familiarity with the works of the Creator/MarquisDeSade; a copy of every single piece of conspiracy theory literature ever published from the 1940s to the present day; and a bucket full of enough psychoactive drugs to make Charlie Sheen run away screaming. Even then, you probably wouldn't get it all.

* ''Hamilton'' is overflowing with references to other rap/hip-hop music and other Broadway shows, not to mention the subtle history puns like "I never thought I'd live past twenty/Where I come from some get half as many"--sung by the guy on the 10 dollar bill.

This one isn't about collectibles but it's the same kind of thing. I'm in a book store ... for new books. I've gone a little bit crazy and I'm about to spend a couple of hundred bucks. I murmur under my breath "money's too tight to mention".\\

** Pessimal generally deals in Literature/{{Discworld}} fics. The general opinion of readers is that he manages a very good Pratchett pastiche and that, as with the inspiration, the tales are loaded with references, allusions and background detail, right down to lots and ltos of necessary footnotes.

* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'' assumes that the viewer is already familiar with the real life Charles Manson murders. If you go in blind, there are certain aspects about the film that will hold little or no signifiance to the viewer otherwise, especially with its ending.

* Steven Erikson's ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' is quite possibly one of the most complex works of fantasy ever written. The main storylines of the series span four continents, every one of the ten {{Doorstopper}} books has a cast of hundreds, and the series's backstory covers hundreds of thousands of years. Viewpoint characters constantly change; there is extensive and deliberate use of LostInMediasRes, obtuse in-world poetry used as chapter epigraphs, oblique dialogue, digressions as characters discuss or ponder philosophy, and complex prose. The first book, ''Literature/GardensOfTheMoon'', is infamously difficult for new readers to get into. This was done deliberately, as Erikson wanted to weed out readers without the patience to keep track of his vast numbers of characters and plot lines.

* Music/TheDivineComedy's songs are about anything Neil Hannon is interested in. Which could be ''anything:'' Wordsworth's poems, 20th-century French cinema, stories by Creator/FScottFitzgerald, architecture, and landscape gardening... All liberally bespattered with quotations from literature, mythological allusions, and musical tips of the hat to Noel Coward and Scott Walker. Also, upbeat songs about hayfever, banking, and traveling by long distance coach.

* ''Theatre/SomethingRotten'' contains rapid-fire streams of references to other musicals in songs like "A Musical" as well as the titular song. Theatre-goers unfamilliar with the last fifty years of musical theatre may find little more than dick jokes left for them after so many references fall flat.

* ''WebComic/PolandBall'' requires a thorough knowledge of vexillogy to even know who is suppose to be who. The jokes are based around the international relations of rather obscure countries as they are the more famous ones.

But then totally confusin\\

* A great many ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' strips do this.
** One notable example is one where two shipwreck survivors are clinging to a shellfish-encrusted rock in the ocean, and one says "Don't worry, we'll have plenty to eat; the oysters go all the way to the top!". [[ViewersAreMorons You'd have to know that oysters actually live underwater to get the joke]].
** Averted by ExecutiveMeddling in one case: a strip showing a shady-looking man with a jacket full of tiny deer, goats, antelope, etc, was originally to be captioned "Hey, buddy, you wanna buy an ungulate?", suggestive of [[CoatFullOfContraband a drug dealer pushing e.g. barbiturates]], but was [[ViewersAreMorons changed under pressure from the publisher]] to "Hey, buddy, you wanna buy a hoofed mammal?", ruining the allusion in the process. ([[DontExplainTheJoke "Ungulate" is the technical term for a hoofed mammal]].)
** ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' actually [[PeripheryDemographic became quite popular among academics]] for its [[ShownTheirWork realistic portrayal]] of the natural world, including a foreword in the 2nd Far Side Gallery by a PHD (specializing in slugs).
*** To the point that paleontologists now actually refer to the spiky end of a Stegosaurus as the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thagomizer thagomizer]]", coined by a cave man professor in one ''Far Side'' strip as "named after the late Thag Simmons".
*** Another "Easter Egg" example is the "[[{{Pun}} Cape Buffalo Fear]]" strip, coupling the animal with the [[Film/CapeFear then-recently remade movie]] for the obvious pun. This is made ''far'' funnier when the reader knows about [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19351_the-6-deadliest-animals-too-adorable-to-run-away-from_p2.html?wa_user1=5&wa_user2=Science&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=companion the animal's propensity for getting revenge]], to the point that they're ''the'' most deadly of the "Big Five" African animals.
* The author of ''ComicStrip/{{Frazz}}'' has actually stated that he believes his readers to be among the smartest in the world. Since he's the one getting the fan mail, we'll just have to take his word for it.

** During one [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004623 off-hand flashback]] referencing something not all that memorable that ''did'' happen in a split second during a long, intense Flash presentation over 1500 pages back, the LampshadeHanging could not be avoided:

* WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros ''adores'' obscure references; from rarely-seen superheroes to ancient myths to 80's children's toy advertisments.

* Good lord, WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros. The show ''adores'' obscure references; from rarely-seen superheroes to ancient myths to 80's children's toy advertisments.
--> '''The Alchemist:''' ''[[ItMakesSenseInContext (holding a character's ear that fell off)]]'' Uhh, you dropped your Dino Damage.

** The ''[[MagicAmpersand Dungeons & Discourse]]'' [[http://dresdencodak.com/2006/12/03/dungeons-and-discourse/ comics]] [[http://dresdencodak.com/2009/01/27/advanced-dungeons-and-discourse/ in particular]] make a ''lot'' more sense if you have a decent knowledge of philosophy. A "[[Creator/SorenKierkegaard Kierke]][[{{Pun}} guardian]]" shouting "My existential dread won't affect them if they have no sense of self!" is highly amusing in context -- trust us.

* The DarkerAndEdgier (but still childish) sequel of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' series, ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]]'' makes accurate statements about biological structures and Darwin's natural selection theory when talking about the alien's artificial evolution and their DNA database system. Psychological issues, such as StockholmSyndrome and personality disorders, are also current, though in a much lighter way due to the TV ratings. The series also references characters and lines from Greek and Hebrew myths, H.P. Lovercraft's books, and Richard Lovelace's poems, alongside other pop culture elements, the most (in)famous being the character Will Harangue, a journalist whose show is a FrankensteinsMonster of various Fox News programs and a spoof of "Steven Colbert's Colbert Nation".

* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa:'' The creators of ''Conqueror of Shamballa'' showed their work in depicting Munich in 1923. The Thule Society was a real Nazi secret society trying to enter an unknown land called "Shamballa", and the Nazi meeting Edward stumbles into was based off the Munich Beer Putsch. However, much criticism of the movie invokes GodwinsLaw, suggesting many ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' fans were not familiar with this period of German history or the references to it and thought the movie threw in ThoseWackyNazis for no good reason.

** ''Sunday In The Park With George'', despite its minimalist, Britten-like score, can still be enjoyed as a classic tale of an artist (Georges Seurat) who alienates his lover for the sake of his art. Until the end of Act I, at which point the action fast-forwards ''a whole century'' to focus on contemporary installation artist George, great-grandson of the original. Repeated viewings help tease out the direct, micro- and macrocosmic parallels between the two Acts to make the whole work serve as a treatise on art and posterity.

* ''Series/ThirtyRock'' plays with this a lot. A textbook example is when Cerie mentions how she's upset her fiancé wants a Greek Orthodox wedding because she disagrees with the church's stance on Cyprus. Only viewers who are of Greek heritage or who follow international politics closely will have a clue what she's referring to.[[note]][[WeAllLiveInAmerica Or, you know, European people outside Greece. Like Turkish people.]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin And Cypriots.]][[/note]]

* ''Alternative 3'': A British documentary series decides to have a bit of fun and produces a {{Mockumentary}} about British scientists being taken to a secret base on Mars to protect them from a terrible disaster. Twenty years later, the show is now a central part of a great many UsefulNotes/{{conspiracy theories}} by those who failed to get the joke.

* ''Anime/ErgoProxy'' casually references Myth/ClassicalMythology (Daedelus and Icarus, Theseus and the Minos maze), philosophy (Rene Descartes, Creator/FriedrichNietzsche, and UsefulNotes/AlanTuring, among many others), film (''Film/TheBattleshipPotemkin'', ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', ''Film/BladeRunner''), UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}, art (Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti, John Everett Millais), history, and many other things, almost to the point of showing off to the audience how smart they are by cramming episodes with as many allusions as possible. While you may not need an understanding of any of the references to appreciate the concrete plot, how many people caught the City Lights bookstore (a real one located in San Francisco) and its importance to the beat poetry movement, or that Re-L's name was listed as "124C41+" in a computer database, referencing the 1925 science-fiction novel ''Ralph 124C41+'' by Hugo Gernsback. Even RedShirt characters have names from obscure ancient religions.

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': What starts out as a healthy amount of {{Genius Bonus}}es later falls straight into this as they become pretty crucial to knowing what the hell is going on. There are as many throwaway references to astrophysics as there are to pop culture, [[spoiler:a TimeTravel incident reaches near-''Film/{{Primer}}'' levels of complexity]], and one novel features an in-depth discussion of Euler's planar graph formula -- which is necessary to resolve the current situation. There are ''diagrams''.

See also FauxSymbolism, MindScrew, and MoonLogicPuzzle. ''Not'' mutually exclusive with ArtisticLicense or DanBrowned -- just because a show is crammed with obscure knowledge doesn't mean that it is correct, [[SeriesContinuityError even when it comes from the show to begin with]]. This can be the result of too many {{In Joke}}s being included in a work.