Whitman Treasure Hunt!

Here are some things i found that have echoes of Whitman!

1) Twilight Zone "I Sing the Body Electric"

This episode is about an electric grandmother that takes care of a family. It was written by Ray Bradbury some lines from the poem that are reflected in the episode are:

"The expression of a well made man appears not only in his face,"
"And in man or woman a clean strong firmfibred body is a beautiful as the most beautiful face."

The poem is about the strength of the body and in the episode the grandma is indestructible. This connection shows that Whitman can influence many different areas of art.

2) Archer episode seven season one "Skytanic"

Though it is a very small part, Mallory Archer mutters the lines "O' Captain, My Captain" to the captain of the sky blimp. Though this is a small and insignificate part (so much so that i couldn't find a clip) it shows how much Whitman's poetry is a part of the American consciousness. Yes it is one of the most quoted of Whitman's poems, but even that one line from it invokes Whitman. So we can see how American literary identity is shaped by Whitman.





3) Breaking Bad: Season 3 episode 12 " Half Measure

In the fortieth minute of this episode we get a very metafictional scenario. Walter White is watching Jeopardy with his son, and a question about Walt Whitman comes up. It is about his barbaric yawp, a line from song of myself we all know well. Without spoiling anything this reference foreshadows certain aspects of the episode to come and the remaining minutes of the episode. Also it could be seen as metaphorical for Walter White's character as he is the academic who is learning to release his own form of a barbaric yawp upon the world.
Breaking Bad also quotes Whitman again in an earlier episode (episode 6). So we can see that clearly the writers have Whitman on the brain.







So what does all of this tell us? That Walt Whitman is spread out among our culture like the roots of the grass. I can't wait to see what everyone else found because i am sure there is a plethora of Whitman inspired pop culture items. Furthermore it is hard to look at American poetry and not see something of Whitman there. He is essential to our culture as a poet and an artist so thoroughly American that we can see him amongst our daily lives. To quote a favorite poem of mine by Ginsburg "What thoughts i have of you tonight, Walt Whitman".