Lecture Circuit - Cultural References

Cultural References

Michael handing out candy bars during his lectures is a reference to the third season episode, "Business School", where Michael passed out chocolate bars during his speech to a business school classroom. Michael expresses regret for insulting Tony Gardner, the heavyset man who briefly transferred from the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin to the Scranton branch, who Michael drives to quit by trying to lift onto a table for an orientation demonstration in the third season episode, "The Merger". Among the Dunder Mifflin branches Michael visits is Nashua, New Hampshire, where Holly works, and Utica, New York, where Karen works. Michael said he can only prepare for his lectures by listening to "silence or Sam Kinison", an American stand-up comedian known for his extreme and vulgar sense of humor. Michael said he learned the Pledge of Allegiance, the lyrical oath of loyalty to the United States flag, by setting the lyrics to the rhythm of "Old McDonald Had a Farm", a children's song about the various animals on a farm. During one lecture, Michael and Pam both do impressions of the protagonist from Forrest Gump, the 1994 film starring Tom Hanks as a mentally handicapped man. Michael also uses the title from the films Good Morning, Vietnam (at his Nashua lecture by saying "Good morning, Vietna...shua!") The Princess Bride, Gone with the Wind and Jerry Maguire in his lectures. Holly's computer has a screensaver with images of Ed Grimley, the nerdy character with a cowlick played by comedian Martin Short in the comedy shows SCTV and Saturday Night Live.

Angela said she sold Andy's engagement ring on eBay, an online auction website. Creed gives Andy romantic advice and says, "This is how I got Squeaky Fromme", a reference to the Manson family member who tried to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford. A picture of President George W. Bush appears on a fake three-dollar bill Creed gives Jim to pay for the party. Creed suggests Kelly watch The Bonnie Hunt Show, a syndicated talk show hosted by actress Bonnie Hunt. Andy puts Splenda, an artificial sweetener, into Stanley's coffee because he has adult onset diabetes, a disorder characterized by high blood glucose. Andy sings Julia a song by Feist, the Canadian singer and songwriter, after he spots a Feist CD in her car. Michael takes a document file from Holly's computer that was created with Microsoft Word, the Microsoft word processing program. Pam said she hates the notion of even Al-Qaeda hating her, a reference to the Islamist terrorist organization that organized the September 11 attacks against New York City. Kelly confesses she went to juvenile detention in Berks County, Pennsylvania, at age 14 for doing something "like Thelma & Louise, but with a boat", a reference to the 1991 road movie starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon on the run from their troubled, caged lives. Jim said during a birthday trip to a museum at age seven, his father bought him a plastic toy triceratops, a three-horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period, which Dwight insists is not a good dinosaur. Pam remembers the name of one audience member by comparing her to k.d. lang, the Canadian singer known for her extremely short hair.