Cultural References
- The Green Mile by Stephen King and its film adaptation use Old Sparky as the official method of execution.
- In an episode of King of the Hill, Dale Gribble, excited about being on the executioner list as a new employee of a local prison, asks the prison warden where Old Sparky is. The warden explains that Old Sparky is no longer, replaced by lethal injection. Dale then asks where Old Squirty is, a variation on the original title.
- In the Showtime series Dexter and in the related novels, serial killer Dexter Morgan frequently cites "Old Sparky" as the consequence of his being caught.
- In the 2005 horror suspense film Constantine, Club owner and neutral angel Papa Midnite, and John Constantine make use of the Old Sparky chair from Sing Sing prison to help John locate the Spear of Destiny.
- Old Sparky also appeared in the 2002 film, Ted Bundy directed by Matthew Bright which dramatizes the serial killings of Ted Bundy portrayed by Michael Reilly Burke. His execution is also depicted in the film but it is carried out inaccurately
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Famous quotes containing the word cultural:
“The primary function of myth is to validate an existing social order. Myth enshrines conservative social values, raising tradition on a pedestal. It expresses and confirms, rather than explains or questions, the sources of cultural attitudes and values.... Because myth anchors the present in the past it is a sociological charter for a future society which is an exact replica of the present one.”
—Ann Oakley (b. 1944)