Popular Culture
Scythed chariots have appeared in several films. A scythed chariot can be seen in the chariot race depicted in the film Ben Hur, operated by Messala. Scythed chariots are seen in the first Colosseum scene in the film Gladiator. In the film Alexander by Oliver Stone, scythed chariots are shown charging into Macedonian phalanx during the beginning of Battle of Gaugamela scene. The chariots were also used in older films such as Solomon and Sheba. It was also shown in the 2011 film The Eagle.
In the Spike TV show "Deadliest Warrior", a scythed chariot was the special weapon of the Persian Immortal.
Applying similar blades to automobiles instead of chariots is a common trend in modern culture. In Goldfinger, James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 has a wheel-destroying spike inspired by Ben-Hur's scythed chariot. An episode of Mythbusters was devoted to testing such a device. Such devices were deemed "confirmed", noting that while blade durability may be low, such a device was highly effective at not only destroying tires, but could also detach wheels or injure the opposing driver.
Read more about this topic: Scythed Chariot
Famous quotes containing the words popular culture, popular and/or culture:
“The lowest form of popular culture—lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives—has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage.”
—Carl Bernstein (b. 1944)
“You seem to think that I am adapted to nothing but the sugar-plums of intellect and had better not try to digest anything stronger.... a writer of popular sketches in magazines; a lecturer before Lyceums and College societies; a dabbler in metaphysics, poetry, and art, than which I would rather die, for if it has come to that, alas! verily, as you say, mediocrity has fallen on the name of Adams.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“The purpose of education is to keep a culture from being drowned in senseless repetitions, each of which claims to offer a new insight.”
—Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978)