Thoughts from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

The other night I was watching episodes of this Whose Line Is It Anyway? It is a show that puts stand-up comedy in a game show environment. It is hosted by Drew Carey . Each episode he has comedians participate in short-form improvisation games. Drew has four comedians on each episode and these comedians have to create characters, scenes, and/or songs on the spot. I have always been impressed how quickly the comedians come up with the scenes and how closely they are able to mimic the real pop culture.

In the particular episode that caused me to think about my communication and pop culture class, Wayne Brady, one of the show’s main comedians, was challenged to sing a show to a man from the audience like Britney Spears would sing. He imitated her dance moves, her pop style of singing, and even how she has trouble with her microphone. This particular skit caused me to think about how much these comedians have to know about our pop culture. They have to come up with their material on the spot. Drew Carey reads them the setting or scene and right away they start. Now, these skits they perform are only funny to the audience if we know what they are referring to and if they are able to mimic it closely. The show in and of itself is pop culture, but the comedians on it also have to have a broad base of knowledge of both current and past pop culture.

What are your thoughts? What are other areas where there is a need to have lots knowledge of the pop culture to be a part of the pop culture?