The importance of pop culture on Reservation Dogs is ingrained in its very name, which is a take on Quentin Tarantino [1]'s Reservoir Dogs. "Pop culture is important [2], because in these rural places, especially now with the internet and everything, that's what you have," creator Sterlin Harjo said to Entertainment Weekly. "They know Wu-Tang Clan [3], they know Tupac, they know all the movie references, they know Quentin Tarantino. They're fans of pop culture and they kind of recreate it where they're at." Whether it's a shot-for-shot remake or a cheeky character name, ahead we've broken down some of the biggest movie and TV references featured on the show.
Reservation Dogs Episode 1 Easter Eggs
- Smoke Signals: The opening with the radio host in the background is a callback to the 1998 film's radio announcer, Randy Peone. [4]
- Willow: Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs's Elora Danan [5] is named after the baby in the 1988 fantasy film. Nearly everyone that meets her makes a reference to the film, including sharing some behind-the-scenes tidbits about the twin babies who portrayed the original character.
- Platoon: While being hit with paintballs, Bear reenacts the death of Willem Dafoe's Sgt. Elias [6].
- Reservoir Dogs: Dressed in black suits for the memorial of their friend Daniel, the group's slow walk is a visual callback to the opening [7] of Reservoir Dogs. The group's nickname and the show's title are also a reference to the Quentin Tarantino [8] film.
- Futurama: While Mose and Mekko explain that the "Indian Mafia" wears red and blue because they couldn't decide to be Bloods or Crips, they call them "Blips" and "Cruds." [9] This is a reference to the season 10 episode, "Assie Come Home," where Fry, Leela, and Bender make a delivery to rival blue-and-red-wearing gangs called the Blips and the Cruds.