Duran Duran on Film!

Earlier this week, Duran Duran tweeted the following:

Are you watching @CW_Riverdale? @duranduran’s “Union of the Snake” was featured this week as part of a Pussycat’s performance (of course!) Check it out here & tell us what you think: https://lnk.to/riverdale2 

I cannot say that I watch the show, but it still made me smile nonetheless.  It seems to me that there has been a lot of Duran spotting in TV shows and movies lately.  Did you know that Duran Duran Wikia has kept track of which Duran songs have been used where?  For example, Ordinary World was used in Baywatch in 1994 and Falling Down was used in Medium in 2008.  The list, which you can read here, is pretty lengthy but is definitely not complete.  For instance, Sunrise was used at the end of a Queer as Folk episode.

Before you ask, there is indeed a similar page for Duran songs used in movies, which you can read here.  Many of them I knew like the use of Notorious in Donnie Darko or Do You Believe in Shame in the movie, Tequila Sunrise.  Some I didn’t know, though, like Hungry Like the Wolf is in the movie, Old School.  Who knew?!

Of course, beyond the use of Duran songs in TV shows and movies, I can think of other instances when Duran has been mentioned.  Did anyone else watch the TV show, Family Ties, back in the 1980s?  I certainly did and I distinctly remember that when the youngest was born, the youngest daughter, Tina, was timing the contractions on her Duran Duran watch.  As I watched this in real time, I think I said out loud to my family that I really should have a Duran Duran watch and being bummed that I didn’t already.

What about the show, Keen Eddie?  Has anyone seen episode 10, Citizen Cecil?  I remember when my friend showed me this episode.  I was practically rolling around on the floor from laughter.  Here’s the basic premise:  A group of armed robbers crash a casino and steal lots of money and a pair of tickets to a football (soccer) game.  This group, of course, is wearing Duran Duran masks!  The best line is when one casino employee declares that they are being robbed by Spandau and the other corrects him by pointing out the guy with the the Simon mask!  Watch for yourself here.  The references begin about two and a half minutes in and continue on for the rest of the show.

I don’t know about the rest of you but I really love, love, love seeing and hearing any and all Duran references in any TV show or movie.  It never ceases to make me smile and reminds me that Duran is a not just a band that I like.  No, Duran Duran is a phenomenon.  They are and have been a significant part of pop culture.  I know that when I mention Duran to people my age or older, every single person knows who I am talking about.  People not that much younger than me have also heard of Duran.  While they might not know or really understand how huge they were, they still know that they are a significant band.  Unfortunately, the youth of today might not be that familiar with Duran.  Yet, the fact that people connected to TV shows and movies keep using them in some capacity says to me that even the kids today will find out about them, if they don’t already know about them.

This, of course, gives me a little bit of hope for the future of the world.  Therefore, I sure the heck hope that there are tons more of mentions of Duran and their music in future TV shows and movies.  Maybe some of the kids will get it and those of us who do get to bask in a moment or five of pride at being a fan.

-A