POP CULTURE INFLUENCES ON WARCRAFT

WARCRAFT WAS EASILY ONE OF THE MOST

ANTICIPATED FILMS OF THE YEAR FOR A

FEW REASONS. TO BEGIN WITH, IT IS THE FIRST

FILM DIRECTED BY DUNCAN JONES

(DAVID BOWIE’S SON) IN MORE THAN FIVE YEARS.

HIS SUCCESSFUL FIRST FILMS, MOON (2009) AND

SOURCE CODE (2011), PLEASANTLY SURPRISED

MOVIE FANS AND CRITICS ALIKE. MORE IMPORTANT,

HOWEVER, IS THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME

WORLD OF WARCRAFT, ARGUABLY THE MOST

COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL ONLINE VIDEO

GAME IN HISTORY WITH MORE THAN 110 MILLION

PLAYERS WORLDWIDE, HAS FOUND ITS WAY

TO THE BIG SCREEN.

THE NPC (NON-PLAYER CHARACTER) IN THE LOWER

CITY THAT GIVES THE DAILY COOKING QUEST IS

NAMED ROKK AND IS BASED ON WWE SUPERSTAR

AND ACTOR DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON,

WHOSE TAGLINE AS A WRESTLER WAS

“CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING?”

THE INNKEEPER IN THRALLMAR (HELLFIRE) IS CALLED

FLOYD PINKUS; HIS NAME WAS INSPIRED BY THE

LEGENDARY ROCK BAND PINK FLOYD

THE BANKERS IN IRONFORGE ARE NAMED BARNUM

STONEMANTLE, BAILEY STONEMANTLE AND SOLEIL

STONEMANTLE. THEIR NAMES WERE INSPIRED, OF

COURSE, BY RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM &

BAILEY CIRCUS AND CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

IN THE EXPANSION IN THE WORLD’S END TAVERN IN

SHATTRATH CITY, YOU CAN FIND A GIRL NAMED

HARRIS HILTON HANGING AROUND WITH HER DOG

TINKERBELL, AN OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO

MULTIMILLIONAIRE PARIS AND HER DOG TINKERBELL

IN UN’GORO CRATER, YOU WILL MEET A FUNNY-LOOKING

QUEST GIVER NAMED RINGO WHO GIVES OUT A

QUEST CALLED “WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY

FRIENDS.” IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW, "WITH A

LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS” IS A SONG BY

THE BEATLES, WHILE THE GAME’S QUEST GIVER

TAKES HIS NAME FROM ONE OF THE BAND MEMBERS,

RINGO STARR

THE ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF DUSTWALLOW

MARSH IS CALLED ALCAZ AND EVEN CONTAINS A

HUGE GATE-LIKE PRISON. THE INFLUENCE FROM THE

WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS PRISON, ALCATRAZ,

CAN EASILY BE SPOTTED IN THIS CASE

THERE IS A LUMBERJACK IN ELWYNN FOREST NAMED

TERRY PALIN. HE TAKES HIS NAME FROM TERRY JONES

AND MICHAEL PALIN, MEMBERS OF MONTY PYTHON,

WHO WERE FAMOUS FOR “THE LUMBERJACK SONG.”

IN THE DUNGEON ULDAMAN, FOUND IN THE BADLANDS,

YOU CAN SEE THREE VIKINGS NAMED ERIK, BAELOG

AND OLAF. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO

THE THREE VIKINGS IN THE 1992 VIDEO GAME

THE LOST VIKINGS

IN THE ALLIANCE CITY OF THERAMORE IN DUSTWALLOW

MARSH, THERE IS A FISHMONGER NAMED “DIRTY”

MICHAEL CROWE WHO WORKS ON THE DOCK, WHICH

IS A REFERENCE TO MIKE ROWE, THE HOST OF THE

DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S DIRTY JOBS (2005)