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| - On the subject of contemporary music, film, television, and (to a lesser extent) sports, television characters can comfortably mention all kinds of people, expecting that at least most of the audience will know who they're talking about. On most other matters, however, their world becomes very small; TV producers fear any comment that might ever go over anyone's head, and thus only the most obvious and world-renowned people and things are allowed a mention. Musical examples of these are often used as Standard Snippets. Examples of Small Reference Pools include:
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| abstract
| - On the subject of contemporary music, film, television, and (to a lesser extent) sports, television characters can comfortably mention all kinds of people, expecting that at least most of the audience will know who they're talking about. On most other matters, however, their world becomes very small; TV producers fear any comment that might ever go over anyone's head, and thus only the most obvious and world-renowned people and things are allowed a mention. It's worth noting that a major work of pop culture can completely turn one subject around and make it a free-for-all. For instance, before Jurassic Park, the only dinosaurs you ever heard about were the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Brontosaurus. Afterwards everyone could suddenly discuss velociraptors and dilophosaurs as though they'd known about them since childhood. The works of Leonardo da Vinci got a similar treatment thanks to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. What is obscure varies depending on time and place. Shows from the 1970s assume that the viewer knows about Ayatollah Khomeini but one can't assume the same anymore, while references to certain American personalities in Family Guy or Robot Chicken will fly over the heads of viewers from elsewhere. There is one notable case where all these qualms about obscurity get thrown out the window: the Celebrity Star. For obvious reasons, it's much easier to get a guest who's "famous" than one who's actually, you know, well known. If a band makes an appearance, most of the characters will suddenly become fans, no matter how obscure or washed up the band really is (which can also lead to such hilarious situations as the City Mouse suddenly liking country music or the wholesome, mostly white, Dom Com family all loving a rapper who is not normally known for being family friendly). Likewise, B- and C-list actors are all suddenly big stars when they walk onto a TV show and everyone will know them by their real names. Musical examples of these are often used as Standard Snippets. Nothing but Hits and Small Taxonomy Pools are sub tropes. See also Weird Al Effect, Public Medium Ignorance, Cultural Cross-Reference, Popcultural Osmosis, Eiffel Tower Effect, Everybody Knows That. A specific version is the self-explanatory universal Geek Reference Pool. Contrast Genius Bonus. Examples of Small Reference Pools include:
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