What is the reference Captain America understood?

Question

The following conversation happens in the movie:

Nick Fury: I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.

Thor: Monkeys? I do not understand.

Steve Rogers: I do!

(Quotes taken from imdb)

Needless to say - I didn't understand that reference. What does it reference to - if anything?

The fact that you didn't get it just made Captain America and Nick Fury feel old. — user64742, May 16 '17 at 04:03
I agree with and have upvoted Plutor and amflare's answers. As an aside, had there also been a side joke that Cap'n 'Merica doesn't usually get references and he's happy now that he got one? — Teacher KSHuang, May 16 '17 at 08:57
@TheGreatDuck: That seems to be a very US-centric (or at least anglo-centric) reference. I had never even heard of the Wizard of Oz until I started watching US television and movies, and I have never ever seen it referenced anywhere outside US television or movies. I certainly didn't get the reference either. — Jörg W Mittag, May 16 '17 at 10:45
@JörgWMittag it spawned quite a few of idioms, almost like a source of memes... — ratchet freak, May 16 '17 at 14:03
@JörgWMittag Interesting. I've seen the musical version performed at my (German) school about 25 years ago. — CodesInChaos, May 16 '17 at 17:28
@JörgWMittag in writing circles (English Literature) its a staple like Alice In Wonderland as it works on several levels beyond the surface story including (allegedly) a political allegory on 20th century America. Oz could represent an American utopia of the future where any problem can be solved through dreams, imagination and intuition - which in itself is a forerunner of more contemporary spiritual cosmology (see Martinus Cosmology https://goo.gl/Qf3QxC) The movie is about entertainment but hints at some of this. It's certainly interesting to study the author L Frank Baum. — Applefanboy, May 17 '17 at 08:25
@JörgWMittag On a film starring American and English actors, with a major character actually called "Captain America", you're surprised by a cultural reference to an old American film and books? I'd also note that this was the most famous film for Judy Garland, who I expect you've heard of, especially for the song "Over the rainbow". — Graham, May 17 '17 at 12:08
OP don't be bothered that you can't get the reference. Culture is huge, you can't get everything, especially if you're young and just haven't had the raw amount of time it takes to be exposed to the classics. Work your way through the IMDB top 250, so you can pick up classics like "Heeeere's Johnny" (both iterations) and "can't handle the truth" and "Fetch is not gonna happen". And of course "nevermind the man behind the curtain", click heels together, etc. — Harper - Reinstate Monica, May 17 '17 at 16:32
@JörgWMittag probably anglo-centric because i'm Australian and before the current age of the internet (like 20 years ago) even i had seen it on TV — Memor-X, May 18 '17 at 03:07
@TheGreatDuck i can relate to them here and i'm in my twenties and wasn't frozen for half a century — Memor-X, May 18 '17 at 03:14
@Harper The Shining, Few good men, no idea, no idea, no idea. I'm just not that into movies that I can't watch withouth shutting my brain down. On the other hand, now I finally understand the reference in the Simpsons where Mr. Burns had "flying" monkeys. — Relix, May 18 '17 at 15:03
@Relix The last two were both also from The Wizard of Oz (though the first was misquoted; it’s actually “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”). As has been suggested, the movie was huge in the US, and many, many phrases from it have become parts of the American English language in their own right at this point—both flying monkeys and the “fly, my pretties, fly!” that the witch screeches at them, ruby red slippers and clicking their heels together, “there’s no place like home,” “we’re not in Kansas anymore,” yellow brick roads, even the lollipop guild; the list could go on. — KRyan, May 18 '17 at 17:40
@Relix (As for the others, “Heeeere’s Johnny!” was a stock line from Johnny Carson’s late-night comedy show, and the same line in The Shining directly referenced that. As for “fetch,” that’s apparently Mean Girls, which was certainly quite popular but definitely does not seem to belong with the others.) — KRyan, May 18 '17 at 17:45
@JörgWMittag : If it is indeed "very US-centric"... well... he is Captain America... — TOOGAM, May 22 '17 at 05:21
@Graham: I am not surprised about an American film using an American reference. I am surprised about people in this comment thread being surprised that someone might not get an American reference in a film that has been distributed worldwide. — Jörg W Mittag, May 22 '17 at 09:21
@TOOGAM: I am not surprised about a film about a character named "Captain America" using an American reference. I am surprised about people in this comment thread being surprised that someone might not get an American reference in a film that has been distributed worldwide. Also note that your argument is rather weak in that the whole point of this running joke is that Captain America does in fact not get most of the "US-centric references", even though he literally is Captain America. — Jörg W Mittag, May 22 '17 at 09:24
@JörgWMittag It's one of the most famous films of the 20th century, not just in the US but internationally. So yes, I'm surprised. If I had to explain "Luke, I am your father" to anyone who has a TV, I would be equally surprised. — Graham, May 22 '17 at 10:04

score 200 · Answer 1 · edited May 16 '17 at 02:33

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"Personal flying monkeys" is a reference to The Wicked Witch of the West's army in The Wizard of Oz.

As a movie from 1939 (and a book published in 1900), it is a reference that Captain Rogers would have likely seen before he was frozen in 1943.

edited May 16 '17 at 02:33

Shokhet

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answered May 15 '17 at 17:15

Plutor

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As @TeacherKSHuang mentioned in a comment on the question, it’s also worth mentioning that part of the reason Cap reacts the way he does (“I do!” with surprise and excitement) is because he is usually the one missing references, having been frozen for so long. Where he is usually confused and has to ask for clarification like Thor does, for once the reference used it one old enough for him to know it—it in fact was quite recent and popular at the time just before his World War I career and subsequent freezing. – KRyan May 16 '17 at 17:47
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@KRyan World War II? – Mad Physicist May 17 '17 at 20:43
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@MadPhysicist Yeah, whoops. – KRyan May 17 '17 at 21:08
It is incredibly funny that this is "the" reference Cap was able to get. – T. Sar May 19 '17 at 11:32

score 83 · Answer 2 · edited May 16 '17 at 18:14

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Flying monkeys is a reference to the Wicked Witch of the West's minions in The Wizard of Oz (1939). The joke is that the reference is so dated that Cap gets it, unlike cultural references to things he missed while frozen.

edited May 16 '17 at 18:14

Peter Cordes

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answered May 15 '17 at 17:17

amflare

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I don't know if the reference is "outdated" -- after all, it only works because most of the viewers also get it. Rather, the humor is in Rogers' excitement about getting it. – ruakh May 15 '17 at 18:01
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Of course, the book was released in 1900, so he also might have just read the book. – Thunderforge May 15 '17 at 19:09
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Thor didn't get the reference because he "isn't from around here". Between "Wicked" and "The Great and Powerful Oz" the franchise is still plenty relevant. – tjd May 15 '17 at 19:51
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Is there anything less fun than arguing about what is or isn't a joke? – kingledion May 16 '17 at 12:18
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@kingledion - eating a cacti whole? – amflare May 16 '17 at 13:07
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@amflare Was that a joke? – Anthony Grist May 16 '17 at 13:52
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@AnthonyGrist - 'twas a statment of fact. Unless of course you are into that sort of thing. – amflare May 16 '17 at 14:01
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@kingledion It is funny because the squirrel gets dead. – Mark Meuer May 16 '17 at 15:56
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IMO, the joke is that Cap is excited about getting it. That implies that he usually doesn't get cultural references, because he missed so much stuff and hasn't been back long. I didn't say that in my edit, but I'd suggest you make that edit. It kind of gives us some insight into Cap's progress in dealing with being a man out of time, vs. the scene in the gym earlier in the movie. He seems happy that the western culture he knew isn't totally gone, rather than depressed about how few cultural references he normally gets. – Peter Cordes May 16 '17 at 18:12

score 76 · Accepted Answer · answered May 17 '17 at 16:27

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Captain America was frozen in ice from around 1943 to around 2012. so he doesn't know thousands of cultural references like "Here's Johnny", Bueller, redpill, etc.

An ongoing joke in the Avengers movie is how those cultural references go right over Cap's head. He knows they are cultural references, but he doesn't know what they mean.

This running joke's denouement is when Cap actually gets one: the Flying Monkeys reference by Nick Fury about Erik Selvig and Hawkeye.

He gets it because it is from the motion picture The Wizard Of Oz, wherein the evil character the Wicked Witch of the West has an army of minions which are literally flying monkeys, which act as relatively mindless (being monkeys) drones.

The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939 and was immensely popular (which is why 'Cap knows it) and has remained timeless, being often re-released both in theaters and in home media (which is why the rest of the Avengers know it). Decently cultured cities have movie theaters that specialize in classic films and indies, and you can bet somewhere in the world one of them is playing it this weekend. It is that big.

answered May 17 '17 at 16:27

Harper - Reinstate Monica

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Gah. Everyone keeps referring to it as a movie. The book came first, and the movie adaption skips half the book, and messes other things up, like the silver shoes. – Mithical May 18 '17 at 04:55
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@Mithrandir Was the book popular enough on its own to make it a cultural reference contemporary to 1939? Or did the movie "make" the book? What about today? – Harper - Reinstate Monica May 18 '17 at 05:08
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@Mithrandir Yet the movie is far more well known than the book. – Nkrisc May 18 '17 at 13:28
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@Mithrandir It is neither good nor bad. It does not matter. I think it's very likely in this case that Cap was referring to the movie given it came out about 4 years before he was frozen meaning it would still have been very culturally relevant at the time he was frozen. – Nkrisc May 18 '17 at 13:31
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@Nkrisc - I was kinda kidding even with the original comment, don't worry :) – Mithical May 18 '17 at 13:31
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@Mithrandir Since the original book was political satire, contemporary to the 1900 political environment, much of the original meaning was already lost on the movie audiences of 1939. The 'meaning' of the silver slippers would have been meaningless to movie goers, but the colorful brilliance of the ruby color was a device to 'show off' technicolor movies. – Cos Callis May 18 '17 at 15:57
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@Plutor your answer is great but Harper made a more complete answer. I think it deserves the mark. – Relix May 19 '17 at 16:37
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It's worth noting here as an addition to this answer that part of joke is also that Thor is the only person on the team that doesn't get that reference. It's not just that Cap gets the reference, the speed of him raising his hand and butting into the conversation is him beating somebody to the reference.
It's a continuing push from the movie of examining the relationships between the traditionally underpaired characters and one of the best parts of the film.
– GGMG-he-him May 20 '17 at 14:35
@Harper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptations_of_The_Wizard_of_Oz Note that the MGM movie is about halfway down the list, just in films. Oz also had a Broadway show within three years of publication. Even before the MGM movie, it would have been about like getting a Harry Potter reference today. – fectin May 21 '17 at 17:49
@mithrandir, Baum himself rewrote the story much more freely in adaptations — see that 1903 musical for an example. – fectin May 21 '17 at 17:51

What is the reference Captain America understood?

3 Answers3