Doja Cat’s New Evocative Hunchback Reference

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Scarlet 2 Claude

On April 4th 2024, Doja Cat dropped a new album. The album is a deluxe edition for her 2023 album “Scarlet”

According to Doja Cat, the album’s name references the antagonist Claude Frollo from Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.” Also adding “The name of the deluxe edition serves as a metaphor that represents the pressures creatives face in the music industry — much like the pressures Frollo imposed upon Esmerelda throughout Hugo’s novel.”

There is also another interview where she calls Frollo a “tyrant”. The whole quote is

“Because he is like a… is he a tyrant? He’s like a… I feel like it connects to the story of Scarlet in some way. And if you look up his personality traits and who he is and his story, you’ll understand kind of the whole connection. There’s a control aspect, like he just abuses his power and his control and is just dogmatic and is just a total c*nt. And all Esmerelda wanted to do was just be creative and sing and dance, but nasty old Claude Frollo was just having a field day on her, just being awful and a bad guy, stinky man.

And this isn’t about anyone in… there’s not anything very personal happening to me with one person. Claude Frollo doesn’t depict a single person in my life. It’s like a metaphor for the people that creatives endure on a daily basis in a bigger picture, a bigger scale.”

https://uproxx.com/music/doja-cat-therapy-gecko-podcast-video/

I don’t think I would use the exact word “tyrant” to describe Frollo from the novel, Disney movie, yes, he is pretty much the de-facto king. This quote was taken from a podcast and was most likely an off-the-cuff word choice. The rest of what she says tracks and is on-point with her thesis of the music industry and the character from the novel.

All in all, it’s great to see a hunchback reference like this in the news.

Reference or Homage to Hunchback in Popular YA Book

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I was reading Leigh Bardugo’s Crooked Kingdom when I noticed a weird line:

Passage from Leigh Bardugo's Crooked Kingdom that reads like a hunchback reference.
An Homage???

Now to anyone else this wouldn’t ring any “bells” but I see what you did there. It’s an oddly worded description. A guess is that this passage was originally evocative of Hugo’s character much like Martin did in A Feast for Crows. I think this particular line got edited but the framing is still present enough. There are multiple other ways to convey the imagery without linking the words “humped,” “back” with “cathedral” together.

Still it a fun little homage if true.

Are these Paint Colors actually Hunchback References?

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At Home Depot, minding my own business, looking at the paint swatches and then BOOM!

Paint Colors with a Hunchback Surprise
Paint Colors with a Hunchback Surprise

It’s not a great of the actual colors but if you count the meaning of the name then there are three refs here. Maybe there are more but this what I saw on a super quick trip.

Which one would you use to paint your space????

A Hulu Hunchback Ref

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The Hunchback of Notre Dame High

A Hunchback Reference from Hulu’s new show Reboot.

Apparently this is straight-to-video movie that I wish was real. I love that they use the Gargoyle shot.

So QUESTIONS. Does this take place at the Paris Landmark which would explain the setting? But he has a football? Or is he a transfer student???? I mean that could work….. but I’m very confused. And since this a two second gag I bet no one put too much thought into the fake plot of a fake movie. They just wanted it to be ridiculous and silly and that it is.

Just know that I appreciate this.

Hugo Reference in The Good Place

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Season 3 of The Good Place has started and in the primer episode there is a Man who Laughs Reference.  Well not so much a reference as it’s right there in the frame.

William Jackson Harper as Chidi Anagonye The Good Place Season 3 Episode 1 Everything is Bonzer picture image

William Jackson Harper as Chidi Anagonye

Moral philosopher, Chidi, is going through another existential panic. He takes to the University library and takes out a myriad of books one being “The Man who Laughs” by Victor Hugo. Though the main joke of this scene is Chidi holds up a book by The Chocolate Rain guy called Chocolate Book, The Man who Laughs sits front and center. You can’t miss it.

I’m not sure what this means. Could be superficial advice for the character? The production people just like the book? Foreshadowing?  Or it good have a deeper meaning?  Not sure.

 

Quasimodo Refrence in Portlandia

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Fred Armisen as Candace, Portlandia Season 6 Episode 5 Breaking up picture image

Fred Armisen as Candace, Portlandia Season 6 Episode 5 Breaking up

Season 7 of Portlandia starts tomorrow! I was binge watching it a few weeks ago and found a delightful Hunchback reference.  In season 6 episode 5 entitled “Breaking up,” Candace says to Claire  “You’re a gypsy and I could be your female Quasimodo, just a Hunchback but who stands up straight for you.”

Anthony Bourdain compares himself to Quasimodo

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Anthony Bourdain and Quasimodo picture image

Anthony Bourdain and Quasimodo

In a recent interview for his new season of Anthony Bourdain:Parts Unknown for Eater.com, Bourdain  compared himself to Quasimodo.

“On feeling out of place: “I feel like Quasimodo the hunchback of Notre Dame — if he stayed in nice hotel suites with high thread count sheets, that would be me. I feel kind of like a freak, and I feel very isolated. ”

I used to watch his show No Reservations a lot and I loved that he was in an episode of Archer pretty much being himself but more of a jerk.

You can read the whole interview here 

Hooked on a Hunchback Reference

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Quasimodo in Animaniacs hooked on a ceiling picture image

Quasimodo in Animaniacs

It’s another Hunchback of Notre Dame reference from Animaniacs. This one occurs in Season 1 episode  4 called Hooked on a Ceiling. The episode is the Yakko, Wakko and Dot help Michelangelo help painting the ceiling of the  Sistine Chapel. During the episode the bells start ringing which annoys Michelangelo and he goes to yell at the hunchback bell ringer who is claiming Sanctuary. You can tell it going to be Quasimodo the second the bells ring.

Sam the Eagle and Janice are like Esmeralda and Frollo

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Sam the Eagle & Janice, ABC's Muppets picture image

Sam the Eagle & Janice, ABC’s The Muppets

I love the Muppets, I can’t say I have seen everything they have done but I did watch the new series on ABC The Muppets. It’s sort of a mixed of there old Muppet show mixed with 30 Rock. One thing that I noticed was Sam the Eagle crushed on Janice. Sam the Eagle is uptight and Janice is a free-spirted hippie new age gal.

Now you look at these two and tell me don’t get Frollo and Esmeralda vibes. Sam the Eagle even has a tonsure and Janice has a tan. Sam the Eagle stalks her a little bit and in the Christmas episode waits by the mistletoe from her, he doesn’t get it but he gets a peck later in the episode. I will say that Sam does have more game than Frollo and Janice is nicer to Sam than Esmeralda is to Frollo.

I just loves seeing this type of pairing in the show. They NEED to a Hunchback or Notre Dame de Paris skit with these two.

Notre Dame spotting in an anime

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Notre Dame Rebel Ookami shoujo to kuro ouji picture image

Le Rebels Notre Dame in Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji

I was watching this crappy anime called  Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji, which means Wolf Girl and Black Prince and I saw in the background Le Rebels Notre Dame. It was really nothing but I have so many question. Like what is it supposed to be? Even my meager French skills knows it poor grammar which the irony of my own english grammar is not lost on me.  But is it a play or a cafe or shop?

Maybe it’s a reference?  There is a High School in Missouri that is called Notre Dame Rebels but I doubt that is it. Once I figured out how to write it in Japanese I found mostly random pictures  of motorcycles and Moomin stuff, which is pretty great. So I have no idea what this means but the fact that saw in the background is pretty good.

And Really this anime was bad, don’t watch.