My favorite films and television shows that mention Ann Arbor
One of the best ways to track the popularity of something is to start looking for references to it in popular culture. Searching for references, or “sightings,” is like a treasure hunt. You can dig up all sorts of references the more you look.
I like to scout out sightings of Ann Arbor in books, film, television shows, articles, and more. And the number of times I find it mentioned has seemed to grow exponentially ever since I started looking. Ann Arbor is everywhere! From the obvious to the obscure, you’ll find Tree Town mentioned in the unlikeliest of places.
The popularity has a lot to do with the fact that the University of Michigan has more than 460,000 living alumni who seem to mention the hometown of their alma mater in fiction and nonfiction all the time.
It helps that many luminaries have passed through town over the years—Robert Frost, Iggy Pop, Tom Brady, writer Susan Orlean, Madonna, Google co-founder Larry Page, James Earl Jones, several astronauts—the list goes on and on. I think it also helps that both “Ann Arbor” and “Michigan” sound a little exotic and intriguing as they roll of the tongue.
Over the years I have chronicled Ann Arbor sightings in many places, but the references in film and television are the most fun. So here they are, my favorite film and television sightings that specifically mention Ann Arbor.
1. “Lost” (especially Season 5)
I continue to be intrigued by the puzzle of “Lost” and it’s just an added bonus that Ann Arbor continues to be mentioned in numerous episodes.
In Season 2 we were treated to a grainy orientation film that described the fictional DHARMA Initiative. In Season 5, “calling Ann Arbor” seems to be the last resort of the desperate DHARMA island team. We already know that the DHARMA Initiative was headquartered at the University of Michigan with funding from the Hanso Foundation.
What isn’t clear is the specific mission of the DHARMA Initiative, how polar bears get on the island (the submarine maybe), and why food is still arriving by parachute. Does anyone in town know the DeGroots? Maybe they can help….
Mysteries of the Universe: The Dharma Inititative
In what many critics consider the greatest thriller of all time, our hero Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) and Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) are talking in Chicago’s LaSalle Street train station. Listen carefully as the announcer in the background ticks off the station stops for one of the trains. “New York Special departing…for Michigan City, Niles…Jackson, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit.” It’s a great film and an interesting reference to a time when rail travel was more common—and glamorous.
Poster for The Big Chill
4. “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” (Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger)
Whether or not you enjoy salivating over the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” it’s hard to resist Guy Fieri’s enthusiasm for our hometown favorite Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger.
This episode featured the favorite haunt of the speedy eater (I once observed someone down a “quint”—that’s 5 patties for the uninitiated—and a large order of fries in less than a minute). When Guy visits you can almost smell the burgers frying. Be sure to check it out in repeats.
Watch the Blimpy Burger segment on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”:
5. “House M.D.”
The medical drama “House M.D.” features the Holmesian Gregory House who, among other similarities, happens to live at 221B, has a friend named Dr. James Wilson (Watson), and a questionable addiction to a drug. If that’s not enough reason to love the complexity of the character, it turns out that both he and Dr. Lisa Cuddy both attended the University of Michigan Medical School.
There are plenty of other sightings to be discovered (Kevin Costner wears a t-shirt for Mr. Stadium Cleaners in “The Upside of Anger,” downtown streets appear in “Youth in Revolt”) and when “Flipped,” “Trust,” and “Trivial Pursuits” are released keep your eyes peeled.
According to the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau there have been 14 film projects in the Ann Arbor area over the past 18 months. Meaning, we’ll see more and more of our community featured on the big and small screen.
Comments
Lokalisierung
Mon, May 3, 2010 : 1:17 p.m.
"You forgot to mention the film Jumper which was filmed in Ann Arbor, at Huron High School, Gallup Park and downtown." Shouldn't make a top 5. Besides being, just a horrible horrible movie, they say the name too fast when stating it, a problem if you are not from here. It comes out as "Annarbor" instead of a defined 2 word name.
lumberg48108
Mon, May 3, 2010 : 12:50 p.m.
"One of the best ways to track the popularity of something is to start looking for references to it in popular culture" North by Northwest is from 1959 The Big Chill is from the 1980s... wow - what great recent references to attest to the "popularity" of the area
pegret
Mon, May 3, 2010 : 11:10 a.m.
An old one I remember: On the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant's (Ed Asner) wife, Edie was frequently off "visiting her sister in Ann Arbor".
Kathleen
Sun, May 2, 2010 : 12:26 p.m.
Oh and an older ER episode had Neela matching at U of Michigan medical school and they showed the law quad (as the medical school since it is older) and had her stopping on the freeway with a exit sign that read Ann Arbor.
cosmos
Sun, May 2, 2010 : 9:34 a.m.
what about Men Who Stare At Goats? the imagined newspaper in Ann Arbor sets up most of the story.
Kathleen
Sun, May 2, 2010 : 8:18 a.m.
You forgot to mention the film Jumper which was filmed in Ann Arbor, at Huron High School, Gallup Park and downtown. The writer/director was a former graduate of Huron High School and many of the extras in the film were actual Huron high school students.