As Easter Sunday approaches, perhaps you have helped your little sister buy a white dress and matching shoes for a church service. Maybe you boiled a carton of eggs to dye and decorate before devouring. At this time of year, I find myself reminiscing about hunting for plastic Easter eggs my grandfather would hide in the green wheat fields, which were full of cheap candy and spare change. Comparatively, exchanging my little trophies with my brothers for what they found in their own eggs was as much fun as hunting for the goodies.
But, as an adult, I have witnessed a lack of enthusiasm from college students for this holiday. Maybe it’s the religious aspect or the kid-centered activities generating this nonchalant mood. (On the other hand, you could be stoked this week simply for our #HopWithTheHub Easter egg hunt and prize giveaways.)
Now generally for 18-to-23-year-olds, the average collegiate student’s definition of “Easter egg” diverges from pastel-colored plastic to hidden gems in movies, television shows or music. This could include any special feature commonly unknown to the public, to celebrity cameos, such as Alfred Hitchcock in his own films or comic book creator Stan Lee appearing in movies based on his work.
In honor of the upcoming holiday, here are a few of the cleverest Easter eggs hidden in different media:
TV (Spoiler alerts for “Breaking Bad,” “Community” and “Futurama”)
- “Breaking Bad“- Combining all seasons of the hit show, there are 62 “Breaking Bad” episodes. Within the series, actor Bryan Cranston played Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher dying of lung cancer. During the show’s run, an eye for detail has pervaded each episode and its scientific theme. On the periodic table of elements, Samarium is listed with the atomic number 62. This element is commonly used as an aid in cancer treatment.
- “Community“- While this Reddit list details many eggs in the show about a study group at Greendale Community College, one joke stands out. The third time a character said “Beetlejuice” during a Halloween episode, a student dressed as the mischievous ghost briefly appeared in the background.
- “Futurama“- Seemingly random signs serve as alien graffiti, and store signs can be seen in the background of many scenes throughout the futuristic animated show. It turns out, it’s a fully translatable language.
Movies (Spoiler alerts for “Fight Club” and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”)
- Pixar films – It’s no secret Pixar stacks Easter eggs, like a Nemo sticker on a trunk in “Toy Story 3” or the iconic Pixar lamp being a part of the junk found in “Wall-E.” As seen from this Disney Pixar video, “A113” is featured in the movies “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” “Cars” and more. According to the clip, this refers to the animation classroom at the California Institute of Arts, where the films’ creators learned their skills.
- “Fight Club” – According to The Easter Egg Archive, the 1999 “Fight Club” movie features an announcement following the FBI warning. “If you are reading this then this warning is for you,” it begins. The message continues to scold and mock the reader, asking if the individual has anything else to do other than read warnings. “Is your life so empty that you honestly can’t think of a better way to spend these moments?” it asks. The message is signed “Tyler,” referring to Tyler Durden, an imagined alter ego of the unnamed leading character. This Easter egg perfectly captures a motif of the cult-classic film based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel: refusal to adhere to authority or societal norms. Figuratively winking at the viewer, another egg buried in the film includes quick splices of Durden (Brad Pitt) that go unnoticed if the viewer blinks or looks away briefly.
- “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” – Some claim there is a hidden sex scene during the third Harry Potter movie’s credits. The Marauder’s Map, an enchanted real-time display of Hogwarts and those inhabiting the school, shows two sets of footprints intertwined in the bottom left corner of this video. Are the two having a magical time? You decide.
Music
- The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” (2:57) – Arguably one of the group’s most popular songs, “Hey Jude” is played on the radio, overused as a ringtone and sung in cheesy, fake British accents by children. It also features Paul McCartney muttering the F-bomb. Apparently, Sir Paul yelled “(Expletive) hell!” after hitting the wrong key on the piano during their recording, according to an article by Premier Guitar.
- Pink Floyd’s “The Great Gig in the Sky” (3:33) – Again, The Easter Egg Archive details a subliminal message. Most likely to the terror of potheads everywhere, a phrase, “if you hear whispering, you’re dying,” is uttered within the song. The phrase is, of course, whispered.
- Huey Lewis and The News’ “Back in Time” (2:58) – Written for the 1985 movie “Back to the Future,” the band sang “get back, Marty” within the song, referencing the movie’s lead character, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox).
Using this list as a starting guide, perhaps your new tradition for this understated holiday could be binge-watching Netflix in search of your own Easter eggs.
Happy hunting.
About Allison Terry
