[Nectar] Hare Krishna in popular culture

[Guest guest]

The Hare Krishna's contributions to popular culture include the

following:

 

Contents

 

1 In Movies

2 In Television

3 In Videogames

4 In Fiction

5 In Music

5.1 Straight Edge subculture

6 Miscellaneous

 

In Movies

 

In the first of the Final Destination trilogy, in the first scene, we

encounter the Hare Krishnas in an airport, foreboding the tragic events

that follow.

A Hare Krishna zombie is cast in the original 1978 film, Dawn of the

Dead, as well as in the 2004 remake.

Taffy Davenport, a character in John Waters' "Female Trouble,"

joins the Hare Krishnas by the films end.

Aaron Naumann, a character in the film Bee Season, becomes a Hare

Krishna after having Judaism pushed upon him.

In the 1979 film The Muppet Movie, there's a running gag where the

reply to anyone saying that they're lost is "Have you tried Hare

Krishna?"

In the 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen tried to become a

Hare Krishna. Click here to see it

In the 1984 film The Karate Kid, Daniel-san claps two sanders together

and sings "Hare Krishna".

A large group of people singing Hare Krishna is in the Miloš Forman

film Hair

Hare Krishnas have been on the receiving end of several jokes in

various ZAZ comedy films including The Kentucky Fried Movie and

Airplane!

In the 1990 film Miami Blues the lead character played by Alec Baldwin

breaks the finger of a Hare Krishna at the Miami airport causing his

death. This leads to the police search for Alec Baldwin's character.

There is a background shot of a group of Hare Krishnas singing in a

crowded street scene in Blade Runner.

In Jersey Girl, when Maya asks Ollie to lunch, she says, "C'mon,

you're ruining my karma level."Ollie responds with "You're

trying to get square with Krishna?", to which she replies, "Hare

Hare."

Hare Rama Hare Krishna, a 1971 Hindi blockbuster centers around hippie

invasion of Kathmandu, Nepal. The film also features the all time Hindi

hit song 'Dum maro dum ...' which includes the chant 'Hare

Krishna Hare Ram'.

In the 1978 Cheech and Chong film Up in Smoke, police detectives

attempt to infiltrate a Battle of the Bands contest dressed in robes

taken from a group of Hare Krishnas.

 

In Television

 

Charlie's son joins the Hare Krishna movement, taking the name

"Vishnu das" on Lou Grant, episode #18 "Sect".

A Hare Krishna devotee appears in an episode of The Simpsons called

'The Joy of Sect', and asks Bart if he's ever heard of Krishna

Consciousness? In reply to which Homer says 'This, Bart, is a crazy

man'. [Ref]

Hare Krishna's also appear in an episode of The Simpsons called

'Homer and Apu', where after seeing Christians singing in an Indian

airport, a Hare Krishna devotee remarks "Oh, great - Christians".

[Ref]

Hare Krishna is referred to in the medical sitcom Scrubs in episode 517

"My Chopped Liver" when J.D. shaves his head.

On Mad TV in an episode from season 1 there is a sketch called

"Krishna Rock". The skit takes place at an airport where 4 Hare

Krishna's in orange robes are chanting and dancing when one of them

decides to leave the Hare Krishna's for a girl but ends up begging to

be allowed back in the group.

On In Living Color in season 3 Jim Carrey played a Hare Krishna in a

sketch called "Krishna Cop"

On House MD, Season 1, Episode 13 "Cursed" Dr. House tells his

young charge Dr. Chase concerning the latter's father, "You breeze

by him like he's a Hare Krishna at the airport".

On the UK Big Brother show "Big Brother's Big Mouth", the

presenter Russell Brand ends every show with the phrase "Hare

Krishna"

On the Seinfeld episode The Subway from Season 3, George Costanza

enters Monk's Cafe wrapped in bedsheets after being robbed by a

woman. A patron mocks him by screaming, "Hare Krishna! Hare

Krishna!" and George responds, "How'd you like a Hare Krishna

fist down your throat?"

 

In Videogames

 

In Grand Theft Auto, the text "GOURANGA!" is displayed whenever the

player runs over a group of Hare Krishnas, who are occasionally

featured as pedestrians. They are again featured in Grand Theft Auto 2

as one of the gangs the player can work for.

In Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, Zak is approached by a Hare

Krishna devotee, and sold a book called ""How to Raise Your

Consciousness and Lower Your Golf Scores!".

There is a reference to Hare Krishna's in That 70's Show when Kitty

found the Hare Krishnas to be so nice that she almost got into their

van with them.

 

In Fiction

 

In "The Tax Inspector" by twice winning Booker Prize author Peter

Carey one of the main characters, Johnny, is a Hare Krishna.

In Bee Season by Myla Goldberg one of the subplots revolves around the

conversion of a teenage boy to the Hare Krishna religion.

The Hare Krishna Maha Mantra appears in Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy.

In the comic strip Bloom County, the "hairy fishnuts" comic which

made Opus a central draw to the strip featured a Hare Krishna. The Hare

Krishna asks Opus for money to assist in the building of a prayer

temple; having not spoken English for long, Opus famously states that

the Hare Krishna is a fellow penguin ("pilgrim") seeking "pear

pimples for hairy fishnuts" ("prayer temples for Hare Krishnas").

 

In Music

 

The Hare Krishna mantra can be heard sung by George Harrison in his

song "My Sweet Lord" in the backing vocals.

The mantra was released as a single by the Radha Krishna Temple on The

Beatles' Apple Records label (see Apple Records discography)

The words "Hare Krishna" are involved in many The Beatles and John

Lennon songs' lyrics, such as "Give Peace A Chance", "I Am the

Walrus", and others.

Kula Shaker include various Vedic mantras and names of Krishna in their

songs, especially in the famous 'Govinda' track.

The Hare Krishna mantra can also be heard on Stevie Wonder's song

"Pastime Paradise" from his 1976 album "Songs in the Key of

Life" in the background vocals.

Also heard in the Original Broadway Cast "Hair", although used in a

context of marijuana use at which the Krishnas would look askance.

The Hare Krishna mantra can also be heard in John Lennon's 1969 song

"Give Peace A Chance".

Nina Hagen has included the mantra on a number of songs, including "I

Love Paul" from the 1983 disco-punk Fearless album.

Tenacious D have created a song they played live about the Hare

Krishna's, called "Hare Krishna".

Boy George's track "Bow Down Mister" includes the Hare Krishna

mantra and other references to the Hare Krishna's.

The Hare Krishna mantra is also on the song "Hare Krsna[sic]" on

Zen Arcade by Hüsker Dü.

Placebo have included the mantra in a song called "Hare Krishna", a

b-side to the 38 Degrees single.

In his 1990 album Relentless, stand-up comedian Bill Hicks refers to

the Hare Krishna followers as "the fifth largest army in the

world".

 

Straight Edge subculture

 

In the 1980's many bands and individuals from the punk-related

straight edge subculture took interest in the Hare Krishna doctrines,

leading to a number of prominent 'straight edgers' becoming

official members of the movement. Due to the influence of a punk rocker

named Larry Puglisi, Krishna Consciousness found its way into the New

York hardcore scene in the mid 1980s. Puglisi established a house in

nearby northern New Jersey for fellow devotees to live in, and

sponsored food and clothing drives as well as concerts for the punks

and skinheads hanging out in what was then a very rough and tough Lower

East Side. Early devotees included John Joseph and Harley Flanagan of

the band Cro-Mags, Ray Cappo of Youth Of Today, and Vic DiCara, former

guitarist for Los Angeles band Inside Out, who established quite

possibly the most famous of all of the newly dubbed "Krishnacore"

bands, 108. Krishnacore bands sang about Krishna and Krishna

Consciousness the same way that a Christian band would sing about

Jesus. Notable Hare Krishna Hardcore bands include:

 

Shelter

Cro-Mags

Youth of Today

108 [1]

Run Devil Run

Request Denied

Poly Styrene and Lora Logic of the X-ray Spex

 

Miscellaneous

 

A computer virus called Hare displays "HDEuthanasia by Demon Emperor:

Hare Krsna, hare,hare." on the screen of an infected computer, after

erasing the Hard disk.

Retrieved from

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Krishna_in_popular_culture"

 

 

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