Talk:Wilson the Volleyball

This article was nominated for deletion. Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination:

Withdrawn, 11 June 2024, see discussion.
keep, 26 November 2008 (UTC), see discussion.

trivia tag

since this article is really about a cultural "phenomenon", it seems silly to have the cultural impact section trivia-tagged.

removed tag and modified name to be better suited.

Vengeance is mine, saith the Prime ♥ 06:13, 3 Aug 2008 (UTC)

IN USE FOR MAJOR OVERHAUL AND SOURCING

Aming to do a rewrite to combine the "cultural impact" section into the main body per MOS. Please use this talk page to list sources for those items so I might best add them during the overhaul. Schmidt, ^{MICHAEL Q.} 18:35, 26 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I've added an article to a "further reading" section. I thought I had it saved on my computer but I must have deleted it a few months ago. If I still had access to it I'd help integrate the major points it raises. If you have access to it then it's well worth reading. Bradley0110 (talk) 17:15, 27 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In need of citations:

I have removed the following sentences from the article, as they need citations before they might be returned:

In the film Behind Enemy Lines, Owen Wilson's character can be heard screaming "Wilson!" when his football is catapulted off an aircraft carrier.
In the improv comedy show Whose Line, Ryan Stiles would often refer Colin Mochrie's balded head as Wilson, with the punch line "you're my only friend on this island".
Another use of Wilson in music is when the band Uzi Union used a "Wilson the Volleyball" voice clip from the movie "Cast Away", where Chuck screams for Wilson.
The Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Massachusetts, sells replicas of "Wilson" in its gift shop.
In the Norwegian comic M, by Mads Eriksen, Mads is left alone in his apartment during Christmas when the madam is away. During this time he makes an exact copy of Wilson whom he talks to and even pretend is making a snowman.
In the second series of British comedy show The Mighty Boosh, the episode 'The Nightmare of Milky Joe' parodies Cast Away, Howard and Vince, the main characters on the show, get stuck on a desert island, and create several companions in the style of "Wilson", out of coconuts. In addition, Howard's appearance in this episode is modelled after Tom Hanks' dishevelled appearance in the film.
The Mr. Men Show episode, Boats, Mr. Nervous has a similar volleyball to Wilson, when he imagines that he is lost out at sea.

References or not, most of these are too minor to be of use; there is no need for every reference to Wilson be noted in the article. — TAnthony^Talk 22:45, 29 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

To clarify, the most respectable way to present the topic is to have some solid sources asserting the notability/cultural phenomenon of Wilson, and use some specific examples of parodies and references to illustrate the point. A collection of trivial appearances (sourced or not) used to make a point without other backup is a trivia/OR mess that weakens the article and opens it up to challenges and AfDs. — TAnthony^Talk 22:50, 29 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I am decidedly in agreement, but was loathe to remove such from the article without at least giving the contributors an an opprtunity to source them... which is why I put them here. I had left messages on several user talk pages over the last week, but the above were from anonymous IPs, so here they are. They need not be sourced and returned, as the article's recent improvements are exemplary. Schmidt, ^{MICHAEL Q.} 23:15, 29 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Sources

The following was noted on the AfD talk page, and I wanted to to be handy for anyone who may have access and can incorporate it into the article: Maynard, Michael L. (July 3, 2006). "Unpaid Advertising: A Case of Wilson the Volleyball in Cast Away". The Journal of Popular Culture. Retrieved November 29, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

— TAnthony^Talk 22:45, 29 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Do you have access to the full text? I do not have a subscription. Schmidt, ^{MICHAEL Q.} 23:17, 29 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Creator

Do we have any sources indicating who created the character? --El on ka

Wouldn't that have been the screenwritrer? William Broyles Jr.? Or were you asking if we knew just who created the set of Wilson props? Schmidt, ^{MICHAEL Q.} 05:39, 21 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Sometimes it's the screenwriter, yes. Sometimes though the character was created in some other story, and then adapted by the screenwriter. Whichever way it was done, it would be a good addition to this article to add a bit of information of who originated the character, and how it was developed. --El on ka 05:49, 21 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]