As many of us are already aware, rock icon David Bowie is about as close as you can get to a living legend. In addition to his monumental impact on music, Bowie has also acted in several films, and has continued in the role of celebrity enough to make Warhol proud.

However as a guy in my twenties, I can only speculate on his impact on past generations. What I can do is talk about Bowie’s impact on the now, more specifically his portrayal in pop culture.

As one of the most eclectic figures in the past few decades, Bowie is usually portrayed as having near limitless insight and wisdom. Is it something that is carried over from his music that gives him such an awesome reputation? Or is it his personality away from the stage?

To get a sense of how huge his impact has been, let’s take a look at David Bowie in pop culture over the past couple of years. First up, his most recent (big) role in ‘The Prestige’ as Nikola Tesla, who in his own right is pretty awesome:

In HBO’s ‘Flight of the Conchords,’ Bret’s dream-Bowie gives him some tips on being cool, “Get an eyepatch, Bret”:

Those examples too conservative in their use of Bowie? How about Adult Swim’s ‘Venture Bros.’ where he is depicted as the Sovereign of the super-villain club, the Guild of Calamitous Intent?

Wes Anderson, who has always had a taste for the peculiar, chose Bowie’s arsenal of songs as a base for his soundtrack; with a twist however, since they are all in Portuguese and sung by Seu Jorge:

Want to check out more of David Bowie in the 21st Century? Check out my Youtube playlist for more of Bowie in today’s popular culture, including more clips from Flight of the Conchords and new videos not featured here.




One more for the road!