Family Trivia Night (Adults)
Patriotic Entertainment Quiz (Answers below)
1. The singer of the social protest song “Blowin’ in the Wind” is known for harsh vocal delivery and insistent guitar-harmonica accompaniment. As a lyricist, this artist captured the cynicism, anger, and alienation of American youth. Name the singer.
a. Janis Joplin
b. Bob Dylan
c. Tom Petty
Hint: This singer’s son is the lead vocalist for The Wallflowers.
2. Benjamin Martin was living a peaceful life when the British arrive at his South Carolina home
and endanger what he holds most dear. A reluctant hero, Martin takes up arms alongside his son. What film tells this story about the personal cost of the Revolutionary War?
a. The Patriot
b. 1776
c. Cold Mountain
Hint: Martin’s patriotic and idealistic son was played by Heath Ledger.
3. Before he was president of the United States, this man was president of the Screen Actor’s Guild. Name him.
a. Arnold Schwarzenegger
b. Ronald Reagan
c. Bill Clinton
Hint: That makes two former actors who became governor of California!
4. What fictional character said, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”?
a. Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore
b. Sgt. Hartman
c. Michael Vronsky Hint: Apocalypse Now.
5. Which poem-turned-song, written by Katharine Lee Bates, was originally called “Pikes Peak” and describes our country’s natural splendor and the patriotism of its people?
a. “Star-Spangled Banner”
b. “God Bless America”
c. “America the Beautiful”
Hint: Bates wrote the lyrics to this song after an inspirational trip to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado in 1893.
6. In this 1939 movie, Jimmy Stewart plays the idealistic Jefferson Smith who, after being appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate, struggles with the rampant graft and corruption that pervades Washington, D.C. Name the movie.
a. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
b. Mr. Smith Takes On Washington
c. Mr. Smith Wins in Washington
Hint: Jefferson Smith is just an average guy who wants to establish a national boys’ camp.
7. Name the singer/songwriter of “On the 4th of July.”
a. Bono
b. Bruce Springsteen
c. James Taylor
Hint: He performed another hit, “Shower the People,” with John Legend and Jennifer Nettles, at President Obama’s inaugural celebration in 2009.
8. This television show, adapted from a film that was based on a book, was set during wartime and featured characters nicknamed Hot Lips, Trapper, Radar, and Hawkeye. What was the name of the war drama?
a. Hogan’s Heroes
b. M*A*S*H*
c. China Beach
Hint: The setting for the series was Korea.
9. This patriotic hymn, also called “America,” shares its tune, ironically, with “God Save the Queen,” the British National Anthem. Name it.
a. “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”
b. “America the Beautiful”
c. “The Marines Hymn” Hint: Let freedom ring!
10. Who said, “If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill, as God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!”?
a. Rick Blaine in Casablanca
b. Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind
c. Ada Monroe in Cold Mountain
Hint: These words were spoken during a cinematic Civil War.
11. The song “America” by Neil Diamond conveys a positive message about what often contentious issue?
a. immigration
b. taxation
c. slavery
Hint: Neil Diamond crooned this tune to mark the Statue of Liberty’s 100th anniversary.
12. The dramatization of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is the subject of the classic film Tora! Tora! Tora! What does the Japanese word tora mean?
a. Fight to the death
b. Attack
c. Tiger
Hint: Tora was used as a code word used by the Japanese.
13. This singer-turned-actor appeared in several movies, including Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Barbarosa (1982), and the Dukes of Hazzard (2005). His musical hits were similarly wide-ranging, including a duet with Julio Inglesias called “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” and a patriotic tune called “Living in the Promised Land.” Name the performer.
a. Willie Nelson
b. Kris Kristofferson
c. Johnny Cash
Hint: He’s credited with creating the blues-rock-country hybrid known as “outlaw music.”
14. This cinematic masterpiece directed by Steven Spielberg opens with 25 minutes of what many consider to be the most graphic footage ever seen on the big screen. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards. What is the title of the movie?
a. Schindler’s List
b. Saving Private Ryan
c. Band of Brothers
Hint: It is a tale of a grisly public relations mission—sending home a paratrooper embedded in occupied territory because his three brothers have been killed in combat.
15. In “Song of the Patriot,” which artist sang these words: “I don’t believe in violence, I’m a God fearing man, But I’ll stand up for my country just as long as I can stand”?
a. Lee Greenwood
b. Cody Collins (of Lonestar)
c. Johnny Cash
Hint: His nickname was “The Man in Black.”
ANSWERS
1. b. Bob Dylan. A song about peace and freedom, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” by Bob Dylan was released in 1963.
2. a. The Patriot. Mel Gibson stars in director Roland Emmerich’s film. Martin leads a brave rebel militia into battle against a relentless and overwhelming English army. In the process, he discovers the only way to protect his family is to fight for a young nation's freedom.
3. b. Ronald Reagan. Reagan began his career as a sports announcer on radio, then moved to Hollywood and became a movie star. Reagan made more than 50 movies, but politics seemed to be his real calling. He served as governor of California (1967-75) and in 1980 defeated Democrat Jimmy Carter to become the 40th U.S. president.
4. a. Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore. In a moment of nostalgia, Robert Duvall, playing Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore, delivers the memorable line in the Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now during a chaotic battle on a beach at the mouth of the Nung River. The film was based on Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness.
5. c. “America the Beautiful.” This poem is set to New Jersey musician Samuel A. Ward’s musi- cal composition, “Materna." The two were first published together in 1910 and have enjoyed wide- spread popularity. In fact, “America the Beautiful” has posed the only significant competition to the “Star-Spangled Banner” as our national anthem.
6. a. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Mr. Smith goes to Washington and says, “Great principles don’t get lost once they come to light. They’re right here; you just have to see them again!” Those words still ring true, nearly 70 years after the movie was made.
7. c. James Taylor. JT’s valentine to his wife, “On the 4th of July,” speaks of new love flowering at an Independence Day celebration.
8. b. M*A*S*H*. 251 episodes of M*A*S*H*, starring Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, and Loretta Switt, ran over 11 seasons. It was adapted from the 1970 movie MASH, which was in turn based on the 1968 book MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors.
9. a. “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” Samuel Francis (1808-1895) wrote “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” when he was 23 years old. This hymn was first performed on July 4, 1832, by a children’s choir in Boston, Mass.
10. b. Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. Gone with the Wind, released in 1939, was based on Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel of the same name. The 222-minute epic won eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director.
11. a. immigration. The song is also known as “They’re Coming to America” and “Coming to America,” and puts to music the American dream—endless opportunity. Originally released in 1980 as part of The Jazz Singer soundtrack, the song was a hit single in 1981, reaching #8 on the Billboard chart.
12. c. Tiger! The success of the Japanese mission depended upon absolute surprise. The code word that relayed that complete surprise had been achieved was “tiger,” or “tora.”
13. a. Willie Nelson. Willie Nelson began playing professionally at age 10 and joined a western swing band as a teenager. He gained enormous popularity as a performer in the 1970’s.
14. b. Saving Private Ryan. The powerful realism of the images at Omaha Beach manages to honor the heroism of American soldiers without glorifying war. The search for Ryan is a harrowing journey through the German-occupied French countryside, during which the rescue team suffers several losses and begins to question their sacrifices for the sake of saving one man.
15. c. Johnny Cash. 1990’s “Song of the Patriot” was Johnny Cash’s tip of the hat to his home- land.
