Comments on: Why are these red plastic cups so common in teensploitation movies and TV series?

Question: Why are these red plastic cups so common in teensploitation movies and TV series?

soundofsuburbia — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:01:56 -0800

PartyCupFilter. In teensplotation movies and TV series, these party cups often feature predominantly
whenever there's a party situation going on. Why is that? Are they a generic low budget brand, do they come free with kegs or are they the choice of a cool generation?

...and yeah, I realize this probably isn't Ask Metafilter's finest moment, but I really want to know.

By: ALongDecember

ALongDecember — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:04:52 -0800

Those are Solo cups. Also in blue and yellow, and they just are usually the most popular cups of that size.

By: angry modem

angry modem — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:04:58 -0800

um, I have a bag of those in my cupboard. several companies make them. dixie, for example. I think the brand I have is 'jack frost'.

By: angry modem

angry modem — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:05:33 -0800

yeah solo

By: soundofsuburbia

soundofsuburbia — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:10:35 -0800

Thanks a lot, I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my heart!

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:11:50 -0800

In addition to them being everywhere and cheap, they have the advantage for film/tv of bearing no logo meaning nothing has to be cleared, legally, to show them. They also don't break when the unruly extras hurl them when they realize how boring "the movie business" is.

By: sixpack

sixpack — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:18:53 -0800

Also, in real life, these are solid cups, perfect for keg drinking. They last all night, unlike wax or paper cups. Don't forget to mark yours with a Sharpie.

By: trharlan

trharlan — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:20:46 -0800

The red Dixie version is the cheapest cup available at my neighborhood Costco.

By: Stoatfarm

Stoatfarm — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:24:04 -0800

soundsofsuburbia: I knew the answer and was prepared to help, but even though I was too late, my hat is off to you for inspiring me to find the answer to a question I've always had: why are all the disposable coffee cups in NYC Greek art themed? And as a bonus I even found out that the cups were recently updated for the Olympics.

By: LionIndex

LionIndex — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:29:53 -0800

Could there possibly be something to fact that the cups are opaque--meaning viewers can't actually tell what's inside the cup, thus protecting the studio from any silly liability stuff? For instance, perhaps they can't actually show teens drinking alcoholic stuff on TV, so they put whatever in the solo cup.

All the frat parties I went to in college used the mega-cheap clear versions, so I think their use in visual media may be as much due to legal issues as to the cup's general popularity.

By: soundofsuburbia

soundofsuburbia — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:30:32 -0800

Stoatfarm: Lovely! I've been pondering that question as well! Thank you!

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:43:05 -0800

do they come free with kegs
Yes, or did.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 16:12:35 -0800

Stoat, sounds: I believe the Greek theme reflects the once mighty empire of Greek diners that blanketed our fair land from coast to Costas, but which were as thick in the City as Original Ray's Famous Pizza.

I think, anyway.

Opa!

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 16:28:28 -0800

Ha! This has incidentally answered one of my long-standing puzzles when reading American books, namely what the hell a "Dixie cup" is.

By: shepd

shepd — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 16:31:49 -0800

My opnion (as if it matters):

- No brand name on the cup means no royalties or lawsuits.
- A clear cup might be tough to capture on film clearly (ha ha).
- When the actors are pretending they're drinking beer, the fact that it's apple juice or some other not particularly beer looking drink doesn't stand out.
- If the scene has to be shot too many times and the actors don't drink anything from the cups, it doesn't show.
- It looks "normal".

Just my guesses. I don't film things.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 16:34:55 -0800

- If the scene has to be shot too many times and the actors don't drink anything from the cups, it doesn't show.

Related to that, the continuity folks don't have to worry about the level of liquid in cups in multiple takes of a scene.

By: msacheson

msacheson — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 16:46:02 -0800

i_am_joe's_spleen: a "Dixie cup" reference is probably implying a really small cup, maybe 3 oz., like you'd rinse out with at a dentist office.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 17:05:41 -0800

also: the cups opacity make them perfect for camping in state parks where alcohol is prohibited.

i_am_joe's_spleen: as well as what msacheson said, Dixie brand cups were widely promoted in the US back in the 50's and 60's as a sanitary measure. they sold millions of dispensers and billions of refills in ad campaigns aimed at eliminating the ubiquitous glass tumbler found at the bathroom sink.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 17:27:44 -0800

and they often had riddles or jokes or pop culture stuff printed on them (but most often were daisies in my family's bathroom)

By: ShawnString

ShawnString — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 17:39:25 -0800

or I call them..."whooo" cups.
as in drunk frat boys, holding them aloft and screaming "WHOOOO!"

By: amberglow

amberglow — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 17:45:50 -0800

aren't they also called "go-cups" in some places? (The big ones--i'm thinking New Orleans, but it's been a while since i was there)

By: litlnemo

litlnemo — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 17:55:48 -0800

They called them "keg cups" in my neighborhood. And, yes, they are ubiquitous at parties -- until you get to the higher class parties that have real dishes.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 17:58:19 -0800

They can also make wonderful signs on overpasses that either support the USA or ask Sharon for her hand in marriage.

Beyond being cups, I think those are the only uses they were designed for.

By: Steve_at_Linnwood

Steve_at_Linnwood — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 19:08:21 -0800

do they come free with kegs

Every time I've bought a half-barrel, they get thrown in for free.

By: Frank Grimes

Frank Grimes — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 19:11:08 -0800

Are they called Dixie cups outside of the South? Where do those coffee cups with the poker hand come from? Vending machines? I've never had vending machine coffee.

By: kenko

kenko — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 19:12:42 -0800

They're called Dixie cups in southern California.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 19:17:23 -0800

Ah sweet memories of misspent youth. Those cups were my companions at many happy moments.

One time, right after me and pips started dating, we were parked outside a public park shooting the breeze around midnight. Some kids were talking nearby, but we didn't pay them no mind. After a while one kid knocked on our window. He had a solo cup full of beer in one hand and two empty ones dangling from the other's fingers.

"We got a keg in the woods behind the park. 3 bucks a cup?"

We looked at eachother and said what the hell, sidled up to the keg and had a good old time with a bunch of sodden teens.

That kid's probably a captain of industry today.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 16 Aug 2004 21:50:50 -0800

Dixie Cups is a brand name that for a long time (still?) was ubiquitous, like Kleenex or Jell-O.

By: agregoli

agregoli — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 07:15:00 -0800

I never understood people who mark their cups with a Sharpie, or put a wine charm on their wine glass. This implies they are setting their drink DOWN at some point. I just don't get it.

I can't believe you've never encountered Solo cups! I've rarely been to a kegger (not that I go to those anymore) that wasn't using them. That's what your three bucks gets you.

By: soundofsuburbia

soundofsuburbia — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 09:10:23 -0800

agregoli: I'm from Sweden, we don't have kegs over here...

By: agregoli

agregoli — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 09:37:36 -0800

Blasphemy.