Young people don’t need another excuse to watch movies, but I do think we need to acknowledge the role of films in a well-rounded education. What movies do kids have to see in order to fully participate in the national discourse, without which they would misinterpret phrases that are meaningful shorthand for those of us who have not been deprived of classic flicks? Here are a few of my ideas:

1.) Wizard of Oz: This movie has been mined for colorful analogies maybe more than any other. Recently I was nonplussed to find out from my daughters that many, perhaps most, earphones come with a microphone. For weeks I’d been wanting to alleviate the crick in my neck from doing hands-free the old way. My girls knew what I meant when I said, “You mean I had the ruby slippers all along??” And just last week a counselor I’ve been seeing brought up ruby slippers, yellow brick road, and strange characters on a journey. Opinion pieces bring us We’re not in Kansas anymore, The witch is dead, Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, and so on. Wizard of Oz the movie should be required watching as soon as children outgrow the tendency to have nightmares over bizarre winged monkeys, malevolent forests, cackling witches, and a tornado carrying one far away from home and family.

2.) The Matrix: At least for the valuable red pill/blue pill scene.

3.) The Princess Bride: Valued as a source of funny quotes for years– “Inconceivable!” “Mostly dead”– lines from this movie more recently entered political discourse with Inigo Montoya in a meme saying, “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”

Surprise your child next week by announcing “educational movie night,” popping some corn, and streaming Raiders of the Lost Ark. What would you add to the list of these cheap and entertaining learning experiences?