They Might Be Giants

:This article is about the band. For the movie, see They Might Be Giants (movie).

The band's name

The band takes its name from the 1971 movie They Might Be Giants starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward (based on the play of the same name written by James Goldman). The play (and movie) title is a reference to Don Quixote, who mistook windmills for giants. George C. Scott's character discusses man's ability to invent and analyze past the obvious, saying:

Related Topics:
1971 - They Might Be Giants - George C. Scott - Joanne Woodward - James Goldman - Don Quixote

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Of course, carried it a bit too far. He thought that every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But, thinking that they might be... Well, all the best minds used to think the world was flat. But, what if it isn't? It might be round. And bread mold might be medicine. If we never looked at things and thought of what they might be, why, we'd all still be out there in the tall grass with the apes.

Related Topics:
The world was flat - Bread mold

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In an interview Flansburgh said (paraphrasing) that the words 'they might be giants' are just a very outward looking forward thing, that they liked. In an earlier radio interview, Linnel described the phrase as "something very paranoid sounding". Also, the band's name is parodied in Terry Pratchett's novel Soul Music by the dwarf "rock band", "We're Certainly Dwarfs".

Related Topics:
Terry Pratchett - Soul Music

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~