Pop culture fiction is a genre of fiction where stories are written intentionally to be filled with references from other works and media.[1][2][3] Stories in this genre are focused solely on using popular culture references.
Some works in the genre use pop culture references to elicit nostalgia among its consumers, while other examples have the whole setting and universe themselves built upon and revolves around pop cultural references (sometimes even relying on well-known and/or obscure pop culture references as humor as in the case of the cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000).[1][4][5][6][7] Pop culture fiction doesn't just reference one or two titles, but works under this genre reference several titles across different genres and media.[8]
Many types of postmodern works and modern-day homage, metafiction, satires and parodies fall under this category.[1] But unlike more typically comedic satires and parodies, pop culture fiction contains depth and serious themes, with many even garnering critical acclaim.[8] Many stories inspired by games and geek culture have also been examples.[9] According to author Gary Westfahl, works under this genre demand an "aura of immaturity, of incompleteness, while projecting no pretenses."[10]
This genre should not be confused with Pop culture non-fiction, which are researches, encyclopedias, and other academic works focused on the study and analysis of pop culture, rather than stories centered around pop culture references.[11][12]