20 Things You Didn’t Know About Whiplash

Referencing memes (or internet culture in general) in film is always a tricky line to walk as half-hearted attempts to “plug into the online discourse” can easily leave your story feeling dated in a couple of years. That said, it is possible to add the odd reference or two without it detracting too much from the movie.

This was seen after Terence Fletcher rips into Andrew for not knowing if he was on time or not during the picture’s first act. At some point, the Draconian instructor asks the embattled student if he looks like a “double f***ing rainbow”, a reference to the late YouTuber Paul “Yosemite Bear” Vasquez who enthusiastically reacted to seeing the natural phenomena.

The inclusion of the line does not quite ruin the immersion of the scene, but it must have served as an unexpected bit of amusement for some viewers in an otherwise tense scene.