When a quote hits critical mass, it burns twice as bright for half as long. That’s why I like to cherry pick my words from slightly more obscure movies.

I don’t form sentences myself; I simply rip from the mouths of fictional characters.

While walking around campus recently, I overheard two separate groups of people quoting “Anchorman” and “Superbad,” within a minute of each other. It dawned on me that these two films are just a few of the many examples of movies that have become absorbed into the normal college vocabulary.

Movie quotes have a way of instantly blowing up before dying a slow, painful death. We all remember how massive the phrase “Show me the money,” became after Cuba Gooding Jr. threw it down in ‘96. However, if someone were to yell that into a phone today, said person would be mocked for being out of touch with reality.

The same can be said for recent quotes that have entered the collective conscience of the masses. When Jake Gyllenhaal mumbled the words, “I wish I knew how to quit you,” they immediately became a thing that you’d hear on campus every day...multiple times...even when it stopped being funny.

I like to think that 2007s most memorable quote will be Daniel Day-Lewis’ iconic monologue near the end of “There Will Be Blood.” Watch the movie, and the next time you go to grab a milkshake at Culver’s, you’ll know exactly what to say.

It’s hard for me to fathom how people spoke before movies had entered mainstream entertainment. Did they come up with their own words as a way of expressing their feelings? Possibly, but I like to assume that they simply ripped thoughts from other places. Instead of quoting Will Ferrell, they simply spouted some hilarious lines from a Jane Austen novel.

When a quote hits critical mass, it burns twice as bright for half as long. That’s why I like to cherry pick my words from slightly more obscure movies.

When I want to drop a tremendous truth bomb on someone, I’ll simply ask, “What does it take to change the essence of a man?” Did Lincoln speak these heavy words? Maybe Gandhi used them to repel the British armada? Close, but not quite. It was Steven Seagal in his 1994 magnum opus, “On Deadly Ground.”

Is it bad that I quote John Doe’s sinister letters from “Se7en?” Perhaps, but how else should I convey my disgust for the banality of passengers on a dilapidated bus ride?

Should I be worried when I’m at Cush and recite a line that serial killer Patrick Bateman uses in “American Psycho.” Most likely, but the person at the receiving end of the line should most likely be the one who’s worrying.

Some people probably look down on me for the fact that only 10 percent of what I say is an original thought, while the other 90 percent uses movies as a fulcrum. Well, when screenwriters are so much cleverer than I am, why shouldn’t I just hijack their words?

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