Instagram/@mollyringwald
Ringwald posted a cryptic image of plums with the poetic caption “This is just to say…” to trigger recognition and culinary inspiration among her followers. The Breakfast Club actress posted a macro shot of plums, multiple dark yet beautiful shades of purple with an almost glossy surface, setting up an aesthetic-yet-mysterious post that instantly struck a chord with her audience.
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Clearly, the post alludes to the famous William Carlos Williams poem written in 1934, entitled “This Is Just To Say,” beginning with “I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox.” By way of the simplest possible presentation, with merely the visual and a vaguely suggestive caption, Ringwald immediately created an intersection between lovers of poetry and food.
The fans almost immediately caught the reference: one commented, “I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox…😊,” quoting the opening line of the poem directly. Another commented, “So sweet, and so cold,” almost describing the plums from the poem itself, proving just how well-known the reference was among Ringwald’s constituency.
The post encouraged some culinary experiments among her followers: one proclaimed, “My husband made a plum cake this weekend, and it was the most wonderful thing,” while another added, “Hey, was thinking of making pizza with figs tonight, now thinking some with figs and some with plums. Thank you.” Just looking at plums in a photo somehow gave her followers ideas for what to eat.
This unleashed some playful finger-wagging by a few others in search of the exact kind of fruit: “They look like Santa Rosa plums (the very best!).” Another chimed in in full appreciation of the visual: “Plums beautiful and yummy 😍.”
Now directions for action: “Goes to my fridge to grab one. Thanks for reminder!” is a testament to the power the actress holds amongst her followers.
Over its 1980s heyday and the John Hughes era, the star has maintained a presence between nostalgia and popular culture. Somehow connecting a line of classic poetry with a contemporary social interaction on social media gives her a foothold between old Hollywood and avant-garde digital culture.
The back-and-forth surrounding the post is indicative of how the presence of one tangible cultural phenomenon can create an instant community of cavernous awareness amongst her followers, who then explored further avenues of poetic allusion. At first glance, the fruits seem very plain yet perchance turn out to be engaging in one beautifully indelible way that marries all pleasures of aesthetics, poetic meaning, and food inspiration.
So much action on the fans’ part really goes to show that celebrities are well able to canvas social media to create very brief installments of moments of cultural significance, using subtle references instead of crass declarations. That means the plums worked as visual content and a cultural symbol at the same time so that the fans could be considered the “in” crowd for one moment.
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The evidence shows that, even in this age of fast-expanding social media content, sometimes it is just an extra smile or two from a plain fruit photo connected with a poetic in-between line that hooks people sincerely. Ringwald’s plums have officially gone beyond just fruit and have become a cultural literate and kitchen-inspiration touchstone for her followers.