BioShock Cultural References

Introduction
Bioshock is an amazingly complex game and may have some of the most interesting references (many about the author Ayn Rand) such a game has yet employed. This article is meant to explore some of these possible refernces and influences.

Possible References

 * Andrew Ryan saying "Would you kindly?" being based on Hon. James McCrae, during the Motions of Condolences to the victims of the MKULTRA, a CIA brainwashing program that began in the early 1950's and continued to the late 1960's.
 * Andrew Ryan may be based on the author Ayn Rand. First, his name contains her name in jumbled order: ANDRew rYAN.  Also, both were originally from Soviet Russia, but moved to America to pursue a more self-interested life.  Both created their own city to explore their ideas: Rand created Galt's Gulch in her book Atlas Shrugged, while Ryan created Rapture.
 * One of the books in the library is titled Headology. This may be a reference to Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, where the witch Granny Weatherwax uses what she calls "headology" to psychologically (nonmagically) manipulate people.
 * The name Atlas probably came from Ayn Rand's famous book Atlas Shrugged.
 * The construction of Rapture may have been based on Ayn Rand's books, too, Atlas Shrugged being the most important influence.
 * Ayn Rand's philosophy, called Objectivism, also greatly influences the story of Bioshock. Objectivism is the idea that one should follow their own self-interest and profit from their own abilities and ambitions while being virtually uninhibited by others.  This is the idea on which Andrew Ryan's city is based.
 * Frank Fontaine's first name may be a reference to Ayn Rand's husband Frank O'Connor.
 * The name "Fontaine" may be a reference to the title of another Ayn Rand book, The Fountainhead.
 * The name Fontaine may also be a reference to a 17th century poet named Jean de la Fontaine, who wrote a fable called The Monkey and the Cat. In the story, the cat, Raton, gathers chestnuts that are roasting on a fire and the monkey, Bertrand, eats them all.
 * ADAM and EVE are references to the Creation story in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Like in the Bible, ADAM and EVE end up ruining a utopia because of greed and ignorance.
 * Each bottle of Arcadia Merlot is embossed with the name "Fountainhead Cabarnet Sauvignon," which may be a direct reference to Rand's novel The Fountainhead.
 * The tombstones in Arcadia each state that two persons are interred there. One's epitaph reads "John Maynard Keynes, son of Adam and Ada Smith."  This references two British economists, John Maynard Keynes and Adam Smith.  Smith originated the ideas of Free Market Capitalism and limited government intervention in the economy, while Keynes took the position that government intervention was necessary to head off market failures.
 * The Rosie version of the Big Daddy is a reference to the cultural icon Rosie the Riveter, who represented working women during World War II. Rosies in Bioshock carry a "rivet gun" as a weapon.
 * One of the books in the library is labeled 'Applied Headology'. This may be a very subtle reference to Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, in which headology is a form of psychology that relies on the principle that a person's beliefs can change their personal reality.
 * An obvious reference to the game 'Pacman' can be found on the floor of the farmer's market in Arcadia. A block of cheese in the shape of Pacman is placed before six bullet holes, representing the dots eaten by Pacman for points.
 * The typewriter in Ryan's office has the brand name "Belowtree", which is probably a reference to the "Underwood" typewriter.
 * In Fort Frolic, there is an audio diary left by Martin Finnegan called "The Iceman Cometh," an allusion to a play by the same name written by Eugene O'Neill in 1939.
 * Posters for the Pharaoh's Fortune Casino state that the casino is located in the Cameron Suites, a possible reference to architect Henry Cameron, a character in Rand's novel The Fountainhead.
 * The name Rapture is a biblical reference, referring to a place that one would transport a person from one place to another and be 'like heaven'.
 * In the chapter "Welcome to Rapture" Atlas prompts you to "search for a crowbar or something". This is a possible reference to the game System Shock 2 where the player is asked to "find a wrench or something." Which is what precisely the player does in both SS2 and Bioshock. It could also be a reference to Gordon Freeman's weapon of choice in the Half Life series.
 * If you take a look at the gun turrets, specifically the boxes the guns are mounted on, you can see that the name on the side of the boxes is "Irrational Vegetables And Fruits", referring to the company Irrational Games, who created System Shock 2.
 * When you finally see Fontaine's face, it shows him as bald, bringing to mind another bald villain named Lex Luthor, another man with no hair, the same letter beginning both first and last names, and a criminal mastermind.
 * The dead cats found throughout Rapture are a possible reference to "The Great Cat Massacre" in which a group of printing press workers in 18th century Paris killed a large number of cats. In this period, cats were associated with the bourgeois class who kept them as pets.
 * Diane McClintock may be a reference to Barbara McClintock a geneticist who did work with, among other thing, genetic recombination in corn in the 1940s
 * If you follow a Little Sister around without her noticing you, she will eventually shout, "I see the big Pam "O" Landi!" which is a possible reference to the character Pam Landi in the Bourn movies.
 * Sander Cohen may be a reference to the pre-WWI playwright, songwriter, dancer, and director George M. Cohen. Sander Cohen and George M. Cohen both have a similar appearance and a similar way of criticizing people who do not perform a piece perfectly.
 * Andrew Ryan's appearance seems to be based upon the appearance of a younger Walt Disney.
 * The aesthetics of Rapture seem to have been heavily influenced by the artistic movement, Art Deco.
 * The name 'H.Roark' appears on the advertisement for the Eve's Apple strip club. Howard Roark was the main character in the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.
 * The posters that read "Who is Atlas?" could be in relation to the opening lines of Atlas Shrugged: "Who is John Galt?"
 * The posters in Farmers Market that read "Richard's Cheese" could be in relation with Richard Cheese, a musician who covers alternative songs as lounge tunes in the style of the 50' and 60'.
 * When the player is fighting Sander Cohen in his apartment, Cohen will yell "Sander **cking Cohen", a possible refernce to the phrase "Samuel L. **cking Jackson."
 * Andrew Ryan also bears great resemblance to the character Charles Foster Kane of "Citizen Kane", who builds a wealth empire by his own sheer will, such as how Andrew Ryan built Rapture. Ryan's portrait and voice are similar to that of Orson Welles, who portrayed Kane.
 * Although the names are not mentined ingame, the names the sound files use to refer to splicers seem to be meaningful, and several of them appear to be references:
 * Baby Jane is most likely a reference to the film What ever happened to baby Jane?.
 * Lady Smith is possibly a reference to the Smith & Wesson Ladysmith, a revolver targetted at women.
 * Rosebud is probably a reference to Citizen Kane, where the titular character's last word is Rosebud.