Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide

TRUST ME, this post is NOT random and it has EVERYTHING to do with classic movies!

When I was 11 years old until I was about 14, there used to be this show on Nickelodeon called “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.” It was about a middle-school student named Ned Bigby and his friends Cookie and Moze. Together, the friends go through ridiculous situations at their three-ring circus of a school and create a survival guide to help themselves and other students combat everyday kid problems like mean teachers, procrastination, bullying, and dating. I used to feel so cool watching this show. Now, I’ve gotten into it again, which is maybe not so cool to say when you’re 19 and not 11, but this show is HILARIOUS, and I noticed something very unusual about it…

“Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” a show about modern-day seventh-graders, actually has quite a few secret classic movie references! They’re not references made in the dialogue, but rather they are hidden in the school itself. If you watch the show (it airs quite often on TeenNick) and look at the background in some of the episodes, there are classic movie posters stuck around the school!

In one episode, I saw a poster of a photo of Norma Shearer with the caption “NORMA!” underneath it and I thought I was just seeing things, but after seeing the episode again and seeing the same poster multiple times in other episodes, it most definitely is a reference to one of my new favorite actresses (I know I used to dislike her, but I am now happy to say that I’ve converted)!

The picture of Norma Shearer that you can see hanging on the walls in some episodes of “Ned’s Declassified.”

I wish I could find some screencaps that show these posters, but screencaps for this show are rare enough as it is.

Another reference I saw only once was to Edna May Oliver. There was no photo of her or anything, but there was a handwritten poster saying “Edna May Oliver!” (what’s with the exclamation points?) in the gym of the school.

The last reference I saw was one to Jane Russell. The janitor in the show, Gordy, has a poster of her from “The Outlaw” hanging on the door of his closet. He has great taste!

The picture of Jane Russell in the janitor’s closet.

I LOVE finding secret little classic film references like this! It’s so much fun, like playing a game. So if you ever watch this show, keep your eyes peeled for cute and subtle nods to our favorite stars!

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