Fallout 4 cultural references

Alien franchise
The inscription on the back of the flux sensor reads "FLUX SENSOR CM-88B 180924609." This references the type (CM 88B Bison) and registration number (180924609) of the USCSS Nostromo, the vessel from the first Alien movie.

American Revolution

 * The Minutemen and their weaponry are references to the real-world colonial group of the same name.
 * John Hancock and his red frock coat are references to the real-world founding father of the same name.
 * The quest The Battle of Bunker Hill is named after one of the opening battles of the American Revolution.

Apocalypse Now
While in combat, Mister Gutsy robots may say "There's nothing I like better than the smell of plasma in the morning!" This is a reference to a line spoken by Robert Duvall's character Lt. Col. William "Bill" Killgore in the movie Apocalypse Now.

The Aviator
Newspapers scattered around the Commonwealth display the headline "Way of the Future!" on them, which is the same line Leonardo DiCaprio's character Howard Hughes repeats over and over at the end of the film The Aviator.

The Bible

 * The Lifegiver perk depicts a Vault-Boy in robes, a beard and a halo, much like common depictions of Jesus.
 * Ahab, a customized robot found alongside Jezebel in the Headhunting quest of the Automatron add-on. This is a reference to Ahab, king of Israel, and his wife Jezebel.

Blade Runner

 * In the middle of the Diamond City. there is a robot, Takahashi, who sells noodles, and the only line he speaks is "Nani ni shimasho ka?," which means "What’ll you have?" This is the very same phrase (including imperfect grammar) as said by the noodle seller in the "Noodle Bar" scene of the film Blade Runner.
 * On the southwest corner of the Mass Fusion containment shed rooftop is the body of a man in a random outfit lying supine in front of a kneeling, deactivated synth. The setup alludes to the 'Tears in rain' scene at the end of the film.
 * The SAFE test is an allusion to Voight-Kampff test in Blade Runner, meant to discern whether someone is a human or replicant.
 * The art for the Trophy/Achievement Hunter/Hunted invokes Deckard being stalked by Vault Boy.

Blues Brothers
One of the prisoner files in the BADTFL regional office in Charlestown describes a Jake Redds (Resisting Arrest), with a list of personal effects very similar to, but not identical to the effects of Jake Blues in the 1980 movie.

The Book of Abramelin
The "Abremalin field" imprisoning Lorenzo Cabot refers to historical occult work The Book of Abramelin.

Captain Planet
The mission With Our Powers Combined is a reference to the cartoon Captain Planet. It is said as the Planeteers combine their powers to form Captain Planet.

The Cask of Amontillado
When the Sole Survivor finds General McGann's body in the Castle tunnels, he is lying next to wine crate containing some bottles of Amontillado wine. Opposite him is a skeleton behind a half-built brick wall. These are references to Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado." In addition, if the player character inspects the object in their inventory, the name "Montressor" is on the bottle. Montressor is one of the main characters in "The Cask of Amontillado." The name "P. Edgar" in smaller print on the bottom of the label is another reference to Edgar Allen Poe. Poe was inspired to write the story during his time serving at Fort Independence, also known as the Castle.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The River of Quantum found in the Nuka World World of Refreshment ride references the river of chocolate featured in the children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and the two films based on it). This reference is reinforced on a terminal entry inside the ride that encourages drinking right out of the river, as the chemical makeup of Quantum kills germs and resists contamination. In the book, a character is scolded for drinking from the chocolate river and potentially contaminating the chocolate.

Cheers
The bar from the 1980s American sitcom Cheers is by the Boston Commons as Prost bar. Inside is riddled with references to the series, which was set in Boston. The word "prost," after which the in-game bar is named, is German for "cheers."

Coca-Cola
One of the new flavors of Nuka-Cola added in the Nuka-World add-on is "Newka-Cola." This is a reference to "New Coke", the unofficial title of a reformulated version of Coca-Cola released in 1985. In response to Pepsi outselling Coca-Cola, the Coca-Cola company changed the flavor of Coca-Cola slightly in an attempt to boost sales. Public backlash soon forced them to revert to the old formula, which ironically resulted in Coca-Cola outselling Pepsi by more than double in the first six months of the reversal.

Comics Code Authority
The "American Comics Code" stamp found on the Unstoppables is a reimagining of the stamp used by the Comics Code Authority. Its stated goal was to inform parents of the content of comics, though critics of the organization claimed that it functioned more as a censorship bureau.

The Crucible
A character named Hawthorne resides inside the Dugout Inn. He warns against encounters with the Institute synths, a friendly vault and how he has "a bad feeling" about exploring the pre-War ruins of Salem, found in the northeasternmost portion of the map. This is a reference to John Hathorne from the Salem Witch Trials.

Dark Souls
In the southern areas of Bradberton in the Nuka-World add-on, there is a small house with a Chinese officer sword sticking into a mound of ash in a corner. This mound can be kindled into a fire, upon which stimpaks fall from the air, similar to the bonfires of the Dark Souls series.

Deus Ex: Invisible War
NPCs may occasionally say "Rip 'em to shreds!" which is a reference to a line in the game Deus Ex: Invisible War repeated (quite often) by spectators to the caged greasel matches. Mark Lampert worked on Invisible War, handling all voice recording and editing before moving on to work as the audio director for Fallout 3 and Fallout 4.

Developers
The words "Todd Howard is amazing in everything his hands touch - no kidding" appears to be written in the lower two lines of the text in the top middle of the Periodic Table of Elements poster, though the word "is" does not appear as clearly as the surrounding text and may not be the correct word.

Die Hard

 * In Sergeant Dave Mallory's terminal at the BADTFL regional office, Log Entry 10/22/27 mentions an officer named Willison, who is noted as causing property damage. This is a reference to Bruce Willis, who played an NYPD detective named John McClane in the Die Hard franchise. McClane tends to cause a great deal of property destruction when stopping the bad guys. See the Lethal Weapon section for a similar reference in the same terminal.
 * The fifth bottle message, "Difficult to Kill," references a line of dialogue from the 1988 action film Die Hard, which is sarcastically spoken by Bruce Willis' character John McClane.

Dr. Strangelove
In the intro, there is a short scene of a meeting room with a large circular table with a diorama of a mushroom cloud in the center, and a man with his hand gripped tensely on the nuclear hotline. The set design, lighting and general scenario are a reference to Stanley Kubrick's 1964 comedy Dr Strangelove.

Doctor Who
Mr. Goodfeels produces the Daleks' famous refrain "Exterminate" when set to guard mode.

Donkey Kong
The game Red Menace is a reference to the 1981 Nintendo game Donkey Kong.

The Elder Scrolls: Arena
A telephone pole just east of Sanctuary outside of the robotics disposal ground reads TES 01 PPL 364946. In March 1994, TES1 was released.

Sweet rolls can be found throughout the game, such as in the East Boston police station on the desk of a detective. This is a play off of the situation given for character creation in Arena and subsequent Elder Scrolls games.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The cover of one Taboo Tattoos magazine has the iron helmet from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The iron helmet is an armor piece from the game that was made famous by being featured heavily in the marketing of the game as being the chosen headgear of the "Dragonborn."

Crippling a raider's leg may cause them to groan about a "bullet in the knee." The specificity and wording of "the knee" instead of "my knee" makes it similar to the often-repeated Skyrim town guard dialogue and subsequent meme: "I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee..."

Fallout 3

 * In the game's prologue, the newscaster on the TV will read a segment on local baseball news, and begins by saying "And now for something unquestionable, inescapably... American," which John Henry Eden also says on Enclave Radio in Fallout 3.
 * Fallout 4 features a pre-War motorcycle model called the "Lone Wanderer" (every motorcycle found in the game has "Lone Wanderer" on their side), as well as billboards displaying the name of the motorcycle. There is also a perk called "Lone Wanderer," as well as a hair style option with the name. These are all references to the name of the player character in Fallout 3.
 * Robert MacCready, met at The Third Rail, is the former mayor of Little Lamplight from Fallout 3. If one decides to hire him, he will occasionally say "Tunnel Snakes rule!," a reference to the Tunnel Snakes from Vault 101. He may also make reference to other areas, such as Little Lamplight or Vault 87.
 * In various locations (such as Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup) there are sets of wooden blocks with the letters "G," "A," "R" and "Y," usually present with one or more other children's toys. This is a reference to the Gary clones that populated Vault 108.
 * The SAFE test used at Covenant is the same as the G.O.A.T., with exception to the overseer question.

Fallout Shelter
Vault dwellers in the add-on Vault-Tec Workshop will say lines that also appeared in the mobile app Fallout Shelter, such as, "Who do you think would win in a fight, a lumberjack with tentacle arms or a shark riding a unicycle?"

Flowers for Algernon
Swan's backstory shares many similarities with the character Charlie, who is a mentally disabled janitor that is given a serum which increases his I.Q. However, he eventually starts regressing, and once again becoming mentally disabled.

The Fly
The Barfly, a pre-War film with posters present in the game, is a reference to the 1958 film The Fly.

Forrest Gump
When talking to Parker Quinn, he may say "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never get what you want.” This is of course a reference to the famous phrase "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get.”, said by Forrest Gump in the movie of the same name.

Full Metal Jacket
Sometimes, if one attacks a neutral Mister Gutsy, he will say "What is your major malfunction, maggot?", which is a reference to the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, where the ruthless drill sergeant, Hartman, reprimands Private Pyle, saying "What is your major malfunction, numbnuts?"

Futurama
The star of the motion picture Invaders from Beyond Our Galaxy, Blast Hannigan, is a reference to the Futurama character Zapp Brannigan.

Galaxy Quest
In the Nuka-World add-on within the Safari Adventure Welcome Center, Dr. Hein's terminal references Galaxy Quest in Journal Entry 06-02-2077, with polar bears coming out of the Nuka-Gen Replicator "inside out and then exploding." This is in reference to the fate of the alien transported using the digital conveyor as a test in the movie.

Ghostbusters
If in the Boston Public Library, Robert MacCready may say "Let's be careful. No human being would possibly pile books this way" in reference to the movie's library scene.

Good Will Hunting
In the C.I.T. ruins behind the western entrance there is a chalkboard with a skeleton next to it. On the chalkboard are two "homeomorphic irreducible trees of degree 10." This is a reference to the scene in which Will Hunting is trying to solve the problem on the chalkboard in the hallway.

Half-Life
Scribbles on Virgil's notepad reference "Gaben," the president of Valve, "Xen," which is an alien dimension from the videogame Half-Life, with phrase "HL3 Confirmed" at the bottom.

H.P. Lovecraft
Northeast of Goodneighbor, there is a place called "Pickman Gallery." It is the main site of a quest called "Pickman's Gift" and it is a reference to one of H.P. Lovecraft's short stories, "Pickman's Model." There are several little references to the story throughout both the quest and inside the building.

Dunwich Borers is also a direct reference to "The Dunwich Horror," and also to the Dunwich Building of Fallout 3. The giant face deep inside Dunwich Borers is also a reference to the story "The Shunned House."

The Children of Atom also refer to radiation as the glow on occasion. This references H.P Lovecraft's personal favorites of his work; The Color Out of Space. In this story a farm is inhabited by a color (out of space) referred to as the glow which mutates the body and destroys the brain much like radiation.

The Cabot House quest line has numerous references to Lovecraft. For one, the city in the Rub' al-Khali is a reference to The Nameless City. Furthermore, the SS Wakeful in Lorenzo Cabot's journal is a reference to the SS Alert from The Call of Cthulhu. Also, Lorenzo's journal entries generally mirror several different Lovecraft stories, such as The Rats in the Walls, The Moon Bog and the aforementioned Call of Cthulhu.

The Kingsport Lighthouse. Kingsport was the earliest fictional town in what became known as Lovecraft Country, and in The Festival, a group of cloaked cultists perform pre-human rites and in Fallout 4, cloaked Children of Atom worship a glowing one in the lighthouse.

Here There Be Monsters
The name of the quest Here There Be Monsters is a reference to a term for a dangerous place on the map. Taken from early maps where unknown or dangerous regions would include drawings of dragons, scorpions or mermaids. See also: Here Be Dragons.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The beginning of the quest Kid in a Fridge is a reference to a scene in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where Indiana Jones survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator.

Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden, an assaultron racing at Easy City Downs, shares its name with the iron maiden, a supposed medieval torture device. The device is likely fictional, with legends only dating back to the 18th century and no known devices built before the 19th century.

It may also be a reference to the famous band, who also took their name from the device.

Jaws
In boats all around the Commonwealth there is a man with the same blue jacket and the blue bandana as Robert Shaw's character in the film, along with a machete and a mutant dolphin. A cage similar to the one in the film will also be under the boat.

Juvenal
In Zoe's diary the title of an entry is "Who Protects the Protectron?" This is a reference to Juvenal's "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" A phrase popularized as "Who Watches the Watchmen?" in the comic series of the same name.

Katatonia
Inside Listening Post Bravo there is a terminal with the Listening Post Bravo terminal entries written by Sergeant J.P. Renkse, which is a reference to Swedish metal band vocalist Jonas Renkse of Katatonia. Also several lines from the terminal like "D-E-K" is a reference from their album Dead End Kings and lines like "internal void," "dreams are getting darker" and "blood runs so still" are lyrics from one of the album's songs Dead Letters.

King Arthur
The Prydwen shares its name with King Arthur's ship from the Welsh poems "Preiddeu Annwfn" and "Culhwch ac Olwen."

Elder Maxson is somewhat based upon King Arthur.

Kingpin
In the leftmost ball return chute of Back Alley Bowling, between lanes 1 and 2, there are left hand bones, referring to the character Roy Munson losing his hand when it is pushed inside a chute, although in the film it was his right hand.

Lady Lovelace
Ada Lovelace was a mathematician and pioneer in computing who is credited for being the first person to devise an algorithm intended to be run on a machine. Lady Lovelace is a robot programmed for racing.

Lethal Weapon
In Sergeant Dave Mallory's terminal at the BADTFL regional office, Log Entry 10/22/27 mentions an officer named Gibbs, described as a maniac needlessly putting his life on the line. This is a reference to Mel Gibson, who played LAPD officer Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon franchise. In the beginning of the series Riggs often puts himself in danger, as he is distraught after the death of his wife. See the Die Hard section for a similar reference in the same terminal.

The Lord of the Rings
As confirmed in the art book and mentioned by Deacon (if you take him into a tunnel area and ask for his thoughts. Claims that you're safe underground because you're far from the Watchers' 'uh... watching eyes'), "the Watchers" are the ravens. This may be a reference to the ravens who were spies for Sauron in the Lord of the Rings novel.

One of the super mutant taunts, "Human time is done! This is the age of the Super-Mutant!", is possibly a reference to the line said by Gothmog in The Return of the King; "The Age of Men is over. The time of the Orc has come!"

Lost
The random encounter The Hatch is a reference to "Exodus, Part 2," an episode of the TV series Lost.

Missile Command
The game Atomic Command is a reference to the 1980 Atari game Missile Command.

The Mist
The fog crawlers could be an allusion to the arachni-lobster creature from Stephen King's novella The Mist. The similarities include a mysterious crustacean, which dwells in an unnatural fog.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

 * When swapping X6-88 with Cait, she remarks "Yeah, what are you gonna do, leak oil all over me?", which is a reference to the black knight scene, where King Arthur asks "What are you gonna do, bleed on me?".
 * When hit, Codsworth occasionally says "Tis but a scratch!", which is a famous line said by the black knight, as well as Deacon taunting a turret, stating "Your mother was a peashooter?", a reference to the French knight in the same movie.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Arlen Glass' office, in the Wilson Atomatoys corporate HQ, contains two terminals which hold references to the television show. Three consecutive logs make nods to three episodes: "The Last Roundup," "Too Many Pinkie Pies" and "Lesson Zero."

A second terminal mentions Arlen's surprise at a lack of interest in the line of toys in comparison to how it used to be, wondering if he should instead start creating a boy-centric line of collectible, limited edition variants. This could be referencing the primarily male fanbase that cropped up over the show, and the subsequent increase of collectible's licensed to others by Hasbro, whose main reason for rebooting the show, was to sell toys.

Another entry mentions Arlen's ideas, some of which include different color coats and identifying marks to distinguish between multiple types, as well as a line of pegasi and unicorn variants. Also mentioned is the possibility of crystal-coated variants, which could be in reference to the crystal ponies of the show, and their real-world toy counterparts.

Mystery Science Theater 3000
The doors within doors in the Mechanist's lair that require Ada's assistance to unlock share a striking similarity to the doors on the Satellite of Love in the cult TV-show Mystery Science Theater 3000. These doors would open during interludes between the movie shown in each episode. They also resemble and may reference the doors from the opening of the 1960s show Get Smart.

J. Hodgson was an engineer working for the Vault-Tec Corporation at Nuka-World before the Great War, who was stationed at the Vault-Tec: Among the Stars exhibit. This is likely a reference to Joel Hodgson, the shows creator.

"Ozymandias"
If brought to the General Atomics Galleria, Nick Valentine will rephrase the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley to mock the large Mister Handy statue.

Pitfall!
The Pip-Boy game Pipfall is a reference to the 1982 Activision game for the Atari 2600 Pitfall!.

Psycho
In the Nuka-World add-on, one of the rooms accessible from the spinning room of the Fun House in Kiddie Kingdom contains a mannequin wielding a combat knife and a skeleton standing in the shower and shielding itself. This scene is a reference to the movie Psycho.

The Raven
At the end of the quest Reunions, Nick Valentine may quote part of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven in response to the Prydwen entering the Commonwealth upon exiting Fort Hagen. The line he quotes is "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing..."

RCA
The television cameras seen in Gunners plaza, Fort Hagen Command Center and Hubris Comics are identical to the RCA TK11, a monochrome television camera produced by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1954.

RoboCop
At the RobCo Sales & Service Center, the "RB-2851 SECURITY PROTOCOL 087 / Epsilon-VI Security Alert" is a hidden reference to the original RoboCop movie.

Rockville, Maryland
The Rockville Slugger weapon is named after the city of Rockville, the current location of Bethesda Game Studios.

Rustled Jimmies
In the Atom Cats questline, once the Sole Survivor hands in the first part to Rowdy and talks to Zeke, he will mention "...maybe we should really rustle his/her jimmies." This phrase originates from an image macro on the internet that inspired a thread on 4chan sometime later which imitated 50's slang, much like the rest of Atom Cats. The meme has since spread across the rest of the internet.

Sailor Jerry
The monkey character tattoo from the cut Taboo Tattoos issue #3 is a reference to the infamous "Aloha Monkey," one of the signatures of famed tattoo artist "Sailor Jerry" Collins.

The Shining (film)
A tricycle can be found on a red carpet in the center of a corridor inside Parsons State Insane Asylum. It alludes to the famous scene from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining in which Danny Torrance rides his tricycle through the corridors of the Overlook Hotel.

The Simpsons

 * The TV brand Radiation King is a reference to Homer Simpson's childhood television set, as seen in episode 10 of season 6, "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy."
 * At Beaver Creek Lanes, there is a terminal entry that lists the 2078 Far Harbor Bowling League standings. The team in third place is the Holy Rollers, Ned Flanders' bowling team on The Simpsons.

Sons of Anarchy
In the BADTFL regional office, which is slightly northwest of Bunker Hill there is a Novice-locked terminal. The "Prisoner 4CA8712" entry features of the prisoner are strikingly similar but the name Opie Hurst is a combination between Opie Winston and his portrayer Ryan Hurst.

Star Trek: Voyager / StarCraft
Knight Captain Cade will sometimes say, "Please state the nature of your medical emergency," a reference to the Doctor in Star Trek: Voyager, who uses a very similar greeting when activated in the show, upon which he'll say "Please state the nature of the medical emergency." However, in the video game StarCraft, the medic is quoted as "Please state the nature of your medical emergency." Perhaps StarCraft is making a reference to Star Trek, here - but the wording more implies that Fallout is referencing StarCraft.

Star Wars
The title of the fourth U.S. Covert Operations Manual is called "Not the Soldiers You're Looking For" which refers to the Jedi mind trick Obi-Wan uses on Stormtroopers during A New Hope.

Stonehenge
Car-henge can be found south of Walden Pond.

Terminator 2
The PIN "9003" given by Father for full access to his terminal is the one John Connor uses to fraudulently withdraw cash from an ATM in Terminator 2.

Todd Howard
Several paintings found throughout the game feature the likeness of Bethesda employees, such as Todd Howard in the place of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Truman Show
Vault 118's amenities include an artificial beach, with a large painting of a sailboat sailing on the ocean above it. This references the scene at the end of the film The Truman Show, in which Truman crashes a similar-looking sailboat into the wall of the artificial world in which he lives.

Underground Railroad
The Railroad is an allusion to the Underground Railroad, which was known for moving escaped slaves across the United States using a series of safe houses and stations.

United States Marine Corps
At the top of KL-E-0's terminal, it reads "Have a Plan to Kill Everyone you Meet," which is one of the "standards" upheld by the United States Marine Corps, and was said by the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

The Walking Dead

 * Inside Union's Hope Cathedral, there is a hostile ghoul by the name of Father Gabe, wearing preacher vestments and fighting several feral ghouls. This is a reference to the character Father Gabriel from The Walking Dead, who survives the zombie apocalypse by hiding inside his church until the main characters find and rescue him.
 * A tractor can be found crashed into a fence, with a ghoul lying at the front end of the tractor, near a dead settler who is trapped under it. This is a reference to a scene from the first episode of the first season of Telltale Games's The Walking Dead.

Warehouse 13
Robert MacCready mentions a warehouse in South Dakota while searching warehouses in Goodneighbor, saying "Some strange things turn up in these places, ever hear about that warehouse in South Dakota? Yeesh." This is a reference to the warehouse in the series Warehouse 13, which was a remote warehouse in South Dakota used to store supernatural artifacts collected by the show's main characters.

Wendy the Welder
The hairstyle "Wendy the Welder" is a reference to a nickname given to female welders during WWII, similar to the better known "Rosie the Riveter."

Where's Waldo?
In The Art of Fallout 4, a page displaying a large and varied collection of Institute uniform sketches includes one individual wearing a red-and-white-striped shirt, bobble hat and glasses. This is a reference to the illustrated puzzle book series Where's Wally? or Where's Waldo? in North America. The books consist of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozens of people, containing red herrings involving the deceptive use of red-and-white striped objects. Readers are challenged to find a character named Waldo/Wally hidden in the group.

Winter Hill Gang
Eddie Winter is based on Boston's notorious mob boss, Howard "Howie" Winter, the second boss of The Winter Hill Gang. Howie Winter was famously put away by (then anonymous) FBI informant James "Whitey" Bulger.

The Wizard of Oz

 * Tin Man, a Protectron found at Easy City Downs, is a reference to The Wizard of Oz.
 * In the Nuka-World add-on, if the player character is wearing power armor when they enter Kiddie Kingdom during A Magical Kingdom, Oswald the Outrageous will mockingly say over the P.A., "What's wrong, Tin Man? Having trouble finding the Wizard? Personally, I would have figured you for the Scarecrow." This line is a reference to three characters from The Wizard of Oz.

Xanadu
In the General Atomics factory in the baby's room, wood blocks can be found saying "Xanadu." The name Xanadu was popularized by the poem "Kubla Khan." In this case, the name may be a reference to the name of Charles Foster Kane's mansion in the 1941 film Citizen Kane.

Yogi Bear
Rocky Narrows Park features a yao guai at a picnic, with a sign reading "don't feed the bears!" nearby. The in-game sign is similar to the real-world "don't feed the bears!" sign, featuring the character Yogi Bear. The two signs have exactly the same message written on them, as well.