I think the point about common knowledge is an interesting one though, it makes sense that creators would expect certain references to be understood by their immediate target audience but I wonder if it could also indicate a somewhat shortsighted way of thinking (or perhaps you could say, a lack of ambition). Requiring knowledge that may be common for a limited set of people, and that could be lost/changed over time, does run the risk of limiting the width and duration of appeal. Obviously there are limits to what creators could predict and making something to appeal to everyone is unlikely to be fully successful, but there is perhaps an argument that relying too much on outside information can detract from the creation itself.
Saying that, everything we watch is filtered through our own perceptions, knowledge and background, so making something that is truly universal (or, perhaps, neutral) may be impossible.
(my French reading skills are vastly better than my Japanese though)
