Wilde is an iconic figure in modern popular culture, both as a wit and as an archetype of gay identity. Such references to him include a Monty Python skit called "Oscar Wilde and Friends,"[25], a Kids in the Hall sketch featuring Dave Foley as Wilde, a brief depiction in Todd Haynes' 1998 film Velvet Goldmine (where Wilde's persona is presented as a precursor to glam rock).
Dorian, Will Self's 2004 reworking of Wilde's novel, set in 1981; and Melmoth, Dave Sim's comic book, which retells the story of Wilde's final months with the names and places slightly altered to fit the world of Cerebus the Aardvark.
In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel Love in the Time of Cholera, the protagonists are mentioned to have seen a glimpse of Oscar Wilde while strolling through Paris. He can be found as an influence to The Beatles on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Many songs have alluded to Wilde or his works, including The Smiths' "Cemetry Gates" and British singer / songwriter James Blunt's "Tears and Rain" (which mentions Dorian Gray). The Libertines sing about how nice it would be to be "Dorian Gray, just for a day" in their song "Narcissist" on their 2004 LP. The Pretenders paraphrase the famous quote "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" in their song " Message of Love". M�tley Cr�e makes mention of Dorian Gray as well in the song "New Tattoo".
There is also a mention of Dorian Gray and "A picture in gray..." in the song "The Ocean" by U2 from their debut album Boy. "The Long Voyage" from French producer Hector Zazou's 1994 album Chansons des mers froides, on which Suzanne Vega and John Cale recite lyrics based on Wilde's poem "Silhouettes". "Resist", by Canadian rock group Rush, includes the line "I can resist everything except temptation," a quote from the play "Lady Windermere's Fan" by Wilde. Marilyn Manson includes references to Wilde on the 2003 album The Golden Age of Grotesque, particularly the song "Mobscene".
Additionally, during the Perth show of his 2007-2008 Rape of the World tour on October 13, Manson dedicated his performance of "Mobscense" to Wilde, whose birthday was 3 days later. The Wikipedia parody Uncyclopedia contains many fictional quotes attributed to him.