The cultural cannon is rather large and you're likely steeped in it whether you realize or not! Pierre Bayard rather humourously explores this in "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read" https://www.amazon.com/Talk-About-Books-Havent-Read/dp/15969..., to wit:
The important thing behind the cannon isn't that you necessarily have consumed every bit of the media but that you at least know what position it occupies in the culture and your position relative to it - what signals your peers send when they discuss a given piece of art.
The most accessible example of this is watching The Simpsons or Family Guy: most of the time you see them make pop cultural references they're, arguably, pointing to entries in the cannon.
It's an entertaining read.
[0] http://www.amazon.com/Talk-About-Books-Havent-Read-ebook/dp/...
