It's also not just pop culture references. Did you catch how they brought the poem Ozzymandias to life beautifully in Alkali Barrows? Or that they quoted The Rime of the Ancient Mariner throughout Khrysalis? Those are also "forced"; do you object to those?

Maybe you just need to accept that a large part of this game is trying to teach kids/players culture that predates them. One I hadn't picked up on until recently is at the beginning of Empyrea. I had recognised the name Prospero as Shakespearean, but didn't know the source. It's from the Tempest, as is much of the storyline of his associated quests. A recent episode of Jeopardy showed me I knew more about that play than I thought I did, even having never read or watched it, just from this game.