It sounds like you and your friend have different personalities. She prefers to inject pop culture references into her conversations with you (and possibly everyone b/c that's who she is) whereas that's not your communication style, and most likely, interest.

Your friend doesn't need help. What she needs, is for you to accept her for who she is. If that's not something you're willing to do, then maybe a friendship with her isn't possibly anymore. Asking her to stop doing that is the same as telling her that you don't respect her because her habit of injecting pop culture into conversations annoys you.

Put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel, is she told you outright, that your communication style annoyed her and that she wanted you to change or she wouldn't be friends with you anymore.