Nostalgia For Times Past & Why Does Tinker Bell Look Like A Whore?

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I am what could probably be described as an "80's child." I always felt like I was born too late & wished I'd been older in the 1980s. I prefer the music, the whole style & ethic of films from the era vs. the late '90s when music turned to total crap.

It's also before the massive PC crybaby nonsense reared its ugly head. I figured out the turning point for pop culture for me was about 1997 or 1998 when the boy bands & Britney Spears became popular (though Daria was one bright spot). When I saw "I Love the '90s" on VH1, I found I wasn't all that nostalgic for 1999 & certainly not the '00s. Too soon in my book plus I don't think 9/11 changed all of society nearly as drastically as some will have you believe (at least if you're talking about pop culture).

Now, I think it's natural for anyone to feel nostalgic for earlier times. Some people just feel that nostalgia for a time they didn't really get to live. I kept wanted to be older when I was little, figuring that I'd at least be cooler & get to do what I wanted.

In college, I dated a guy 14 years older than me. I don't think I did that for the sake of getting to vicariously live a time I was too young to do anything in.

To give you an idea of my being an 80's child, I was looking for hot pink heels for a pageant in 1998; do you have any idea how hard that was?

I read this recently & I felt some nostalgia for the shows mentioned but there are plenty that I do not.

What Nickelodeon shows do I feel zero nostalgia for? Hmmmm....

All That after most of the original cast was gone. Just didn't appeal to me after that, plus I was getting older and working most Saturday evenings in high school.

Oh, and The Secret World of Alex Mack. I thought the later seasons when the lead had a boyfriend were much better. I also liked when she became more assertive. I remember watching it back then & having a serious problem with how wimpy she was. I wanted Alex to smack that Scott guy upside the head (I think that was the name of the guy she lusted after) & ask why he was dating all these bitches who were shitty to her.

Guess this comes from my own middle school experiences where I had to learn to get tough & not let people push me around. My mom also had severe problems with the sister's scientific prowess. She felt that precise level of prowess was extremely unrealistic.

Rugrats. I saw an early episode of that recently on Nicktoons. It DOES NOT HOLD UP!!!!!!!! Watching it when I was little, I related more to Angelica. Big surprise, huh? No, I wasn't necessarily like that as a child!!! I just shared that whole frustration she had w/the babies & as I've always related well to kids who are smart, I suppose you could factor that in as well.

Watching Rugrats today just shows how childfree I really am. I still relate more to Angelica but no kid would survive in my home. After I saw it a few nights ago, I felt thankful that I didn't have kids & that my nephews are well behaved. New & original concept at the time but when you're older, you can't watch it.

There's more that I never had an interest in & feel really bad that people were stuck having to watch but there's some of my feelings on it there.

Now to another rant that I actually have. I was reading this on the whoreficiation of girl's toys. Here's my take:

A) I don't appreciate pretty or skinny women being pushed around for looking as they do. Some of us look that way NATURALLY & don't appreciate the flack from jealous harpies because we fit a societal ideal that they don't.

B) That being said, I do think we don't need to whore it up for small kids. Or perhaps, you explain to them that Barbie, Tinker Bell, whoever is a grown up or a fairy tale character & when they are grown ups or become fairy tale characters, then they can do whatever they want to.

I personally can't stand the Bratz dolls since they look like whores. I also think good parenting comes into play here. Tell your kids that they look fine the way they are & be like my mother, who kept an eagle eye on me when I was developing. She gave some very dirty looks to lecherous old men who checked me out. She'd also call them leches & tell me not to walk in particular areas to avoid such glances.

You don't want to know what my father would have done. He'd tell you not to be looking at his little girl, that's for sure.

C) Tastefulness. It's sorely needed. How about just making sex toys of this stuff & selling it to the dirty old men instead of whoreing up children's toys to be placed in the girls' toy section??? Then, you'd probably make more money since life sized sex dolls cost more. If the candy heart industry can do that, why can't these retailers outsource or license their marks to adult companies?

You'd solve problems with angry parents. I also know of no parent who wants a whorey looking Barbie doll. I'd be amazed if the fathers had much of a sex drive after having to deal with the parenthood thing. Just a thought.

80's Nostalga: Why's It One Big Jock Fest???

Seriously!!!

I'm what my sister calls an "80s child." I was a young kid in the 80's but I wished I was older since my experiences were extremely banal. I have fond memories of many 80's cartoons, including Jem, Thundercats & more popular fare but also the extremely weird and obscure like Moondreamers, Lady Lovelylocks, Noozles, Pole Position, etc. I also happen to think music, movies, pop culture as a whole was a lot better in the 80s than it is today, particularly when it comes to issues of political correctness. Case in point: who'd have whined about movie characters smoking in the 80s???

Now, there's a lot to be said for today's increased racial diversity (though we're still a long way from an even playing field) but I think many things from the 80s with respect to pop culture were better then than they are today. You also can't truly bring back the 80s as long as prices are what they are & stupid reality shows that aren't "reality" at all are ruining the air waves (basically, any show where someone's using it to become famous or that features a contest fits that category as opposed to shows where you simply follow a normal person being normal who isn't trying to get rich).

There's lots of shows today that reference the 80s for humor, including Family Guy & Robot Chicken. Both shows have done some extremely funny things & pokes on 80s stuff. I also love the Family Guy FCC song (and if you haven't heard it, go find it NOW since even lawyers will get a kick out of it).

Here's my beef, though: why the fuck don't we have nearly the recognition & skewering of girls cartoons from the 80s??? You'll see references to obscure boy stuff like G.I. Joe & other stuff I considered boring as a girl watching 80s cartoons (and little reference to Pole Position, you jackasses!). Just referencing Jem doesn't cut it!!

Yeah, Jem was one of my favorites growing up & if it came out on DVD again at a fair price, I'd want it. After all, that show had some of the only childfree content you're going to see on TV. They weren't having babies or taking care of them: they took care of older foster girls. I recall one episode where a character was considering getting married & the other band mates told her not to rush into things. They weren't a bunch of marriage cheerleaders like many women in shows, animated or not. In fact, watching Jem probably inspired me & lots of young girls to want to be famous singers/musicians.

Despite all that, I'd have a lot more respect for some of these shows if they put in some of the obscure girl cartoons like Moondreamers or Maxie or even Lady Lovelylocks. There have to be some women contributors who can get that in there.

Until you have it, I'm going to get irked & peeved with the excess satire of G.I. Joe. Plenty of girls cartoons could use some nostalgic skewering; am I going to have to do it or will someone else take this banner? For the love of God, someone take that banner!

I'd also have more respect for the people at Robot Chicken & Family Guy if they did add more truly obscure references. I, as a twisted person with a long memory, have got a LOT of ideas.

By the way, who's still scared that Hey Vern, It's Ernest got a DVD release recently??