Jump to content

Nostalgia: Talkin Bout My Generation


Mr. Chatywin et al.

Recommended Posts

I figured I’d end the thread derail in the U.S. politics thread and start a new one where people can share and talk about their generations. And please, don’t limit this to the U.S. I’d love to learn about different generations from all over the globe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know everybody always talks about the 60's when it comes to drug culture, but we had the best mix of drugs, methinks. Ecstasy (and I'm talking about the old pharma grade stuff, not this new bullshit) blotter acid made by actual hippies, fantastic weed (given that I grew up in Northern California, fresh schrooms (when you could get 'em, naturally) and the occasional nitrous canister. Good times, man. Good times. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

I figured I’d end the thread derail in the U.S. politics thread and start a new one where people can share and talk about their generations. And please, don’t limit this to the U.S. I’d love to learn about different generations from all over the globe.

That song was about my generation. And no, we didn't die before we got old. I have to say that even within generations there can be conflict. I was 15 when Mick Jagger turned 30. All I could think then was he can't be trusted anymore. He's OLD!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

I know everybody always talks about the 60's when it comes to drug culture, but we had the best mix of drugs, methinks. Ecstasy (and I'm talking about the old pharma grade stuff, not this new bullshit) blotter acid made by actual hippies, fantastic weed (given that I grew up in Northern California, fresh schrooms (when you could get 'em, naturally) and the occasional nitrous canister. Good times, man. Good times. 

Go big or go home lol.

42 minutes ago, maarsen said:

That song was about my generation. And no, we didn't die before we got old. I have to say that even within generations there can be conflict. I was 15 when Mick Jagger turned 30. All I could think then was he can't be trusted anymore. He's OLD!

Lolz! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No one escapes influences from the historical time they grew up in, but some people identify with their "generation" more than others.

I don't think I've ever been a typical "baby boomer." I never owned a stereo as a child -- one can't be my age without having some appreciation for The Beatles, but I don't think I'd pay money to go to a concert by any of the big rock stars of the 1960s. (If Mama Cass Elliott was still alive I might make an exception, as I think she had one of the best singing voices of all time.)

I never used illegal drugs and have barely tried alcohol in my life. I've only been tipsy (on a friend's homemade dandelion wine) once in my life.  Back during the Vietnam War I was probably as scared of the protesters as I was of the war itself -- I remember writing a term paper in favor of American involvement in Vietnam in a religion class while I was a student at Duke, around 1971. (Today I would disagree with my younger self.) 

I try not to stereotype generations and am skeptical about all the comments I hear from other Boomers about Millennials being lazy and "entitled." I think most of the things they complain about have always been more common among people in their 20s than people over 50. This is why we have the phrase "young and foolish." Boomers did a lot of foolish stuff when they were young, and most Millennials will become more responsible as they age, as has always been the case throughout history. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Actually, that's what got me into trouble. I had nothing but positive experiences with the substances mentioned in my initial post. Things started to slide downhill a bit when I got into the hard stuff.

That's what NorCal can do to you. My dad graduated HS in 1967 and was Ivy League bound. But a short trip to Chicago eventually led to him spending several months in San Fran during the summer of love, and the stories he tells are insane.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said:

Ecstasy (and I'm talking about the old pharma grade stuff, not this new bullshit) blotter acid made by actual hippies, fantastic weed (given that I grew up in Northern California, fresh schrooms (when you could get 'em, naturally) and the occasional nitrous canister. Good times, man. Good times. 

We're too old dude.  From what I've heard from younger students, they got shit I don't even understand.  I recall drinking scope and fucking with dust off when I couldn't find anything.  Those days are dead.  Salvia was a new fun thing for me back in high school, but pretty sure it's now run of the mill like molly or something.  Nowadays, fuck man, I can't even keep up with the shit they use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

But a short trip to Chicago eventually led to him spending several months in San Fran during the summer of love, and the stories he tells are insane. 

Both my parents graduated from UC Berkeley in 1974.  They were, apparently, the only two people on campus not getting high.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, maarsen said:

That song was about my generation. And no, we didn't die before we got old. I have to say that even within generations there can be conflict. I was 15 when Mick Jagger turned 30. All I could think then was he can't be trusted anymore. He's OLD!

What was the deal about not trusting anyone over 30? I've never read anything about it, just saw it referenced once or twice in old movies. Was it just a slogan, or was there something more to it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

and I'm drawn in like a moth to a flame...

We've been here before, but here's a recap:

 

Generation Xer born in 1975 Nostalgia/Memories Subjective POV:

70's:

Jimmy Carter

Star Wars

Star Wars toys

PBS: Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and Electric Company.

Fisher Price Toys

The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Show, Superfriends, Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Scooby Doo & Hanna-Barbera domination.

CBS prime time "Specials"... Charlie Brown, Looney Toons, Devil and Daniel Mouse, Chuck Jones' specials - Bugs Bunny, Rudyard Kipling cartoons, Cricket in Times Square cartoons, Raggedy Ann & Andy

Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Diff'rent Strokes, MASH, Three's Company, Soap, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Barney Miller, Good Times, What's Happening, Wonderful World of Disney, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Saturday Night Live.

Ma Bell Phone Company break up of monopoly.

Lots and lots and lots of snow.

"At McDonalds...we do it all for you!", "I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company", "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't," Pepsi taste test.

8 - Track Tapes.

Sony Betamax

Atari 

Space Invaders, Asteroids

Animal House

Superman

Iran Hostage Crisis

 

80's:

Reagan

USA vs. USSR Cold War

Nuclear War threat/fear

Launch of Columbia, the first space shuttle to go in space.

Video Arcades

Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-man

Joust, Donkey Kong, Q-Bert

Board Games: Monopoly, Risk, Payday, Life, Stratego.

Atari 400, Colecovision

Empire and Jedi, Indiana Jones

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Spider-man and his Amazing Friends, Incredible Hulk, Smurfs, Turbo Teen, Mighty Orbots, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Muppet Babies, Thundarr the Barbarian, Blackstar, Droids, Ewoks, Space Stars (New Space Ghost and Herculoids), Video Game cartoons Pac-Man, Q-bert, Dragon's Lair, Space Ace) Hanna-Barbera still there.

Sugar cereals for everything and anything popular (Mr. T, Pac-Man, Nintendo, C-3PO's, E.T., etc.)

The Greatest American Hero, V (mini-series and regular series), Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Incredible Hulk (Ferrigno), The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Alf, Silver Spoons, WKRP in Cincinatti, Taxi, Benson, Amazing Stories.

Video Game crash

'84 Olymipics, Russian Boycott. 

Mary Lou Retton

Joe Gibbs' Washingon Redskins, Bill Walsh's San Francisco 49'ers, Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears, Bill Parcel's New York Giants

Super Bowl Shuffle

Lakers and Celtics

Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

Mike Tyson

Reagan deregulation, G.I. Joe, He-Man, Transformers, Gobots, Robotech, Voltron, Thundercats, The Real Ghostbusters (toys and afternoon cartoons).

Lots and lots and lots of robot toys of all kinds that changed, converted, combined, etc.

Cable

MTV, Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel

You Can't Do That On Television, Danger Mouse, Belle and Sebastian, The Little Prince, Mysterious Cities of Gold.

Back To The Future, E.T. Rocky III & IV, Ghostbusters, Karate Kid, Goonies, Gremlins, Airplane!, The Last Starfighter, By Me, Top Gun, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Die Hard, Transformers: The Movie, Secret of NIMH, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Willow, The Princess Bride, Star Trek Movies, Schwarzenegger movies, John Hughes movies. 

Free range parenting and latchkey kids

"Where's The Beef?"

Reagan - Mondale election

Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, terrorism, Regan reprisals.

New Coke

Classic Coke

Challenger Explosion

VHS

Renting movies.

Mom and Pop Video rental stores 

Blockbuster Video 

FOX Broadcasting Network

Audio Cassette Tapes

Michael Jackson and Madonna

Heavy Metal Hair Bands

Denim

L.A. Law, Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, The Wonder Years, Doogie Howser, the Cosby Show, A Different World, Cheers, Night Court, Family Ties, Saved By The Bell

First Run Sydication Saturdays: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Baywatch, Superboy, Superforce, Charles in Charge, What's Happening Now, Small Wonder.

Nintendo

Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Castlevania.

Iran Contra

H.W. Bush - Dukakis election

Batman

Noriega & Panama

Tiananmen Square 

Berlin Wall Comes Down

 

(early) 90's:

The Simpsons

In Living Color

RIP Jim Henson :crying: 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Nintendo Gameboy

Gulf War I - Desert Shield & Desert Storm

Buffalo Bills, 4 Super Bowls, 4 losses

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls

MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Bobby Brown, Bel Biv, Devoe

Compact Discs

Grunge

Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

plaid flannel 

R.E.M. - "Out of Time"

Blind Melon - "No Rain"

Rodney King beating, cop trial, L.A. Riots

George H.W. Bush/Ross Perot/Bill Clinton Election

Dan Quayle vs. Murphy Brown

Nintendo vs. Sega

Johnny Carson retires.

Late night wars - Leno vs. Letterman vs. Arsenio

Disney Film Renaisance

Home Alone, T2: Judgement Day, Jurassic Park

Disney Afternoon (TV) Ducktales, Chip & Dale, Darkwing Duck, etc.

TGIF

Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, Spider-Man, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain

1993 World Trade Center Bombing

Waco Tx Branch Davidians stand off/fire

O.J. Simpson

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, James Arryn said:

What was the deal about not trusting anyone over 30? I've never read anything about it, just saw it referenced once or twice in old movies. Was it just a slogan, or was there something more to it?

It was a real thing. 18 meant you could be shipped out to Vietnam by older guys. Authority figures in general were middle aged, hated long hair and rock'n'roll and did not seem to have our best interests at heart. There was a huge cultural divide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Leap said:

Lastly, one thing that is not unique to my generation is that they like to party. Alcohol is a big part of my culture, but we definitely take it too far. Although I do think that a fairly liberal approach to kids drinking is, in the long run, for the best, it's not properly supervised at all. Looking back, I can think of countless times when myself or others could easily have died of alcohol-related causes, and we were 14, 15 for crying out loud. We were the nerds.

I think this has been fairly similar for decades in Britain and a lot of Europe. Sometimes it seems that it is getting worse (and one hears about 13 yo kids being rushed to the hospital after drinking binges), sometimes it is reported to be exaggerated but I guess that at least from about 16 onwards there is a certain percentage of hard drinkers (in Germany and of what I have heard about college age kids in Britain it is at least as bad there).

I have very little nostalgia for teenage pop culture (never cared about it - I was so clueless that when some 1950s songs like "Don't know much about history" became popular again in the 80s because of some movie? I wasn't even aware that the song was so old), more for certain toys and shows I enjoyed as a small kid (mid-70s - early 80s). But most of all I have a general nostalgia for a mostly happy childhood in a beautiful rural region, precisely not mainly defined by gadgets and TV/pop culture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Mother Cocanuts said:

Nostalgia has always seemed ridiculous to me. It seems it's based on the idea of immersing yourself in idealizing what you've once gone through. Seems wasteful if you're not on your deathbed.

Nostalgia is definitely a thing of the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...