Sad Fact about me

[alandhopewell]

It isn't a bad thing at all AJ. If you prefer stuff from before your time, that's good as it shows that you're not some mindless drone of society who was "born yesterday". You then have the pleasure of discovering and learning more from decades and decades of movies, books, music, events etc... I pretty much live in a bubble of nostalgia and am happy with that. I know a lot more about the past than the present because it interests me more, even when there's pop culture references I may not get, I look forward to understanding them.

    I'd have to agree....I was born in 1955, but my tastes in music run back to the 20's, forward, I love films from the silent rea on, old radio is a passion of mine, shared with me by my late mother, along with serials, and Golden Age comics.

[Kaseykockroach]

Looney Tunes and Mst3k taught me everything I know about pop culture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UcXBcMxUPc
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[66Crush]

I saw Iron Maiden in 1988 it was AWESOME!!! They don't make 'em like that anymore!

[The Gravekeeper]

I think a lot of people are pretty nostalgic or think stuff from just before they grew up was generally better. Well...it wasn't. Every decade had its social problems and produced more low-quality or simply forgettable (and consequently forgotten) entertainment. Maybe it's also because it's easier to understand the past than it is to understand the present; after all, the past generally lies still and lets you analyze it, lets you get comfortable, while the present keeps changing.

Myself? I enjoy things both old and new. Knowing and understanding older works absolutely helps in the understanding of new works because they're part of the same continuity (getting the jokes and references to things the creator grew up with/were happening at the time is a big bonus).

[RCMerchant]

I think a lot of people are pretty nostalgic or think stuff from just before they grew up was generally better. Well...it wasn't. Every decade had its social problems and produced more low-quality or simply forgettable (and consequently forgotten) entertainment. Maybe it's also because it's easier to understand the past than it is to understand the present; after all, the past generally lies still and lets you analyze it, lets you get comfortable, while the present keeps changing.

Myself? I enjoy things both old and new. Knowing and understanding older works absolutely helps in the understanding of new works because they're part of the same continuity (getting the jokes and references to things the creator grew up with/were happening at the time is a big bonus).

Indeed. Though I miss the 70's...it was loaded-LOADED-with tripe. Lame tv shows like HAPPY DAYS,CHARLIE'S ANGELS, The LOVE (ack!) BOAT; crappy music like ELO,KANSAS,The CAPTAIN AND TENILLE, TONY ORLANDO and DAWN; and s**tty cartoons-all Hanna Barbara's s**t-yes,that includes the immensly bad SCOOBY DO.
Movie's were not all classics. Try to endure junk like FOR THE LOVE OF BENJI, WHATEVER HAPPENED to COUNT DRACULA? or SGT PEPPERS LONLEY HEART'S CLUB BAND. Ugh! And the radio played disco over and over and over! Though the era produced great bands like BLACK SABBATH and the RAMONES...they rarely recieved airplay. The only time I heard the SEX PISTOLS on the radio was on the Dr.Demento show!
WARNING! This clip may make you kill your dog and yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8en_0oRv8w8
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[66Crush]

This is true, there is good and bad in every decade. But I think the point of the post is about someone young trying to understand the past because they are a fan of some older form of entertainment. I'm a big MST3K fan too, but I'm old enough to get the jokes. But I remember what it was like to watch shows when I was younger and not get the joke. Like if "Gilligan's Island" made a reference about Ladybird Johnson, I wouldn't know what the hell they were talking about, because it's before my time. Back then you had to use a a friggin' encyclopedia to find stuff out. Now you can just Google it and get the joke right away. So believe me when I say, not everything was better back then, just some things.

[AndyC]

It's probably been that way for as long as we've had recorded media. Even books, I suppose. Any situation where someone can enjoy a previous generation's entertainment without the original context.

I think of watching Warner Bros. cartoons with characters based on celebrities such as Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Jimmy Durante, etc. Or when the Flintstones had Stony Curtis, Ann-Margrock, Hoagy Carmichael or whatever. As a kid, I had maybe a vague awareness of who those people were, which was probably more than most kids my age. Or even understanding technology that is obsolete or at least not as common as it used to be. I can still remember the epiphany I had as a little kid the first time I saw what an anvil was for, aside from dropping on a cartoon coyote. And the cartoons were full of old slang and catchphrases and commercial jingles of the time. Not to mention cartoons that might have been made during wartime, the depression, etc. And those cartoons are still airing today.

Of course, in the 70s and 80s there was still enough mixing of decades on TV to pick up the context eventually without much effort. You could run across movies going back to the 30s and 40s almost any time. Today, it's easier to look stuff up, but you can just as easily remain in the dark unless you make the effort.

What is kind of funny is how watching older entertainment can also give kids an outdated view of how things are today. You can get exposed to situations of 50 or 60 years ago before you've experienced them in the present.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Warner Brothers animation is probably best known for parodying the stars of Hollywood in its animated short subjects, but Disney Studios did a few, too. For example, in . . .

"Autograph Hound" (1939)
Donald Duck tries to get the autographs of . . .
Greta Garbo -- Sonja Heine -- Mickey Rooney -- Shirley Temple -- the Ritz Brothers.

The Ritz Brothers? That's the one I missed, even though I enjoyed their "The Three Musketeers" w/ Don Ameche, Lionel Atwill, and John Carradine from that same year.

Then when it is learned that Donald is on the studio lot, we have . . .
Charles Boyer -- Eddie Cantor -- Clark Gable -- Katherine Hepburn -- Joe E. Lewis -- the Marx Brothers -- Charlie McCarthy, and if it has not been edited for p.c., Stepin Fetchit

all trying to get Donald's autograph.

But before that, since Walt Disney played polo, till a riding accident forced him to quit, we have "Mickey's Polo Team" (1936.) With on one side . . .

The Movie Stars
Charlie Chaplin -- Oliver Hardy -- Stan Laurel -- and Harpo Marx riding not a horse, but an ostrich.

And on the other side . . .

The Mickey Mousers
Mickey Mouse -- Goofy, when he was still known as the Goof -- the Big Bad Wolf -- and Donald Duck.

And as the referee . . .
the great Jack Holt, valiantly trying and failing miserablely to keep order on the field.

And rooting on the Movie Stars were . . .

W. C. Fields -- Clark Gable -- Greta Garbo, Charles Laughton -- Harold Lloyd -- Edna May Oliver -- and Shirley Temple.

And rooting on the Mickey Mousers were . . .

Ambrose -- Clarabelle -- Cock Robin -- Dirty Bill -- Fifi -- The Flying Mouse -- The Flying Mouse's Mother -- Goldie -- King Midas -- Max Hare -- Peter Penguin -- Polly Penguin -- Pluto -- The 3 Little Pigs -- and the Wise Little Hen.

Almost every star from every animated short subject up till 1936.

But the one that blew every other one away with appearances from Hollywood's stars was the one that came in between those two.

"Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" (1938)

Not a Disney animated character in sight, except for a cameo appearance by Donald Duck, but we had . . . portraying the characters from Mother Goose.

George Arliss -- Fred Astaire -- Freddie Bartholomew -- Wallace Beery -- Joe E. Brown -- Eddie Cantor -- W. C. Fields -- Clark Gable -- Katherine hepburn -- Charles Laughton -- Laurel and Hardy -- The Marx Brothers -- Charlie McCarthy -- Edna May Oliver -- ZaZu Pitts -- Martha Raye -- Edward G. Robinson -- Ned Sparks -- Spencer Tracy -- Mae West, and if you can find one that has not been edited for p.c. Cab Calloway -- Stepin Fetchit -- and Fats Waller

And the two I failed to recognize were Hugh Herbert with his famous "Woo! Woo!" routine and Joe Penner with his even more famous "You wanna buy a duck." routine.

Those were the times. They were wild. And so were the cartoons.

And we are unlikely tosee them again. Not only because seldom do animated short subject play in theaters, but you probably could not find almost 30 Hollywood stars that were distinctive enough you could parody them. And if you could, it is doubtful most film goers would be able to recognize the majority of them.