"The Walking Dead." "The Big Bang Theory." Taylor Swift. One Direction. These are the current trends in today's pop culture. Whenever someone brings up them up, I'm always at a lost. For me, it's rocket science when one of my friends talks about the latest episode of a present television show. I can't react or comprehend to the new fads of this age. My life revolves on the rages of yesteryear.
Growing up in my household, I would, on a daily basis, be enjoying watching old TV shows my grandparents, as well as my aunt and uncle, viewed in their childhood. One day I'd be with my grandpa and uncle watching a Saturday morning marathon of "The Three Stooges." Another day was spent watching Murder She Wrote and Matlock, and another day was devoted to The Jeffersons and I Love Lucy. I haven't even mentioned all the music I grew accustomed to listening to. Riding in the car with anyone in family, there was always a greatest hits CD in the radio on any trip, From the stars of the 1950's of Johnny Cash, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley (Keep an eye out for a future article about him), to the 80s hits made by the likes of Duran Duran, Phil Collins, and Michael Jackson, among others. Last, but not least, the movies I watched ranged from John Hughes teen flicks, to action-packed films that starred Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis.
As I grew older, I became fascinated into finding more information on these past eras of pop culture. What was it like growing up in the age of drive-in movie theaters and record players, or during the time of Nintendo versus Atari and the beginning of MTV? By the same token, I became less and less interested in the current trends of today. I can never catch on to watching a TV show from this age than to one that was made 30 years ago. I'll still go to the movie theater to catch the newest box office smash, but they still don't hold a candle to the classic masterpieces I grew up on.
Suffice to say, and plenty of people have told me, I have grown up in the wrong era. Yet, that isn't a bad thing. Many people have said that I amaze them with my knowledge of the 1980s. Not to toot my own horn, but how many people do you know, who are about 20 years old, that can talk about times that they weren't even born to see? It gives some variety in daily life when most people can talk about the hot music hits of today, and then have someone who can name the No. 1 song of August, 1982 (Which was Eye of the Tiger, by the way). You may never know when studying on those random facts can come in handy.
