My Generation Makes me Feel Old

DrgoFx

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With MovieBob's latest Big Picture episode, it got me remembering this feeling I always get. Allow me to clarify here with some background information. I was raised over seas by two naval officers who are both retired now, and are in their 50's. With the fact I lived over seas, I got reruns of old TV shows, mostly cartoons and sitcoms, and not everything was in English. Given our life style, I made close relationships with my parents because as corny as it might sound, we were always there for each other and friends always seemed temporary. So naturally my parents showed me a lot of old programs they watched growing up, as well as old music. And yet some how they still fit in the present day better than most parents, understanding technology and modern trends and the like.

So since I was practically raised on media that had been canceled for decades before my own existence, naturally I was shocked when I'd make a pun or reference to something and then have no one laugh at it. Because of this, people my own age, and sometimes older make me feel older than I actually am and I tend to relate better with those older than me. I grew up eating dinner with my parents in the living room, watching the Jetsons. I woke up early every morning to catch early broadcast of TopCat. My favorite movie was Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves from 1991. As I grew older, I watched comedies with my dad like Mel Brooks and Hogan's Heroes and MASH. My mom and I would watch the Star Wars Trilogy and Star Trek Episodes. Hell a lot of remakes that have been popping up recently have been giving me the same nostalgic feel others have been getting who are 10 to 20 years older than me.

It feels so odd for me to have grown up like this, and infact probably the worst moment I can think of was in one of my acting workshop classes. We were thinking of iconic characters to represent ourselves and this one girl was stuck on who to use, and she reminded me so much of Mindy from Animaniacs that I suggested it. She had no clue what I was talking about and was roughly my age.

Although I don't expect many to relate to me, it felt odd how I'm probably one of the youngest members on this site, and I fondly remember watching the Beverly Hillbillies.
 

Stasisesque

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And you have now made me feel old. :D

I assume you're a young teenager? Because TopCat, The Jetsons, Prince of Thieves, Star Wars, Star Trek, MASH (and M*A*S*H), Mel Brooks, Hogan's Heroes etc. etc. and so on are things I remember fondly (though, the majority was still before my time, and I'm late 20s).

Despite being what I assume is a lot older, I can relate - or at least I could relate back when things like popular culture were the be all and end all of my existence. I was (still am) enamoured, borderline obsessed, with Monty Python's Flying Circus and all that came after it. Even before them, I have every episode of The Goon Show (a radio comedy show from the 1950s) in existence. I've got every season of Happy Days on DVD - and I've been in love with Scott Baio since my teens, despite him being two decades older than me.

Some people follow in their parents' footsteps in terms of likes and dislikes. My mum introduced me to all of my favourite TV shows and movies - and books too. Other people follow the trends of the now, but most do both. I guarantee you are not the only one with 'old fashioned' tastes, and you will meet someone who's an even bigger retro-freak than you.
 

Nickolai77

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I knew this girl who's mother was a bit odd and wouldn't let her watch TV as a child because she believed it to be anti-social. Now as an adult it's startling how she doesn't get a lot of common pop-culture references one may make in conversation. It hasn't effected her ability to make friends fortunately, it's just sometimes a bit odd talking to someone of your age and nationality who had never heard of Sooty before.
 

DrgoFx

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Stasisesque said:
And you have now made me feel old. :D

I assume you're a young teenager? Because TopCat, The Jetsons, Prince of Thieves, Star Wars, Star Trek, MASH (and M*A*S*H), Mel Brooks, Hogan's Heroes etc. etc. and so on are things I remember fondly (though, the majority was still before my time, and I'm late 20s).

Despite being what I assume is a lot older, I can relate - or at least I could relate back when things like popular culture were the be all and end all of my existence. I was (still am) enamoured, borderline obsessed, with Monty Python's Flying Circus and all that came after it. Even before them, I have every episode of The Goon Show (a radio comedy show from the 1950s) in existence. I've got every season of Happy Days on DVD - and I've been in love with Scott Baio since my teens, despite him being two decades older than me.

Some people follow in their parents' footsteps in terms of likes and dislikes. My mum introduced me to all of my favourite TV shows and movies - and books too. Other people follow the trends of the now, but most do both. I guarantee you are not the only one with 'old fashioned' tastes, and you will meet someone who's an even bigger retro-freak than you.
Yep, I'm in my late teens at the moment. For a great majority of my youngin years of watching nothing but cartoons, I would watch the classics in that odd lapse of them being canceled and then showing reruns on Boomerang like they were made for my generation. A more recent series I saw, just slightly older than myself, was Two Stupid Dogs and I remember watching it sometimes after school. But still, I remember a lot of old series and seasons like the original series of Scooby Doo.

And as true as that may be, I find a lot more of my peers drifting from their parents than bonding with them like I have with mine. I'd say my mother is probably the greatest friend I've ever had, and my dad don't always see eye-to-eye on things because of how similar we are in the way we think...meaning we both won't start arguing until we are right. Probably one of the most insulting things I ever heard any classmate of mine say was right after I mentioned the relationship between my mother and I, she outright states "I hate it when parents try to be friends with their kids."

I just don't know though, I've always felt a bit older than those around me just by what I've grown up with or even how I think. My cousin definitely boggles my mind some times with the trouble she gets in. Since I'm about to head off to college in the States, my folks and I have been getting to work on getting me a cellphone. Apparently it costs 21 cents to send that magical message "k"...Maybe it's just me, but I wonder if my generation even acknowledges consequences or value or respect.
 

Hoplon

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DrgoFx said:
Maybe it's just me, but I wonder if my generation even acknowledges consequences or value or respect.
It's not just you, no they don't and neither did the previous generation while teenagers.

This sounds mean but you are the weird one and it's really not that important since 99% of them will learn it and start acting on it.

there are advantages and disadvantages to both out looks.
 

arc101

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I'm a huge fan of 50-70's British comedies. This means that I am glued to my radio listening to repeats on the BBC and have a massive collection of old Cassettes full of them. This means that I know references from events and peoples who were satirical about 30 years before I was born. Trust me, this makes conversations about modern culture pretty awkward for me. Especially when I think that there are still twelve pence to the shilling.
 

Shadowstar38

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I just turned 20 a week ago and all those shows were still on reruns by the time I was a teenager.

Though there is one thing that makes me feel old. There's a show I watched with my dad called All in the Family, and as a kid I would always quote Archie Bunker. Oh course no one knew what the hell I was talking about.

"she reminded me so much of Mindy from Animaniacs that I suggested it. She had no clue what I was talking about and was roughly my age."

BULLSHIT!

Animaniacs was one of THE greatest cartoons on the level of Looney Tunes. How can ANYONE not have heard of it?!
 
Dec 14, 2009
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M*A*S*H, one of the best TV series of all time.

For something so far removed from myself, I was surprised to find it as hilarious as I did :D

Used to watch two episodes, everyday, then keep watching them when the series finished and re-looped.

Love it.
 

pilouuuu

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Well, I feel some pity for kids these days that didn't get to enjoy great shows like Tom & Jerry, Looney Toons, He-Man, Star Trek or for those that didn't get to experience the original Star Wars trilogy without being spoiled about Vader's identity.
 

BeeGeenie

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I'm 30, but I know that feel.
I just liked old stuff when I was that age. At the time, everybody else was talking about "Fresh Prince" and Steve Urkel and "Full House" but I remember "I Love Lucy", "Bewitched", "M.A.S.H." and of course all the old cartoons that they'd been recycling since the 50s.
 

Angie7F

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Nov 11, 2011
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I was and still am surrounded by people one generation older than me, so I find people my age to be immature.
I can sing most 807s pop songs, but very few of the latest songs.
Either that, or anything surrent that I enjoy is too geeky.

Whatever... I like what i like...
 

Elementary - Dear Watson

RIP Eleuthera, I will miss you
Nov 9, 2010
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Daystar Clarion said:
M*A*S*H, one of the best TV series of all time.

For something so far removed from myself, I was surprised to find it as hilarious as I did :D

Used to watch two episodes, everyday, then keep watching them when the series finished and re-looped.

Love it.
That could be true, but only if Dad's Army didn't exist! :p Dad's army beats M*A*S*H on all accounts!

I also love The Man from UNKLE and The Prisoner! Both series are absolutely awesome!
 

Kyber

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MY generation makes me feel like an idiot, because almost everyone from my generation IS an idiot.
 

NewGeekPhilosopher

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I never saw Batman The Animated Series as a child, only as an adult.

I grew up with things like Daria, Rocko's Modern Life and Rugrats though.

Did anybody else grow up with Passions? Passions was the shit back in the day. The soap opera where Tabitha the Witch had Timmy the doll minion, Charity's closet was a portal to hell and Sheridan was buried alive for a month it seemed.

I do remember watching snippets of MASH but not enough to get wistful over.

I save my wistful for something closer to home. And that would be Heart And Souls. *sniff* HE HAD TO GIVE UP HIS GHOST BROS AND GALS TO GROW UP AND BE AN ADULT... *weeps*

Was born in 1990. I have no memory of the non-Beast Wars Transformers other than the Transformers animated movie I watched on Blu Ray this year.

See this is why people keep telling me I'm younger than I think I am, no matter how old the Leonard Cohen music I listen to might be.
 

DrgoFx

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Elect G-Max said:
DrgoFx said:
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves from 1991...

Animaniacs
Those aren't that old, dude. I mean, Animaniacs was only canceled what, 3 or 4 years ago? Right?

Robin Hood came out a few years before I was born, I was no older than 3 when watching Animaniacs, and the show stopped airing new episodes in '98 and has not aired a single episode since Nickelodeon bought the rights back in 2001. Which undoubtedly fuels my frustration more with the fact a girl, MY AGE, never saw it.

I also remember really liking the Black Cauldron for some reason, which is again older than I am. Robin Hood, I understand your confusion though. Maybe it's just not that well known. I always like referencing one line from it. "I'll cut your heart out with a spoon!"
 

Stasisesque

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DrgoFx said:
I also remember really liking the Black Cauldron for some reason, which is again older than I am. Robin Hood, I understand your confusion though. Maybe it's just not that well known. I always like referencing one line from it. "I'll cut your heart out with a spoon!"
Yeah, watching and loving Disney films that were released before you were born is not out of the ordinary at all. I would go so far as to suggest that the majority of people do this.
 
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Elementary - Dear Watson said:
Daystar Clarion said:
M*A*S*H, one of the best TV series of all time.

For something so far removed from myself, I was surprised to find it as hilarious as I did :D

Used to watch two episodes, everyday, then keep watching them when the series finished and re-looped.

Love it.
That could be true, but only if Dad's Army didn't exist! :p Dad's army beats M*A*S*H on all accounts!
This a thousand times.

OT: Maybe people just didn't watch those shows. I'm only 20 and I watched Top Cat, Tom & Jerry, Looney Toons, He-Man, Star Trek, First remake of Star Wars and later original cut, Scooby Doo and what not.
 

bluepilot

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Sounds like you had an amazing line up in your childhood. I watched the same kind of shows too: Wacky races, catch the pidgeon, the snorks... I'd love to have a beer with you....I am about 10 years older than you though.

Looking at kids today makes me feel old. I see 10 year old kids with blackberries and iPads. When I was 10, I had pogs.

You will do well at University. All of the shows that you watched as a kid are cult classics and milestones of nostalgia. Hang in there. It will get better.
 

SonicWaffle

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Nickolai77 said:
I knew this girl who's mother was a bit odd and wouldn't let her watch TV as a child because she believed it to be anti-social. Now as an adult it's startling how she doesn't get a lot of common pop-culture references one may make in conversation. It hasn't effected her ability to make friends fortunately, it's just sometimes a bit odd talking to someone of your age and nationality who had never heard of Sooty before.
Completely unrelated, but I met a guy down the pub the other night who told my friend and I that he was a badly-medicated schizophrenic and that Sooty talked to him all the time. He said Sweep did too, but Sooty forced him to ignore it because "Sweep's really racist, all he ever talks about is killing coons"

Obviously talking out of his arse, but needless to say we got the fuck away from him just in case...