The Cold War Years

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ABC, USA, The Cold War Years

Is it odd that I get nostalgic when I hear about the Cold War? It's not that I would want that era back in any way shape or form- it's just that it brings to mind the pop culture that surrounded those times. And, of course, in retrospect, nothing bad really happened, there was no actual nuclear war and we are now safe from the threat of Russia. For now. Anyway, I was in junior high and beginning high school in the 80s and my big sister was in high school and college. She went through the major Def Leopard, Billy Idol phase and I went through the major Duran Duran and Depeche Mode phase. I find myself downloading some of those songs to my iPod now and get a smile on my face at their ridiculous, yet sociological value. I mean, how can you not like The Fixx's Red Skies? Or 99 Luft Balloons? Whoever writes for the show Scrubs has to be my age because 80s nostagia reigns supreme on that show. I can remember making out to DM's Stripped and finding it so profound and philosophical. Oh man, it's a bit embarassing now. But, the cool thing I guess about any of us growing up during any decade is the comraderie it brings- it's lovely to say to someone, "Can I ask you a question?" and they respond immediately, "Yes, you're a total fag," and you both have connected through the dialogue in Sixteen Candles. And you can do that with any John Hughes film. And my personal favorite as I got older (well, high school older) is Thirtysomething. When will that thing come out on DVD? I don't know if I have a point- only that even during that time of complete despair, with the Cold War looming around us and the media barking threats at us, we still banded together through pop culture- that warm blanket of common themes, musical genres and movie quotes. Oh yeah, and bad fashion.