Take a look at this image detailing some of the shows, toys, games and pop culture touchstones that shaped each generation:
I identify as “Late Gen X” (born 1975-1981) so obviously most everything under that heading defined my childhood – but I like that they showed some overlap between each generation. In this case, The Smurfs and Ronald Reagan kind of strattle the generational demarcation and that totally tracks. Papa Smurf and Ronnie were big- I even had a Ronald Reagan boxing puppet to spar with my Colonel Gaddafi boxing puppet. Not even kidding. They were very Land of Confusion-esque.
There’s a LOT from the “Core Gen X” column that was HUGE in my childhood too though, such as The Greatest American Hero, The Dukes of Hazzard, Superman, and “Real American” Hulk Hogan. Between that and GI Joe you could almost label these columns “Kid Nationalism”. Speaking of, do The Silverhawks answer to the US Government? Was Walter Mondale the head of the Copper Kid oversight committee?
Which of these columns speaks to you the most? And which pop culture items were snubbed?
