āHey my Cheese bags Iām back from my adventure in 1985ā
āNo joke if you look it up
the timeframe of days for each month this year
are the exact same as they were in 1985ā
So all this ā80s revival stuffā with Duran Duran and Depeche Mode touring, Petshop Boys releasing a new album, a new generation falling in love with Queen and She-Ra while the world is being messed up by a tyrannical iron lady and a talking tangerine makes a bit of sense doesnāt it?ā
Even though I was born in the 2000s Iāve always loved most of the media from that decade, the gothic and upbeat synthesizer music,the cheaply made but entertaining cartoons,the video games,the basic but stylish fashion,the musicals and John Hughes films,the mix of music genres in the charts,Goth,Synth,Punk,2 Tone,Post-Punk,New Wave,Glam Metal,Alternative,Shoegaze,Hip Hop,Electronica
I was watching Saved by the Bell Ā before Netflix even existed
Then again a lot of the shows from then were also being revived back in my day
Dal Winton was presenting game shows, Pingu replaced the scary walrus monsters with rap music, I watched or had VHS tapes of the Muppet show, Noddy, Postman Pat and Scooby Doo.
Scooby-Doo! Now thatās a show that never gets old because it never changes, anyone regardless of what generation theyāre from would be able to tell you
āOh Yeah, I remember Scooby Dooā
When you think about it Scooby Doo is quite philosophical
we are all just a gang going on our own adventures
that and the first few live-action movies are modern masterpieces
I was just browsing Twitter or Tumblr or literally anywhere on the internet only to see that screencaps were taken from the live action Scooby Doo interviews had turned into memes
Well,I was auditioning for the role of Velma, I could sense from the way Matthew Lillard just fully encompassed the role of Shaggy, it felt like he was Shaggy, he was our saviour as he felt his spiritual energy increase, thatās when I knew we were working with a legend
Something like that although Matthew isnāt too fond of the memes himself specifically the ones where his spiritual connections are described more like demon possession rituals
āBeing Shaggy has led me down a path of death and destruction. Iāve killed many mortals in hope of replicating 1% of Shaggyās being, by the end of filming I hope to become one with himā
In which Matthew responded with
I mean I might also have inspirations where I feel like I can philosophically connect with them, in their performing style and personality but thatās where I draw the line
Personality? Ā Thatās a tricky subject
You could say some people have consistent personalities
People said Freddie Mercury and David Bowie were party animals who were incredible on stage with their charisma, creativity and charm but other sources have said they were relaxed, laid back people who were shy when being interviewed.
That could just be the contrast between their onstage and offstage personas but not all of us have that, even if we are all Ā just actors in a play, hoping each day goes the right way
Some of us are punk, even if we donāt explicitly say that we are, or have the stereotypical style associated with it,a lot of us just try to be ourselves,some of us can enjoy reality shows and horror movies at the same time,some of us can enjoy One Direction and Gorillaz,some of us can love fashion but also love memes, Theatre, and 1980s aesthetics
Iād say Iām the same but sometimes my personality is all over the place
I can go from being cheerful, relaxed and happy to being dazed and clumsy or cynical or entranced and hyper-fixated to Pessimistic and Cold to Quiet and Timid to Mellow and Loud Ā Ā what personality traits you associate with me, however, is up to your own conclusion
call me any internet subculture stereotype and Iād be able to tell you about how I either, unfortunately, was the stereotype or I hung around people who were those stereotypes
if you said I was someone who watched Cbbc and citv youād be right
if you said I was a classic rock enthusiast years ago and now youād be right
if you said I used to be a cringy anime enthusiast Ā youād be right
if you said I was one of those theatre kids who watched Disney sitcoms youād be right
if you said I was one of those meme posters who referenced movies like Shrek and bee movie youād be right
Another thing punks did was and sometimes still do was creating fanzines, magazines related to their favourite band or tv show or their own opinions on whatās going in the world, nowadays you could say social media has replaced that, but publications like the Daily Mirror, The Sun and TMZ still have a presence on there,Iād say fanzines should have a revival.
The BAFTAās also happened recently and I wasnāt impressed, then again when are awards shows anything other than beauty pageants for films anyway?
Some films deserved their awards, but some films barely got a mention, Paddington 2 wasnāt included in there or in any of the other film awards this year and Stan and Ollie got nothingā¦
A darn shame because that film was so well made, it felt authentic, while Stan and Ollie also have a bit of a universal following, there are still some people who probably donāt know who they are!
Before Walliams and Lucas, Before the Two Ronnies, Before Richie and Eddie
There wasā¦Laurel and Hardy
Two moustached blokes, who in the 20s and 50s would just try to delight audiences the best way they could, through slapstick and laughter, without them, most of the worldās double acts wouldnāt exist and even Spongebob wouldnāt exist
Yep, you heard me right, all those misadventures Spongebob and Patrick would have, they were loosely based on the adventures of Laurel and Hardy, except instead of it being about a tall British man and a fat American it was about an anthropomorphic sponge and a dumb but caring starfish.
Speaking of Spongebob, there was some sad news involving Spongebob not too long ago
The creator of Spongebob, Stephen Hillenburgā¦had passed away from ALS
I know, itās awful,stupid motor neuron diseases and stupid Adam Levine too,for those who donāt know there was an episode of Spongebob called Band Geeks where they ended the episode with the cast playing a song called Sweet Victory over a Superbowl type of event, for the actual super bowl Spongebob fans around the world petitioned for that song to be played in tribute for Stephen,however we got Adam Levine singing a different song insteadā¦.what a letdown
If it wasnāt for SpongeBob I and some of the rest of the new generation, wouldnāt know half the old music or old films we know now.
To let down millions of fans like that makes me sick
Honestly, I was a bit sick a few weeks ago, Iāve been sick before and hospitalized twice but this particular moment of sickness was odd
It was like any other night, I was trying to get some sleep and lucid dream, but then it happened, the shivers, the shakes the trembling aches,
Out of nowhere, I felt like an ice-cube stuck in a microwave, It was too cold but it was too warm, I eventually got to sleep but when I got up the next morning I felt sick again, sorry for disclosing those details but it was like the exorcistā¦
Usually, when Iām sick watching documentaries, Kitchen Nightmares or 90s films weirdly cheers me up
Speaking of films, Rocketman the Elton John movie is out and it actually looks good
Itās being directed by the guy who was the replacement director for Bo Rhap and if it ends up being brilliant I wonāt be surprised, the trailer gave off Velvet Goldmine vibes, the style of composed cinematography and Iām sounding like Film Twitter, Isle of Dogs was a good filmā¦oh wait it wasnāt acknowledged much by the award shows either.
Another amazing film I recently watched was Rocky Horrorā¦I know Iāve mentioned it before but that was when I only knew the sequel and some of the soundtrack,
It was amazing, it was brilliant, it was fantastic, it was out of this world,
ah! Rocky Horror was splendid
I definitely now understand why itās still going strong to this day
Itās that hybrid of rock and roll, optimistic nihilism and soft aesthetics
That just works for me, another thing Iāve remembered was that Richard Oā Brien played the dad in Phineas and Ferb, well that explains that part of me liked that cartoon for the music and some of the characters but other characters did my head in like that Isabel character
āHey, Phineas what ya dooing?ā
āHow about you let me finish my invention and you mind your own businessā
Oof thatās too harshā¦but considering aspects of the marvel Phineas and Ferb crossover were surprisingly a bit sexist at times outdated for the show that is usually quite progressive in its representation and charactersā¦itās probably accurate
Another person who hasnāt changed but is also often harsh, Piers Morgan, a little tweety bird told me he had a mysterious illness, good riddance Iād say, heās the new Noel Edmonds, the presenter who used to be ok but now is unbearableā¦because he never shuts up
Thankfully though heās ātaking a breakā from GMB that will rest our eardrums
Russell Brand has also been in the tabloids again, even though heās more focused on his Buddhist spiritual recovery enlightening, looking back he wasnāt as bad as people described him, yeah at times he was a bit too over the top,but he was and is quite an ok bloke, but Iād say temporarily banning tickling is a bit of a stretch,
when you think about the number of people who disrespect our literal and figurative personal space on a daily basis, it kinda makes a bit of sense,
whether your sensory sensitive or not, Iām sure you hate it, when people are too touchy at times
although years ago I wouldāve been a bit of an ignorant hypocrite about that
Hating it when crowds of kids would chase me like how the paparazzi chase their next gossip target, yet often annoyingly running up to people to talk to or entertain them.
I really need to learn to enjoy loneliness more because I get some of my best ideas when alone, but emotionally I feel a lot better when around others, a bit of an Ambivert really,
Iām sorry I can be a bit all over the place, Iām trying to make my energy more manageable
as that lucid dreaming thing has been misused at times,
I shouldnāt let myself be controlledā¦
by anyone or anything..no overthinking, no overworking,
treat the world as your stage, start your first act, motivated and ready, take your recharging interval breaks and then move on for your second act
fancy that me an ex-drama student making that metaphor when my current course Ā involves digitally drawing art, editing audio and sitting at a computer for most of the day
But then again just because someone shows good charisma that doesnāt always mean their a good person.
Ted Bundy, one of America's most notorious serial killers used charisma and charm in his court cases, and with the amount of fangirls giving him fanmail it was like the Beatles fandom but for people with Stockholm syndrome,and now with Netflixās documentary and Troy from High School Musical in an upcoming film about him, that seems to be repeating itselfā¦
*Alien voice* Ted Bundy the 1960s called they want your fangirls back!
One show I know you probably havenāt heard of is The Boondocks, a south park esque cartoon with an anime esque art style, referencing the social commentary of African American culture and media, celebrating some aspects while critiquing others, through the lenses of a socialist boy named Huey Freeman, his rapper wannabe brother Riley and their activist grandad Robert.
This show was quite revolutionary,it referenced the issue of each episode quite well, even though it only lasted 4 seasons, however, because the show is quite American, apart from the animation which is done in Korea,The Boondocks is not well known in the UK, which is a shame because it is a really good show that still holds upā¦however, it does fall under one mousetrap that most other adult cartoons fall intoā¦.
Because of the references to violence,innuendo and other dark subject matter sometimes referenced in a satirically humorous way,some audiences Ā would just watch the show because itās offensive thinking that the show was made just to be offensive..instead of what the show was actually made for..which was to give social commentary on the issues relevant to African American communities in America.
I had watched this show years ago, it only just came back on my radar, because the creator Aaron McGruder, who based the show off his webcomic of the same name, had recently made a new issue.
Thereās a difference between being satirical and being offensive
Your either making fun of something bad that a system or people are doing to make people aware of how stupid and sad the world can be at times,subjectively making fun of a stereotype, or your an arse who thinks theyāre a comedian when they waste their time on social media, thinking theyāre amazing and funny when theyāre holding up the line at Mcdonaldās and the only people laughing at their jokes are gammon and people who found Bernard Manning funny
I know sometimes I have unpopular opinions such as how my views of someone dip depending on their views of Kanye West
and sometimes I can be a bit snarky, and I hate and love stuff in equal amounts, but we need a bit of that donāt we, if we bottle it all up we explode like volcanos, but if we overshare too much, we crash like out of control cars
Itās all about moderation, salt is a tasty condiment but eat too much of it and your arteries will get clogged,
A few days back it was the day Mark Ashton passed away, for those who donāt know,he was anĀ LGBT activist in the 80s,he volunteered with organizations such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,he and the other activists helped to support the miners during the miner strike, creating the LGSM Alliance,Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners,there was a film made about them too, called Pride,but what some people donāt know is thatā¦.Mark Ashton was Northern Irishā¦he was one of us..he was the Marsha P Johnson of our time..if we were a bit like Mark Ashton this country would be a slightly more accepting place, why donāt we give love!
Letās move on, plant more flowers in our garden..I know I sound like a hippie but itās true, our Celtic Summerland is being used as a cesspool for Nuclear Waste
Oi! use your own bins, not the place weāre living in, pick up your rubbish and clean up your own messā¦
The 80s were telling us something with all those protect and survive adverts, yes some of us were prepared as the older generation made us alert, others couldnāt recognize that a lot of innocent people were getting hurt.
When we say we want a 1980s comeback we want the music, clothes, games and Ā films,
while we have some of that the 1980s revival we get is the one that involves Nuclear Danger and the ghost of Margaret Thatcher
All these TV and Film revivals, some are cool others are just unnecessary Ā Do we really need a Snow White sequel? No, we donāt but we did get one even if it was unofficial
Back in 2007 a French animation company made a sequel to Snow White which was also a bit like Shrek in how it satirised the fairy tale tropes, how Prince Charming feels like he is objectified while he ends up doing the same thing to the female characters, quite a tosser but thatās the point of the parody to point out the flaws with fairy tale logic, and to put the likes of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella in more realistic scenarios.
ā¦itās strange, weird but brilliant too
The English dub had quite a few familiar faces doing the character voices
Stephen Fry as the narrator, Morwenna Banks, Simon Greenall and another British actor
Ah! I remember his name now, he was in many successful sitcoms in the 80s and 90s,he was a legend, he knew how to keep people laughing, whether they were children, adults, teenagers,
in television, theatre, film or music
quite an eclectic range of talent
Iām a new fan, I might adore his work, but I had just learnt his name 2 years ago, whereas, with other fans, they have created their own work, such as Charlie Brooker and Simon Peggā¦ some were able to meet himā¦lucky...
Some encounters were quite interesting, I had heard someoneās nan got to meet him in the 90s but she got his name wrong so she ended up saying
āāoh hello can I have your autograph please Mr mayo?ā
Well that happened, she probably still got that autograph,...
And somewhere up there, Rik Mayall is thinking of us, he, Stephen Hillenburg and David Bowie are probably chatting away
Letās make the lord of misrule proud
