How far back does the public go back with pop culture now?

[willywonka666]

When I was 12 or so, in 1987, I was well aware of tv and music, etc dating back to at least the 50s since they still showed a lot of older stuff on tv back then and I had parents that grew up in that era, but here we are now in 2017 and I'm 42 and still of that timeframe, but where is the general public today? We have kids in school that were born after Seinfeld was already in reruns and there have only ever been two living Beatles in their lifetime, so what resonates in pop culture today to the average teen or twenty-something?

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

I was born in 1986 and grew up on oldies and classic rock and Nick at Night as much as anything current, so I'm definitely the wrong person to ask.

[Stu]

Born in 1979, my parents and older brothers educated me on plenty of older material. I also saw stuff on television. It likely helped that TV was the main tool for showcasing stuff, unless you found the right book or magazine. If you watched enough TV, you'd eventually come across something showing older pop culture.

Nowadays, there are more ways to get your entertainment and more forms of entertainment on top of that. Basically, older pop culture gets lost in the shuffle.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

I was born in 1984, and I've usually been into an equal amount of classic media as well as current stuff.

I imagine that'll become less uncommon with the public as time passes, considering the wealth of information available at people's fingertips.

[WoodStoner1]

Some years back, it looked bleak. What with TVL going some 80s then beyond, GSN doing the same, so forth and so on. But now we have Antenna, Buzzr, MeTV, and others. My 2 year old cousin loves Emergency!

Terrestrial radio is nowhere near trying to make up for abandoned time now, and is just Beatles, Stones, 70s and up, even up to the 90s!

[The Thread Barbi]

With the Internet and various streaming services, I guess you go as far back as you please.

[Deleted]

I think "pop culture" really encompasses the time in which you're alive/can remember things (maybe a few years before).

When I was a kid, I was aware of bands from the 50's/60's but I wouldn't say they were part of pop culture in the 80's.

[Feargus McReddit]

So I play with a kid on Overwatch sometimes, always inviting me to groups and stuff and we get along well.

The thing that was super surreal about it is that he knows A LOT of stuff about popular culture that he wasn't born for. He's a massive Michael Jackson fan, for example, and plays his songs over streams and stuff. He made a Titanic reference the other day which considering that movie is, like, 2 decades old at this point, was SUPER weird to me and I even said that to him.

Also, when I was working at a primary school not long ago, the kids seem to bring up stuff like that or older TV shows and it's weirder to see that stuff and think 'Damn, I can actually talk to the kids about this stuff instead of being some lost old man'.

I mean, it depends on the kids you speak to and how their parents are and stuff but your sphere of what you watch just depends on what grabs your interest these days.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

Apr 5, 2017 10:39:32 GMT -5 Feargus McReddit said:

So I play with a kid on Overwatch sometimes, always inviting me to groups and stuff and we get along well.

The thing that was super surreal about it is that he knows A LOT of stuff about popular culture that he wasn't born for. He's a massive Michael Jackson fan, for example, and plays his songs over streams and stuff. He made a Titanic reference the other day which considering that movie is, like, 2 decades old at this point, was SUPER weird to me and I even said that to him.

Also, when I was working at a primary school not long ago, the kids seem to bring up stuff like that or older TV shows and it's weirder to see that stuff and think 'Damn, I can actually talk to the kids about this stuff instead of being some lost old man'.

I mean, it depends on the kids you speak to and how their parents are and stuff but your sphere of what you watch just depends on what grabs your interest these days.

to bring it to Wrestling standards a few years ago I saw a kid talking about the Monday night war and WCW vs. NWO... the kid was no more than 10... and he was on point with all his stuff and this was before the WWE Network launched.

The Internet really has opened a ton of doors to kids.

[Welfare Willis]

My brother a few years ago was heavy into retro gaming: mega man, earthbound, etc.

[dirtyoldman]

I remember last year play wreslting with my 7 year old nephew. I said, you be the undertaker and i'll be hulk hogan.

He said 'who's hulk hogan'?

[Hassan bin Sober]

Apr 5, 2017 15:21:32 GMT -5 dirtyoldman said:

I remember last year play wreslting with my 7 year old nephew. I said, you be the undertaker and i'll be hulk hogan.

He said 'who's hulk hogan'?

So long as he knows who the Macho Man is.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Apr 5, 2017 15:21:32 GMT -5 dirtyoldman said:

I remember last year play wreslting with my 7 year old nephew. I said, you be the undertaker and i'll be hulk hogan.

He said 'who's hulk hogan'?

Is your nephew present day Vince McMahon?

[unc40]

I was born in 1970 and when I was a kid nostalgia for the 50's was huge and when the 80's rolled around nostalgia for the 60's grew. It seems like nostalgia for a certain time period takes about 20 year before it kicks in.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Apr 5, 2017 21:01:06 GMT -5 unc40 said:

I was born in 1970 and when I was a kid nostalgia for the 50's was huge and when the 80's rolled around nostalgia for the 60's grew. It seems like nostalgia for a certain time period takes about 20 year before it kicks in.

Well, they's when people from that time have grown up and are the ones with money to buy stuff, and getting into positions to make stuff.

Which they gets into these loops, like there's 90s nostalgia, which involves some 70s, which involves some 50s.

[Deleted]

I've wondered about that, too. I was born in '84 and was huge into cartoons and TV shows from the '60s as a kid.

A lot of my friends' kids love the '80s and '90s stuff their parents have introduced them to, so I'd say that using that model, the pop culture your parents are nostalgic for will usually be the far end of your radar.

[Feargus McReddit]

All I know is that I'm going to introduce my kids, if I have any, to Batman '66 and they will love it, damnit!