New Foxxinnia
03-08-2006, 20:41
by Bass Wolfgang Foxxinnia
There is a term called the "Halcyon Days." The Halcyon Days are those days of your youth that you look back on, where you think, "Those were the days. Nothing could go wrong." Of course things were going wrong, but as a child you didn't know that. All you knew was that you were having the time of your life.
This term has been around for millennia. Greek Mythology lesson: Alcyone was a woman married to a man who eventually died in a shipwreck. When she learned of this horrible turn of events she decided to kill herself by throwing herself off a cliff and into the ocean. The Gods had different plans though. They turned her into a Halcyon bird, or in common terms a Kingfisher. She built her nest on the beach, but waves threatened it. Aeolus, God of Winds, helped her by restraining the ocean for seven days. And so, these days of peace became known as Halcyon Days. Now in modern terms Halcyon Days refers to the general period of peacetime and happiness.
Then after World War Two something unusual happened. The children of the 10's and 20's lived in hard times. For they had 9 years of prosperity in the 20's after the horror of The Great War. Then for 10 years they suffered through a crippling depression. For 4 years they had to go through the rough rationing times of WWII. Now though, things were different. There was prosperity in America beyond any imagination. Suburbs sprang up, the WWII soldiers got married to their sweethearts back home. They had children, and the parents wanted them to have the life they never had. Couples would have many children. The Baby Boom was underway. The 50's were a time of extraordinary swellness if one got past politics. One thing though changed the way this generation would grow up compared to every other.
Television had existed since the 30's but the technology was expensive and no one had any money. After the War though the technology was cheap, and people had a large disposable income. So there was a television in most middle-class family homes, and if a family didn't have a television well they could just swing on by the neighbors. Television was still in the early years and there were only around three to four channels. Some shows were geared to children, and nearly every child would watch that show. They would buy the same merchandise, they would know the same phrases, and they would all dress-up in the same clothes to watch their shows. A child in New York could talk to another child in California, and they would both have something in common. Children at the time were simply a single entity, though each was a little different from the other. If a fad came along, say hula-hoops, in a few weeks the entire child populous of the nation would be using a hula-hoop. This meta-conscience continued into the 60's until Vietnam. The entire Baby Boomer population was split into two groups. Those who supported the war and hippies. By the 70's, the Baby Boomers were adults. They made decisions regarding what was or wasn't on television. They needed ideas that would appeal to both sides of Baby Boomers. The one thing they had in common was their youth. The 50's.
Compared to the shooting protesters, high gas prices, resigning President, never-ending war days of the 70's the days of the 50's were perfect. The general consensus was that of, "It would be awesome if it was still the 50's." What if the 50’s had the same civil liberties ideas as the 70’s was the main idea. The days of their youth were ones of great promise and cheer, but now things were nothing like they thought it would be. So they would think about the 50's again, and so began America's fixation on two decades before. The Halcyon Decade Syndrome.
The presence of the 50's on the 70's was minimal, but less influential was the effect of the 60's on the 80's. The causes of this were wildly different though. The reasons the 50's were not that heavy on the 70's was because the idea was just beginning. The 60's didn't heavily effect the 80's was because the 60's were very, very troubled times, and somehow the 80's generation created a time where it was based more off the decade before it instead of drawing back things from their childhoods. The 80's evolved from the 70's. This would be the last time this happened.
The 90's came out of the 80's and thought, "What a dump." The children born in the 70's went through the 80's and liked it, but the 90's showed them how ridiculous it was. The 90's was a time of individualism. Much like the 70's "Free to Be... You and Me," movement. The children did go through the 80's with this feeling, but one thing dampened the feeling. MTV in the 80's was The Station. Youth of the times watched it and knew the lyrics to all the songs, and everyone bought the same albums. There were sub-cultures imbedded in the main culture, but they were still small and looked down upon, and the large groups could hang out with the other group. Overall, the power of the Russians loomed over the youths' heads. No one wanted to be too far outside the norm, so people thought you were a Communist.
The 90's. Soviets were gone, and we just won a war in less than 100 hours. News stations constantly told you what was going on. America was the last superpower, and no one was even close. Grow was on the horizon and there was no end in sight. The 70's were back. Now you really could be you. Individualism ran rampant. Cable television produced 40 channels with different concepts and ideas. Lava lamps were back in style, and you could be a war protester even without a war. The middle-class was doing great. The internet only helped spread individualism. You could think, "No one else likes the smell of tape," but with the internet you could find people everywhere with the same hobbies as you. The 90's were so great they went on for two more years because of popular demand. Then 9/11 happened.
The cynical ideas and prosperity of the 90's was over in one hour, and the generation raised on the 90’s was thrown out of the land of sunshine, lollipops, and American Invincibility. Americans in the 90's had experienced terrorism before, but now they really knew people hated them, and they were wanted dead. So began two years of complete solidarity. Fear of anthrax and smallpox scared Americans, but they forced themselves to work. The 90's were no longer a time of American prosperity; now they were a time of ignorance for not realizing this sooner. The children of the 80's were now in cultural power, and so began the 80's-ization of the 00's.
The 00's are so heavily based off of the 80's there was even a show based off of it. Cultural icons of those days are back, series from then have returned to the airwaves, and some have become movies. But things are changing again. 90's are looking much better now. The unitedness of the 80's Americans against the Soviets returned in a more vicious self-defeating way. Now everyone is either a Red citizen or a Blue citizen. The 80's were not made to exist in a time like this. The 90's are starting to return preemptively as society realizes it doesn’t want to live like this. It's hard to tell where we're going, but we're going to find out anytime now.
Sources: None- just making crap up.
There is a term called the "Halcyon Days." The Halcyon Days are those days of your youth that you look back on, where you think, "Those were the days. Nothing could go wrong." Of course things were going wrong, but as a child you didn't know that. All you knew was that you were having the time of your life.
This term has been around for millennia. Greek Mythology lesson: Alcyone was a woman married to a man who eventually died in a shipwreck. When she learned of this horrible turn of events she decided to kill herself by throwing herself off a cliff and into the ocean. The Gods had different plans though. They turned her into a Halcyon bird, or in common terms a Kingfisher. She built her nest on the beach, but waves threatened it. Aeolus, God of Winds, helped her by restraining the ocean for seven days. And so, these days of peace became known as Halcyon Days. Now in modern terms Halcyon Days refers to the general period of peacetime and happiness.
Then after World War Two something unusual happened. The children of the 10's and 20's lived in hard times. For they had 9 years of prosperity in the 20's after the horror of The Great War. Then for 10 years they suffered through a crippling depression. For 4 years they had to go through the rough rationing times of WWII. Now though, things were different. There was prosperity in America beyond any imagination. Suburbs sprang up, the WWII soldiers got married to their sweethearts back home. They had children, and the parents wanted them to have the life they never had. Couples would have many children. The Baby Boom was underway. The 50's were a time of extraordinary swellness if one got past politics. One thing though changed the way this generation would grow up compared to every other.
Television had existed since the 30's but the technology was expensive and no one had any money. After the War though the technology was cheap, and people had a large disposable income. So there was a television in most middle-class family homes, and if a family didn't have a television well they could just swing on by the neighbors. Television was still in the early years and there were only around three to four channels. Some shows were geared to children, and nearly every child would watch that show. They would buy the same merchandise, they would know the same phrases, and they would all dress-up in the same clothes to watch their shows. A child in New York could talk to another child in California, and they would both have something in common. Children at the time were simply a single entity, though each was a little different from the other. If a fad came along, say hula-hoops, in a few weeks the entire child populous of the nation would be using a hula-hoop. This meta-conscience continued into the 60's until Vietnam. The entire Baby Boomer population was split into two groups. Those who supported the war and hippies. By the 70's, the Baby Boomers were adults. They made decisions regarding what was or wasn't on television. They needed ideas that would appeal to both sides of Baby Boomers. The one thing they had in common was their youth. The 50's.
Compared to the shooting protesters, high gas prices, resigning President, never-ending war days of the 70's the days of the 50's were perfect. The general consensus was that of, "It would be awesome if it was still the 50's." What if the 50’s had the same civil liberties ideas as the 70’s was the main idea. The days of their youth were ones of great promise and cheer, but now things were nothing like they thought it would be. So they would think about the 50's again, and so began America's fixation on two decades before. The Halcyon Decade Syndrome.
The presence of the 50's on the 70's was minimal, but less influential was the effect of the 60's on the 80's. The causes of this were wildly different though. The reasons the 50's were not that heavy on the 70's was because the idea was just beginning. The 60's didn't heavily effect the 80's was because the 60's were very, very troubled times, and somehow the 80's generation created a time where it was based more off the decade before it instead of drawing back things from their childhoods. The 80's evolved from the 70's. This would be the last time this happened.
The 90's came out of the 80's and thought, "What a dump." The children born in the 70's went through the 80's and liked it, but the 90's showed them how ridiculous it was. The 90's was a time of individualism. Much like the 70's "Free to Be... You and Me," movement. The children did go through the 80's with this feeling, but one thing dampened the feeling. MTV in the 80's was The Station. Youth of the times watched it and knew the lyrics to all the songs, and everyone bought the same albums. There were sub-cultures imbedded in the main culture, but they were still small and looked down upon, and the large groups could hang out with the other group. Overall, the power of the Russians loomed over the youths' heads. No one wanted to be too far outside the norm, so people thought you were a Communist.
The 90's. Soviets were gone, and we just won a war in less than 100 hours. News stations constantly told you what was going on. America was the last superpower, and no one was even close. Grow was on the horizon and there was no end in sight. The 70's were back. Now you really could be you. Individualism ran rampant. Cable television produced 40 channels with different concepts and ideas. Lava lamps were back in style, and you could be a war protester even without a war. The middle-class was doing great. The internet only helped spread individualism. You could think, "No one else likes the smell of tape," but with the internet you could find people everywhere with the same hobbies as you. The 90's were so great they went on for two more years because of popular demand. Then 9/11 happened.
The cynical ideas and prosperity of the 90's was over in one hour, and the generation raised on the 90’s was thrown out of the land of sunshine, lollipops, and American Invincibility. Americans in the 90's had experienced terrorism before, but now they really knew people hated them, and they were wanted dead. So began two years of complete solidarity. Fear of anthrax and smallpox scared Americans, but they forced themselves to work. The 90's were no longer a time of American prosperity; now they were a time of ignorance for not realizing this sooner. The children of the 80's were now in cultural power, and so began the 80's-ization of the 00's.
The 00's are so heavily based off of the 80's there was even a show based off of it. Cultural icons of those days are back, series from then have returned to the airwaves, and some have become movies. But things are changing again. 90's are looking much better now. The unitedness of the 80's Americans against the Soviets returned in a more vicious self-defeating way. Now everyone is either a Red citizen or a Blue citizen. The 80's were not made to exist in a time like this. The 90's are starting to return preemptively as society realizes it doesn’t want to live like this. It's hard to tell where we're going, but we're going to find out anytime now.
Sources: None- just making crap up.