Pop Culture

I live in Germany between Iraqi deployments, and I have noticed common memories that people from anywhere in the States share. These things are what unite us as a country. The songs that were popular, the television shows everyone watched, and the all of the things that aren't taught in school but everyone learned growing up. So I was shocked yesterday when one of the guys on my team admitted that he did not know Batman was a comic book before it became a film. This guy isn't some sheltered introvert from West Virginia. He is generally knowledgeable and grew up mainly in Los Angeles. I started questioning other people and found out that he was the only one that new nothing at all about comics. Even my German girlfriend knew that Batman came from comic books. "You Americans and your superheroes." So know I wonder exactly what things are part of the collective American consciousness. I would like to start each week with a topic of recollection. I would like to compile a list of pop culture memories. Feel free to comment on omissions or corrections.

This week will be cartoons. Quality is not the issue here. It is just the most known. We have to start with the old ones that have been played over and over for decades. The Flintstones. The Jetsons. He-man. GI Joe. The Smurfs. Every one of them is a classic. If you have never seen Scooby Doo then you may well be an alien masquerading as a human. The next ones I remember are more age specific. I am 25. Every afternoon when I came home I remember seeing the Thundercats, Transformers, Voltron, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And although no one likes to admit that they watched it, almost everyone remembers the theme song from the Gummi Bears. Bouncing here and there and everywhere.