Happy were the days when children needed no more than a seat at Saturday morning pictures and a bag of popcorn to keep them occupied. Pop art immortalized the popular culture and characters of the 1950s and ‘60s in all manner of colourful cartoon style images, reflecting the growing celebritization of film stars and artists, as well as an increased awareness of modern convenience products – along with our childlike curiosity for all things new.
As the pace of social and commercial change speeded up, those who had grown up in, or were inspired by distinctly more laid back times, found a role model in the character from Happy Days known as Fonzie (played by unlikely heartthrob Henry Winkler) – one of the most decidedly cool guys on the planet, who actively cultivated slow style to get things done more effectively.
Despite his James Dean style appearance and rebellious swagger, The Fonz was a big softy at heart and gained fans from all sorts of unexpected quarters. Old school French teachers even adopted his cult greeting (‘Eeeeeeeeey) to instruct pupils on the pronunciation of ‘e’ with an acute accent.
The Happy Days series was screened from the mid 1970s into the early 1980s and harked back to an age when family fun, fashion, movie stars and motorcycles were popular features of daily life. Curiously, little has altered in this respect, except that family structures and moral values seem to have changed dramatically within a relatively short space of time...
Perhaps that’s why slow retro style is regaining popularity and pop art accessories - like the uniquely stylish hand painted jewellery by the Maggio sisters at ShopCurious – are back in vogue.
eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
ReplyDeleteI was always slightly scard of 'Al' the diner owner
ps. saw your site getting a good namecheck in my wife's 'easy living' magazine!
Worm, your version of Fonzie's curiously cool expression with lots of 'y's is better. I just remembered that he used to call the men's room his office!
ReplyDeletehmmm, yes, an older man who wears leather and tight jeans, who surrounds himself with impressionable younger male teenagers, and who uses a men's toilet as his office.... what could it all mean???
ReplyDeleteIn those days innocent fun! Though weren't there steamy encounters involving Chachi and Joanie? Think that might have been off screen.. no wonder they always had big grins on their faces.
ReplyDeleteNever quite understood the popularity of this show.
ReplyDeleteDidn't mind the song though.
The Fonz was way too cool for school!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Fonzie! And yep, saw you in Easy Living yesterday too :)
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