Perhaps it was my parents nostalgic photos, or US history class and being fascinated, or like a journalist interest like I am, watching CNN: The Seventies and just sold on the idea of being raised in that era. I find that back then it was such a simpler time, even though the movements back then was about the War in Vietnam, Feminism, and above all Equality; I just see an attraction towards that decade that seems to get me more and more involved.
Independency. I think this has to be my favorite and important reason as to why I admire this decade the most. They had to use their brains and themselves to live; aka, no technology needed. My parents lived in LA at this time and they always told me how they got around in this busy city. It was all about depending on buses, pay phones and actual maps, I know shocking huh? But it seems like they had something back then they don’t have now: which is the brain and will power to live in our daily life. They didn’t have iPhones and they seemed to enjoy people’s company without the fear of “awkward silences”; they didn’t have GPS to search for places, it was all about memory. “On [blah blah street] near the McDonalds”, my parents would say. I wonder what would happen if our generation did that.
Learning was different; since they didn’t have technology, except for only one TV in the house, it was critical that learning something new was a must and excelling greatly. No iPhones meant actually reading a book to fuel their minds. Learning how to type was a must if you needed to work; so having a typewriter was essential for their daily life. I prefer a typewriter more than a MacBook Air…
Forget buying an iTunes card, records are the most classic usage of music; so a record player was a given. I remember hearing it and how once you put the needle on the record, there’s a sound right before the song plays that always got my attention. Maybe the scratching was the way to grab a hold of the music. Of course now records cost up to $20, but back then it cost more than half of that. You don’t see record shops anymore, in that case music shops; no, now it’s online. But online I think has lost its way of being personnel with the selection of the music. Back then it was about the message of the lyrics, now it’s more on profit. As well as movie theaters; with the cost of buying a ticket, plus the condiments, there will be no more movie theaters, but instead online movies that you would need to pay to subscribe to. Back then the message and creativeness was the most important aspect to show.
So you can see why I feel envious of my parents’ generation of being raised in that era. It was so simple, and inexpensive, and socially mindful of current events. I hope there could be more people in my generation that has the same respect and willing to cherish the past and use it in our future…
Picture source:
http://data.whicdn.com/images/177921153/large.jpg
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https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fe/a1/8e/fea18eabde2ff47d…