Share Your Pop-culture Inheritance With The Hype

[KRYPTON INC.]

A lot of us rebel as teens. Suddenly, we reject all the things of our fathers and mothers... But not all of us do, and not all that start out rejecting things end up being successful in their attempt to purge their parents/family's influence on themselves.

So... Share the special memories or moment where someone, family, friend or other, shared something with you, a book, a TV show, a film or a song that lit the fires of your own fandom of something that you were either obsessed with then or still are now. Did an older brother teach you how to draw comic book superheroes? Do you remember when your dad converted you to being a Weird Al fan? Did a sister give you the first DUNE book to read? Share with your fellow Hypesters the works and loved ones (or maybe not so loved ones) that have a place in your own frazzled fanboy/fangirl heart.

 

[Perfect Cell]

Star Trek. As children, my cousins and I would watch the first seven films over and over, and play with toys of the ships, all because my uncle got us into them. My fandom died out for a few years, but I got back into Star Trek with the TV series Enterprise (oddly enough), and I've been into it ever since.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Star Trek. As children, my cousins and I would watch the first seven films over and over, and play with toys of the ships, all because my uncle got us into them. My fandom died out for a few years, but I got back into Star Trek with the TV series Enterprise (oddly enough), and I've been into it ever since.

Trek is HUGE for me. My mom is an original Trekkie. She used to live over a furniture store and when TOS was in it's first run, she would go downstairs and as the store manager if she could watch it on one of the floor models of the color TVs they had, since her mother didn't own a color set. We watched it all the time here in NYC through syndication, and when it came out on VHS my mom bought all the episodes which now we could watch whenever. When TNG came on I actually got her to watch it with me. She became a big fan of Stewart that way.

 

[Perfect Cell]

Trek is HUGE for me. My mom is an original Trekkie. She used to live over a furniture store and when TOS was in it's first run, she would go downstairs and as the store manager if she could watch it on one of the floor models of the color TVs they had, since her mother didn't own a color set. We watched it all the time here in NYC through syndication, and when it came out on VHS my mom bought all the episodes which now we could watch whenever. When TNG came on I actually got her to watch it with me. She became a big fan of Stewart that way.

There's always something inherently special about the franchises that span decades. Every generation gets their own "piece of the pie", and it gives something that entire families can share. I mean, we're seeing that now with Star Wars. People my age (mid-late 20's) had Star Wars passed down to them by their parents, and then had their own generational moment with the prequels (as good or bad as one might view them). And now we have kids of our own, and a new Star Wars for them to call their own.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Maybe it's the transient nature of Pop-culture but I think we forget that a lot of the time, it's similar to how families have a relationship with sport franchises. Some people are just born into a family that watches the Giants, Yankess and Islanders. Me? I was born into Sci Fi/Science Fiction, Westerns, Soap Operas and comic book superheroes. Sometimes we even end up having influences in reverse. For instance, my grandma loves Netflix Daredevil through watching it, and other comic stuff, over the years with me..

 

[dude stannis]

I was told when I used to go to the video store with my dad as a child, I'd always run and grab either Batman, Superman: The Movie or Superman II (Maybe Australian distributors had great taste, I'd only ever caught Quest for Peace on TV a few times and I didn't see Superman III until the late 2000's when it became available on DVD). He'd always rent them for me too. Even if I didn't get the chance to watch them. Now my memory is only vague of this event, but one day, he'd left the house and he'd gone to the video store without telling me and I'd kicked up a massive stink, he came back and told me not to worry, he remembered to rent Batman for me and asked if I wanted to watch it? So we start watching it and it's not Batman. It's some movie about these rich people abandoning their baby at Christmas time. I kept telling him I don't want to watch his boring old people movies, I wanted to watch Batman. IT IS BATMAN he would yell. NO IT'S NOT I yelled back. This goes on for a good while, since I must've missed the title until "What are you waiting for? The signal!" and Michael Keaton is illuminated by a giant bat-signal in his mansion. My jaw hit the floor. I was experiencing a whole new Batman adventure. From that day on, I'd trusted my dad when he brought home anything from the video store, because it could be Batman again.

One day, not long after the Batman Returns incident, I was home from school sick and he had a day off and it was just us two and he'd rented Predator and Predator 2. I sat and watch both back to back absolutely glued to the screen. If Batman Returns was me learning to trust my dad, Predator was my dad learning to trust me. It didn't take long then for him to take me to R rated movies in cinemas, he took me to see Patriot Games (I think, It had Harrison Ford in it whatever it was) and claimed we went to see Home Alone (I think, it had McCauley Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern whatever it was) to my mum (Naturally for this alibi to work, we ultimately ended up going to see Home Alone "a second time") or let me watch whatever I wanted unsupervised on this dinky little antenna TV I had in my room that made every film look like it was Grindhoused by Tarantino and Rodriguez and led to me discovering stuff like Seven on my own as a primary schooler.

 

[Perfect Cell]

Maybe it's the transient nature of Pop-culture but I think we forget that a lot of the time, it's similar to how families have a relationship with sport franchises. Some people are just born into a family that watches the Giants, Yankess and Islanders. Me? I was born into Sci Fi/Science Fiction, Westerns, Soap Operas and comic book superheroes. Sometimes we even end up having influences in reverse. For instance, my grandma loves Netflix Daredevil through watching it, and other comic stuff, over the years with me..

All to true. In fact, I would say it's even truer with pop culture than with sports. To double back to your original post, and the part about rebelling against a parent's interests or hobbies, my father absolutely loves the Boston Red Sox. Loves them. Same with the Detroit Red Wings. Can you guess what two of my least favourite teams are? The Red Sox and the Red Wings. I don't know if that's because my father cheered for them, and I just went counter to that, but I always found that kind of funny when I looked back and thought about it. Maybe I just hate the colour red. But with pop culture elements, I almost feel like they're passed on more naturally to the next generation, since they'll grow up exposed to it constantly. A child can grow up around an NFL team, but they're also exposed to the other 31 teams as well, and can easily choose another. But with pop culture, it almost becomes ingrained from birth.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I was told when I used to go to the video store with my dad as a child, I'd always run and grab either Batman, Superman: The Movie or Superman II (Maybe Australian distributors had great taste, I'd only ever caught Quest for Peace on TV a few times and I didn't see Superman III until the late 2000's when it became available on DVD). He'd always rent them for me too. Even if I didn't get the chance to watch them. Now my memory is only vague of this event, but one day, he'd left the house and he'd gone to the video store without telling me and I'd kicked up a massive stink, he came back and told me not to worry, he remembered to rent Batman for me and asked if I wanted to watch it? So we start watching it and it's not Batman. It's some movie about these rich people abandoning their baby at Christmas time. I kept telling him I don't want to watch his boring old people movies, I wanted to watch Batman. IT IS BATMAN he would yell. NO IT'S NOT I yelled back. This goes on for a good while, since I must've missed the title until "What are you waiting for? The signal!" and Michael Keaton is illuminated by a giant bat-signal in his mansion. My jaw hit the floor. I was experiencing a whole new Batman adventure. From that day on, I'd trusted my dad when he brought home anything from the video store, because it could be Batman again.

One day, not long after the Batman Returns incident, I was home from school sick and he had a day off and it was just us two and he'd rented Predator and Predator 2. I sat and watch both back to back absolutely glued to the screen. If Batman Returns was me learning to trust my dad, Predator was my dad learning to trust me. It didn't take long then for him to take me to R rated movies in cinemas, he took me to see Patriot Games (I think, It had Harrison Ford in it whatever it was) and claimed we went to see Home Alone (I think, it had McCauley Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern whatever it was) to my mum (Naturally for this alibi to work, we ultimately ended up going to see Home Alone "a second time") or let me watch whatever I wanted unsupervised on this dinky little antenna TV I had in my room that made every film look like it was Grindhoused by Tarantino and Rodriguez and led to me discovering stuff like Seven on my own as a primary schooler.

Priceless. Gotta love those moments when it's like a family member is saying, "Okay kiddo... Time to take off your Pop-Culture training wheels." Plus, if parents think they can shield kids from everything, well, that went out the door when we all got cable TV about 3O years ago or so. Best to watch something with the younglings and have someone there they trust to guide them.

I remember that my brother had left my parents house, essentially, pulled up stakes and left for good. About a year, maybe more, later he had patched things up with the parentals. He decides to take me out to a movie. Now up until that point it was my mom and dad that had taken me to movies, sometimes R rated ones. This was my brother taking me, and what did he take me to see? FREAKING DIE HARD!! Man... I cannot see that film today without thinking about my brother and his nick name for the movie: "A VERY JOHN MCLANE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL".

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

All to true. In fact, I would say it's even truer with pop culture than with sports. To double back to your original post, and the part about rebelling against a parent's interests or hobbies, my father absolutely loves the Boston Red Sox. Loves them. Same with the Detroit Red Wings. Can you guess what two of my least favourite teams are? The Red Sox and the Red Wings. I don't know if that's because my father cheered for them, and I just went counter to that, but I always found that kind of funny when I looked back and thought about it. Maybe I just hate the colour red. But with pop culture elements, I almost feel like they're passed on more naturally to the next generation, since they'll grow up exposed to it constantly. A child can grow up around an NFL team, but they're also exposed to the other 31 teams as well, and can easily choose another. But with pop culture, it almost becomes ingrained from birth.

I suspect that dynamic could change in the near future. I mean, used to be you just all gathered around the TV for appointment shows or all went out to the theater together. There's lots of changes on those fronts these days. I can only speculate as to how this atomizing of the Pop-Culture landscape will affect how stuff gets passed down.

 

[Fallen Angel]

I used to watch KnightRider with my grandad.

And the my uncles, dad and I would also watch wrestling with him. He was big into wrestling. Saw a lot of the greats of the day in person.

 

[tzarinna]

My dad's first wife gave me an Octavia Butler book for Christmas one year. I didn't read it immediately. Once I got around to it I couldn't put it down, most impressive sci fi writer. I bought anything I could find of hers. Her death really hit me, more so since I missed out on meeting her when she was in town and her incomplete trilogy.

 

[Sawyer]

Aw, come on! That was funny!

 

[Victarion]

I remember being into Spawn when I was in 3rd or 4th grade...I think it was the toys that caught my attention. One of the action figures came with a comic book. From there I got into the comics and the HBO cartoon. I still remember how awesome his costume and powers were. My dad ended up watching a lot of it with me, so I would call that my pop culture inheritance.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Aw, come on! That was funny!

Sawyer, I just assume you were born holding the BREAKING BAD Blu-Ray collection in one arm and a Mads Mikelson action figure in the other. No inheritance necessary.

 

[Sawyer]

Sawyer, I just assume you were born holding the BREAKING BAD Blu-Ray collection in one arm and a Mads Mikelson action figure in the other. No inheritance necessary.

Hey!




I bought each season separately.

 

[Immortalfire]

My mom got me into Star Trek when TNG was running.

 

[Marvolo]

Nothing that I can think of. I had to discover pop culture on my own. Star Wars, LOTR, and Harry Potter were things I discovered at the library, school, and the cinema.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

My dad was born in a small town in Puerto Rico. He lived as a farmer as a boy until his family moved to NYC, and when he was a young man he got drafted and served in the Army. This was a perfect storm for his love of Willie Nelson, as he got exposed to Country and Western music when he was down South. During the 80's my mom and dad waited all night for tickets to two shows. Barry Manilow for my mom, and since he agreed to do that she went with him to see Willie. While I am sure my mom's music (Stones, Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Sinatra, Creedence) has had more influence on me, my love for Willie comes right from my dad. Maybe it reminded him of the Spanish language songs from PR, which have a lot of similar tropes and themes as Country Western? In any case, I heard Willie on the stereo a lot as a kid. I'm happy that he was able to see Willie live in 2013 before he passed the next year.

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[KRYPTON INC.]

Nothing that I can think of. I had to discover pop culture on my own. Star Wars, LOTR, and Harry Potter were things I discovered at the library, school, and the cinema.

Really? No TV shows or books or films that family or family friends or teachers turned you onto?

 

[Marvolo]

Really? No TV shows or books or films that family or family friends or teachers turned you onto?

Usually I'd find something I liked or something that looked interesting and then I'd find out whether mom and dad had ever heard of it or liked it. They casually enjoy a number of things I enjoy tho so growing up they never discouraged me from exploring pop culture. So I guess you could say I inherited an open minded nurturing environment that allowed me the opportunity to discover things in pop culture and beyond pop culture.

Outside of pop culture tho there are some definite things I inherited from my parents. My dad introduced me to various types of motorsports and my grandfather and dad were mechanics. Dad worked on regular cars and dragsters so I grew up around garages and race tracks. And mom instilled a love for reading and discovery.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

My father really enjoys Star Trek, so I guess me liking the movies is kind of an inheritance.
Love of comic books is taught by him, loving characters like the Flash (mostly Barry Allen, my favorite), Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men (though I don't love them as much as I used to), TinTin, and Asterix certainly started with him.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

My father really enjoys Star Trek, so I guess me liking the movies is kind of an inheritance.
Love of comic books is taught by him, loving characters like the Flash (mostly Barry Allen, my favorite), Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men (though I don't love them as much as I used to), TinTin, and Asterix certainly started with him.

That's interesting Aziz. Comic Books in the 50's were what helped my father learn English. He always said that they were just easy enough for a young person to read, but also contained all these "$5 words" from science and literature, as my dad would say.


So, I am assuming that when your father was younger that he could find European and American works like comics easy? Also, did he let you read these comics very young or were you older, say, already in your teen years?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

That's interesting Aziz. Comic Books in the 50's were what helped my father learn English. He always said that they were just easy enough for a young person to read, but also contained all these "$5 words" from science and literature, as my dad would say.


So, I am assuming that when your father was younger that he could find European and American works like comics easy? Also, did he let you read these comics very young or were you older, say, already in your teen years?

He was born while Britain was still colonizing the country, and lived in that era for about 19 years, that's probably what helped him find these comics.

I started reading superhero comics at the age of 6, he had 20 years old translated reprints, and allowed us to read them with him, I was hooked back then, and he showed us his TinTin and Asterix collection at the same time, fun memories.
I think I started reading Disney comics even before the age of 6.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Sounds like you were exposed to this stuff early Aziz. I remember as a kid that comics, even old ones, were in the house my parents owned. My uncles and my brother always had some around someplace.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Exposed early and love it.