Retro-graphic Evidence
“An Introduction”
Picture this: Five fourth-graders hanging out in the schoolyard. The year is 1989, and these kids are talking about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Who’s your favorite turtle? Did you see the last episode? Did you hear they’re gonna make a movie? Check out these rad drawings I made!
This line of discussion goes on far too long and culminates with the group circling up to sing the Ninja Turtle theme song. The young boys–dressed in Body Glove, wind breakers, and jeans–they channel a gang of 50’s era greasers. They each lean on one knee and snap their fingers to the tune: Teenage mutant ninja turtles, teenage mutant ninja turtles, teenage mutant ninja turtles, heroes in a half-shell. Turtle Power!
High-fives all around.
I was one of those kids. I was probably the silly bastard who initiated the sing-along.
It was a time in my young life when memorizing all the lyrics to a cartoon was cool, and reciting those lyrics with my classmates was done completely without irony. We enjoyed the show, and this was how we demonstrated that love.
Recently, I was going through my photo-suitcase (because a photo album could never hold the insane number of pictures I own) when the memory I previously related came to me. It was a thunderclap of nostalgia, and it came along with a new idea as well.
I am starting a new series of articles entitled Retro-graphic Evidence.
In this series, I plan to scan a photo from the 80’s or early 90’s, and use it as inspiration for an article about my life. Toys, video games, my childish exploits, video stores, horror, and Halloween: it’ll all be there, related back to you in Technicolor and a pure 80’s sheen. I’d like to say I’ll post a new one every week, but I know better than to make any promises.
I hope you’ll embark on this adventure into the past with me.
Totally love this idea! Wish I had pictures from my childhood. Maybe we’ll get a hint as to what makes Tony tick. ;P
I’m glad you enjoyed, Indy! I hope I can keep up with it.
My twin cousins would always pretend to be a Ninja Turtle and would ONLY respond to the turtles name. Ah good times!
Signs of he times. 🙂
Very cool idea!
Thanks! I do hope you enjoy! Come on back for the new articles and let me know how I’m doing. 🙂
I think this is a great idea …I am looking forward to you on display. At one point I had bought every Ninja Turtle available for Matt…yes that boy loved them…he ended up passing them along to my granddaughter who in turn loved them.And now after this I can hear that song in my head. I hope you are able to keep this going…with all the other things you are busy with…as always…just me…Vitina
Thanks, I hope I can keep it going too. 🙂 I still have a bunch of my old TMNT figures.
I remember waaay back in the early 80s visiting my s-I-l. Her son was into the TMNT. Hubby and I, along with his sister, thought this was the weirdest thing we’d ever heard of. Years later, Tristan got into the TMNT. I was amazed that they were still around. He had the toys, clothes, a birthday cake with Rafael on it. . . and I even started liking the turtles. Just last year, my mom had a bunch of boxes of things she’d gotten from my grandmother, and there was a Leonardo action figure in one of them. I gave it to Tristan. LOL I think he gave it to his cat. 😉
It’s insane how long the TMNT have endured. Even now, they have rebooted cartoons and toys, and I think a new movie is coming out soon too.