Month: May 2016

In March, one of my closest friends decided it was time for him to go to boot camp to become a member of the United States Navy. It’s anxious and hopeful news for all his family and friends. The ambition and drive it takes to embark on a journey like this is quite outstanding, to say the very least.

His enrollment in boot camp has my gears turning for all the unity and patriotism that has been documented and centralized around the servicemembers of the USA over the years. Primarily the two World Wars sparked a massive movement for American culture, unity, teamwork, and a spirit of being ‘all in this together’. One thing that young women would do for these men (gender segregation was still quite prevalent back in that age) while they served abroad is write letters back and forth to bridge the gap of thousands of miles traveled from home. Naturally, I decided to do the same for P. since boot camp is noted for its extreme physical demands and mental discipline.

In general, before the 1960s, there was an association between contributing to war efforts and benevolence in America. Of course, wherever you come from, there is a sense of pride attached, so this isn’t all that uncommon. What none of these predominantly young women (and the servicemembers’ families) didn’t realize was that these letters would profoundly affect the future of giving to American troops abroad. Today, we observe things that go above and beyond the call of need-based care packages overseas. Operation Shoebox, for example, takes the idea of packing supplies and letters to a whole new level and truly personalizes the experience of gift receiving for the armed forces. It is an excellent and simple notion of patriotism and pride to support just one person.

So P. and I, although he doesn’t yet know I’ve been writing about his recent pen pal history, have been in the same circumstance. His boot camp sure isn’t overseas, but it still took him many miles from home. Check out some of these letters back and forth from the two World Wars! For security purposes, I can’t disclose the letters I’ve sent back and forth with P., but I can say that there was a twang of homesickness at first. I think that the support and motivation from us civilians back home gave him a great sense of determination and drive throughout his experiences. For all that you do- thank you so much for serving our country! Cheers and congratulations on graduating boot camp, P.!

I don’t often watch TV. What I do, however, participate in often is flipping channels vigorously before shutting off the set. A few months ago, I found a few good pieces to share with my readers. The Astronaut Wives Club (AWC) went strong through its season, receiving high praise for its accuracy and overall throwback appeal. With a little more dry humor and historical reference, Another Period seeks to mock modern-day reality shows with its satirical, Victorian style. Buzzfeed has published an article about vintage lingerie, see here. But actually it would be treason to say just one article of theirs focuses on the epics of yesteryear: The top of the page suggests an entire section that falls under ‘Rewind”! I decided to do some exploring of course, and for those who are interested, this section has some real throwbacks in it, but its focus is on media and ’90s and ’80s funzies.

Some advertisements, like this one from Progressive Insurance, leave behind the romanticized versions of mid-century America for tones of reform. Flo is here seen arguing against the male figure that she too can handle the work a man can. Classically 1950s gender roles have been removed over the years, and this is a perfect opportunity to remind my readers that revivalism is about restoring the positive aspects of yesteryears: discrimination of any kind is not endorsed by authentic revivalists, especially the writers here at RR. Sometimes the past can be overwhelming, and so it is important to keep it in perspective. No year is without its flaws. The romanticism of a given decade is what appeals to us, but we must understand that no time was perfect. Of course, on the same strain, don’t let the mass media big cheeses dissuade you from bringing back the simplicity and can-do attitude of the 1950s.

What strikes me the most is The pro-retro propaganda! Check out this Kohler faucet commercial, for starters. The decade-by-decade snippets give us emphasis on the appeal of ‘timeless’ household features. The greatest ad this semester for the vintage lover in us all was the Pledge/Johnson & Johnson commercial for Thanksgiving. This heartwarming sentiment bridges the generation gap in as little as one minute. It shows the kind of timeless love that anyone can hope for. Another fascinating discovery I’ve made this year is the viciously overpriced store, Anthropologie. I’d never visited until this year prior to Black Friday, and from the moment I set foot inside, I was transported to a world of revivalist fantasy. Unfortunately, this is a very high-end store, and their prices reflect it, to the dismay of the graduate-student-budget writers like myself.

http://9gag.com/gag/aOVoKWE?ref=fbp 9GAG, another popular boredom-relief site, also picked up on the craving for vintage things. Check out their amazing pics!

Craving more media? These guys are inspired by the vintage movement too! Find another we missed? Post it to our facebook page! Stay Curious!