Retro – The New Steampunk

I saw a great ad for a new series at the Harry Potter movie on Wednesday night. It seems that Channel 37 is riding the very edge of a new “genre” wave hitting movie houses, publishers and now television. But first the movie:

I am not a Harry Potter fan; I am a J K Rowling fan. For someone to sell the same plot in seven different ways, I’m all for it! Here is a quick breakdown of the series:

Books/Movies 1 – 6:

Voldemort tries to kills Harry, fails, regroups.

Book/ Movie 7 [SPOILER ALERT]:

Voldemort tries to kill Harry, succeeds, but ultimately fails and is finally dispatched.

Now back to the point:

One of the previews at the aforementioned movie was a new television series called Pan Am. It takes place in the early 60’s as jets are being introduced to commercial aviation. The story apparently revolves around the lives of four of the “Stewardesses” (no, not “Flight Attendants”, but “Stewardesses”).

This is interesting in several ways.

1) The following of young women on commercial air could be interesting no matter what time period is chosen.

2) The point seems to be about being more of a “period” piece rather than actual art.

3) The time period chosen is becoming hot right now.

To us at Channel 37, choosing the early 60s is what we’ve been all about. The 50s and 60s are perhaps one of the most idealistic times in this country. After World War II, the US was very self-assured, perhaps with a little swagger. The 60’s allowed one war hero to hand over the Presidency to another war hero.

The US was arrogant enough to take on the moon and, of course (conspiracy theorists excepted), win. The country had few worries: what silver to put out, what stores brides should register in, and nuclear annihilation at any second. The good ole days!

To the loyal fans that have supported Channel 37 since the early days, you can be proud. You are single-handedly ushering a new “Retro Revivalist” era.

Here is the link to the new ABC series Pan Am: http://abc.go.com/shows/pan-am