Thanks to Netflix Instant Queue, my daughter is obsessed with She-Ra. You know... He-Man's sister. I have to throw in that little descriptive or else most people forget who she is, poor gal. And when I say "obsessed", I mean obsessed. We watch her every morning, and we'll be throwing a She-Ra birthday party later this summer, complete with a Princess of Power cake and all.
Additionally, I finished Sweet Valley Confidential: 10 Years Later this week. The saga of Elizabeth & Jessica Wakefield and the entire Sweet Valley gang continues. I got my first Sweet Valley Kids book in second grade as a Valentine's present from my mom. From then on I was hooked, and pretty sure I read everything published about the twins straight through their college years. Without giving too much away, the twins are still blond and perfect, their parents still belong to the Sweet Valley country club, and Lila Fowler is still a rich bitch.
She-Ra, or, eh, Princess Adora, should be known as the "Princess of Cheesy One-Liners." Just in one episode, we've got "Looks like there's a welcoming committee behind that door," and "It's a trap all right, but who's caught who?"
At least she has an excuse, though -- her lines were written in the 80's. Author Francine Pascal has none. Confidential was released earlier this year, and she should be ashamed. I don't want to spend too much time book-bashing, but I've got to vent about a few of my biggest peeves:
1. She tried to incorporate too many "up-to-date" terms:
"What about Facebook? She'll never let me be a friend."
"...at the new mall between the Gap and Starbucks, not the first Starbucks, the third one."
And my personal favorite: "All of them seemed to be BBMing on their BlackBerrys..."
2. She tries to convince us that Jessica has changed, yet voices her as a 13-year-old girl.
And it isn't like I was taking anything away from Elizabeth. I know her better than anyone else does, and she so doesn't care about things like that.
I would give up my life for my sister. I almost did. One time when we were in high school, this lunatic madman came at her with a sledgehammer...
The agony. I could go on, but I'm afraid you'd stop reading. Needless to say, I'm not much of a fan of She-Ra or Sweet Valley anymore. I'm so disappointed. What I don't understand is: Why am I this disappointed?
Later this year, I'll turn 30. So far, I've been a bit smug about how much better I'm handling it than some of my fellow 29ers. But now that I clearly have some kind of pre-30's crisis on my hands, suddenly smug is out; nostalgia is in. Cliche? Most definitely, and oh, it gets worse. I listened to Strawberry Wine by Deana Carter last week (a song with which I fell in love at age 15) and had trouble singing the line, "I still remember when 30 was old," over the lump in my throat.
Nostalgia, a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time, is that feeling you get when you drive by your childhood home, come across a pressed flower you saved from a high school boyfriend, or remember a book or a character you loved as a child. Everything seems rosier when you're looking back. Maybe that's where I tripped up... I tried to relive it.And sadly, now I've answered both my questions.
Who says you can't go back? Thomas Wolfe did, in You Can't Go Home Again.
Why am I this disappointed? (sigh) Because it seems I've just learned one of life's hardest lessons. Tweet
1 comment:
I agree on the nostalgia thing! It always seems like a good idea to re-watch, re-read or re-listen to something that meant so much years ago. I remembered LOVin the Fraggles, thinking Gremlins was the cutest/scariest movie and even my beloved Charmed the early seasons has lost some of the luster over a decade later. I say keep the memories and dig into something new. AND being 30 is AWEsome. I am almost half way through and it was been wonderful coming into my own as a woman. I am more comfortable in my own skin and the decisions I make then I ever have been. Heres to progress! Thanks for keeping us educated Em - OX
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