What is "The Golden Age 4 Kids"?

Thanks so much for checking out our blog.  If you've come this far, hopefully you'll stay a while, bookmark us, add us to your feed and/or follow us on Twitter (@GoldenAge4Kids).  We'll do our best to make it worth your while.  You may have some questions on what the blog is all about, so an attempt to answer them here:

What exactly is "The Golden Age 4 Kids"?

Like many of you, the authors of this blog were born in the 1980s and grew up in the '80s & 90's.  We feel that there was a certain magic to those years that made it a very special time to grow up--a "Golden Age" for kids.  In this blog we intend to remember and celebrate the popular and cultural forces that were so integral in shaping our generation.

What's up with the name?

The name is inspired by the opening monologue of the pilot episode of "The Wonder Years".  Daniel Stern, voicing the grown-up Kevin Arnold, recalls:

"There's no pretty way to put this. I grew up in the suburbs.  I guess most people think of the suburbs as a place with all the disadvantages of the city and none of the advantages of the country, and vice-versa.  But in a way, those really were "the wonder years" for us there in the suburbs.  It was kind of a golden age for kids."

Of course, Kevin was talking about the years he grew up in--the 60's and early 70s--and to be sure, this was a great and interesting period to be a kid.  However, we think of the 80's and 90's as a great era to be a kid too, capable of matching up with any other, and worthy of celebration in its own right.

What's the goal of this blog?

We have 3 main goals in mind:

• To memorialize the popular and cultural forces of the 80's and 90's: We'll hit on some things that you're sure to remember and some others that you probably forgot.  Overall, these are the people, places, shows, movies, artists etc. that we loved growing up, and we don't want them to ever be forgotten.

• To celebrate all these things: In addition to just keeping memories alive, we want to detail exactly what made these things so great.  Maybe in the process readers will learn about a show or a movie that they never watched but that sounds interesting, and buy a copy on Amazon or eBay.  Maybe they'll learn about a band they weren't familiar with and download a track on itunes.  In recent years a lot of websites have cropped up that talk about 90's life or 80's pop culture, but many of the folks running these sites have a distinctly sarcastic and cynical tone.  You won't find much of that here-- we're interested in looking back on the golden years with a smile, even when it wasn't perfect.

• To be an advocate for "golden age" culture elsewhere: There are so many great tv shows from the 80's and 90's that aren't available on DVD that it's a tragedy.  I can get 1000 television channels, but a lot of the classic shows of yesteryear are nowhere to be found.  Today, many "golden age" kids are growing into professionals with careers, salaries and money to spend.  We're becoming a powerful consumer group.  Many folks in the media have noticed, and you've started to see a trend toward bringing 80's and 90's content back to the mainstream, such as the "90's are All That" block on Teen Nick, Boy Meets World and Saved by the Bell coming to MTV2, or the glut of blockbuster movies like Transformers or GI Joe based on Golden Age content.  But it isn't enough.  We want more and better content prominently featured.  We want all the great shows of the era on DVD and on-demand, so that younger generations can appreciate them too.  We want reunion shows, bonus features, and more.  Hopefully, this blog will gain enough popularity that we're able to be a strong advocate in making this "wish list" a reality.

Who are we?

Just a couple of now-grown kids from the suburbs--we grew up in houses like a lot of other houses, on a street like a lot of other streets, in a town like a lot of other towns.  We cherish the memories of our childhoods and lament the direction that popular culture has taken over the last decade-plus.  We frequently find ourselves reminiscing about the old days, and have now decided to take our memories to the internet to reminisce with others.  We hope you'll enjoy our take on the Golden Age, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts as well.

With any feedback or ideas, please feel free to contact us at GoldenAge4Kids@gmail.com or tweet us @GoldenAge4Kids.

Hope you'll continue to check us out--the best is yet to come!