Generational Touchstones

It can be maddeningly difficult to spot the events in popular culture that truly have an impact on people's lives. Three years ago, in 2001, my 20-some year old friends were agog when I announced that I had no idea what "The Princess Bride" (1987) was all about. How could I have missed the most influential movie in world history? I was importuned incessantly with, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father: prepare to die." But it turned out, when I finally rented this movie to see what it was all about, that I HAD seen it, back in the late 80's: it was just that the movie made no real impression on me at the time, and I had forgotten it. I was not in the real target group (birth years approximately 1977-1980, age range approximately 9-12 when the movie was released) for whom this movie became a touchstone.

My touchstone, when I was that age, was the heroic effort of the U.S. Space Program to send men to the Moon. Sputnik echoed through my childhood. Musicwise, tunes like Tommy James and the Shondell's "Crimson and Clover" caught my imagination. I wrote earlier how I suspect the movie "Xanadu" was Kylie Minogue's touchstone.

So, what are likely generational touchstones for the generation born about 1985-1987? My favorite candidate is "Sally's Song," Danny Elfman's creation from 1993's "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Unlike "The Princess Bride," "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is darker, in many ways more powerful, and is even more likely to have left a big imprint on young minds.

I remember how "Sally's Song," sung dolefully by Catharine O'Hara, really took my breath away when I first heard it. It reminded me of the day I listened, as a hummingbird rested nearby, and sang an eerie, high-pitched song of longing and loss - until then, I never knew hummingbirds could sing! The bird was so pretty - what could possibly be sad in its life? Did she miss her home in the cool mountain forests of Mexico? Quien sabe?

Sally, having witnessed an omen of doom, tries to divert Jack Skellington from his dangerous Christmas mission, but fails. She sings of unrequited love, looming loss, and a sense of her own insignificance (eternal themes of childhood and adolescence). Here is a photo, from this Web Site, with lyrics:




I sense there's something in the wind
That feels like tragedy's at hand
And though I'd like to stand by him
Can't shake this feeling that I have
The worst is just around the bend

And does he notice my feelings for him?
And will he see how much he means to me?
I think it's not to be

What will become of my dear friend?
Where will his actions lead us then?
Although I'd like to join the crowd
In their enthusiastic cloud
Try as I may, it doesn't last

And will we ever end up together?
No, I think not, it's never to become
For I am not the one