ooc - kay's cultural context: popular culture
An ever-expanding series of lists regarding bits of pop culture--books, movies, television shows, songs, magazines, etc.--that Kay's familiar with. Where it refers to the "present," please assume I mean 1953.
Figuring out her age for any of these events is fairly easy: subtract a decade, then subtract one year, and the last one or two numbers are her age. (You could also just subtract eleven, but I'm not good at math, so it takes me slightly longer to do it that way. >>) In 1933, for example, she's 22. Any years before 1911 don't count.
And she was born on a Thursday, fun fact. She's certainly gone far, considering she's here in Luceti. ♥
Current fashions
Kay still gravitates to this style. The relative quality of the linked sites is--well, relative. I've linked to particular photographs as well.
¶ Paper Past: 1953 Fashion (Cocktail dress, check out this blouse)
¶ Bathing suits (this suit is adorable--possibly something similar in red)
¶ Cocktail dresses (not that I imagine she'd sew her own, at this point)
¶ Casual wear (these drawings have terrifying waists)
¶ suit (date unknown beyond "sometime in the 50s," but you get the idea)
¶ Patterns and photos from the 40s (because hey, it's fun to see what she was wearing about ten years ago, too.)
¶ Grey suit! (Kay got married in some kind of classy grey suit in 1940, because you know what you can rewear? classy grey suits. so that is what she did, maybe something supercute like this)
Childhood fashions
Kay's older sisters were born in 1906 and 1908, respectively (her younger brother was born in 1913). The sorts of clothes she would've worn as a child are thus inevitably a few years out of fashion--yay, hand-me-downs--but the nice thing about children is that they don't necessarily notice. As a teenager, it's a bit less fun, but hey, WE ALL HAVE OUR BURDENS TO BEAR.
¶ Girl's dress, 1900-1920
¶ Middies (would have worn as a younger teen, this would've clashed hilariously with her hair)
¶ Girl's dress, 1905-1915
¶ Child's dress, ~1916
Favourite books from childhood
¶ L. Frank Baum's Oz books (pub. 1900-1963)
¶ The works of Gene Stratton-Porter (pub. 1903-1927)
They're even set in Indiana.
¶ The works of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Note especially John Carter of Mars, the Venus series, and The Moon Maid.
¶ The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for my Children by Charles Kingsley (pub. 1856)
¶ Peter Pan & Wendy by J.M. Barrie (pub. 1921)
¶ Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books (pub. 1920-1952)
¶
¶
¶
¶
¶
TV shows she's familiar with
Kay doesn't actually have a television, so the shows she knows are either relevant to her or serious cultural zeitgeists. Or based off radio shows, probably.
¶ Tales of Tomorrow
They adapted one her and Julius' stories in 1951.
¶ What's My Line (first airs 1950)
There's a radio version in 1953.
¶ I Love Lucy
¶ Amos 'n' Andy
Jumped over from radio in 1951.
¶ The Jack Benny Show
Jumped over from radio in 1950.
¶ The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Jumped over from radio in 1952.
¶ You Bet Your Life
Jumped over from radio in 1950.
¶ Dragnet
Jumped over from radio in 1951.
¶
Radio shows she's known and/or loved
Kay's family first got a radio in 1924, when she was thirteen. Radio stations first began broadcasting in her hometown in 1922. This list covers national programs as opposed to local ones.
¶ The Eveready Hour, variety show (1924-??)*
¶ Amos 'n' Andy, comedy series (1928-present)*
¶ The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, variety show hosted by Rudy Vallee (1928-1939)*
¶ The Jack Benny Program, comedy show (1932-present)*
¶ Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, space opera (1932-1947)
First scifi radio show. You bet your life she listened to it.
¶ Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Fireside Chats (1933-1944)*
¶ The Lone Ranger (1933-present)
¶ Lux Radio Theater (1934-present)
¶ Your Hit Parade (1935-present)
¶ Flash Gordon (1935-??)
¶ Fibber McGee and Molly (1935-present)
"T'ain't funny, McGee."
¶ The Green Hornet (1936-1952)
¶ War of the Worlds (1938)
¶ I Love a Mystery (1939-1952)
¶ The Adventures of Superman (1940-1951)
¶ Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Infamy Speech (1941)
¶ Inner Sanctum Mysteries (1941-1952)
¶ The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1944-present)
¶ Beulah (1945-present)
¶ You Bet Your Life, Groucho Marx's quiz show (1947-1950)
¶ Dragnet (1949-present)
¶ News and Comment, Paul Harvey's news program (1951-present)
The Rest of the Story doesn't exist yet.
¶
Musicals she's familiar with
¶
¶
¶
¶
Candy brands she recognizes, chronologically by introduction date
¶ Beemans gum
Wintergreen-flavoured gum. Always existed in her lifetime. Currently made by the American Chicle company.
¶ Black Jack chewing gum
Aniseed-flavoured gum, first flavoured gum in the US. Always existed in her lifetime. Currently made by the American Chicle company.
¶ Candy canes
Exactly what you think. Always existed in her lifetime.
¶ Candy corn
Exactly what you think. Always existed in her lifetime.
¶ Good & Plenty
Licorice in a candy shell. Always existed in her lifetime. Currently made by the Quaker City Confectionary Company.
¶ Hershey bar
Exactly what you think. Always existed in her lifetime.
¶ Necco Wafers
Candy wafers. Technically always existed in her lifetime, first pushed as Necco wafers when she was one. Made by Necco, surprise.
¶ Sweethearts
Conversation hearts. Always existed in her lifetime. Made by Necco.
¶ Mary Jane
Molasses and peanut butter chew. First appeared when she was three. Currently made by the Charles N. Miller Company.
¶ Clark Bar
Like a Butterfinger, but amazing. First appeared when she was five or six. Currently made by the D.L. Clark Company.
¶ Jujyfruits
Like gumdrops, but fruit-shaped. First appeared when she was nine. Currently made by the Heide company.
¶ Baby Ruth
Exactly what you think. First appeared when she was eleven. Currently made by the Curtiss Candy Company.
¶ Charleston Chew
Chocolate-covered nougat. First appeared when she was eleven. Currently made by the Fox-Cross Candy Company.
¶ Bing
Cherry nougat covered in chocolate and chopped peanuts. First appeared when she was twelve. Made by the Palmer Candy Company.
¶ Butterfinger
Exactly what you think. First appeared when she was twelve. Currently made by the Curtiss Candy Company.
¶ Bit-O-Honey
Almonds in honey-flavoured taffy. First appeared when she was thirteen. Currently made by the the Schutter-Johnson Company.
¶ Mr. Goodbar
Peanuts in chocolate. First appeared when she was fourteen. Made by the Hershey Company.
¶ Milk Duds
Chocolate-covered caramel pieces of Satan that ripped out one of my fillings. First appeared when she was fifteen. Currently made by F. Hoffman & Company.
¶ Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Exactly what you think. First appeared when she was seventeen. Currently made by the H.B. Reese Candy Co.
¶ Zagnut
Peanut butter and toasted coconut in a bar shape. First appeared when she was nineteen. Currently made by the D.L. Clark Company.
¶ Krackel
Crisped rice in milk chocolate. First appeared when she was twenty-seven. Made by the Hershey Company.
¶ York Peppermint Pattie
Exactly what you think. First appeared when she was twenty-nine. Currently made by the York Cone Company.
¶ Whoppers
Malted milk balls. First appeared when she was thirty-eight. Currently made by Leaf Brands.
Other notable food things, also chronologically
¶ Fox's U-Bet Chocolate Syrup
The only acceptable chocolate syrup in a chocolate egg cream, clearly. Always existed in her lifetime. Made by H. Fox & Company.
It seems close, but it isn't close enough: notable things she can't reference
¶ The term "Artificial Intelligence" is coined in 1956.
¶ Sputnik is launched in 1957.
¶ "The sixty-four thousand dollar question" comes from the TV version of The $64,000 Question, which is from 1955. "The sixty-four dollar question comes from the radio show Take it or Leave it, which premiered in 1942 and is thus fair game.
¶ Atomic fireballs are first made in 1954.
Figuring out her age for any of these events is fairly easy: subtract a decade, then subtract one year, and the last one or two numbers are her age. (You could also just subtract eleven, but I'm not good at math, so it takes me slightly longer to do it that way. >>) In 1933, for example, she's 22. Any years before 1911 don't count.
And she was born on a Thursday, fun fact. She's certainly gone far, considering she's here in Luceti. ♥
Current fashions
Kay still gravitates to this style. The relative quality of the linked sites is--well, relative. I've linked to particular photographs as well.
¶ Paper Past: 1953 Fashion (Cocktail dress, check out this blouse)
¶ Bathing suits (this suit is adorable--possibly something similar in red)
¶ Cocktail dresses (not that I imagine she'd sew her own, at this point)
¶ Casual wear (these drawings have terrifying waists)
¶ suit (date unknown beyond "sometime in the 50s," but you get the idea)
¶ Patterns and photos from the 40s (because hey, it's fun to see what she was wearing about ten years ago, too.)
¶ Grey suit! (Kay got married in some kind of classy grey suit in 1940, because you know what you can rewear? classy grey suits. so that is what she did, maybe something supercute like this)
Childhood fashions
Kay's older sisters were born in 1906 and 1908, respectively (her younger brother was born in 1913). The sorts of clothes she would've worn as a child are thus inevitably a few years out of fashion--yay, hand-me-downs--but the nice thing about children is that they don't necessarily notice. As a teenager, it's a bit less fun, but hey, WE ALL HAVE OUR BURDENS TO BEAR.
¶ Girl's dress, 1900-1920
¶ Middies (would have worn as a younger teen, this would've clashed hilariously with her hair)
¶ Girl's dress, 1905-1915
¶ Child's dress, ~1916
Favourite books from childhood
¶ L. Frank Baum's Oz books (pub. 1900-1963)
¶ The works of Gene Stratton-Porter (pub. 1903-1927)
They're even set in Indiana.
¶ The works of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Note especially John Carter of Mars, the Venus series, and The Moon Maid.
¶ The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for my Children by Charles Kingsley (pub. 1856)
¶ Peter Pan & Wendy by J.M. Barrie (pub. 1921)
¶ Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books (pub. 1920-1952)
¶
¶
¶
¶
¶
TV shows she's familiar with
Kay doesn't actually have a television, so the shows she knows are either relevant to her or serious cultural zeitgeists. Or based off radio shows, probably.
¶ Tales of Tomorrow
They adapted one her and Julius' stories in 1951.
¶ What's My Line (first airs 1950)
There's a radio version in 1953.
¶ I Love Lucy
¶ Amos 'n' Andy
Jumped over from radio in 1951.
¶ The Jack Benny Show
Jumped over from radio in 1950.
¶ The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Jumped over from radio in 1952.
¶ You Bet Your Life
Jumped over from radio in 1950.
¶ Dragnet
Jumped over from radio in 1951.
¶
Radio shows she's known and/or loved
Kay's family first got a radio in 1924, when she was thirteen. Radio stations first began broadcasting in her hometown in 1922. This list covers national programs as opposed to local ones.
¶ The Eveready Hour, variety show (1924-??)*
¶ Amos 'n' Andy, comedy series (1928-present)*
¶ The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, variety show hosted by Rudy Vallee (1928-1939)*
¶ The Jack Benny Program, comedy show (1932-present)*
¶ Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, space opera (1932-1947)
First scifi radio show. You bet your life she listened to it.
¶ Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Fireside Chats (1933-1944)*
¶ The Lone Ranger (1933-present)
¶ Lux Radio Theater (1934-present)
¶ Your Hit Parade (1935-present)
¶ Flash Gordon (1935-??)
¶ Fibber McGee and Molly (1935-present)
"T'ain't funny, McGee."
¶ The Green Hornet (1936-1952)
¶ War of the Worlds (1938)
¶ I Love a Mystery (1939-1952)
¶ The Adventures of Superman (1940-1951)
¶ Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Infamy Speech (1941)
¶ Inner Sanctum Mysteries (1941-1952)
¶ The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1944-present)
¶ Beulah (1945-present)
¶ You Bet Your Life, Groucho Marx's quiz show (1947-1950)
¶ Dragnet (1949-present)
¶ News and Comment, Paul Harvey's news program (1951-present)
The Rest of the Story doesn't exist yet.
¶
Musicals she's familiar with
¶
¶
¶
¶
Candy brands she recognizes, chronologically by introduction date
¶ Beemans gum
Wintergreen-flavoured gum. Always existed in her lifetime. Currently made by the American Chicle company.
¶ Black Jack chewing gum
Aniseed-flavoured gum, first flavoured gum in the US. Always existed in her lifetime. Currently made by the American Chicle company.
¶ Candy canes
Exactly what you think. Always existed in her lifetime.
¶ Candy corn
Exactly what you think. Always existed in her lifetime.
¶ Good & Plenty
Licorice in a candy shell. Always existed in her lifetime. Currently made by the Quaker City Confectionary Company.
¶ Hershey bar
Exactly what you think. Always existed in her lifetime.
¶ Necco Wafers
Candy wafers. Technically always existed in her lifetime, first pushed as Necco wafers when she was one. Made by Necco, surprise.
¶ Sweethearts
Conversation hearts. Always existed in her lifetime. Made by Necco.
¶ Mary Jane
Molasses and peanut butter chew. First appeared when she was three. Currently made by the Charles N. Miller Company.
¶ Clark Bar
Like a Butterfinger, but amazing. First appeared when she was five or six. Currently made by the D.L. Clark Company.
¶ Jujyfruits
Like gumdrops, but fruit-shaped. First appeared when she was nine. Currently made by the Heide company.
¶ Baby Ruth
Exactly what you think. First appeared when she was eleven. Currently made by the Curtiss Candy Company.
¶ Charleston Chew
Chocolate-covered nougat. First appeared when she was eleven. Currently made by the Fox-Cross Candy Company.
¶ Bing
Cherry nougat covered in chocolate and chopped peanuts. First appeared when she was twelve. Made by the Palmer Candy Company.
¶ Butterfinger
Exactly what you think. First appeared when she was twelve. Currently made by the Curtiss Candy Company.
¶ Bit-O-Honey
Almonds in honey-flavoured taffy. First appeared when she was thirteen. Currently made by the the Schutter-Johnson Company.
¶ Mr. Goodbar
Peanuts in chocolate. First appeared when she was fourteen. Made by the Hershey Company.
¶ Milk Duds
Chocolate-covered caramel pieces of Satan that ripped out one of my fillings. First appeared when she was fifteen. Currently made by F. Hoffman & Company.
¶ Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Exactly what you think. First appeared when she was seventeen. Currently made by the H.B. Reese Candy Co.
¶ Zagnut
Peanut butter and toasted coconut in a bar shape. First appeared when she was nineteen. Currently made by the D.L. Clark Company.
¶ Krackel
Crisped rice in milk chocolate. First appeared when she was twenty-seven. Made by the Hershey Company.
¶ York Peppermint Pattie
Exactly what you think. First appeared when she was twenty-nine. Currently made by the York Cone Company.
¶ Whoppers
Malted milk balls. First appeared when she was thirty-eight. Currently made by Leaf Brands.
Other notable food things, also chronologically
¶ Fox's U-Bet Chocolate Syrup
The only acceptable chocolate syrup in a chocolate egg cream, clearly. Always existed in her lifetime. Made by H. Fox & Company.
It seems close, but it isn't close enough: notable things she can't reference
¶ The term "Artificial Intelligence" is coined in 1956.
¶ Sputnik is launched in 1957.
¶ "The sixty-four thousand dollar question" comes from the TV version of The $64,000 Question, which is from 1955. "The sixty-four dollar question comes from the radio show Take it or Leave it, which premiered in 1942 and is thus fair game.
¶ Atomic fireballs are first made in 1954.