Forum Flashback: 1987

We continue our series of Forum Flashbacks with this article from the February 1987 issue written by alumnus Chase Haddix ‘87.

Lame Seventies

Perhaps no decade since the 1960’s has captured – or jolted – the American imagination as the 1970’s.  The historian or cultural enthusiast groped for words to adequately describe these ten years:  tumultuous, uplifting, reactionary, casual, gastrointestinal; but words alone are not equal to the task.  Undaunted by this fact, the Latin Forum has attempted to put the ‘70’s in some kind of perspective for it readers.  It should be emphasized that no one column can possibly cover the rich and varied quiltwork of human experience that was the 1970’s; only years of intense research or the viewing of a complete season of Real People could do that.  This column is only a retrospective survey of America without break dancing, skinny ties, black tennis shoes, or RUN-D.M.C.

The first step toward appreciating the seventies is to realize that they are still with us, even here at Latin.  Every orange sign under a light switch that reads “Turn me off when not in use” is a reminder of the great energy crisis.  A study of the mural on the cafeteria wall should quell any remaining doubts.

Next, think back to your own experiences of ten years past.  You weren’t watching The Cosby Show, you were viewing The Partridge Family.  Instead of listening to that Madonna compact disc, you were playing a Bee Gee’s 8-track!  Your favorite TV couple was not David and Maddie, it was Sonny and Cher.  Sound familiar?

Now let your mind drift back.  The Bears were in last place – no punky QB here, it’s Bob Avellini.  People were wearing white three-piece polyester suits with wide lapels, extremely loud wide ties, shirts with elephant collars, bellbottom jeans, and platform shoes.  Or perhaps you’re thinking of the “Urban Cowboy” era, when fringed jackets, Frye boots and ultrasuede were all the rage.  Hairstyles were simple:  parted down the middle for men, the “Farrah Fawcett” look for women.  And everyone wanted teeth like Donny and Marie Osmond.

It should be coming back to you.  The CB radio craze, “I’m with stupid” T-shirts, pet rocks, the Village People, denim sports jackets – these were the components of Jimmy Carter’s America.  The disco fad hit the U.S. especially hard, causing the sales of gold Italian snaggletooth chains to skyrocket.  Some people date the end of the seventies with the syndication of The Brady Bunch, some with the discontinuation of the Dodge Dart line of automobiles, and some purists maintain that only when the rock group KISS shed their makeup for good did the era truly come to an end. 

No matter how you remember the seventies, it is important that you keep that memory alive.  This doesn’t mean growing the porkchop “Elvis” sideburns and heading for Studio 54.  Simply listening to a Ted Nugent song, snacking on some “Pop Rocks” candy, getting out the plastic garbage can of “Slime,” or discussing the possibilities of solar power is enough to do the trick.  Not much to ask for the preservation of such a great decade.