I was thinking about the historical detail in Mad Men and Swingtown, and tripping down memory lane myself. Thinking about the props one might procure if making a period drama about my childhood and adolescence.

Twinpoles. Paper one-dollar notes. Vinyl singles of Adam Ant and Split Enz and Mondo Rock. Flavoured lipgloss. Coconut Reef Oil. Pop Rocks. Pong. Swatch. White rollerskates with translucent red wheels and rainbow laces. (OK, maybe we’re edging into Wardrobe, not Props.) These are the things I remember.

All the little details of everyday life, the details that locate my youth in a particular time and place. If I close my eyes, I can smell the mustiness of the paper money passed through hundreds of hands. I can taste the waxy fake-fruit sweetness of the strawberry Lipsmackers. I can hear the hiss of the single played on a cheap plastic turntable. I can feel the schlick-schlick of the skates on not-quite-smooth concrete.

What reminds you of your childhood? What can you see in the TV show of your youth? What senses transport you back?Similar Posts:

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