This Month, #NetflixKids Celebrates The Totally Tubular!

This month’s theme on the Netflix blog is “Totally Tubular #TBT”, and I am ALL OVER IT. I wouldn’t say I live in the past, but I really enjoy looking back whenever possible, especially to my teen years which were very happy ones for me indeed. (I’m one of those weirdos who loved high school.)

From the time my boys were very little, I felt that it was important to expose them to the movies and television shows that were my favorites when I was growing up. I’m not sure if it was a feeling of responsibility to make sure they were well informed pop culture-wise, or something more than that: giving them a peek at the kinds of media that was special to me and, in certain ways, shaped me. (They are well aware at this point that Cliff and Claire Huxtable absolutely played a part in the formation of the parenting strategies that Jim and I share.)

I was a teenager in the 80’s, and although I may be biased I can’t imagine that there could have possibly be a better decade to be in that misunderstood age range. When I was a teenager, my peers were represented very well by John Hughes (a movie genius if I ever saw one). His coming-of-age movies are classics and even though things like slang and wardrobe may seem dated nowadays, the issues that the Hughes teens dealt with in ninety or one hundred and twenty minutes are universally at the core of that age group: struggling to fit in, rebelling against authority, finding one’s true self, and of course, finding as much fun as humanly possible. In fact, during my junior year of high school my core group of friends and I were doing ALL of those things when we posed for this picture at the “Morp” (opposite of Prom) dance:

What a Mötley Crüe we were, right? (See what I did there? #80sHairBand)

My very favorite John Hughes movies of all time are “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, not necessarily in that order but not necessarily NOT in that order. I would say that I love them both about the same, have seen them about the same number of times, and quote them both on a regular basis fairly equally. (“Sixteen Candles” fills out my perfect Hughes trifecta, by the way.)

My boys are well aware who Abe Frohman is, they know that you cannot take miles off of an odometer by driving a car in reverse, and they know that depending on the day or the situation, we can all possess some of the qualities of a brain, an athlete, a basketcase, a princess, and even a criminal. (They also grew up knowing that serving detention isn’t the ideal activity on a Saturday.) I know that my sons have a good idea of what the world was like when I was a teenager partly because of these movies, and for that I am grateful.

Luckily, we can watch the adventures of Ferris, Cameron, Sloane, John, Claire, Brian, Allison, and and Andrew over and over, anytime we want because they’re on Netflix streaming. (“Sixteen Candles” is available on Netflix via DVD.) They are in my playlist permanently and I can access them with two clicks on my remote whether I just need a Molly Ringwald fix, I want to see some great movie scenes filmed in Chicago, or if I’m just having trouble sleeping and want to watch some comfort TV.

Wait, what? You don’t have Netflix? Oh! Okay. Well, how about if I offer you the chance to win three free months? Whee! (By the way, if you’re a current subscriber, you’re STILL ELIGIBLE!)

All you have to do is leave me one comment with your very favorite movie from your teenaged years. That’s it! It could NOT be any easier. You have until 11:59pm Central time on Thursday, April 24 to enter. The winner will be drawn randomly and notified the following day.

FOR AN ADDITIONAL ENTRY, TWEET THIS (and then leave a comment with the url of the tweet):

Win three free months of Netflix from #SuburbanScrawl! http://suburbanscrawl.com/2014/04/totally-tubular/ #NetflixKids

So get to entering, why don’t you? Before you know it you’ll be trying to apply lipstick from your cleavage or questioning whether the parking attendant is really going to park your car or take it for a joy ride through the streets of Chicago instead. Maybe.

Oh and one more thing. Remember this gem of wisdom that is one of my favorite quotes of all time:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. ~Ferris Bueller

Happy commenting!

EDITED FOR WINNER: Congrats, Mags!! You win! Woo hoo!