A pop culture primer for Ms. Rip Van Winkle
Tomorrow and Friday, CBS’ The Early Show is airing an interview with Sarah Scantlin, a woman who was hit by a drunk driver in 1984 and didn’t awaken from her coma until earlier this year. No doubt certain aspects of 21st-century life will come as a huge shock to her (the Internet, post-Cold War geopolitics, the Red Sox winning the World Series, etc.) Here are some pop culture shockers that we hope were broken to her gently:
-Remember that guy from Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator? He’s now the governor of California (see above).
-Clint Eastwood has won two Oscars for directing. Martin Scorsese still hasn’t won any.
-Eddie Murphy makes children’s movies.
-Madonna is Jewish.
-Michael Jackson is white.
-John Travolta’s had, like, six comebacks.
-That nerdy girl from Square Pegs and Footloose? She became TV’s hottest sex symbol.
-The classiest, most acclaimed actor in movies for the last 16 years or so has been the guy who played Easy Reader on The Electric Company.
-Tina Turner looks exactly the same.
-So does Gary Coleman.
-Punk finally caught on in America around 1991. By 1997, we were all sick of it and turned back to prefab pop.
-Just to keep us all on our toes, Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, The Artist, and then back to Prince.
-Rap turned out to be more than just a passing fad.
-Keith Richards is still alive.
Anything else she should know?
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