Pretty in Pink Reganomics

I watched Pretty in Pink this morning, great movie. Molly Ringwald never really was the prettiest girl, but there's something about her that is really hot. Anyway, I hadn't seen it in years and was reminded of how great it was.

This got me thinking back to the Reagan years and how all of our GOP Candidates are harping on how they can get us back to the "good ol' days" of the Reagan years. To which I say, "how in the hell were the Reagan years great?!" He taxed the hell out of the middle class, unemployment sky-rocketed, the divide between rich and poor grew and as soon as he left the country dropped right in to a recession. As my father-in-law said, he did more to hurt the Working Man than anyone.

Now as you might be able to tell, there's nothing I hate more than classism. I grew up in government-subsidized housing, I knew my fair share of poor folks growing up and let me tell you, there's no way I would call any of them and less of a person compared to the vast amounts of rich people I've met through my career. The thought that somehow more money equals more character, more wisdom, more ambition, or more happiness sickens me.

If you want an example of how bad this class divide was during the Reagan years you need look no further than Pretty in Pink. Blaine has money and rich friends, Andie is poor and has weirdo friends, they can't get together because of it ... you know the rest of the story. If you can recall the tone of the movie, it's pretty serious. This isn't a rich kid/poor kid after-school special. There are very clear and cruel socio-economic boundaries for these kids that are obeyed without question. The scene where Andie is screaming to Blaine "You're ashamed to bee seen with me!" is pretty moving. It's a stark reflection of American society in the 80's.

Somewhere in the 90's this all changed (and I think getting a Dem in the White House had something to do with it ...). These days rap music is the voice of the youth and even though many rap artists sport diamonds and gold make no doubt about it, rap was born in the ghettos. Rap artists surround themselves with friends from "the 'hood" and attempt to "keep it real" as much as possible. The social class they came from is celebrated, not ignored. Even the ultimate example of rich societal celebrity, Paris Hilton, has been linked with rapper 50 Cent. Duckie and Paris? Could happen!

Hopefully things won't go back to the "good ol'" Reagan years. But I guess we'll find out soon enough.

"His name is Blaine? That's a major appliance, that's not a name!"