Plans for a Refocused ‘Super Freek’ and an Atompunk Blog

I originally intended The Super Freek as a blog that discusses or conveys the importance of pop culture history, particularly that of the 1960s through ‘70s. However, for the last three months the blog has been going, I've opened it to other topics. But my main area of expertise is science fiction and fantasy in books, TV and movies. As I mention in Super Freek’s About page, I already have a blog that covers the first of these three medias. Atompunk, a fairly new subgenre of science fiction, is at least partly influenced by the above mentioned decades. But its influences’ time periods really range from the late 1940s to the early ‘90s (which was the end of the Cold War marked by the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the breakdown of the Soviet Union). Because atompunk is so new, very little info about it can be found on the internet regardless of its form of storytelling such as books and film. Therefore I'm going to refocus The Super Freek on late 1960s and '70s cult movies and TV and will start a new, separate blog dedicated to all things atompunk.

Two precise reasons I'm making these changes are: 1) more focused blogs are easier for readers to follow and so bring more user traffic; 2) I want to help popularise atompunk and bring it to a level that steampunk has come to in the past ten years.

The Super Freek will be remade to focus on the topic of popular movies and TV of the late 1960s and 1970s. It will mostly emphasise TV and movies that fall within the science fiction and fantasy genres of those two decades, but I'm a person who likes to learn about a variety of topics and issues within pop culture. So, every now and then, the blog will include content about subjects that the two eras’ films and television programming have influenced such as comic books and music. Specific examples are the Gold Key comic adaptations of the original Star Trek TV series and 1970s disco group Mecco’s Star Wars theme songs. 

The new atompunk blog will feature everything atompunk, including some of the things The Super Freek will feature since a lot of the subgenre is directly inspired by movies and television of a time span that overlaps with the '60s and '70s. So don't be surprised to see posts here that will feature links to articles on the atompunk blog (which I haven't got a name for yet). Like steampunk, atompunk is that genre of sci fi that is made up of nostalgia and alternative history. Therefore it is history reimagined. It is driven by a passionate interest in a past time period’s culture. So the blog will also feature articles about the Cold War decades’ fictional entertainment that inspired atompunk. 

I'm going to need some time to rethink the focus of The Super Freek and to plan and create the atompunk blog. Because of that, Super Freek may have to go on a short hiatus (about a month or so). So if you don't see any posts here in the next few weeks, don't be alarmed; I'm still on the planet and in existence. If you want to keep in touch, however, feel free to comment in the box below anytime; I'll check in periodically. You can also subscribe for updates towards the top of the right hand column. 

Until the new Super Freek . . .

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

Super Freek Preview: ‘Electra Woman and Dyna Girl’

Photo Credit: Nerdist.com/Sid and Marty Krofft

My preview of the upcoming Electra Woman and Dyna Girl movie is now up at Examiner.com. There's seemed to be a misunderstanding of this film being a reboot series of the '70s Saturday Morning live-action kids’ show. It is a movie adaptation of the series, as stated on production company Legendary’s website. However, it will not be released on the big screen but online on digital platforms in June. That's not to say it won't turn into a series; if it does well enough it might. In my article, I talk about how this movie combines the super hero and retro remake trends of today. Hollywood seems to be obsessed with selling nostalgia to older generations, in this case Generation X. However, the Electra Woman and Dyna Girl movie may be more a then vs. now film than a nostalgic one.

For those not old enough to remember or who have never seen the reruns (which you can catch  on YouTube) Electra Woman and Dyna girl was a kids' live-action series produced by the Krofft Brothers who made other live-action shows for Saturday morning viewing, including ones inspired by fairy tales such as H.R. Puff 'N Stuff and Lidville. The series featured a female dynamic duo and was born out of the feminist movement that television reflected during that time through such prime time sitcoms as Mary Tyler Moore and sci fi ones such as The Bionic Woman. Like Batman and Robin, the two title characters, a young woman and her teen sidekick, fought crime with the help of genius gadgets.

The movie adaptation of Electra Woman, according to the trailer that came out earlier in the week, starts off with the two women (played by YouTube stars Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart) fighting common criminals in their spandex costumes very similar to the ones they wore in the original series. Then they move to Hollywood where they are given a new look and so new costumes that reflect today's super hero trend: darker toned, leather uniforms.

As I talk about in my article at Examiner.com, the movie is a straight out comedy rather than mere camp unlike the original series. It is a much more adult version than the original, which is reflected a lot in Electra Woman's immature, and therefore somewhat crude, hyper active character typical of many 20-something female characters today. In the original series she was much more level-headed which brought out her mentor relationship to Dyna Girl. This along with the change in costumes makes the movie come across as a criticism against '70s pop culture that so many people look down on today. And this is ironic because the movie is co-produced by the series’ producer, Marty Krofft!

I can't say how off Electra Woman and Dyna Girl will be from the original series, since I've only seen the trailer. So it may be better than what the trailer is conveying it as. But, because of its adult themes and seemingly down-criticism of a past era's pop culture, I don't think it will bring back that childhood nostalgia like many Hollywood movie adaptations try to do with kids’ shows. Legendary’s website explains that the movie is introducing these two '70s super heroes to a new generation of viewers, but it could just be a front for reintroducing the two to that older generation who grew up watching them, reintroducing them as characters re-made for their adult viewing.

To Come

I'm planning to publish a new blog, this one focusing on atom punk. Atom punk is a topic that is not very popular on the internet (or off for that matter) as geeky as it is. Because of that, it may even be more geeky than the other subgenres of science fiction such as steampunk. So I want to provide a source for this subgenre and sub-geek culture and am hoping to do that with this new blog. I don't have a launch date for it yet, but the best way to stay updated on it is to visit here every two weeks (my posting frequency). The easiest way to do that is by subscribing where it says "Subscribe to Post" above in the right-hand column. 

Until next time . . .

Check out these electrafying and dynamite Tiki Polystone busts beauties of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl! According to Amazon (as of this writing) there are only five of these sets left. So, if you're interested, hussle over there now by simply clicking the image!