'S funny -- though I remember Betty Boop from my childhood, I never considered her a Big Deal. In fact, I never thought too much about her cartoons. And so here I am, at 80+, seeing all these Betty Boop items around town. Geezers remembering their childhoods, maybe? But not if they're like me. What can I do but turn to The Google to find out, maybe.
What I discover, primarily, are sites selling 1300+ Betty Boop items. (
Here,
here and
here). Plus
the cartoons. Wikipedia, of course, has an
extensive article, though I didn't really get an answer to: Why Betty Boop in the 2000s? However, it did note that
marketers rediscovered Betty Boop in the 1980s, and "Betty Boop" merchandise has far outdistanced her exposure in films, with many not aware of her as a cinematic creation. Much of this current merchandise features the character in her popular, sexier form, and has become popular worldwide once again. 
Aha -- so that's what it was; when I was a little girl, Betty Boop was a sex symbol, a cartoon for the grown-ups, not really for the kids. And that appears to be her current appeal, as well, tho my memory puts her in the same class as the dumb blonde with a cutsie, high-pitched voice. However, I still marvel at how such an iconic figure gets dredged up from the past to take on a new life. I guess all I can do is buy one of these bright R.E.D. fleece blankets and curl up with a ghost of yesterday.
Local Linkage: The folks at Love Field, our local airport, have instituted a blog, Prescott Aerospan, which, in turn, is promising a series of articles about Prescott area aviation history. Another local blogger, Jenny Williams, who writes as Geek Dad at Wired magazine, has posted a 3-part interview with local SF author Allen Dean Foster.
'S funny -- though I remember Betty Boop from my childhood, I never considered her a Big Deal. In fact, I never thought too much about her cartoons. And so here I am, at 80+, seeing all these Betty Boop items around town. Geezers remembering their childhoods, maybe? But not if they're like me. What can I do but turn to The Google to find out, maybe.
What I discover, primarily, are sites selling 1300+ Betty Boop items. (Here, here and here). Plus the cartoons. Wikipedia, of course, has an extensive article, though I didn't really get an answer to: Why Betty Boop in the 2000s? However, it did note that marketers rediscovered Betty Boop in the 1980s, and "Betty Boop" merchandise has far outdistanced her exposure in films, with many not aware of her as a cinematic creation. Much of this current merchandise features the character in her popular, sexier form, and has become popular worldwide once again. 
Aha -- so that's what it was; when I was a little girl, Betty Boop was a sex symbol, a cartoon for the grown-ups, not really for the kids. And that appears to be her current appeal, as well, tho my memory puts her in the same class as the dumb blonde with a cutsie, high-pitched voice. However, I still marvel at how such an iconic figure gets dredged up from the past to take on a new life. I guess all I can do is buy one of these bright R.E.D. fleece blankets and curl up with a ghost of yesterday.
Local Linkage: The folks at Love Field, our local airport, have instituted a blog, Prescott Aerospan, which, in turn, is promising a series of articles about Prescott area aviation history. Another local blogger, Jenny Williams, who writes as Geek Dad at Wired magazine, has posted a 3-part interview with local SF author Allen Dean Foster.
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