Football (I mean soccer), Trinidad and Tobago vs. the USA

(socawarriors.net)

Football is a well-loved sport around the world.  It's a sport that can make you very emotional, crying sadness and happiness you name it.  Sometimes it can give you a heart attack.  In other words, a beautiful game.  However, it was not the case in the U.S until recently where football (called soccer in the U.S) hardly gets any recognition, especially where it has to compete with NFL football, baseball and basketball.  Despite its lack of recognition, the United States team was eager to show its prowess to the world at large and a great place to start is the World Cup qualifying game in Trinidad and Tobago on May 13th, 1989.  Both teams were trying to gain a spot in the 1990 World Cup in Italy and in my opinion, they were both considered the underdogs.  The world of football does not take the U.S seriously and Trinidad and Tobago was just a tiny country trying to get to the big stage.  So naturally, the stakes were very high.  I was a little girl then in Trinidad and I remembered in primary school, everything was football, the whole country was covered in red and we even met the football stars. We were so excited about taking on the United States on home soil.  Finally, the game came on t.v and while it was exciting to watch, it was also heartbreaking as the U.S scored the goal it needed to qualify for the World Cup, leaving T&T in the dust.  To say that I was sad was an understatement, I was crushed, this had to be a joke.  However reality set in and as I saw my fellow despondent Trinis, I knew we lost the game and a chance to enter the World Cup.  The United States did not do so well in the World Cup but it has improved a lot particularly in the 2000s especially in the last year's World Cup when it made to the Round of 16.   In 2006 Trinidad and Tobago finally made it to the World Cup in Germany and even though it didn't even make it to the quarterfinals, I was very proud of my country, it finally made it to the world stage.  Over the years the T&T team hasn't done much since the last World Cup, however, this year, the team seemed stronger than eyeing its main goal in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.  A few hours ago, T&T finally met its enemy, the U.S for a match and possibly revenge for the 1989 loss.  The game came to a draw of 0-0, with a promise of both teams in advancing to the World Cup.  It's still early but the T&T team is doing very well so far. Let's reminisce about the painful time in 1989 and also enjoy some of the music at that time.  Enjoy.  

(pastemagazine.com)

(wired868.com 2015)

Jem and the Holograms.

                                                                      

                                                                       Wikipedia

Ok, I'll admit, I never saw the cartoon.  Not all cartoons made it to Trinidad and Tobago when I was younger.  However, thanks to satellite dishes and strange t.v connections from Venezuela, I saw the dolls and I wanted them all.  Thanks to Youtube I could finally watch the series and I felt that I really missed out.  Now the movie is out but it sucked, more on that later.  Now on the series itself, starred a young woman named Jerrica Benton who is the owner of Starlight Music and she also has a secret identity known to us as Jem.  She is the leader of the band the Holograms and the rival groups are the Misfits and the Stingers (Wikipedia).  Overall it was a great show and you can enjoy the cool music, fashion, action and even romance.  The dolls were also great and I wanted them all especially Shana. Speaking of Shana, I really liked the fact that were characters of all races such as Benton as the blond, Shana as black, Aja as Asian, Kimber the redhead and Carmen, the Latina.  These diverse characters really appealed to girls of all races which is severely lacking today.  Which brings me to the issue of the movie which was recently made.  It's bad that the movie sucked and totally went in the different direction of the original series. What is really troublesome however is the whitewashing of Shana.  This is Shana from the cartoon with full and luxurious purple natural hair;

                                                                        Julep.com

And this is Shana now;

                                                                   Change.org


Now, this whitewashing of black characters is not only lazy but rather insulting to black women everywhere.  You mean to tell me that they couldn't find a dark-skinned woman to play the role? Again this goes back to laziness and also using racist tactics in Hollyweird.  I have nothing against Aurora but I didn't even know she was black or actually biracial until I saw this.  I didn't even know that she is Harold Perrineau's (the guy from Lost) daughter and he penned a lovely letter, defending her from the controversy.  I understand that he has to defend his daughter, it's natural, but he should know that colorism is very pervasive in Hollywood but I guess he is the new black and this might not affect him as much. Hopefully, Hollywood directors and producers will be more creative and make their own movies but if they decide to make a movie based on a cartoon, try to stick to the original.  The Transformers movie franchise was successful in that regard.   Here are some videos which summed up my disappointment in the movie and the casting.  I'm going to enjoy my series on Youtube.  It's free and I saved my ten dollars in the process.

                                                     Jem and the Hologram dolls (Pinterest)

Welcome!

Hi everyone!  Welcome to Retro Gurl!! 80's kids, 90's teen and Gen X adult.  This blog is about the shows from the '80s and '90s from a Caribbean/Trinbagonian perspective.  Join me as we reminisce about the cool and creative cartoons, t.v shows, toys and even movies which made the 80's and the 90's so great.  Today's entertainment is ok but it can't compare to the past!!  So sit back, relax and enjoy!  Let's start the show!