Book Series: Chapter 2
Little did we know that the spring of 1983 would bring many five year olds like myself everlasting joy that would resonate the next four decades. I was living in Shelby, North Carolina – a small little country town that was unheard of at the time, to the precipice of the 80’s culture that would strike the nation in the next coming years. In my hand was my He-man action figure with his sword and in the other, was a fork from my dinner plate as we ate at the local diner. I was an only child, and my Dad looked over at me and asked me “How I would like to go after dinner to the toy store to see if we could find Skeletor to go along with He-man?”. I lit up like a Christmas Tree inside and the excitement overwhelmed me. There was only one toy store around those neck of the woods and it was this family owned shop in this little strip mall near the main drag in our town. It was later in the evening, and I was hoping that the store wasn’t closed already.
As we walked outside the diner after dinner, I can always remember how the light was in the sky. A Purplish Pink glow coming from the clouds before the darkness overtook the day. Throughout my life, I have always felt, the sunsets in the south were something special that no other place had. To think about it, that night’s ambient glow was similar to the color scheme of the Skeletor Toy I had seen in the cartoon and commercials. Every kid wanted these toys and I had been begging my parents if I could get Skeletor. I was so happy on the car ride over and this feeling inside me is something I haven’t forgotten over the years. I don’t know if it was the excitement from getting a cool new toy, or it was the love I felt from my parents making me feel special. Probably a little of both.
We arrived. The Toy Store’s lights were dim, but still open. We walked inside and I felt like the smile on my face was going to tear my head in half. The owner was there and it was just a few minutes before closing. My Dad immediately asked where his He-man toys were wasting no time to look for anything else. He took us over and showed us where they were. Back in the 80’s and for years following, retailers and stores used the peg system to hang the products on the wall. He had four different pegs with about five different figures that could fit on each peg. My Dad started fingering through them… Beastman, Man at Arms, Cyclops, Ram-man, He-man and there he was… Skeletor! They had him! There was nothing worse than going through a row at the store and they had every figure except the one you wanted. But not tonight. We were going home with Skeletor. With a big smile on his face and my Mom right beside him, my Dad sweetly asked, “Want him?” I nearly exploded from inside and let out a big cheerful and joyful “Yes!”.
I remember walking out of the store with the crisp packaging that would be torn to bits in just a moment from the backseat of the car. Back then, there was no PSA to grade the condition in the original packaging, that cultural and collectable process did not exist yet. I was living the moment in which our world would eventually value as the mecca time period of toy collectables. Us kids did not even begin to understand what our emotions were creating from a business and manufacturing standpoint. The way we were emotionally charged and attached to these new toys was creating something the world had not experienced on this scale. It wasn’t just He-man, eventually it would be GI-Joes, Barbies, Cabbage Patch Dolls, DC/Super League Action Figures, and Star Wars Toys. A billion dollar industry was created and fueled from the emotions of young kids like the world had never witnessed.
You see… our love for things drives this “material want” to own or have a piece of something. Call it inclusion, emotional harmony, fulfillment, happiness, or whatever. But as you get older, we mature and forget about how these little things made us feel back in the good ole’ days. This “special” vanishes over time, and only what they now call nostalgia reawakens those feelings today. Each new generation that passes has their own thing that can put a stamp on so to speak. But my generation and those from the same period understand we were the originators of how companies developed selling strategies. Many cut corners in the following years and in my opinion, quality of product fell. You hear us say something along the lines, “I remember when there were…” or “Back in my day… these toys used to the best!” We always brag about how we remember when something first came out! Everyone wanted one of what it was! It was just a different time back then.
As I have gotten older, have had my own family and kids, and have become a teacher, if there was a way to share these things, life would be glorious. There are so many choices, ambiguity, and less anchored-toys than before. What’s hip this minute, has faded within the next breath. The speed in which something passes through the culturally relevant vortex flies at Warp Speed. It leaves a lot of people with an empty feeling because many of the things they latched on have passed and something new has been invented in its place. It’s the way life goes.
Enter the Funko. In 1998, the creator of Funko – Mike Becker, specifically designed a small project to bring back low cost nostalgia themed toys in today’s high tech and demand world. It unlocked a revolution of those that were seeking just one more moment in life feeling like they did when they were five years old. To be honest, the idea is quite genius because us little kids are now in our mid life with jobs and should have money to spend in order to afford a little toy that jolts our childhood memories back to life. Until I began teaching, I did not even understand how special these little things are. I always thought they were cute with their oversized heads and costumes matching whatever character they were representing, while still being able to fit in your hand. It reminds us in a way of the original toy sitting in our hand, which is absolutely brilliant in design.
In my context, I interact and deal with kids (of all ages) every day in my profession. As a teacher, there is always some quest to find a particularly successful way to connect with their students. As I have written before, there are some in my profession that need a lot of practice dealing with others, and then there are the ones that are God’s gift to mankind. I literally believe I stumbled onto the Funko, that I now credit in my research, as an educational phenomenon building bridges in relationships, correlating cultural and social similarities and differences, fostering positive relationships, and unlocking pathways to deep meaning communication. These are ingredients to supporting students in the social emotional arena, and trying to have a surface level explanation of this to others is quite an experiment. Through encouragement, after having a few conversations, I believe sharing my stories, my research, and all these experiences will make a true believer in the Funko-Hulme Experiment. Throughout my writings, I will explain my work and take you back in time on a ride bringing back the past while pushing you into the future. Now let’s get our Nostalgia glasses on and see if we can look through the lens of our younger self and remember what it felt like when it was 1983.
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Written By Chris Hulme ( aka – Coach Hulme ) #CoachHulme #ChrisHulme #TheHulme
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Coach Hulme 