Zetus Lapetus!

 As a verified 90s kid, I obsessed over Disney Channel original movies. The kids today are not nearly as lucky as we were. Classics such as The Luck of the Irish, Motocrossed, Double Teamed, and Smart House were instant hits, but none of them left quite the same impression on me as Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. The bright outfits, living in space, and Microbe's hunk of a lead singer, Proto Zoa, really had me in a chokehold as a pre-teen.

As a kid, you never truly appreciate everything a movie has to offer. But when you rewatch things as an adult, you tend to notice so much more. For example, when I was a kid I thought it was so cool that Zenon could talk to her friends or mom and dad in space by using a video camera and a screen. In the world of dial up internet, I was amazed at this technology.

Watching it now, I realized that we now have this technology in the form of FaceTime, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. As a kid, I had no idea that this technology would ever be possible in my lifetime. It felt so futuristic. Now, I FaceTime my mom almost every night with my kids. Which is another crazy concept. When I show my kids this classic when they are older, they will not truly understand how cool Zenon was for being able to video call. They will be so used to that concept and so familiar with it themselves that they'll look at me like I have 3 heads when I tell them that I lived through a time when FaceTime did not exist.

So, that got me thinking about what else we may have seen in movies growing up that were "futuristic" that are or will be so normalized in our lives that we won't truly appreciate their innovation. For example, Zenon was a typical teenager in space, but her classroom setting was not so typical. 

You see, Zenon's teacher was actually a hologram. This makes me wonder if we will see hologram technology in this lifetime as well. We are already seeing virtual reality so it can't be too far fetched of a concept. I guess we will just have to stay tuned to find out. 

Until then, enjoy this classic from Proto Zoa and Microbe and dream of the day when we can all wear bright leggings, space buns, and face glitter and not get stared at like we are crazy!