SPEAK
LOOKING BACK IN WONDER
One girl's obsession and connection with The Wonder Years
by Marion Hixon
Sitting between my Dell laptop and trusty Target desk lamp is a wooden picture frame. Rather than hold a picture of my boyfriend, family members or even a pet, it encases Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper, the main characters of The Wonder Years, who lovingly look out at me. I initially purchased the 8-by-10 glossy as a joke, but the fact that it's still on display is evidence of how much these fictional characters mean to me.
When I was in grade school, there were few times my parents would allow our family to eat dinner in front of the television. The Wonder Years got that distinction.Each Wednesday at 6:59 p.m., we sat in anticipation, our dinner plates teetering on our laps. The family on our screen captivated us, and we rarely missed an episode.
Arnold, played by a young Fred Savage, was the cutest pre-teen I had ever laid eyes on. I idolized his onscreen girlfriend, Winnie, and connected with his geeky best friend, Paul. It was Kevin's struggle to grow up, not his boyish charm, that really won me over.
Although the show was set in the 1960s, the Arnold family dynamic mimicked my own family. While Kevin and his brother put each other in headlocks over a game of football, my brother, sister and I wrestled over the remote. When a gawky Kevin danced with Winnie to Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," I awkwardly shifted and swayed with my Junior high crush to Donna Lewis' "I Love You Always Forever." Kevin cheated in math class; I flat-out failed it.
What I got out of the show was the
ability to watch another kid grow up and face life's challenges, a kid who didn't have life handed to him on a silver platter, whose life wasn't always easy and whose problems weren't always resolved (at least not in 30-minute segments).
Unfortunately, something else I acquired was a huge crush on Kevin and an idealistic view of love. When Kevin and Winnie didn't end up together, I was convinced it was because he was destined for me. I kept expecting Kevin to awkwardly knock on my front door and ask me to take a walk or throw the football.(I hated football, but I would have loved it with Kevin.) I was twitterpated and emotionally drawn to this character's vulnerability and desperate displays of affection for Winnie.
When I think back on The Wonder Years,
the romantic and the realist in me collide. Kevin and Winnie's relationship had its ups and downs and was teeming with teen-angst. Their tumultuous courtship taught me that some things are even better when they're imperfect. The point *The Wonder Years* made about life was one I had to grow up to understand. Every relationship is different: friends can disappoint, family can bring joy and the people you're closest to can not only surprise you, but also let you down.
My favorite TV couple didn't stand the test of time — they went through a dramatic breakup in the final episode. What will last though, is the oversized color photograph on my desk. While I now have my feet firmly planted in reality, I can still take the occasional visit to TV-land and relive my childhood with Kevin Arnold.
SCOTT KASERMAN