First Impressions of a Princess

First impressions are everything. Or at least that is what they say. "They" being the ominous and mysterious group of beings that tell all mere mortals the social cues of life. Personally I suck at first impressions. Well, most of the time. There are those rare occasions where I am not clumsy or awkward; those times where I can actually speak in a coherent sentence without bumbling anything is truly a miracle. Sometimes it takes me a second or third impression before people are like, "Hey, this chick isn't half bad."



The exciting thing is when a piece of Pop Culture totally nails a first impression forever imprinting on our minds and hearts. That is the basis for this week's topic from the League: You never get a second chance at a first impression–what moment in pop culture had you saying “Now, that’s how you make an introduction!”

So this week's topic was far more easier than the topic from last week. There may be many wonderful pieces of pop culture first impressions, but the one that can still make me get up and dance in my living room is this one:

I had certainly already been exposed to the cool opening of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, but there was just something remarkably special about that first time I watched She-Ra: Princess of Power! That music! The animation! Those characters! I felt like I was looking at myself! Yes I realize I was a pasty pale white girl with mousy brown hair and bad bangs, but watching blond and leggy Adora raise that sword and have that flashy introduction about her, it was special. It was nice to see a character like She-Ra. I knew then that I was a part of something very special.

There were really no other cartoons like that at the time. Of course there were plenty of girl cartoons, but I can't recall a cartoon like She-Ra. There wasn't a slew of Wonder Woman and She-Hulk cartoons. That Pryde of the X-Men cartoon would have been something to behold, but it never made it past the pilot stage (Kitty Pryde still deserves better.) There just wasn't a heavy emphasis on heroic women driving their own shows at that time.

Watching that introduction to She-Ra made my young self realize that I could be the creator of my own story. For the longest time I had relegated my role with the other neighborhood kids to being the constant damsel in distress. I would pretend to tie myself to trees and wait to be rescued. Eventually the neighborhood kids would be like, "Can't you just save yourself?" She-Ra showed me that I could indeed save myself and I could do it on a flying unicorn to boot.

This first impression has stayed with me too, well into my old age. I still enjoy watching She-Ra, the show has never gotten old for me. And the excitement for She-Ra is just growing! Who would have thought that she'd have a comic cover released this week? Granted the cover was for Masters of the Universe and a variant, but still, I never would have imagined in a million years that She-Ra and Swiftwind would be on the cover of a comic in 2013. She-Ra fans everywhere need to pat themselves on the back for that one, because all of our conversations, dedications, and honorable mentions for the Princess of Power led to this moment. I am sure of it. We are keeping her alive and I have no doubt that there will be more to come! This is truly a great time to be a She-Ra fan!

So what are other people's Pop Culture First Impressions? LeAnn addresses a major first impression from a galaxy far far away. Pop Rewind is a little more interested in some impressions that came back a second time. Stunt Zombie's first impression could very well be Earth's last. To check out more about this week's topic and what else gets posted, head over to Cool and Collected.

And be sure to check back here, because in honor of She-Ra's variant comic cover there will be some more She-Ra fun this week! Take care everyone!