Ninja Turtles and Pop Culture
Growing up in the '90s, comic books were my jam. I wasn’t a dedicated fan of Marvel or DC – hell, I didn’t even know those things existed – I just devoured anything I could get my hands on, from Archie to Elf Quest, from Duck Tales to Indiana Jones, from Bamse to Tom & Jerry.
Yet, standing tall among them all were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There was a magic about this franchise, a term I was unfamiliar with back then, that still captivates me nearly 30 years later.
My memories are full with endless hours on our Dendy, an unofficial clone of Nintendo's Famicom, battling foes in the TMNT video game. The 1990 TMNT movie? It was my personal staple, replayed countless times on our VHS.
I'm convinced that my introduction to pizza came from those four turtles. I didn't even think that pizza was Italian, all I yearned for is that iconic New York slice I saw in the comics. The craving was real, but in my small hometown, such a delicacy was out of reach. Domino's delivery? That was a distant dream. Today, Domino's is a distant dream in Russia again, albeit for entirely different reasons.
The new TMNT movie was a visual spectacle, true to its trailer's promise, and I loved the authentic portrayal of the turtles as actual teenagers. Yet, while the absence of Shredder was evident, another aspect irked me: the barrage of modern pop culture references. Batman? A Chris Evans' cardboard cutout? Forza Horizon? BTS?
I get the intent – showcasing that Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael are all immersed in our contemporary culture. But it felt dissonant, and I couldn't shake that feeling (pretty sure there's a word for it in German). Perhaps it's because I always imagined them in a world separate from mine, or maybe there's another reason I can't quite pinpoint.
Look, I'm all for franchise reboots. I can't wait to share the next iteration of TMNT and other cinematic adventures with my future child. But perhaps these stories could be richer if they weren't so reliant on fleeting pop culture references. After all, mere name- and meme-dropping doesn't equate to humor or character depth.