The
“thumbs up” sign is a gesture of
approval or satisfaction, at least in the United States of America. In some
other countries and regions, however, the thumbs up is actually an insulting
expressin, a gesture we reserve, here, for the middle finger. This is true in
some areas of South America, Iran, Afghanistan, and Italy, for instance.
In
cult-TV history, however, the thumbs-up sign has often been a funny sign of
assent and agreement, but the gesture is also a trademark of two particular
historic programs, in particular.
Happy
Days
(1974-1984), a nostalgic program about the 1950’s, introduced the character of
the Fonz -- or Fonzie (Henry Winkler) -- who was the coolest person in
existence. The Fonz wore a leather jacket, drove a motorcycle, jumped a shark,
and indicated approval with his ubiquitous thumbs-up gesture. The Fonz became
such a pop culture icon that his “thumbs up” image was seen on T-shirts,
trading cards and other collectibles.
The
other TV series to make frequent use of the “thumbs up” gesture, of course, is At
the Movies (1982-86), which featured film critics Gene Siskel and Roger
Ebert giving their (often dueling) opinions of current movie releases.
A
thumb’s up sign was also seen in the opening credits, each week, of Mystery
Science Theater 3000 (1989 – 1999) during the Joel Robinson (Joel
Hodgson) era. Joel appeared in his red-jump suit and hard-hat, “cleaning up the place” (Gizmonic
Institute), and giving his assent to the camera with the thumbs-up.
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