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Little history thread for you on this "holiday":
Friday the 13th is a corporate holiday made up by the sporting good stores in 1979 to sell hockey masks. (1/???)
Friday the 13th is a corporate holiday made up by the sporting good stores in 1979 to sell hockey masks. (1/???)
As everyone knows, in 1979 the NHL cancelled its All-Star Game to instead host a "Challenge Cup" in which the Soviet national team defeated the NHL All-Stars 2 games to 1. (2/??)
This loss was viewed with great embarrassment not only by the National Hockey League, but by capitalistic enterprises across the West, and the sporting good conglomerates were no different.
This was especially true when it came to Soviet goalkeeper Vladislav Tretiak. (3/??)
This was especially true when it came to Soviet goalkeeper Vladislav Tretiak. (3/??)
As everyone knows, the 1979 Stanley Cup was won by the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal's goalie was Hall of Famer Ken Dryden.
Look at Dryden's mask. Look at Tretiak's. See the difference? Modells Sporting Goods sure did. They saw the future of protection. And it was Russian. (4/??
Look at Dryden's mask. Look at Tretiak's. See the difference? Modells Sporting Goods sure did. They saw the future of protection. And it was Russian. (4/??
Soon teens across the West rushed to malls demanding "The Tretiak."
(No one could know the "Miracle on Ice" was only a year away, making Capitalism cool again. Such is the problem with "miracles.")
Of course, the stores didn't have Tretiaks. They had plenty of Drydens. (5/??)
(No one could know the "Miracle on Ice" was only a year away, making Capitalism cool again. Such is the problem with "miracles.")
Of course, the stores didn't have Tretiaks. They had plenty of Drydens. (5/??)
They couldn't import hockey masks from Russia. This was the Cold War. But they couldn't sell what they had. The teens had spoken. If The West was wrong about goalie masks, could the whole system be a lie? The old masks HAD to be sold. Enter a former actor named Ron Reagan (6/??)
Reagan had proven (and would soon prove even more) how the lies built in Hollywood could be used to uphold Capitalist hegemony. His message to Modells was clear:
American teens did not need to love The West. But they needed to fear its power. And movies were the only way. (7/??)
American teens did not need to love The West. But they needed to fear its power. And movies were the only way. (7/??)
Consider summer camp for a moment, y'all. Everyone sleeping in cabins. Sharing food. Singing kumbaya. Why it's downright communist...
Reagan's proposal had several goals: Sell those excess hockey masks. Make teens afraid of communal living. Promote "rugged individualism." (8/??)
Reagan's proposal had several goals: Sell those excess hockey masks. Make teens afraid of communal living. Promote "rugged individualism." (8/??)
To make up for the lost hockey game, they needed a visceral representation of capitalism crushing communism. Could Ken Dryden play Jason Voorhees? Too on the nose. So they gave the killer his mask. Once again, there was nothing more frightening than defying capitalism. (9/??)
It all worked far better than the capitalists hoped. Now people literally fear the end of the work week every few months. And no one remembers that Friday the 13th was once just another day.
Something to chew on when you're out buying your "festive" hockey mask today. (/thread)
Something to chew on when you're out buying your "festive" hockey mask today. (/thread)
Postscript y'all (can't believe I need to do this):
Getting push back from "twitter historians" (LOL) saying "Uhh, what about the Knights Templar??"
The Knights Templar are fictional characters made up by the author Dan Brown for his novel "The Da Vinci Code..." Great book tho
Getting push back from "twitter historians" (LOL) saying "Uhh, what about the Knights Templar??"
The Knights Templar are fictional characters made up by the author Dan Brown for his novel "The Da Vinci Code..." Great book tho
