1985 Cartoon Ahead of Its Time

Jem and the Holograms was, hands down, my favourite cartoon.

Not just because Jem was a hardcore rocker chick who knew how to kill it on stage (and her boyfriend Rio was pretty easy on the eyes, too), but girl had it together.

By day, she's your average, unassuming Jerrica Benton, manager/owner of Starlight Music. By night (or showtime, whatever time of day beckons her performing persona), she is Jem - lead singer, rock group front-woman, and hologram, summoned by commanding Synergy (a holographic computer, of course) via remote micro-projectors in her earrings (obviously).

The 3D projection of Jem can also create fellow holograms around her (by way of her earrings, too - fashion AND functionality!) and together they are a band of musical holographic hotties.

This was back in 1985.

And aside from creating the winning combo of unnatural hair colours + music = success (in case you're wondering why Nicki Minaj makes sense), Jem and the Holograms pioneered what could very well become common practice.

Jerrica Benton's dad was the brainchild behind Synergy (which was designed to be "the ultimate audio-visual entertainment synthesizer"), and I'll bet that never in a million years would he've conceived of the notion that his truly outrageous invention could potentially create a trend in the future of stage shows.

Well guess what, Mr. Benton? It only took 24 years from the time your daughter's group disbanded to the moment your vision was brought to life, in front of millions of eager entertainment-hungry Coachella fans around the world.

Although the technology behind Tupac Shakur's holographic performance at the annual music and arts festival wasn't quite conjured up by a Synergy subsidiary, the result was just as compelling.

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal reported that the technology used to bring Tupac back is actually based on a 19th century visual effect known as Pepper's Ghost...The back-in-the-day optical optical illusion is pulled off with an angled piece of glass on which an image is reflected. "A piece of glass can be both transparent and reflective at the same time, depending on how it's situated relative to the audience," (illusion designer Jim) Steinmeyer told the Wall Street Journal...In the case of the Dr. Dre-orchestrated 'Pac performance, a Mylar screen was used instead of glass. An HD overhead projector shot a moving computer-generated image of the rapper onto a reflective surface on the stage floor. The moving image was then bounced up onto the Mylar screen, which was angled so the crowd wouldn't notice. -- Rob Markman, rapfix.mtv.com.

The holographic technology used to create Tupac's posthumous concert appearance created such a thrill in concert-goers, and now the potential to build on this momentum seems to be swelling.

Fleeting mentions of a Tupac tour (Tusoon?) have been thrown about. Why stop at the 'Pac?

At first, I thought it seemed borderline hokey. And then I thought, "Damn, I'd cut out one of my own kidneys and hand it over to the underground market myself if I thought I could see all four Beatles play a show*."

What IS the future of the live show then? Forget bigger amps and pinker hair - I'm thinkin' MJ's comeback tour could very well become a "reality".

The future of the industry aside, we should pay our respects to the pioneers of this potential, the true JEM of this exciting "new" direction.

(*disclaimer: I will not be removing any of my organs, nor will I support any other persons or groups in their endeavours to extract it themselves. !!!)


SoundTracking: Fading Like A Flower (Roxette) - yep, bought my tickets during the pre-sale today! September 7th! Just a little stoked!