Life Learnings Thnx to MPI

[Mark de Croix]

My inspiration for this thread comes from several shocks from real life and a related shock thanx to MPI. First some real life shocks:
1 Hidden exclusive airport lounges
Many airports don't have them but some do. Among those that do, some are really really hidden. One time I was given gratis an upgrade to first class seat. It came with the airport lounge hidden behind a nondescript door. Inside were incredible creature comforts. Incredible ones.

2 DisneyWorld Early Entrance
Luckily I was able to swing staying at a great hotel there. Besides the shock of payment at the end (deserves a paragraph in its own right, but it is secondary here.) the hotel stay gives hotel guests the right to enter the park an hour ahead of the park opening time. Ok, so?? Well it doesn't really hit you until you go past a cyclone fence holding back scores of children and their parents peering at you when they have to wait an hour or more after you.

Until those two happenings I was totally oblivious to the extent of social division. Both are hidden until you actually experience it. Even #2 I had been to the park before and might have heard about the entrance but had no sense of social division to the extent described. Similarly I had gone through many many airports before without any inkling of ultra exclusive lounges in some of them.

3 Adult Wonderland (sorry too x-rated for mention)

OK now for MPI. Yes I know every episode shows the ultra-rich lifestyle. We see many features of it, but something didn't hit me until a lot later. You know, many of the ultra-rich own multiple residences--estates. Some of them go almost totally unused; yet the upkeep is hugely expensive. The annual real estate tax on Robin's Nest would be more than many people's
annual income. That's not so surprising as it is much a part of everyday life. But not paying for major-domo every year. You gotta shell out for a HIggins because your rich estate has to be protected not only for the outside grounds but your priceless furnishings inside.

If none of this, esp. about MPI, intrigues you, then, "Hey, you got swag, bro. You're the man." Anyway, ultra-richness is one of many life learnings we can get from MPI. Please share something you got too.

[Little Garwood]

OK now for MPI. Yes I know every episode shows the ultra-rich lifestyle. We see many features of it, but something didn't hit me until a lot later. You know, many of the ultra-rich own multiple residences--estates. Some of them go almost totally unused; yet the upkeep is hugely expensive. The annual real estate tax on Robin's Nest would be more than many people's annual income. That's not so surprising as it is much a part of everyday life. But not paying for major-domo every year. You gotta shell out for a HIggins because your rich estate has to be protected not only for the outside grounds but your priceless furnishings inside.

If none of this, esp. about MPI, intrigues you, then, "Hey, you got swag, bro. You're the man." Anyway, ultra-richness is one of many life learnings we can get from MPI. Please share something you got too.

After Hurricane Wilma walloped South Florida, my wife and I rode our bicycles to the wealthy part of town to survey the damage. Along the waterfront behind those elegant homes were about half a dozen yachts submerged in the water. The water slapping against the sides of these boats along with the nearby drone of home generators were the only sounds. So yeah, I guess upkeep can be a bitch.

You make an interesting observation re: the “Anglo-Hawaiian Whatever Society” lifestyle. In some ways, MPI is not of the 1980s, but what you point out about the wealthy brings to mind a discussion in the the Magnum on Ice thread: the disconnect between MPI’s main characters and the native Hawaiian locals:

”Even when watching MPI as a kid I noticed the odd tension/disconnect between the main characters and the locals; I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not. Sure, MPI had episodes focusing on Hawaiian culture and spiritual concerns, but for the most part the entirety of Magnum P.I. (and seasons 10-12 of HF0) went the Lou Richards route instead of the Kono route, if you catch my drift.

That shift was especially odd in Five-0’s case, since that program mostly did a pretty good job of representing Hawaii…until the 10th season, that is (and I state this as a lifelong S11-12 HF0 fan).”

MPI is not much different from, say, Dynasty in this respect…the focus on the wealthy is a very ‘80s trope, but certainly not exclusive to the ‘80s…it’s just that the 1980s has a reputation—deserved or not—for glamourizing that divide.

I don’t know if anything written here connects to this topic, but this post is what yours brought to mind.

That, or I’ve had a stroke.

[T.Q.]

I learned a lot about honesty*, integrity, justice and camaraderie watching Magnum growing up.

You can be a goofy "irresponsible" big kid but when the chips are down you rise to the occasion and show character.

Live PONO.

Pono is a Hawaiian word with no direct or literal translation to English. Or, in other words, there is no word in the English language that is as simple, elegant, and beautiful in its meaning as the word pono. "To put it very simply, living pono is living righteously, with a conscious decision to do the right thing in terms of self, others, and the environment."

* Magnum was always up to some sneaky shenanigans but at the end of the day did a lot of things to correct them and eventually did the right thing.

[80s Big Hair]

I learned how to be inconspicuous when spying on people. You need to be able to blend in with the scenery so as not to stand out. A good way of achieving this is by sitting in a red Ferrari 308. Peoples' eyes just glaze over that like it is not there.

[Little Garwood]

Probably the most important thing I learned from Magnum:

Surrogate families (aka “Family by Choice”) can be more reliable—and much closer—than biological families. This is a theme not unique to MPI, as such a dynamic exists on media as varied as Star Trek (1966-69) and the X-Men comics (at least when I read it in the ‘70s and early ‘80s).

[Pahonu]

Probably the most important thing I learned from Magnum:

Surrogate families (aka “Family by Choice”) can be more reliable—and much closer—than biological families. This is a theme not unique to MPI, as such a dynamic exists on media as varied as Star Trek (1966-69) and the X-Men comics (at least when I read it in the ‘70s and early ‘80s).

I like that you added this.

When I was growing up in SoCal, my parents had immigrated from Canada just a few years before I was born. None of their family was nearby and my parents became very close to some neighbors. As a boy, the elderly lady across the street was effectively my grandma, and her only daughter and her husband, my aunt and uncle. In fact, when they later had a son he called my parents aunt and uncle.

My point is that I didn’t really register that all the lead characters on Magnum didn’t have much family around because that was my experience too. Their friendships formed their family group and that seemed very normal to me. As I got older, I realized that wasn’t the norm. When my wife and I became engaged, I was almost overwhelmed by her extended family when I went to a reunion once. There must have been 50 to 60 people all living in the general area who came.

Eventually my father’s younger two sister moved here and started families, and briefly my actual grandparents. They are all gone now, in passing or moving elsewhere, but my mom and I still keep in regular contact with our family friends who have become a much larger family themselves, with us still a part of it.

[Mark de Croix]

OK now for MPI. Yes I know every episode shows the ultra-rich lifestyle. We see many features of it, but something didn't hit me until a lot later. You know, many of the ultra-rich own multiple residences--estates. Some of them go almost totally unused; yet the upkeep is hugely expensive. The annual real estate tax on Robin's Nest would be more than many people's annual income. That's not so surprising as it is much a part of everyday life. But not paying for major-domo every year. You gotta shell out for a HIggins because your rich estate has to be protected not only for the outside grounds but your priceless furnishings inside.

If none of this, esp. about MPI, intrigues you, then, "Hey, you got swag, bro. You're the man." Anyway, ultra-richness is one of many life learnings we can get from MPI. Please share something you got too.

After Hurricane Wilma walloped South Florida, my wife and I rode our bicycles to the wealthy part of town to survey the damage. Along the waterfront behind those elegant homes were about half a dozen yachts submerged in the water. The water slapping against the sides of these boats along with the nearby drone of home generators were the only sounds. So yeah, I guess upkeep can be a bitch.

You make an interesting observation re: the “Anglo-Hawaiian Whatever Society” lifestyle. In some ways, MPI is not of the 1980s, but what you point out about the wealthy brings to mind a discussion in the the Magnum on Ice thread: the disconnect between MPI’s main characters and the native Hawaiian locals:

”Even when watching MPI as a kid I noticed the odd tension/disconnect between the main characters and the locals; I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not. Sure, MPI had episodes focusing on Hawaiian culture and spiritual concerns, but for the most part the entirety of Magnum P.I. (and seasons 10-12 of HF0) went the Lou Richards route instead of the Kono route, if you catch my drift.

That shift was especially odd in Five-0’s case, since that program mostly did a pretty good job of representing Hawaii…until the 10th season, that is (and I state this as a lifelong S11-12 HF0 fan).”

MPI is not much different from, say, Dynasty in this respect…the focus on the wealthy is a very ‘80s trope, but certainly not exclusive to the ‘80s…it’s just that the 1980s has a reputation—deserved or not—for glamourizing that divide.

I don’t know if anything written here connects to this topic, but this post is what yours brought to mind.

That, or I’ve had a stroke.

You give us some good examples of the class divide focus on the wealthy. Never watched much of Hawaii 5-o but sounds interesting about representing Hawaii. Maybe because it was a police show a lot of crimes where shown bringing to the fore the underbelly of Oahu? Whereas MPI is less focused on crime in favor of serving higher parts of society with their mundane personal and social problems.

[Mark de Croix]

I learned a lot about honesty*, integrity, justice and camaraderie watching Magnum growing up.

You can be a goofy "irresponsible" big kid but when the chips are down you rise to the occasion and show character.

Live PONO.

Pono is a Hawaiian word with no direct or literal translation to English. Or, in other words, there is no word in the English language that is as simple, elegant, and beautiful in its meaning as the word pono. "To put it very simply, living pono is living righteously, with a conscious decision to do the right thing in terms of self, others, and the environment."

* Magnum was always up to some sneaky shenanigans but at the end of the day did a lot of things to correct them and eventually did the right thing.

>>I learned a lot about honesty*, integrity, justice and camaraderie watching Magnum growing >>up.
I'm still learning but grown up I think.

>>You can be a goofy "irresponsible" big kid but when the chips are down you rise to the >>occasion and show character.
Character--that's the appealing about TM. We can count on him to do the right thing.

PONO
Here's something for it. On the other side of PONO is the collectivist sharing of property by native Hawaiians. Someone who lived there told me Hawaiians take as a given that they can use your house as you can use theirs. They leave their doors unlocked and others in the same community can come in and hang out. I don't know to what extent it's true but surely it was likely in village society long ago. Maybe it still persists.

[Mark de Croix]

I learned how to be inconspicuous when spying on people. You need to be able to blend in with the scenery so as not to stand out. A good way of achieving this is by sitting in a red Ferrari 308. Peoples' eyes just glaze over that like it is not there.

Funny isn't it. They got away doing it for eight seasons. Gullible us?

[Mark de Croix]

Probably the most important thing I learned from Magnum:

Surrogate families (aka “Family by Choice”) can be more reliable—and much closer—than biological families. This is a theme not unique to MPI, as such a dynamic exists on media as varied as Star Trek (1966-69) and the X-Men comics (at least when I read it in the ‘70s and early ‘80s).

That's a great fantasy of MPI that probably gets overlooked but it would be great to be so tight with a couple of friends that would risk their lives for you each week.

[Mark de Croix]

Probably the most important thing I learned from Magnum:

Surrogate families (aka “Family by Choice”) can be more reliable—and much closer—than biological families. This is a theme not unique to MPI, as such a dynamic exists on media as varied as Star Trek (1966-69) and the X-Men comics (at least when I read it in the ‘70s and early ‘80s).

I like that you added this.

When I was growing up in SoCal, my parents had immigrated from Canada just a few years before I was born. None of their family was nearby and my parents became very close to some neighbors. As a boy, the elderly lady across the street was effectively my grandma, and her only daughter and her husband, my aunt and uncle. In fact, when they later had a son he called my parents aunt and uncle.

My point is that I didn’t really register that all the lead characters on Magnum didn’t have much family around because that was my experience too. Their friendships formed their family group and that seemed very normal to me. As I got older, I realized that wasn’t the norm. When my wife and I became engaged, I was almost overwhelmed by her extended family when I went to a reunion once. There must have been 50 to 60 people all living in the general area who came.

Eventually my father’s younger two sister moved here and started families, and briefly my actual grandparents. They are all gone now, in passing or moving elsewhere, but my mom and I still keep in regular contact with our family friends who have become a much larger family themselves, with us still a part of it.

That 's a nice side of "nomadic" American life that people can uproot a lot but somehow plug in socially in the new place. I'm glad it blossomed so well for you. For foreign people coming to the US w/o English esp. if older from rural backgrounds the US turns out to be very lonely for them.