Boombox
By: Julian Calderon
The history of the Boombox is pretty cool. It started in the Netherlands in the 1970s, but it wasn’t the signature look that a lot of people know what it is. Japan made the signature design and companies like Sony, Panasonic, General Electric and Marantz bought a whole load of it. The boombox was heavily bought and used in LA, New York, and Washington DC, but places in the urban area also bought a ton of it.
When the Boomboxes were being designed, Japan sold the designs in so many different sizes, form factors, and advanced technology. Like built-in CD players, built-in microphones, removable speakers, and built-in TV receivers. Some Boomboxes even had cassette players, AM/FM tuners, adn turntables. However, the more things it has, the heavier it is, and most people created the iconic pose of carrying the Boombox.
This iconic pose with the Boombox has influenced so many people on the way they view the Boombox. In the film, “Say Anything”, a lot of people who were from the 80s, or before the 80s will know this iconic scene that has influenced so many people. Some people have argued that this scene is the best scene in film history. Either way, this has influenced other films after it.
However in reality, the audience that bought the Boomboxes were Hispanic and African-American youth, and were nicknamed as, “ghetto blasters”. So it started to get backlash in pop culture. Then cities started to ban Boomboxes from public places, which made them less acceptable on city streets as time progressed. As this was happening, the 90s walkman took over the platform and everybody lost interest in