This Day in Pop Culture: Flashdance Premiere

Every movie director wants their movie to become a hit, but nobody saw this coming. On this day, Flashdance became a pop culture phenomenon. The soundtrack would soon take over the radio; it would dictate a fashion trend and even inspire a children’s TV special much to parents’ chagrin. At the other end of the spectrum, the Boston Marathon would be forever changed and Hello Kitty ruined Jackie Robinson Day. Bad Kitty!

1983: What a Feeling

Jennifer Beals wearing a stretched-out sweatshirt — Jennifer Beals in *Flashdance (Movie Stills DB)*

On this day, the romantic dance movie, Flashdance opened in theaters. Movie critic Roger Ebert hated it. Hence, it was placed on his “most hated” list of films. Meanwhile Rotten Tomatoes said that it was “all style and very little substance”. The screenplay was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award. And that movie, which was made with $7 million, went on to make over $201 million and for that reason, became the third-highest grossing movie of 1983.

Tom Hedley wrote the story and screenplay for Flashdance and Adrian directed the movie. Jennifer Beals, Demi Moore and Leslie Wing were all in the running to play 18-year-old Alex (who had a penchant for wearing oversized sweatshirts with large neck holes and leg warmers) but it was Beals who got the part.

While watching the movie, Beals looks impressive playing Alex who is a ballerina but dreams of becoming a professional dancer. However, Marine Jahan, a body double did most of the actual dancing. And Jahan wasn’t the only one. A male dancer took Alex’s place for one breakdancing scene too.

The movie’s soundtrack features hit songs “Maniac” by Michael Sembello and Irene Cara’s anthem, “Flashdance…What a Feeling”, won an Oscar for Best Song. The soundtrack sold 700,000 copies within the first two weeks. It didn’t take long for stretched out sweatshirts to become the rage.

Snoopy dancing like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance — Snoopy in It’s Flashbeagle Charlie Brown (TVDB)

When Charles Schulz saw Flashdance, he created the musical TV special, It’s Flashbeagle Charlie Brown as a parody. Not surprisingly, Parents were disappointed and/or confused that Schulz would create a children’s special based on a rated R movie. Not a bad point.

2013: Boston Marathon Targeted for Terrorists

Chaos erupting during the Boston Marathon. — Boston Marathon aftermath. *(Wikimedia Commons)*

The 117th Boston Marathon was more eventful than previous racess due to the fact that on this day in 2013, two bombs went off near the finish line. This resulted in three people losing their lives and more than 260 people were wounded.

Four days later, a large manhunt for the bombers and a city shutdown was held. Police captured 19-year-old Dzhohkar Tsarnaev, but earlier that morning, his older brother and fellow suspect, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died following a shootout with police. Although no one knows for sure, Investigators believe that the Tsarnaevs were motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs but were not connected to any terrorist organizations.

Dzhohkar was found guilty on all 30 counts and a further verdict recommended that he be put to death.

1947: First African American to Play in the MLB

Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line on this day in 1947 when he played 1st base for the Dodgers. He was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. That same year, Robinson was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award. He later became an All-Star from 1949-1954 and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949.

The MLB retired Robinson’s uniform number of 42 across all major league teams in 1997. In 2007, April 15 was dubbed the first Jackie Robinson Day where every player on every team wore the number 42 in his honor, a tradition that continues today.

2025: Hello Kitty Causes Uproar at Baseball Game

Hello Kitty and baseballs — Hello Kitty *(Wikipedia and Pixabay)*

Hello Kitty is known for bringing cheer everywhere she goes. One way she does this is by visiting and participating at various professional baseball games. In recent years, she has been given the honor to throw out this first pitch. However, on this day in 2025, she was at Dodgers Stadium which was celebrating Jackie Robinson Day.

The celebration is typically observed by having members of the Robinson family or local civil rights leaders, perform the ceremonial first pitch. However, on this day, someone didn’t read the memo because it was Hello Kitty who skipped to the mound. That is to say, fans were not happy.

Making matters worse, Kitty sported a Dodgers uniform with the number 74 (which makes sense as she was created in 1974), but everyone else were wearing Jackie’s old number, 42. So, who thought this was a good idea?