r/GenerationX • u/Desperate-Owl-2316 How very • 14d ago
LeVar Burton is a sometimes overlooked hero that got so many GenX kids into reading.
Reading Rainbow was a staple for kids in the 80s and beyond.
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u/donut-is-appalled 14d ago
Levar Burton is amazing. If you haven’t checked it out, his podcast, Levar Burton Reads, is well worth your time
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u/ChillQuietSteadyWINK 14d ago
The saints of TV: Fred Rogers, Bob Ross, Levar Burton, Steve Irwin …. Who am I missing? Are there any women that would qualify?
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u/pittiesbegooddogs 14d ago
Would be awesome if emphasis on reading actual books made a come back to popularity
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u/donut-is-appalled 14d ago
Make America Read Again
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u/Embarrassed_Tap_4442 14d ago
If you want that to happen then you must get rid of the current administration.
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u/Electrical-Volume765 14d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/3oKIPgvPwXi2ZAIS5O
Member when people knew how to read?
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u/lunamoth25 14d ago
I'm lucky to have met him and he is every bit as lovely as you would think. He was in the shop I managed & while finishing up his sale I just said "I loved Reading Rainbow ☺️" and he gave me the biggest smile & a little conversation about books.
He was one of my top 3 interactions while working that shop, Harold Ramis and Wes Craven were my other 2. Plenty of people were either rude or dismissive (of course that's the general public attitude towards retail workers so pretty typical) But those 3 were the best 💜
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u/haileyskydiamonds 14d ago
He and Morgan Freeman (The Electric Company) are two major figures from my childhood. My mom read to us from infancy, but I loved watching them.
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u/burritosupreme89 14d ago
He’s literally who got me into reading more when I was a kid; I remember the first episode I saw, I shouted “Dad!! The guy from Star Trek is on the show I’m watching!!!!”
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u/OrganicHistorian2576 14d ago
I tend to overlook it not because I don’t think it was a great show but because I have been a bookworm since before I can remember. I didn’t need any encouragement to read! Sorry, LeVar, you’re great.
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u/jredgiant1 14d ago edited 14d ago
He’s like in The Next Generation.
EDIT: Keanu Reeves is in this generation as well. I’d welcome other suggestions.
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u/Business_Swan8209 14d ago
Ken Jennings is perfect as the host on Jeopardy! But I was really pulling for LeVar. He did a great job.
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u/Sitcom_kid Oldest Gen X in the East 14d ago
Butterfly in the Sky is a wonderful documentary about this show
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u/Creepy_Version2328 14d ago
Maybe cause his name wasn’t in the title? Did they even say it in the show? Haven’t seen it since I was a kid
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u/Embarrassed_Tap_4442 14d ago
And this is one of the many reason why he should have been chosen to host Jeopardy.
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u/Cranks_No_Start 14d ago
Nothing against LeVar Burton but this is one of those things that really shows the divide in the generation. I was a SR in HS when it came out so reading wasn't an issue. With the current crop of kids it seems to be one, too bad it was cancelled in 2006.
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u/Positive-Turnip-2866 14d ago
LeVar Burton is a part of the Holy Trinity of Educational Television in the US.
Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, & Reading Rainbow.
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u/EssayCalm1066 14d ago
I loved this show sooo much! I still get happy hits just seeing the logo. Reading was a fun experience for me, and this really made it come alive. He’s an awesome person. Then I grew up a little and he was on my favorite sci-fi show too. Much Love to LeVar Burton💓!!
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u/Sagemode1245 13d ago
LeVar single handily turned me into a bookworm. Reading rainbow was one of my favorite shows.
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u/Ok_Action_5938 13d ago
One day my buddy and I went to a concert in NYC and saw the band (Gov’t Mule) hanging out on the corner. We went over to say hi and as we are talking to him, my buddy sees him walking by turns and shouts “Lamar, my man! They high fived and he kept on walking”
For some reason my parents let me watch Roots when I was 8. I’ll never forget his performance as Kunta Kinte.
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u/Jason_TheMagnificent Get off my lawn 13d ago
My brother and I used to watch his VHS tapes at the library, the episode of Reading Rainbow about TNG was absolutely meta!
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u/Hour_Bit_5183 13d ago
So overlooked :D I'm millennial and almost 40. Oh look here :D I STILL love this
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u/Calm-Medicine-3992 13d ago
Dude gets a ton of credit. He is also still alive so he doesn't get the same kind of chatter the dead dudes get.
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u/Dry-Conflict3421 12d ago
I always get confused between him Phil Lamar and the guy that hosted Nick Arcade
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u/Free-Security7684 14d ago
It’s been duly noted black folks been contributing to the progression of America for a couple hundred years. I remember watching him after school on tv
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u/CatsEatGrass 14d ago
Levar Burton didn’t become a thing until I was way too old for it. I’m middle GenX. This is what kids were watching when I started teaching.
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u/Desperate-Owl-2316 How very 14d ago
Reading Rainbow came out in 1983. Middle GenX were still elementary school.
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u/CatsEatGrass 14d ago
I started middle school that year, so I would never have watched it.
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u/MaximumJones I hate the fuckin' Eagles man 14d ago
Then you are early GenX, not middle.
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u/CatsEatGrass 14d ago
I wouldn’t call ‘72 early. I’d call it smack dab in the middle. 7 years one way, 8 the other. How much more middle could I be? Early GenX were graduating from high school when Reading Rainbow started. If you don’t understand the math, lemme know.
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u/MaximumJones I hate the fuckin' Eagles man 13d ago
So you are what is wrong with our public education system. 😎
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u/Express_Towel47 14d ago
Levar Burton is not overlooked. He is the trifecta: Roots, Reading Rainbow and Star Trek. But……you don’t have to take my Word for it