Goodhood teams up with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment on a limited-edition capsule collection. A hallmark of American influence, E.T. captured suburbia at a time when the American Dream was flourishing. Born from Goodhood’s longstanding appreciation of the classic movie and inspired by the E.T. collectors and super fans community, we're thrilled to present Goodhood x E.T. - a range of lifestyle goods and graphic tees printed on quality Goods By Goodhood heavyweight t-shirts.
We had a chat with some of the biggest and most dedicated E.T. fans we could find. Paul, Patty and Matt talk us through their E.T. collections, how they sourced and built them up, the films iconic legacy and what it means to them. Instilling that E.T. resonates with a global audience and lasts a lifetime. Big or small we are all super fans at heart.
Goodhood: How did your collection start? Why E.T.?
Paul: My collection started right after I saw the movie, which was on 17 April 1983. I was 12 years old and it was the second movie that I ever saw in a movie theater. The movie had been out for almost a year at that point, but was so successful that it was still showing! As to why, seeing it on a big screen like that left quite an impression on me. E.T. really is a cool looking alien and it's not surprising that he became such a pop culture figure. The first things I got were packs of E.T. trading cards, an E.T. eraser and E.T. stickers (made by Hallmark). My sister also had the E.T. novelization, the book based on the movie. There's a line in the book where E.T. calls Elliot's "rock and roll record" a "rocks and rolling record". I'm a musician now and when I started self-releasing my own albums, I called my label "Rocks and Rolling Records"!
Read More
GH: How do you find your items?
P: Most of the items that I've gotten as an adult have been found at thrift stores and charity shops! It's always a thrill to be just looking through the wares and suddenly see that familiar face of E.T. staring back at me! There is a vintage E.T. figure that was made by LJN that came with a Speak and Spell that he holds. I actually found the E.T. (without the Speak and Spell) on one trip to a store and then months later found just the Speak and Spell!
GH: What is your favourite scene in E.T.?
P: This might be strange, but one of my favorite scenes is the one where Dee Wallace opens the closet and E.T. is hiding in there with the stuffed animals. It's an odd thing to think about, because E.T. is not actually a real actor...so he blends in very well with the stuffed animals, which are also not real. E.T. is real though, in the movie...so I find that scene to have a higher "suspension of disbelief" than almost any other part of the movie!
GH: Can you share the favourite piece of your collection and why?
P: I recently got some Taiwanese puffy stickers that feature E.T. taking a bubble bath and playing a video game!
GH: Do you have a holy grail item you want to collect?
P: My holy grail item was actually the E.T. candy container from 1982 that is in the shape of his head. But I finally got one about two years ago! Now I wish I had an E.T. cereal box - but those are quite expensive! I also still don't have the whole set of E.T. trading cards (I'm getting close!)
Goodhood: How did your collection start? Why?
Patty: I love sci fi movies, other planets, other dimensions. The ‘80s was a good time for movies of that genre. E.T. was a movie about potty mouth boys and a working divorced mom trying to keep it together and was filled with scary parts. When it came out, a couple of months later I was to be married and a year later, had my first child. I didn’t do a lot of collecting at that time, E.T. was something I would have looked for as a gift for my daughter or my little brother. I was a busy mom. My daughter was given a Kamar E.T. as a gift for her second birthday. The gifter thought it was an ugly present but Ashley, my daughter, loved it. Eventually the faux leather fell apart. If the fake leather hadn’t fallen off of it, I would have kept it and it would be in my collection now. The only item I have from back in the day was a necklace. There seemed to be a lot of E.T. jewellery items, that and Star Wars. And action figures were still pushed towards boys at the time.
Later on, Toys R Us put some new items out. Who wouldn’t want an E.T. that would talk to you, stretch his neck up and point his lit finger at you. I knew those were mine! I love the articulated figures that looked like the real E.T. So, then my collection started. I normally don’t go out of my way to find them, but if I see something E.T. related, which doesn’t happen often, I’ll probably add it to my small collection. I’d like to find more of the regular toys, not so much the stuff from Universal Studios. My youngest niece loved my E.T.’s when she was little and then for some reason stopped when she grew up. I guess E.T. is an acquired taste, similar to Yoda, Sleestaks, Puff n Stuff, Groot and Robot from Lost in Space. I like things slightly out there, small or large. Characters that we don’t find in the real world. I think the relationship E.T. had with all the kids was very special. It’s a relationship full of wonder and love. You rooted for E.T. to get back home. The parts where the scientists came were pretty scary. I love E.T.’s message of caring and he’s just so adorable! Who wouldn’t want to collect him?
GH: How do you find your items?
P: I browse Ebay, go to thrift stores, frequent a toy show in our area and used to browse Toys R Us aisles when they were still in business.
GH: What is your favourite scene in E.T.?
P: One? I have more than one! But one is when Gertie and Michael are just staring at E.T. in the closet, astonished. The looks on their faces were priceless. And the other, of course, is when the gang of kids get on their bikes, get E.T. to the forest and he makes them fly.
GH: Can you share the favourite piece of your collection and why?
P: My favourite E.T. piece in my collection is the boxing E.T. One of those puppets you used to see in the stores, usually of a nun but this one has an E.T. head and there are levers inside that make his little fists punch. It’s my favorite because it’s so different and it makes me smile whenever I look at it.
GH: Do you have a holy grail item you want to collect?
P: Interesting question. Many times, when hunting I see the same stuff over and over. But the other day I saw there is a plastic tea party set of E.T. with the tiny plates and cups. Adorable! Also, I came across an E.T. that is life size that holds your toys or clothes in it. Super expensive, and I’ve never seen it before. So, if I ever saw that I’d want to pick it up because a life size E.T. would be really cool to put with my collection. Also, there was a proposed toy item that never got made, but there has to be a prototype out there-- it was E.T.’s space ship. It opened up like a playhouse. That would be cool to find. If they had a photo of it, it must exist somewhere!
Goodhood: How did your collection start? Why E.T.?
Matt: I loved the movie as a child in the '90s. I used to watch it every day I used to have lots of toys of E.T. he used to frighten me as a child when he started to scream at Elliot too. When I grew older I got very nostalgic of E.T. and wanted to collect every thing E.T. all the merchandise I could see I purchased it became a goal for me to try and achieve.
GH: How do you find your items?
M: From car boot sales to items on the marketplace on eBay and Facebook to other online websites and vintage toy stores. I looked everywhere to find items E.T. related.
GH: What is your favourite scene in E.T.?
M: I have to say the ending as it has always made me cry. When that movie soundtrack played as E.T. says his goodbyes, no other films affected me like E.T. has.
GH: Can you share the favourite piece of your collection and why?
M: All of it is my favourite. My friend Peter sent me a piece of wood that's from the scene where Elliot walks through the red Forrest looking for E.T., leaving a trail of Reese's Pieces.
GH: Do you have a holy grail item you want to collect?
M: Yes, the company Necca has a life size E.T. for sale that I really want, that is a must-have item.
During this unprecedented time where we all feel isolated and alien to the lives we lived, we thought, what could be more fitting than snuggling up to your loved one and putting on an old favourite movie about showing compassion for those not like us. The message of universal love is clear - kindness and compassion for those that are alien. This is a message we need now more than ever.
Goodhood: Why E.T.?
Kyle Stewart: E.T. is a hallmark of American influence on the world, and was elementary in our understanding of America. Despite its obvious story line around our visitors from another world, it taught us, in 80s Britain, what growing suburban America was like. We saw Nike trainers, hooded tops, Kuwahara BMX’s, Reese’s Pieces, Speak & Spell toys and many other fantastic and foreign products. It was a window into what the very glamorous USA was like at the time and the scope of it's cultural influence is immeasurable.
Read More
GH: Take us back to your first encounter with E.T.?
KS: The first time I came to London with my Mum when I was 7, she took me to Leicester Square where we saw the movie. I remember being devastated at how sad it was, and can remember crying at the ending. Fairly big stuff for a little person.
GH: Talk us through Goodhood's experience with the E.T. community?
KS: Jo used to collect E.T. memorabilia and we had parts of it on display when we first opened Goodhood in 2007. When people saw the small collection, they started sending us memorabilia to our studio. I know it sounds random, but it seems there were a lot of people that were holding on to this memorabilia and wanted it to go to a good home! I think in the end we ended up with 3 ’sticky’ E.T’s. We called it sticky E.T. as the soft, plush toy’s fabrication had deteriorated over the decades and became sticky. We got gifted E.T. picture disks, records and someone even bought stock lots of jewellery that we sold in the store.
GH: How did you bring Goodhood x E.T. to life?
JS: We worked with a very talented artist called Beachhunter. We briefed illustrations of classic scenes and kept the product really simple. We wanted it to have an authentic feeling, reminiscent of our perception of the movie in the 80’s.
There are many things that typify American culture, but of all the tools in the zeitgeist’s box, one popular but less obvious choice may well be the perfect representation of a particular place and time. Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial may well have been a family blockbuster, but it captured suburbia at a time when the American Dream was flourishing. Whilst a story about a lovable alien, it also serves as a guide to how the USA wielded substantial cultural authority. Which is why we delve deep into the world of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, to find out how it came to define suburban style, and how this American ideal came to dominate the world.
During this unprecedented time where we all feel isolated and alien to the lives we lived, we thought, what could be more fitting than snuggling up to your loved one and putting on an old favourite movie about showing compassion for those not like us. The message of universal love is clear - kindness and compassion for those that are alien. This is a message we need now more than ever.
Goodhood: Why E.T.?
Kyle Stewart: E.T. is a hallmark of American influence on the world, and was elementary in our understanding of America. Despite its obvious story line around our visitors from another world, it taught us, in 80s Britain, what growing suburban America was like. We saw Nike trainers, hooded tops, Kuwahara BMX’s, Reese’s Pieces, Speak & Spell toys and many other fantastic and foreign products. It was a window into what the very glamorous USA was like at the time and the scope of it's cultural influence is immeasurable.
Read More
GH: Take us back to your first encounter with E.T.?
KS: The first time I came to London with my Mum when I was 7, she took me to Leicester Square where we saw the movie. I remember being devastated at how sad it was, and can remember crying at the ending. Fairly big stuff for a little person.
GH: Talk us through Goodhood's experience with the E.T. community?
KS: Jo used to collect E.T. memorabilia and we had parts of it on display when we first opened Goodhood in 2007. When people saw the small collection, they started sending us memorabilia to our studio. I know it sounds random, but it seems there were a lot of people that were holding on to this memorabilia and wanted it to go to a good home! I think in the end we ended up with 3 ’sticky’ E.T’s. We called it sticky E.T. as the soft, plush toy’s fabrication had deteriorated over the decades and became sticky. We got gifted E.T. picture disks, records and someone even bought stock lots of jewellery that we sold in the store.
GH: How did you bring Goodhood x E.T. to life?
JS: We worked with a very talented artist called Beachhunter. We briefed illustrations of classic scenes and kept the product really simple. We wanted it to have an authentic feeling, reminiscent of our perception of the movie in the 80’s.
There are many things that typify American culture, but of all the tools in the zeitgeist’s box, one popular but less obvious choice may well be the perfect representation of a particular place and time. Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial may well have been a family blockbuster, but it captured suburbia at a time when the American Dream was flourishing. Whilst a story about a lovable alien, it also serves as a guide to how the USA wielded substantial cultural authority. Which is why we delve deep into the world of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, to find out how it came to define suburban style, and how this American ideal came to dominate the world.
Read More
Much has been said of The American Dream, but nothing quite typifies it to the Average Joe than the suburbs. It’s ingrained within the American zeitgeist and for good reason. America thrived in the 20th Century. Before 1920, most Americans lived in rural areas but by 1960, the balance had shifted. Whilst American culture in the latter part of the 20th Century was dominated by urban myth – New York being so good they named it twice – the reality was that as American families prospered they gradually moved out of seemingly dangerous and overcrowded urban centres in order to live that ideal of a family sedan parked in the driveway, your Saturday free to while away mowing the lawn or baking cookies for the girl scout fundraiser. It was a narrative of kids spending seemingly endless days riding their bikes around the cul-de-sac, as American as apple pie. This was the world of Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the world of The American dream.
The 1980s were bold. It was a decade that ushered in shoulder pads, the miniskirt, and clashing patterns, but whilst the fashion set basked in the era of power dressing, an overwhelming proportion of suburban America pursued a much more scaled-back sense of daily style. Much of this was in the continued spirit of heritage Americana, a reflection of the social status of the middle classes, and their patriotism towards the red, white and blue. Denim, plaid shirts, tees and athletic sweats would define the era, much in the same way elements of classic Americana had always been the go-to uniform of the average Joe or Jane throughout the 20th Century. The 1980s saw dungarees have a moment in the spotlight, and the American sportswear companies were riding a wave of unparalleled growth partly ignited by their cameos in Hollywood blockbusters.
But for all the variety the 1980s offered, there’s one unifying notion that encompassed how the suburbs, and America at large, dressed during the E.T. era. This was the idea of casual dress. But how is it relevant? Fashion theorist Malcolm Barnard was of the idea that clothing doesn’t just reflect personal identity, it actually constitutes it. In an era of American prosperity where the middle class was king, it’s no wonder that fashion grew to reflect this section of society. To wear dungarees, a baseball cap, and a waffle t-shirt was to live out your own personal identity as part of America’s middle class. The key lies in the freedom to choose your own apparel as opposed to being shoehorned into hand-me-downs. And since people, by and large, tend towards the middle ground, suburban style came to seem distinctly run-of-the-mill. The mall may boast The Gap, Old Navy and countless others, but they’re all pedalling the same attire and pandering to the same crowd. Regardless, choice equals freedom, and to have freedom is to be American.
"IN AN ERA OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY WHERE THE MIDDLE CLASS WAS KING, IT'S NO WONDER THAT FASHION GREW TO REFLECT THIS SECTION OF SOCIETY."
Part of E.T.’s draw to American audiences was the feeling it could be happening right there in your cookie-cutter home. Spielberg’s intention was exactly that, and his portrayal of suburban America goes a long way to achieving this realism. It sounds almost too obvious to explain, but Spielberg creates a world full of terracotta serving bowls, coffee-pot machines, potted plants, ranch dressing and more. And that’s just the kitchen. Perhaps it’s the mundanity or banality of such an aesthetic that makes it so relatable, but whatever it is, Spielberg captured the style, and the imagination, of millions. Speaking to American Cinematographer on E.T.’s inspiration, Spielberg remarked “I’m inspired all the time, but my inspirations are a sum of all my parts, and all of my parts started back in 1947 when I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and kind of accumulated the dust or the pollen of my experience right up until E.T.” Spielberg lived the suburban life, so it’s unsurprising his portrayal is incredibly accurate.
But if the devil is in the detail, nowhere carves out distinction from banality more than California, E.T.’s temporary adoptive home state. California has always had a distinct cultural identity and has been riding the wave of ‘60s counterculture revolution since it rocked its way through the American psyche all those years ago. Perhaps it’s the heady mix of sun and sea that does it, but California’s always acted differently. This attitude and aesthetic play through to the new wave of Californian Craft, and as the state continues to influence, a wealth of brands from around the world have taken cues from that sunbaked, free-spirited, and nostalgic style.
"IF THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL, NOWHERE CARVES OUT DISTINCTION FROM BANALITY MORE THAN CALIFORNIA."
ET was loveable, at a time before which Hollywood had only ever portrayed outer space as terrifying. Spielberg, in effect, changed the game by allowing the big ideas of the universe to be presented in a benign manner, and reflecting on the film’s production the director is quoted as saying “It's very important with E.T. that everybody who saw the movie believes that E.T. could come into their backyards and walk into their homes to visit their children.” Unsurprisingly, the film received a critical response and is considered one of the greats. Spielberg captured the minds, and hearts, of a nation. But he also created a time capsule. E.T. goes a long way to portraying Middle America at a time when the suburban dream was thriving, at a time when America was economic, political, and cultural king, and at a time when the world was seeing an unprecedented shift towards technology. It shone a little magic into the lives of many, and it encompassed what it meant to be a part of the United States of America. After all, you could be happy here, we could take care of you. We wouldn't let anybody hurt you.