Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Sean Penn as stoned surfer, Jeff Spicoli, in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Jeff Spicoli is the stereotypical teenage surfer of the eighties, complete with surf talk and imaginary tubes, ridden beneath overhanging ivy. The ambitious, conscientious, hard working Brad Hamilton provides a foil for Jeff Spicoli, who believes in “operating from the heart” and “what you need will come to you,”. By contrasting Jeff Spicoli's carefree approach to life with Brad Hamilton's disciplined work ethic, the film exposes the dialectic in western culture [2].

The Flintstones

Fred, Wilma, Barney, and Betty are holidaying on Rock Island, where a surfing contest is to be held. Fred hopes to relive his carefree teenage years, dancing to "hip" music with swarms of holidaying teenagers and revelling in their adulation of his sporting prowess. However, in the surf, Fred is repeatedly blasted by monsterous waves, as he tries desperately to impress the young crowd. Rock star and teenage heartthrob, Jimmy Darrock, who has been recruited to present the winner's trophy, avoids recognition by wearing sunglasses and assuming the role of a lifeguard. But, he had not counted on Fred's ineptitude on a board. Darrock has to retrieve Fred from the surf and perform resuscitation on him. When Wilma paddles over, a huge wave throws Fred onto her shoulders. Wilma manages to navigate through the pillars of a boardwalk, bringing her surfboard to rest inside the revolving door of the hotel. Fred and Wilma win the trophy for most adept use of a surfboard, and Darrock performs in the hotel restaurant, singing about the surfing craze.

The Flintstones - "Surfin' Fred" (1965)

Gilligan's Island

Denny Miller as the handsome surfer, Duke Williams, guest starring on Gilligan's Island. Duke Williams is the stereotypical surfer of the early sixties; simple minded, yet handsome and athletic.

Duke: Man, five days on that board and I'm nothing but skin and bones.
Ginger: What skin.
Mary Ann: And what bones.

Duke Williams washes up on the shore and collapses, having spent five days at sea on his surfboard. The girls fall for Duke, played by Denny Miller, so Gilligan tries to learn how to surf by tying his feet to Duke's surfboard. Despite their interest in the newcomer, Ginger and Mary Ann panic when he makes a pass at each of them. To resolve the conflict, the castaways pretend the girls are not available. Ginger is with the Professor and Mary Ann is with Gilligan. So, Duke decides to leave the island and manages to depart by catching a huge wave. The men sit around the radio, anxiously listening to news of Duke's arrival in Hawaii. To their dismay, Duke doesn't remember where he's been for the last two weeks, having hit a rock and suffered amnesia.

Gilligan's Island - "Big Man on Little Stick" (1965).

Animation

Surf's Up is a computer-animated mockumentary, which investigates the premise that surfing was actually invented by penguins, taking viewers behind the scenes of the "Penguin World Surfing Championship".