Helicopter Fetish [AKA 'Copter Fetish]
A term referring to the collective fascination and sexualization of helicopters throughout the 1980's and early 1990's ¹ in Western culture. The phenomenon is commonly thought to have crested in a notorious television interview 1997 with the action star Tom Cruise ^Ω - a rambling, often incoherent three-minute colloquy in which the actor says the word helicopter seventeen times and cries like a young boy. Oft-cited examples of 'copter fetishism include the television shows Airwolf , Airwolf (Redux) , and The A-Team , the films Predator , Blue Thunder ² , and Under Seige . Popular music was no stranger to the 'copter fetish craze - hair metal band Def Leppard featured an oft-bypassed cold open of the band arriving at the studio via 'copter in their hit Love Bites , DJ Total Freedom featured 'copter recordings in their live sets, and even the experimental serialist composer Stockhausen got in the mix, composing the Helikopter-Streichquartett ³ as part of his epic seven-day-opera Licht .

Analysis as to the origins and nature of 'copter fetishism vary, though some media theorists trace its roots back to the prominent role of helicopters in the development of early computer graphix, A.I. , and early virtual reality devices. The efforts of Bell Helicopter , a division of Ma Bell , to equip their military-grade 'copters with night vision, missile tracking systems, and were integral to the development of core technology on all three fronts, leading later to early IBM graphix ⁴ cards, Deep Blue , and the Sword of Damocles ^Ω . The personification of vehicular robots throughout the early 1980's, most notably in the Transformers franchise, is also thought to have played a role.

¹ Instances of 'copter fetishization in the media declined precipitously upon the advent of the Gulf War , a heavily publicized conflict in which hundreds of Iraqi citizens were killed by 'copter deployed missiles.
² See: I Love You Blue Thunder by Tetra Denim .
³ A piece whose genesis clearly predates the larger societal trend.
⁴ Components used in the creation of Running Cola is Africa ^Ω .