Recently had a heated discussion with my house mate who is NOT an 80s fan About the above question and he had some really good points. Just wondering why people think the 80s movies and music are just so special to people.
Posted by goresnet (Member # 6592) on :
It defined us as a generation. Born in '76, my whole growth was in the 80's! Call it nostalgia, but the music had so much more musicality than anything these days, and the movies were fantastic, and inspired us all to be someone. Movies today just inspire to blow something up! The effect that the era had on us has been noticed! That's why it seems every movie is being remade (feels like it anyway) and many songs have been remade (like We are the World).
The 80's made us who we are!
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
you make some excellent points. Especially about the remakes. i sometimes think its because the ages 10-16 your at your most impressoinable. my housemate argued that 'well you could say that about 70s and 90s people' but somehow i just dont see or hear people saying the 70s or 90s rule, do you??
Posted by pork pie mcfly (Member # 6802) on :
I totally agree with goresnet, growing up in the 80's were the best days of my life and all the movies and music I watch or listen too today, just takes me right back...happy days.
If only someone would invent a time machine...need to find Doc Brown. ha ha
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
im sure someone on here said something about a movie where people hop into a hot tub and it acts as a time machine and teleports them back to 1986, full of 80s actors. 10 point 21 jigawatts. 'what the hell is a jigawatt' (marty)
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
Because of the 80's use of video rentals - all movies were available to us in a way they hadn't been before. We could watch great movies in our own home, yet going to the cinema was still something major. Computers / computer games were new. The BMX was the ultimate kids bike. MTV and the music video presented music in a new hyper-cool way we hadn't seen before. The synthesizer created totally new sounds that made a great many of the songs of the 80's sound unlike any of the previous 20 years.
The 70's had many many great movies and a lot of great music. However, much of it was aimed at older kids / adults. Star Wars stands out as a notable exception in the late 70's. For this reason, there was more for young people in the 80's to be excited about.
There was plenty of junk in the 80's, but even then that junk fed into the whole vibe of confidence and affluence that was around. There was a sense of possibility and fun that had been sorely lacking from the post-60's hangover of the 70's. In a very real sense, the 80's was the first 'modern' decade in which all forms of media came to dominate people in their homes.
People can say what they like about the 80's, but when I look at '82-'87, I see: Tron, Conan, E.T., Jedi, Wargames, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Karate Kid, Terminator, Goonies, Gremlins, 16 Candles, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink; Madonna, Michael Jackson, Journey, Wham!, Duran Duran, Frankie, Tears for Fears, Band Aid, Live Aid... and a whole lot more. Nobody's gonna tell me that wasn't a good time to be young!
quote:my house mate who is NOT an 80s fan About the above question and he had some really good points
Out of interest, what were his points?
Posted by goresnet (Member # 6592) on :
logan5, excellent post!
oneyedwilly, I'm curious about the counterpoints as well
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
logan i agree with every single word you said and it was very well recieved by my friends too who all agreed. My housemate nick came up with the following which i tried to shoot down much less in the style and sensability that you put it mind you...but... the first argument was basically this. Im in an age bracket (36-40yrs) where people will talk, converse and hypothesise more than any other age age group and so recite, compare and share experiences weve had as children and teenagers. he explained that people in the generation above me would have been in this mind frame in their 30s about the 70s and those in the generation below us 90s will be the same about the movies and music they heard when they are in thier 30s(bare in mind hes a psychologist)
point 2 went something like this Whilst agreeing with logan about the birth and advance in media forms and technology this was a reason for our attachment and has only really masked the movies poor story lines, plots and terrible story boarding and acting (which we call cheese).
Point 3 He listed actors that have won awards in the 70s and are still winning awards now. He also
point 4 He explained how technological advancement has enhanced our want to go to the cinema and see movies which are worth while seeing for cinematic experience (sound and vision) then gave an example of blu ray.
now for one i am biased and for his final point used this...he said only people from the 80s will love the 80s. Thoughts welcome guys.
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
Half asleep now but I'm going to get back to this.
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
good on ya mate
Posted by saturnchick (Member # 7524) on :
I agree with much of what logan said. Other posters also made some valid points. To expand on what some others said, and to inject a few of my own ideas to the topic, I think defining the 80's as having produced the "best" music and movies relies heavily on personal nostalgia. I think most generations reflect on the decade in which they grew up with fondness.
During your formative years(for most of us here, the 80's), you are so impressionable. You are experiencing a lot of things for the very first time. As a result, there exists a lot of emotional connection to the pop culture that accompanied the years during which you came of age.
For me, personally, most of things that happened in the 80's (and also the early 90's) didn't seem too special at the time. Certainly, there were movies, actors, songs, and musicians that I loved during my youth, but as I grow older, I attach more weight to them for a multitude of reasons, including their ability to transport me back to a special time that now seems so remote.
I'm a huge film fan, and IMHO, the 80's did not produce the "best" movies, if I'm defining the word "best" as, say, "grounbreaking". I believe that distinction to belong to the previous decade - the 1970's. That said, many of my favorite films are from the 80s, and they are also the type of movies that I enjoy watching over and over again.
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
both you and Logan made some really excellent points and i guess it can be added that most remakes are 80s movies as are the songs - why is that if they wernt so great? But we still dont here others saying ahhhhh the 70s or ahhhhh the 60s do we??its always ahhhh the 80s.
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
btw rated you and logan for the comments.
Posted by Devolution (Member # 1731) on :
Devolution here,
I read the Sports Writer Bill Simmons and once he wrote that "Most movies that are made after 1984 are still considered to be universally funny. I agree with this statement. I think that most movies from this time tend to have appeal to people that I teach that are 14-18 now. As for the music... I love it, but it's the love of the movies that makes the music so much better. I don't know if they came on the radio without the movie if they would be as good.
We are DEVO
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
Long one coming! Hold tight!
quote:I think defining the 80's as having produced the "best" music and movies relies heavily on personal nostalgia. I think most generations reflect on the decade in which they grew up with fondness.
"Nostalgia" definitely relies on personal connection, and "best" is always going to be subjective. However, we can objectively assess too, can't we? For instance; we can say with relative certainty that the 70's had more good movies than the 60's. Taste certainly comes into it, but we can see that in the 70's cinema experienced a rebirth akin to the musical rebirth of the 60's. We could also say that in the 80's popular culture as a whole experienced a rebirth after the depression of the 70's. Decades can often have 'flavours' reflected by the social moods and the art of the time. The 80's was a time of new affluence, of aspiring to be rich, of 'go-get-'em' and 'can do'. That even comes through in its 'junk', and it's a fairly seductive thing to return to.
quote:During your formative years(for most of us here, the 80's), you are so impressionable. You are experiencing a lot of things for the very first time. As a result, there exists a lot of emotional connection to the pop culture that accompanied the years during which you came of age.
True. And as you say; what it is you're nostalgic for depends on when you grew up.
quote:For me, personally, most of things that happened in the 80's (and also the early 90's) didn't seem too special at the time. Certainly, there were movies, actors, songs, and musicians that I loved during my youth, but as I grow older, I attach more weight to them for a multitude of reasons, including their ability to transport me back to a special time that now seems so remote.
Ah... and here we differ. I was still at school in the early 90's, and I was *painfully* aware that what had gone on in the mid-eighties was better in terms of music and movies than what was going on at the time. It would take too long to explain why, but in terms of 'popular' culture, family-oriented movies and things for young people / teens, the mid-eighties was something of a golden age. In the same way that the early 70's was a golden age for American auteur film-making.
quote:I'm a huge film fan, and IMHO, the 80's did not produce the "best" movies, if I'm defining the word "best" as, say, "grounbreaking". I believe that distinction to belong to the previous decade - the 1970's.
I agree. I would say that the 80's had the best family films, fantasy films, and maybe comedies, as there simply weren't that many in the 70's, and many of the best of those in the 80's were by people who had learned their trade in the 70's.
quote:That said, many of my favorite films are from the 80s, and they are also the type of movies that I enjoy watching over and over again.
Ditto. Again, barring a few exceptions, if I want to watch a 'fun' movie, it's more likely to come from the 80's than any other decade. 'The Godfather' may be a great movie, but it probably isn't one you'd watch with your pals on a Friday night.
quote:Im in an age bracket (36-40yrs) where people will talk, converse and hypothesise more than any other age age group and so recite, compare and share experiences weve had as children and teenagers. he explained that people in the generation above me would have been in this mind frame in their 30s about the 70s and those in the generation below us 90s will be the same about the movies and music they heard when they are in thier 30s(bare in mind hes a psychologist)
Nostalgia is undoubtedly linked to our childhoods, so I don't doubt that others felt the same way about their childhoods. Even the children's writers of the 19th and early 20th century would be wistful about the time when they had less responsibilities, although their was no 'youth culture' to speak of (that came after WW2).
There was a great deal of 80's nostalgia about the 60's. In the 70's there was nostalgia for the 50's and early 60's ('Grease' / 'American Graffiti'). Even 'Back to the Future' is something of a nostalgia trip, as the two men who wrote it were looking back on their childhoods in the 50's. The same for 'Stand by Me' which is entirely a story of a man looking back on his 'lost' youth and innocence.
quote:Whilst agreeing with logan about the birth and advance in media forms and technology this was a reason for our attachment and has only really masked the movies poor story lines, plots and terrible story boarding and acting (which we call cheese).
If he's saying that "Nostalgia is a moron" as a friend of mine likes to quote, then I disagree. Nostalgia is the wistful pang one feels recalling a certain thing from a certain time in their life. But if you sit down to watch a movie from the 80's that you haven't seen in 20 years and it turns out to be junk, that doesn't mean that everything you are nostalgic for is junk. I loved 'Back to the Future' and 'Goonies' in the 80's, and I love them now. Nostalgia is my own personal feelings about the time in which I saw them, but, if you showed them to a 14 year-old now who has no such attachments, I'm almost certain they'd like them too. Why? Because they're well written, well cast, well directed and they have great music. Nostalgia isn't necessary.
quote:He listed actors that have won awards in the 70s and are still winning awards now.
And there are actors from the 80's that are still winning awards. The films that gave 'DeNiro' and 'Pacino' and a whole host of other actors their starts in the 70's were very credible adult-oriented films. Their work was considered 'heavyweight' right at the start. That always plays well with with the critics. All those actors were also trained-with-the-greats-to-be-the-best-actors types. The actors from the 80's often cut their teeth on television, not with Stella Adler or Lee Strasberg.
quote:He explained how technological advancement has enhanced our want to go to the cinema and see movies which are worth while seeing for cinematic experience (sound and vision) then gave an example of blu ray.
Technology hasn't really improved on the fact that it's a 'social' experience involving watching a movie in front of a 20 foot screen. Things like 3-D exist purely because the money-men want to guarantee people keep coming to the theaters rather than staying in to watch their widescreen TV's. They seem to forget that the size of the screen will always bring people in the way it always did.
quote:now for one i am biased and for his final point used this...he said only people from the 80s will love the 80s.
Only people from the 80's will be nostalgic for the 80's. But there are tons of people who weren't around who say they 'love' the 80's - much more so than for the 60's or 70's. Perhaps those people can't contextualise it, but they are showing an appreciation for the 'art' that the decade produced and the sense of style that goes with it.
quote:But we still dont here others saying ahhhhh the 70s or ahhhhh the 60s do we??its always ahhhh the 80s.
There were quite a few people in the 80's that saw the decade as a superficial letdown and constantly harped on about the music and idealism of the 60's. In the 90's there were a lot of people who criticised the 80's for it's superficiality and lack of credibility compared to the 70's and 60's. The problem was, they were coming from a decade with a strong emphasis on style in which much of the music / entertainment was aimed at teenagers. It took them to get older to realise that didn't automatically mean it was bad. Their typical "it's from my childhood therefore it's childish" is understandable, but it isn't accurate. Some of us never felt the need to overly-criticise the 80's just because we had gotten older, and that's why there has been such a big swing back to it: Those that criticised it became nostalgic for it, and those who didn't were forced to become somewhat entrenched in their feelings throughout the 90's. Love it - don't love it. But dismiss it entirely and as far as I'm concerned, you're 'wrong'.
I think the mid-eighties was a very creative time in popular music / family entertainment. I think the early 70's was a very creative time in cinema. I think the late 60's was a very creative time in rock music. I'm only nostalgic for one of them, because only one of them was my childhood. However, unlike the other era's, the art that came out of the mid-eighties was aimed straight at the young. For all the downsides to the decade, the pop music and family movies were among the best ever. It was a good time to be young.
quote:I think that most movies from this time tend to have appeal to people that I teach that are 14-18 now. As for the music... I love it, but it's the love of the movies that makes the music so much better. I don't know if they came on the radio without the movie if they would be as good.
True. I think the whole of popular culture fed into itself to create a sort of critical mass of successful entertainment. Can we imagine the Hughes movies without the soundtracks? Can we imagine Goonies without Cyndi Lauper? Note the high levels of (usually awful) cover versions there are on most modern films aimed at the young. That says something.
Posted by goresnet (Member # 6592) on :
*stand up and start slow clap for logan*
great post!
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
logan im going to read and reread as you took the time to do this so wait a while please while i have a good luck. Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
Ok, ive read everyones comments over again and again and there is a tone of severity, conviction together with subjective and objective statements. One thing we can all agree on is that we are talking about the arts. Were not talking about science, physics and maths where and kind of evidence can be considered deliberate as a result of a fair test. Even the hard statistics of movies grossing the most profit, actors recieving the most awards or the songs charting the the highests for the longest time cannot help anyone drawer to a favourable conclusion that the 80s is indeed a superior decade. As an example - Is the best movie, song, singer, band the one which sells the most or charts the longest. Shania twain sold more albums in the 90s than any other artist, so does that mean she was the ultimate singer/song writer of her decade of fame?? Feel free to correct me on that comment if you think i am wrong.
It was mentioned that the 80s could have been looked upon by many as superficial with its careless style, cheap tricks, junk, musicians, actors and iconic leaders demanding identity through egocentric behaviour and attitudes which up until the early 80s was not socially acceptable - im referring to the comment about social moods and trends which changed after the 70s and 80s - mind you post war (ww2, vietnam, cold war). im talking about what many have said in this thread - change and evolution. Change and evolution in peoples behaviour, attitudes. evolution in regards to becoming free to express and interpret after being nostalgic about the past- ill give the example here about Logans comments about stand by me being made (60s) and all the other movies made in the 80s set in the 50s-70s. But nostalgia cant ultimately be a definitive factor in the 80s popularity as ive just mentioned (and your comments show agreement)people are nostalgic about there 'decade' also. So where does the 80s popularity really get grounded.
All the ingredients (advancement in technolgy, style change, music evolving, social trends being explored)are listed and agreed upon but the same ingredients are there in the previous decades. But ... and here is where im just hypothesising . . . the degree to which these ingredients sparked a shift and change in people socially was incredible. As logan explained, there were a lot more award winning actors from the 80s still going than the 70s.
I teach 11 yr olds and when we have last days before the holidays ill revel in the opportunity to play an 80s movie. I can honestly say in the last 10 yrs ive been teaching ive seen more children laugh at the princess bride, more children cry watching Never Ending story than any other movie. The children love the depth of characters and raw scenes that exist in 80s films. They are mesmerised by Labrynth and squirm watching the Dark Crystal. i wont go on and i think your seeing my point. Even children are noticing the cheapness and superficial nature of todays movies. They are noticing the lack of depth in characters. Children notice everything, beleive me!! The movies of success (not monetary) today can have 80s parallels drawn upon them i feel. Logan, thank you so much for taking the time to write, this is why i introduced this thread in the first place, so EVERYONE can hear echoed thoughts and feelings. I now know my thoughts and feelings about the 80s are mirrored regarless of where we grew up (usa, australia, UK, Denmark, Finland .....) i guess we can all say this - - - - GEOGRAPHY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
Posted by LoverswithCassie (Member # 7794) on :
Very well written, thought out posts, Logan5.
I rated you as a result of them. Posted by saturnchick (Member # 7524) on :
quote:"Nostalgia" definitely relies on personal connection, and "best" is always going to be subjective. However, we can objectively assess too, can't we? For instance; we can say with relative certainty that the 70's had more good movies than the 60's. Taste certainly comes into it, but we can see that in the 70's cinema experienced a rebirth akin to the musical rebirth of the 60's. We could also say that in the 80's popular culture as a whole experienced a rebirth after the depression of the 70's. Decades can often have 'flavours' reflected by the social moods and the art of the time. The 80's was a time of new affluence, of aspiring to be rich, of 'go-get-'em' and 'can do'. That even comes through in its 'junk', and it's a fairly seductive thing to return to. [/QB]
I agree to a certain extent. The 1970's was definitely characterized by a dark, gritty realism, and is often the case with the arts, a subsequent movement will adopt the antithetical sensibility of its predecessor. In this case, I believe the recurring themes of aspiration and optimism found in 80's movies to be partially influenced by the cynicism of the 70's. Of course, it's not only a response to the films of the previous decade, but also a reflection of the cultural landscape. Not that the 80's are unique in this regard - most films are a product of a particular culture's ethos - but I digress.
I agree that, more than anything else, the idealism found in many of our 80's favorites is what makes these movies so re-watchable. We do return to them because we love the happy ending; the romantic notion that the underdog can emerge victorious, and that good can triumph over evil. This thematic characteristic is not unique to 80's movies, and to paraphrase logan, the 80's marked a time where this age-old cinematic theme of hope was reborn.
When I think about some of the more critically acclaimed films of the 80's, (Amadeus, Tender Mercies, Ordinary People, Raging Bull, My Left Foot, or Platoon, for example) few if any would make my "favorites" list. For the most part, they are quality movies, but hardly what one would characterize as being infinitely rewatchable. This brings me to one of my main points - that although many 80's movies bespoke of a burgeoning sense of accomplishment and of enduring hope - many, also, did not. Perhaps it is just the movies that we connected to in the first place, and those that we choose to return to, that reflect the more optimistic sentiments. To me, that it is a textbook example of nostalgia. After all, as children and young adults, we would naturally be drawn to films that adhered to a more enthusiastic outlook on life. I imagine that someone born a decade earlier than me may remember the 70's for Black Beauty, Willy Wonka, Star Wars, Freaky Friday, or The Muppet Movie, not Klute, The Deer Hunter, or Apocalypse Now, even though the primary vein of movie-making was along the lines of the latter list.
I most certainly do agree with logan's assertion that the 80's was a "golden age" for child and teen movies, but again, I think the reason we are able to understand and appreciate this lies in the fact that we were children and teens at the time. For instance, I know quite a few people who are older than me who fail to recognize how meaningful The Breakfast Club is to a teenager, or how emblamatic it was in terms of 80's teen-centric cinema. Certainly, many of these same people enjoy the movie, but I think they missed the boat on that one, so to speak. I suppose that if I had watched E.T. for the first time at age 25 or 35 instead of 5, I would still enjoy it, but the experience would not be quite as magical.
I also wholeheartedly agree with the suggestion that part of our connection to 80's movies is a result of the VCR, and I think that cable played a role as well. If it weren't for the advent of these two "devices" I probably would have only watched The Goonies once or twice, rather than 100 times. We were able to experience movies in a way that no other generation prior to us could, and this probably augmented our fervor for the films we loved. Remember rewatching all your favorites movies at slumber parties or with friends on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Nostalgia.
I think that our generation experienced popular culture in a very unique and exclusive way. We are that in-between generation - the first to exist fully with cable, VCRs, and video games (my right thumb still has not fully recovered from overzealous pounding of the buttons on my NES controller), but also the last to be cognizant of a time prior to the Internet, mp3s, YouTube, iPods, DVRs, On Demand channels, and XBOX Live. I think that the unlimited access triggered by the Information Age totally sucks the life out of mediums like movies and music. Miss last night's episode of Lost? No fear! It's a) On Demand, b)streaming on NBC.com, and c) just $2.99 on iTunes! We may have had the VCR and cable television, but those technologies encouraged a kinship with film. It seems almost impossible nowadays to develop an intimacy with a movie due to 24/7 access of EVERYTHING. Call me old fashioned, but I also fail to enjoy watching a movie while sitting at my computer desk or squinting at my iPhone. Either way, I think the technological "have" and "have nots" that bookended our generation lends itself to the 80's nostalgia that seems to be so prevelant these days. I don't think it really has anything to do with the 80's being "the best" time period for movies. For those of us that lived it, it's about returning to some favored moments of our youth, and for those who didn't live it, it's about imagining what it must have been like.
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
This thread is filled with EPIC WIN!!!!
It's a rating frenzy!
Major quotage in the following post! (Quoted for truth!)
Get ready for another big one…
quote:I agree to a certain extent. The 1970's was definitely characterized by a dark, gritty realism, and is often the case with the arts, a subsequent movement will adopt the antithetical sensibility of its predecessor. In this case, I believe the recurring themes of aspiration and optimism found in 80's movies to be partially influenced by the cynicism of the 70's. Of course, it's not only a response to the films of the previous decade, but also a reflection of the cultural landscape. Not that the 80's are unique in this regard - most films are a product of a particular culture's ethos - but I digress.
This is true. 60's was optimism and social change. 70's was Vietnam / post Vietnam / Watergate / political extremism. 80's was optimism and self-indulgence. 90's was cynicism and morose-ity.
It's worth pointing out that Disney had always traditionally been the studio for 'family' movies, and through the 50's and 60's they made some classics. By the 70's they were in decline, and with some notable exceptions (Jodie Foster movies) they were sucking badly. By the 80's the only 'family' studio was a movie has-been. Maybe that's why the market for young people (along with increased affluence) was wide-open for other studios.
[Side-note: I always point out that after the great auteur movies of the early 70's, it's ironic that the most experimental movie studio of the early 80's was... Disney! Check out their output post Star Wars - talk about variety! They were desperate! ‘Touchstone’ and 'Splash' saved them from the abyss - along with the Disney channel]
quote:We do return to them because we love the happy ending; the romantic notion that the underdog can emerge victorious, and that good can triumph over evil... the 80's marked a time where this age-old cinematic theme of hope was reborn.
The new patriotism... Rambo and Rocky replace John Wayne.
quote:When I think about some of the more critically acclaimed films of the 80's, (Amadeus, Tender Mercies, Ordinary People, Raging Bull, My Left Foot, or Platoon, for example) few if any would make my "favorites" list.
It's worth pointing out that some of the most critically acclaimed movies of the 80's 'underperformed' financially. The 'Movie Brats' of the 70's who had the world in their hands destroyed themselves with coke, hubris and too-personal-for-the-public projects. Only Spielberg and Lucas (the two 'nerds') didn't coke it up... and they survived to own Hollywood.
quote:Perhaps it is just the movies that we connected to in the first place, and those that we choose to return to, that reflect the more optimistic sentiments. To me, that it is a textbook example of nostalgia. After all, as children and young adults, we would naturally be drawn to films that adhered to a more enthusiastic outlook on life.
True this.
There are some exceptions. I had to rack my brains for some oft-watched movies with neutral or unhappy endings that seem to get the thumbs up from people a lot...
The Outsiders Rumble Fish Terminator Aliens Stand by Me
(Honorary mentions: American Werewolf in London / Somewhere in Time)
There may be others. But the point still stands: 'happy' works for nostalgia. And the exceptions are a minority.
quote:I imagine that someone born a decade earlier than me may remember the 70's for Black Beauty, Willy Wonka, Star Wars, Freaky Friday, or The Muppet Movie, not Klute, The Deer Hunter, or Apocalypse Now, even though the primary vein of movie-making was along the lines of the latter list.
There's definitely a pre Star Wars and a post Star Wars 70's. Post, we have things like 'Superman' and 'Grease' and the idea of the 'blockbuster' becomes a standard thing.
quote:For instance, I know quite a few people who are older than me who fail to recognize how meaningful The Breakfast Club is to a teenager, or how emblamatic it was in terms of 80's teen-centric cinema.
I think when people move too far beyond their mid twenties, they start to struggle with youth-oriented material. The Breakfast Club screams at anyone still trapped in the constrictions of education, but to anyone that has spent a long time in the world of work it becomes a whiny-sounding angst-fest. Of course the same doesn't apply as much to things like Back to the Future or Ghostbusters (high-concept). But things like Goonies and Karate Kid are best enjoyed by the young.
quote:I suppose that if I had watched E.T. for the first time at age 25 or 35 instead of 5, I would still enjoy it, but the experience would not be quite as magical.
Well... anything 'groundbreaking' about a film is usually gone after a few years, so it has to rely on story, acting, music and directing. You'd still enjoy E.T., but probably not be blown away (I reckon most people would still cry though!)
Two friends watched Goonies in the last year. One was mid-thirties, the other mid-twenties:
30's says... "Well made, but the journey was too short and the kids yelled too much and were annoying. Didn’t really like it."
20's says... "Liked it but would've loved it as a kid. Don't understand what 'Sloth' was meant to be."
quote:I also wholeheartedly agree with the suggestion that part of our connection to 80's movies is a result of the VCR, and I think that cable played a role as well. If it weren't for the advent of these two "devices" I probably would have only watched The Goonies once or twice, rather than 100 times. We were able to experience movies in a way that no other generation prior to us could, and this probably augmented our fervor for the films we loved.
The VHS was our anchor, and yet there was still a huge build-up. Where previous generations only had the cinema. We had the cinema... then waiting for the rental... then only being able to rent it occasionally... then the film being available to buy… which finally enabled us to see it whenever. Previous generations only really had the experience of seeing a movie at the cinema - we had a bunch of different experiences with the same movies. Not to mention MTV playing the songs... with the scenes from the films. Ah... the cross-marketing really worked... for a while.
quote:Remember rewatching all your favorites movies at slumber parties or with friends on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Nostalgia.
I associate black and white movies with rainy Sundays. And 'Carry On' films. I hope kids still have that. Brand new movies were something for birthday parties and fortunate Friday nights!
quote:I think that our generation experienced popular culture in a very unique and exclusive way. We are that in-between generation - the first to exist fully with cable, VCRs, and video games (my right thumb still has not fully recovered from overzealous pounding of the buttons on my NES controller), but also the last to be cognizant of a time prior to the Internet, mp3s, YouTube, iPods, DVRs, On Demand channels, and XBOX Live.
All true. Modernity without the all-consuming invasive nature that has taken over every aspect of our lives.
quote:I think that the unlimited access triggered by the Information Age totally sucks the life out of mediums like movies and music. Miss last night's episode of Lost? No fear! It's a) On Demand, b)streaming on NBC.com, and c) just $2.99 on iTunes! We may have had the VCR and cable television, but those technologies encouraged a kinship with film. It seems almost impossible nowadays to develop an intimacy with a movie due to 24/7 access of EVERYTHING. Call me old fashioned, but I also fail to enjoy watching a movie while sitting at my computer desk or squinting at my iPhone.
Again, all true. It's like hearing myself. Is it wrong to like that?!
This is a post I made many moons ago on another site where I said a similar thing (I'm big on repeating myself - Italicised for effect):
quote:The 80's were the first 'modern' decade in the sense that they took things like computers or movies and placed them in the home for people to control or enjoy. There's no denying that computer games now are better on every level to the ones from the 80's (faster loading/better graphics, etc), but that doesn't mean that people enjoy playing modern games any more. Movies nowadays aren't any better stylistically or structurally than they were in the 80's (although CGI has enabled things to be made that would've been impossible years ago). The Internet has created a global community where all people can share knowledge (and stupidity), share their likes (criticise things they don't), and generally feel like whoever they are, there are a million people out there just like them.
Unfortunately, all of the above advances come with a price; there is a 'glut' of things to consume and things to do with your time, so people either over-consume one thing (say... sci-fi) to the exclusion of all others, or they simply become ambivalent to everything. All the modern technologies that have made our lives better have come with an abuse; the mobile phone is great, but is it really a good thing to spend all day texting people? The deluge of media and technology has caused us all to take things for granted, and those people too young to remember the world before it think that's how it should be… which I guess is part of life. But you'll never be able to explain to a fifteen year-old that an simple Commodore game generated just as much fun as any new game. Appreciating things, savouring things is harder to do now. If you know that you're only getting one good meal in the next month, you're going to really try and to enjoy it and appreciate whatever you get. If you know you'll get good meals whenever you want, you'll be picky about your food and not care whether you eat or not. Too much of anything, even a good thing, and it becomes negative. How much can a teenager really appreciate the latest movie blockbuster, when they have 100 similar movies on their shelf, the internet, and 100 TV channels to choose from? I wonder.
There were awful parts to growing up in the 80's, though; damn, there was a lot of bad TV. And who didn't go nuts when their computer game crashed after 15 minutes of loading time? But movies were good, and so was a lot of music, and when you found something to love you really appreciated it.
On another note; is it just me, or do they seem to have only two choices when it comes to the music on sci-fi and fantasy movie trailers nowadays? It's either a guitar-heavy slow piece of indie rock, or it's that Carl Orff inspired overly dramatic classical sound. Whatever happened to great soundtracks with great themes?
quote:Either way, I think the technological "have" and "have nots" that bookended our generation lends itself to the 80's nostalgia that seems to be so prevelant these days. I don't think it really has anything to do with the 80's being "the best" time period for movies. For those of us that lived it, it's about returning to some favored moments of our youth, and for those who didn't live it, it's about imagining what it must have been like.
I recently argued with friend who said that a person could feel nostalgia for a time period in which they hadn't lived. I was very literal and disagreed; I argued that nostalgia could only be felt for a time in which a person had actually lived, because it had to be rooted in experience. I felt that the wistful pang and longing to visit other times brought about by a scene from a movie or a sepia photograph, may be like nostalgia, but it isn't the same. Nostalgia is about returning to something, and is a form of 'homesickness'. In the discussion I found that the Germans (the crafty Kaiser!) have a word for the other emotion: 'Fernweh' – 'Far-Sickness'. Where homesickness is an urge to return to a time and place that one has actually been, farsickness is a longing for a time and place one hasn’t actually been. My point? For those who were there; it’s homesickness. For those that weren’t; it’s farsickness. We all feel both at one time or another.
Posted by skatexedge (Member # 5712) on :
quote:Originally posted by pork pie mcfly: I totally agree with goresnet, growing up in the 80's were the best days of my life and all the movies and music I watch or listen too today, just takes me right back...happy days.
If only someone would invent a time machine...need to find Doc Brown. ha ha
Right on the money! I turned 14 in 1980 and the 80's were the most fun time of my life. Best movies, best music, best clothes, best hair!(wish i still had mine..LOL) That's just how it is!! the 80's ruled!!!
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
Logan i will respond to your post tomorrow when i have read it again and had another think
Posted by gordongecko (Member # 4685) on :
I didn't have time to read all this but will later. I just wanted to throw in my two cents.
I was born in 80 but have always loved the movies and music from this time period. There were obviously things that came from the 90's that shaped my life but the movies and music were no where near as great as they were in the 80's. I feel the 90's is when things turned to big business. Cookie cutter music and movies that would make money but lacked heart.
I do have to say that I do believe that 70's brought us the best in music though. I'm a classic rock guy and to me the 70's produced the best. Don't get me wrong I love the 80's but my vote goes to the 70's for music.
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
Thats really interesting because a lot of people in this thread tend to agree that nostalgia is a definitive reason for loving the movies and music from this time (but not the only reason) as logan, saturnchick, valley and myself have tried to outline.
Logan and saturnchick have taken the time to think through and respond to posts so have a read and tell us what you think.
Posted by Pyromantic (Member # 7658) on :
no
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
Originally posted by Pyromantic: NO
and your reasons would be?
[ 19. April 2010, 10:27: Message edited by: oneyedwilly ]
Posted by KING 80'S (Member # 7744) on :
The 80's were the best and will always be the best ever ! A lifetime of great memories!
Posted by Pyromantic (Member # 7658) on :
perhaps movies..but not music...much better music came from the 90's.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
