MovieChat Forums > Stranger Things (2016) Discussion > Is 80s nostalgia justified?

Is 80s nostalgia justified?

posted 5 years ago by [deleted]
98 replies | jump to latest

I feel like the 80s gets a lot of attention but the 90s was pretty much saying that the 80s was just one big bad joke, full of men wearing short shorts, women with shoulder pads, "rock" groups of men in drag and overly positive music in general.

The 90s brought a touch of realness back to people's lives.

It was great in terms of video games, kids cartoons and a few good movies but the 90s kid in me can see through this nostalgia and be like "dude, the 80s were a joke!"

[–] Starman (412) 5 years ago

90's brought out cynicism and even more pretense and fakeness, while allowing to be aware of it as well. The 80's was the time what I call the age of innocence, physicality and naivity, which comes with style, but style that doesn't want to hide what lies behind, only to embellish and celebrate, the 90's was starting to use style for covering the core, the truth, the heart. The 80's had the best music for me, it was uplifting, the spirit of winning and getting real of who we are in our heart, which is needed, especially at this time, people are bringing back that aspect into our culture, and ignoring 90's as a decade of decadence (reaching the highest peak), Mtv could be used as a perfect reflection of that, the mask to hide behind (thank you Eyes Wide Shut for reminding us). With the gradual death of media manipulation and artifice we're getting back to our humanity and individuality again, that is the age of uplifting rennaisance we're ushering in right now, and understandably many people are seeing resonance with some of those key aspects very prevalent in the 1980's and 1960's decade, that often allowed to express love and freedom freely without worrying what others think or feeling embarrased, ashamed, offended, cheesy, etc... It is a gradual process, the next decades are bound to bring in even more characteristics of this cultural transformation.

So much of the 80's is felt nowadays, I'll use an example of one song released in 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kSgTtrBAbE

[–] Xcalat3 (3701) 5 years ago

I think it is because in my opinion the 80's is the last decade that has it's own 'feel' everything since then seems the same if that makes any sense.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Yep, I have very clear picture of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s in my head, but from the late 90s up to now, it feels like one big blurry era.

There aren't obvious changes in fashion, cinema and music between say, 2002 and 2018.

I guess the arrival of the internet blended everyone and everything together.

[–] PeterVenkman (11) 5 years ago

In my opinion it’s because the screenwriters today are from this 80’s generation (JJ Abrahms and co) that’s all (my generation, I was about the exact same age as stranger things kids in 1985).
In the late 70’s and 80’s the main fantasy was to go back in the late 50’s (Peggy Sue, Back to the future) for the same reasons.
The next generation of screenwriters will write movie scripts about the 90’s. It’s like the madeleine de Proust you know.
Just wait for your turn kids ;)

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

I think you are right, that’s what I also noticed. Lot of movies from the 80’s and 90’s had 50’s and 60’s nostalgia.

It’s only logical 80’s and 90’s are the current nostalgia phase.

In ten years it will be the naughties and teens. :)

[–] Starman (412) 5 years ago

I wouldn't say this has an equal precedence in previous decades, we got filmmakers from older 50's/60's generation (Steven Spielberg, Chris Wedge, Sly Stallone, etc..) who have recently made films as homages to 80's as well. I don't feel like the 80's had such a strong 50's or 60's vibe, to me rarely any film did besides those set in those days. Since 2014 I see every third or fourth picture made that kind of feels 80's to me. In my view it also has a lot to do with Trump and his link to Reagan era that many people associate him with.

[–] Starman (412) 5 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Master (1494) 5 years ago

[deleted]

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

The eighties were OK.

I think people are going to feel nostalgia for the time that they grew up in. In the 80s we saw cable tv and VCRs become available to the average middle class family, home computers too. It was an exciting time in some ways.

[–] kellycallie (728) 5 years ago

No. The 1980's should be condemned not celebrated. Reaganomics....

[–] BadSeed84 (10) 5 years ago

not everyone is all about politics and if they are everyone isn't on the same side as you.

The 80s does seems to me like the 50s though in that the nostalgia and style of it is iconic now.
We started getting nostalgic for the 80s like 17 years ago, gta: vice city, I love the 80s on vh1.
So this has been going on even longer than the 80s itself.

[–] papamihel (1579) 5 years ago

Most of captains in the entertainment industry were teens in the 80s.
I'm just dreading the future in which we're gonna be surrounded by twerking grandmas and soulless MTV pop.

[–] ecbpdx (20) 5 years ago

April 8, 1990 Twin Peaks premiered. I see tons of comparison with this series.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

Just one of a long list of shows and movies that either have some eerie similarities or are directly homaged by this series.

[–] Cheepshooter (672) 5 years ago

Every decade can be a joke to someone 30 years later. Commercialism EXPLODED in the 80s. People made crazy stupid fads because they could and it was all new. It was like a kid set free in a candy store. The 90s weren't much better, but maybe a LITTLE more restrained. Retro wasn't something anyone cared about. People didn't want antique, but shiny and new.

For people who grew up in that time, the nostalgia is for the feeling of that "new world." In some ways it was like we were already living in the future. Technology and the computer age was moving fast on a scale that every person felt. It was exciting.