Throwback Tuesdays (1980s Movies)

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In posts gone past, we have delved into a song or artist from the past, expounding upon a song’s meaning or delved into the artist and provided reason for why this artist has stood the test of time- because frankly, considering that this is first and foremost a site about music, most of the post relate to it, right? Yet this throwback post is different on many levels. In honour of the reboot/sequel Terminator: Genysis that released early July and the Star Wars 7 sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens that releases later in December 2015, we have decided to discuss a topic that’s certain create discussion amongst all or most of us- 80s movies.

The 80s was a different and unique time in the life of the world. The computer just started to become available commercially. The Cold War and communism came to an end. The Internet started its long journey in the 1980s, HIV/AIDS was discovered in 1984, MTV was launched, while games like Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong become worldwide phenomena during the 80s decade. And I was born. In 1989.

But let us swing back to the centrepiece of this article- when you think of the 1980s, which movies spring to your mind? Is it the last two movies in the Star Wars IV, V, VI trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi? Or how about the Indiana Jones Trilogy, as we remember and reminisce about how great Harrison Ford played possibly one of the most admired fictional adventure heroes (one that is not super) to date? Maybe it is ET: The Extra Terrestrial, the movie that kickstarted Drew Barrymore’s career and tells a tale about the affection and connection between a boy and a naïve alien? Let’s be reminded that Ghostbusters and its sequel released during the 1980s as well (have you heard there’s a reboot of it releasing in 2016, with a group of females leading the chase for ghosts instead?), alongside the sci-fi blockbusters Mad Max 2 (starring the very opinionated Mel Gibson) and Blade Runner (based on Phillip Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and also starring Harrison Ford). And the 80s can’t be the 80s without films like Conan the Barbarian, Rain Man, The Color Purple, Three Men and a Baby, Crocodile Dundee I and II, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, the first half of the Lethal Weapon quadrilogy, ParenthoodUncle BuckBig and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. And to add Schwarzenegger’s The Terminator, arguably the movie that most people would remember from the decade, Bruce Willis’s Die Hard, alongside Tom Cruise’s Top Gun and the original and best version of The Karate Kid into the list of popular and standing-the-test-of-time 1980s movies and you can probably understand why the decade that was 20 years ago showcases movies that are arguably some of the most profound and enjoyable of all time.

So what does this mean for us in 2015? Frankly, I haven’t really seen an original idea that would seem to take off since 2009’s Avatar. Many movie plotlines have been recycled, and redone, and most movies now are either remakes, sequels, animated shows or based on books/true stories. Nevertheless, this blog is not a bashing of today and a celebration of the 1980s and how special that time was. Granted, the 1980s were special, but we ought to remember, that a time like the 80s movie-wise will come again, perhaps not soon but it will happen. Til then, let us enjoy the movies that the decade have given us, and learn whatever lessons we ought to know from the movies we see as forms of entertainment and education.

As I end this post, let me pose a few questions. What is your favourite movie that released in the 1980s? What do you think is the underlying problem with today’s movies? Are you more of a movie buff or a TV show addict? What is the greatest lesson, if any, that God has taught you from movies in the 1980s? Let us know in the comments. Til next time.

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