I asked my students today, "If you could be 16 in any decade...which would it be and why?"
The answers were almost unanimous "The 80's." There's always a couple of THOSE kids who say "the 60's....maaaaan" but yeah, the rest of the kids wanted 80's. Why? Well let's break it down-
1. Movies
80's movies were awesome. SO awesome in fact that currently, Hollywood is reviving every 80's idea that they possibly can. Transformers, GI Joe, Footloose, Ninja Turtles, (trying for) Ghostbusters, Red Dawn, Indiana Jones, and the LIST GOES ON! Can you really truly name a good movie from the 90's? Jurassic Park and....what else? MAYBE Braveheart and Babe...but the action flicks were pretty bad. Top Gun has withstood the test of time...Independence Day has not. Goonies, Better off Dead, Ferris Beuler's Day off...these are time tried classics that are still legit today. Hard to find 90's or 00's flicks that compare to these classics.
2. Cartoons
Remember when Saturday mornings were a sacred time? From 6:00 a.m. til 11:00 a.m. the cartoons ran on 3 or 4 networks and without DVR we had to eliminate the weak sauce to get to the red meat. He-man, Vultron, Thundercats, Ghostbusters, the SNORKS! THE FREAKING SNORKS! Smurfs, GI Joe, Transformers, Ninja Turtles, Camp Candy, Bobby's World, Eek the Cat, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs (yeah some of these bleed into the early 90's...sue me) X-men, Rescue Rangers, Ducktales, Spiderman, Batman, man I could write on this for hours. My current students got the tail end of Nickelodian's heyday and were stuck with Pokemon, Digimon, and all other manner of Mon's. All I see now when I turn on the tv Saturday morning is Disney shows about Tweens that make me cry inside.
3. Music
Remember the 80's? You know, back when Metallica was good. U2, REM, Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson....MUSIC YOU COULD DANCE TO! Gaga's got nothing on Lauper I'll tell you what. For me music took a huge dive after about 96-97. There's still some great stuff after that, and in fact I still occasionally find a good new band (Killers, Gorillaz) but let's face it, nothing tops the 80's play list. B-52's Rocklobster? Better than anything released this year from the world of Pop. I miss dancing to tunes. People don't dance any more...they just grind and try to look Bad A with their angry hip hop/rap crap.
4. Sports
Would you rather watch:
A- Tom Brady, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and the rest of today's NBA?
or
B- Joe Montana, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, The Pistons, Magic Johnson, Kareem, Malone/Stockton
Now before you answer, know that as far as the basketball shorts go...I'm with you on wishing that the 80's players didn't show so much leg. Kevin McHale's legs were ummmmm yikes.
The 80's were a time of great athletic feats (Miracle on Ice anyone?) I just wish we'd had HD tv back then...our old bendy screen tv was awful to watch sports on.
5. Tv.....wait
Yeah I'll give this to the current state of things. TV shows are SO much better now. We actually WANTED to watch Full House back in the day, can you believe that? I know it's hilarious and nostalgic to watch but...man...it's awful. I'll take X-files, Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, The Office, Parks and Rec, heck pretty much ANYTHING over the bulk of the 80's shows. I guess the Simpsons kind of started in the 80's...but they didn't get good til the 90's right?
6. Style
Hmmmm I know a lot of people make fun of the 80's sense of style. But I tell you this: I'll take ripped acid wash jeans and mullets over low ride pants and massive Bieber hair that covers from the head down past the nose.
Well this has been my "I'm stuck at Parent Teacher Conference I may as well Blog" rant thingy. Giggity- JR
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