What it's like to be an 80s fan...

John Kilduff · 08-06-2007, 12:50 PM

The following is mostly taken word-for-word from a post I wrote at the Laughing Place forums (A series of message boards dedicated to the Walt Disney Company):

It seems that every time things from the 80s are reviewed, somebody who saw the decade first-hand degrades them. They say derisive things about the hair, the clothes, the music, the images...

It really gets to me. I've been an 80s fan for a long time.

Here's an article I wrote for RetroJunk. It's called "Don't Call Me A Poser", and it's my history of being an 80s fan.

The link can be found here: http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/760/.

I write about a lot of stuff in there, both from the 80s and from my personal life, and how the former has helped me through the latter. It is lengthy and a little outdated (It was written when I was 23, "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" isn't on Adult Swim anymore and I no longer use the word "cheesy" to describe any aspect of the 80s), but I encourage you all to read it, so you can learn more about me. Also, please read through the comments section at the bottom. It explains how I've changed my mind on several things I wrote in the article.

The decade helped me through so much that I just want to say to the people who make fun of it, "You looked great, you sounded great, you were all great back then...Don't make fun of yourselves".

One of the aspects of Aspergers' Syndrome is latching on to a certain subject and getting to know a lot about it. The 80s is that subject for me. I've gone through a lot over the years, and the 80s has been a constant source of peace and strength throughout my life.

I hope all of you can understand that. This is a very special thing for me, and not everybody understands that. When I was on the DisBoards a few years ago, I talked about how I didn't like people making fun of the 80s. Having revealed my age in an earlier thread, I was laughed at with comments like "You were only 7 when the decade ended".

Please give it a read, and you can learn more about both me and what I like.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

I encouraged the LP posters to read it and now I'm encouraging all of you to read it. It's what I'm all about.

DaveF · 08-06-2007, 01:01 PM

Quote:

It seems that every time things from the 80s are reviewed, somebody who saw the decade first-hand degrades them. They say derisive things about the hair, the clothes, the music, the images...

How could anyone who lived through the '80s denigrate them?!? I miss the big hair, and get all twingly inside when I hear the song The Living Years. And these kids with their broadband web and XBox 360; we had 300 bps modems and multi-player M.U.L.E!

So, I look forward to reading your essay on the '80s!

....

Quote:

1989: At the age of 6 years old, I see "The Little Mermaid".

Oh good gravy, you're much too young to be reminiscent over the '80s! I saw the rebirth of Disney's feature animation as a senior in high school!

Joseph DeMartino · 08-06-2007, 01:39 PM

Quote:

1989: At the age of 6 years old, I see "The Little Mermaid".

Oh good gravy, you're much too young to be reminiscent over the '80s! I saw the rebirth of Disney's feature animation as a senior in high school!

Both of you get the hell off my lawn!

I'll say this much for the 80s - they were a vast relief after the 70s. (You want to talk about big hair and crimes against fashion... I'm talking lapels you could hang-glide from...)

digitalgliff · 08-06-2007, 04:39 PM

The 80's rocked!!!! having my teen years in the 1980's I can say that is a decade I long for a remember with great honor. That was a time when women were women & NOT tramps (back tats) Music was cool (hair bands) Fashion ....OMG "fuzzy swetters"

Our president knew what he was doing & the world didn't hate us because of him.

ROCK ON 80's STYLE

Bryan X · 08-06-2007, 05:30 PM

Quote:

It seems that every time things from the 80s are reviewed, somebody who saw the decade first-hand degrades them.

That's the opposite of what I've noticed. Most people I talk to who lived through the 80's look back fondly on the decade.

Quote:

The 80's rocked!!!!

I agree! The 80's were my coming-of-age years. I was 10 at the dawn of 1980 and 20 by the end of 1989. I think the only other 'decade' that might rival the 80's is the 50's. No other comes close.

Now excuse me while I go do the 'Safety Dance'.....

**HTF Ads**

Carl Miller · 08-06-2007, 06:21 PM

I was 16 years old in 1980, so I'm more of a 70's product I think, but I loved the 80's.

I loved the big hair all the women had, the TV was good and the music was diverse....You could hear a song by the Clash or Talking Heads on the radio and the very next song would be something totally the opposite, like Safety Dance, Politics of Dancing or something by Falco, etc.

Not sure why people rag on the 80's, or any decade for that matter. Some of the fashions from prior decades look dated of course, but everyone looked perfectly fashionable at the time.

Kevin Hewell · 08-07-2007, 12:50 PM

Quote:

...and I no longer use the word "cheesy" to describe any aspect of the 80s

Not even a mullet? I love the 80s but even I can't defend that horrid haircut.

I graduated high school in 84 so a large part of my formative years were spent in that decade. In fact, I'm listening to Duran Duran on my hard drive at the moment.

New Wave music, MTV when it was good and cool, "Hill Street Blues" -- the 80s were great.

BTW, if you have Comcast OnDemand they have been showing "Square Pegs" for a couple of months now.

Mort Corey · 08-07-2007, 03:02 PM

DOS 1.0......still have the IBM manual/three ring binder and 160K disc. The PC's beginning age (Apple II was considered a toy...not to mention Commodore and the like).

The "good old days"...when you didn't need gigabytes of ram to run a stupid operating system.

Mort

Garrett Lundy · 08-07-2007, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl Miller

I loved the big hair all the women had

They still have it in the sticks.

I can't honestly say too many bad things about the 80s... cars. Cars universally sucked in the 80s. Fashion was pretty good overall, padded shoulder-suits aside.

The 80s gave us the yuppie. Without the yuppie we wouldn't have: Food network, personal computers, golf, wine, organic vegetables, the 3-series, rolex, or iPods.