Flashy, shiny, commercial, and money-driven, the 1980’s in America is now viewed through a powerful nostalgic lens by generations who either lived in, were born in, or now look wistfully back at this decade as a representation of…

As stated in the introduction to this series, if 1980’s Hollywood perfected anything, it was marketing: demographic research, adherence to the four-quadrant model (males under 25; females under 25; males over 25; females over 25), high concept movies, and chasing the ultimate, the “Blockbuster”…

What would a movie be without an antagonist? The counterpoint to our hero, villains exist in fiction to provide urgency to our main character’s quest and largely sets the plot in motion. After all, where would Daniel-son be without Cobra Kai and Johnny to fight? Or Schwarzenegger’s Dutch… Totally 80’s: Teen Movies! One of the most enduring products of 1980s cinema, the “teen movie” genre was reinvented with 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Although there have been plenty of movies about teenagers since the beginning of filmmaking, and the 1950’s and 60’s had plenty “teen movies,” but none seemed to capture… Totally 80’s: Cartoons! I spent the first half of my childhood in the 1980s, from 0 to 8, living the Totally 80’s lifestyle in the best way possible: with tons of toys and tons of television. Not that my parents plopped me in front of the TV and forgot about me but they saw that I liked it…

My folks took my sisters and I to the movies frequently when I was a kid, and I was lucky enough to see some great films in the theaters as a result, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, and Back to the Future, Part II. Besides this, since… Totally 80’s: Sitcoms! Ahh, 1980’s sitcoms. One of the more comforting pop culture artifacts to a nostalgic mind, there were never cozier worlds built in fiction than the ½ hour laugh track-driven situation comedies of that decade. Featuring near-perfect families who lived in gigantic houses and got into weekly shenanigans…

Film culture from the 1980’s is now known for perfecting the blockbuster, creating the teen movie, and churning out tons of (somewhat inappropriate) films for kids. And a lot of movies from this decade have gone on to become true classics: Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ghostbusters, and many more. But not… 10 Garbage TV Shows From The 80’s Listen: television is a cesspool. You know, I know it, hell even TV knows it. Instead of the respect, promotion, and (especially) money that gets pumped into creating films, television has traditionally been the ghetto of visual entertainment. Even paintings–images that don’t even move, for cripes sake… 10 More Garbage TV Shows From The 80’s Television knows how to make great TV…now. Before the present day, however, TV was considered a second-class form of entertainment that beginners and has-beens would work in. But considering how much money was being pumped into TV, and how much…