Why does the 80's get so much ridicule?

[rocklobster]

I am an unashamed 80's child. I loved my childhood and am not at all cynical about it. We had good things in the 80's:
The original NES
MTV actually had music!
great movies: Star Wars, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, The Princess Bride, The Neverending Story, Ferris Bueller's Day Off...
great TV: Quantum Leap, Disney cartoons that were worth watching, Voltron, Transformers, Head of the Class, You Can't do That on TV...
great music: Def Leppard, B-52s, Duran Duran, AC/DC (ok, so they started in the 70's, but still), Huey Lewis and the News, Tears For Fears
so why does my childhood get so much ridicule?

[Tarnish]

1. Most people (teens) aren't going to agree with you on the NES. Not because it's bad, really, but because it's freaking primitive. Nevertheless, I'll let this one pass.
2. Are people still harping on this? We have YouTube now. You really need a whole channel dedicated to showing music videos you'll never watch?
3. Most of which have been pounded into the ground so far it's hard to see what we liked about them in the first place. Oh, and The Neverending Story sucked.
4. Most of those shows actually sucked. (see: Transformers)
5. Because a lot of the bands really, really sucked.

I don't understand why people are so nostalgic for the 80's. A couple of good things came out of it, but lord am I glad they're gone.

The very worst aspect of course being that they were a fashion black hole.

[Radical Dreamer]

1. The side pony-tail.
2. Big hair.
3. 80's clothing. Period.
4. Big. Hair.

The very worst aspect of course being that they were a fashion black hole.

This. Very much.


Also welcome back Tarniiiiishh! I haven't seen you around in a while!

[Roy Mustang]

Because with the good stuff, you did have a lot crappy stuff in the 80's.

In the 80's, the USA was really strong and didn't have to worry about money problems, but there was a lot of bad things that happen in the 80's.


So, just going by music, tv shows and stuff like that doesn't really make the era great, but the events that happen in that era.


If you look at it, every era has its pro's and con's and to me there is never been a great era, just some suck less then others.

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[Cognitive Gear]

The 80's gets ragged on because it's fashion was horrible, most TV wasn't worth watching, etc.

However, it did produce some great music. That which was good was amazing, and that which was not sucked horribly.

I can't understand why the 80's fashion is slowly starting to show up again in Los Angeles. It's an ill omen.

[xblack_x_rosesx]

I think being defensive about the era you grew up in is a little weird.
You could complain about kids these days, or how times have changed... but I didn't think 80's ridicule was that big a deal. There was 70's ridicule... and 60's... and so forth.

[ShiroiHikari]

I have a soft spot for the 80s but I don't idealize them as a perfect magical happy time either. I'm especially fond of 80s movies and COMMERCIALS, but am actually not all that familiar with 80s TV shows. 80s fashion is better left in the past and I'm not really into the American 80s music I've heard (anime songs don't count XD).

Also, the cartoons were definitely very iconic, but they were a lot worse than people think. XD G1 Transformers toys and characters are cool, but the original TV show suuuuuucked.

I have no problem with poking fun at the 80s, but some people are just downright mean about it, and that kinda bothers me. ._.

What the crap, I made this post hours ago and just now noticed that I said something really retarded on accident.

[Roy Mustang]

If we are going to say that US version of Go Lion on the last of good tv cartoons. You have to put the US version of Macross on that list, even if I not a big fan of Robotech other then the new stuff. You have to give Robotech its due to show us how good Macross was.

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[Etoh*the*Greato]

this seems an appropriate place to post this.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/e062d7b4d5

[ChristianKitsune]

o.o you miss the 80s? Where the "CellPhones" were like MASSIVE BRICKS? and the computers were like...DOS?

There wasn't the interwebs in the 80s...and most of the movies were like...horrible.. >_< I cringe at the "special effects"

LOL...80s. And the fashion...LAWL it's like they cosplayed everyday!

[Etoh*the*Greato]

'cause everything in this decade is fashion blameless.





As cool as we think we are now, they're gonna have the same complaints about us in 20 years from now as we have for the era twenty years ago.

[Raiden no Kishi]

1. Most people (teens) aren't going to agree with you on the NES. Not because it's bad, really, but because it's freaking primitive. Nevertheless, I'll let this one pass.

Not in its day it wasn't.

2. Are people still harping on this? We have YouTube now. You really need a whole channel dedicated to showing music videos you'll never watch?

Oh, it'd just be nice if a channel called MUSIC TeleVision actually had music.

3. Most of which have been pounded into the ground so far it's hard to see what we liked about them in the first place. Oh, and The Neverending Story sucked.

In your opinion. Which, to most other people, probably doesn't mean a thing.

4. Most of those shows actually sucked. (see: Transformers)

See above.

5. Because a lot of the bands really, really sucked.

See above again.

There's a lot of stuff that sucks punctuated by quality in every decade and every generation of human beings. That's how human civilization works.

And frankly, I haven't seen any '80s nostalgia in my experience. Nostalgia for certain music/games/cartoons/toys from the '80s? Sure. Nostalgia for the decade itself? No.

.rai//

[Technomancer]

o.o you miss the 80s? Where the "CellPhones" were like MASSIVE BRICKS? and the computers were like...DOS?

There's nothing wrong with DOS! Anyways, home computers were really pretty diverse back then (most of them didn't use DOS, or even Intel chips).

There wasn't the interwebs in the 80s.
[/qoute]

We had BBS's!

LOL...80s. And the fashion...LAWL it's like they cosplayed everyday!

As far as the OP goes, I'll echo what most people said, and admit that yeah, the fashion was pretty awful. A lot of the music wasn't so great either (why was Duran Duran so popular anyways?).

[Fish and Chips]

Hey guys, let's pick on the 80s. It's not like he's here to defend himself.

[Shao Feng-Li]

We've got generic, a dime a dozen emo kids this decade and bad peotry, so...

[Tarnish]

Not in its day it wasn't.

Clubbing animals to death with a large piece of wood wasn't considered primitive back in its day, either.

Oh, it'd just be nice if a channel called MUSIC TeleVision actually had music.

And it'd be nice if the Cartoon Network played cartoons, the classics channel played classics, and G4 played something other than COPS. These are somewhat recent, but MTV has stopped doing music videos for what, 12 years? People need to get over it.

In your opinion. Which, to most other people, probably doesn't mean a thing.

I'm sorry. I should have known better than to voice my opinion on a public forum.

But just because we disagree, it doesn't mean we can't hug.

[EricTheFred]

Just keep it up, guys. In about twenty years, you'll find out what the guy was talking about... that's when you'll hear people making fun of the 2000's, or whatever they're calling them by then. I've watched the sixties and the seventies lampooned, and now the eighties get it.

In about five years, you'll start hearing the 90's getting seriously picked on. That's about how long it takes.

[Cognitive Gear]

In about five years, you'll start hearing the 90's getting seriously picked on. That's about how long it takes.

Ooh! It should be pretty interesting to see my childhood and early teen years get torn asunder.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Because everyone has a subjective bias on what's cool and uncool. You say MTV had actual music back then, but people may argue and believe that MTV's music now is better than back then.

We have good music, movies, and tv shows today. We have good video games as well. Why be so defensive?

[Raiden no Kishi]

Clubbing animals to death with a large piece of wood wasn't considered primitive back in its day, either.

Exactly. One should judge technology by its era.

And it'd be nice if the Cartoon Network played cartoons, the classics channel played classics, and G4 played something other than COPS. These are somewhat recent, but MTV has stopped doing music videos for what, 12 years? People need to get over it.

Or we, the consumers, whose dollars control the media, could demand higher standards. That's the glory of a (mostly) free market.

I'm sorry. I should have known better than to voice my opinion on a public forum.

Oh boo hoo. The point I was trying to make was that opinion is subjective, and in matters of opinion, there is no objective "right". Your whole post was critical of those who disagree with you. I've no problem with difference of opinion. People just need to keep in mind that it is nothing BUT opinion, and respect others' opinions. That's all.

Also, I bet I could come up with a pretty decent list of good music that came out in the 80s. I think I shall, just for grins.

EDIT: Rai's Big List of Good Music* From the Eighties

* "Good Music" being operationally defined as "Music Rai thinks is really good/enjoys for some reason"

"Crazy Train," "Mr. Crowley" by Ozzy Osbourne (featuring the tremendously talented Randy Rhoads (RIP) on guitar)
"Back in Black (album)," "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" by AC/DC
"Dragon Attack," "Another One Bites the Dust," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen
"You May Be Right," "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "We Didn't Start the Fire" (as we all know, Ryan started the fire) by Billy Joel
"Neon Knights," "Lady Evil," "Heaven and Hell" by Black Sabbath (featuring the excellent Ronnie James Dio on vocals)
"The Spirit of Radio," "Subdivisions" by Rush
"I Love Rock and Roll," "I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
"Thriller (album)," "Bad," "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson (best-selling album of ALL TIME, y'know)
"Holy Diver," "Rainbow in the Dark" by Dio
"Texas Flood (album)," especially "Pride and Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
"Give Me All Your Lovin'," "Got Me Under Pressure," "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top
"Let's Dance" by David Bowie
"'Weird Al' Yankovic (album)," "Eat It," "Dare to be Stupid," "Yoda," "This Is The Life," "Fat" by "Weird Al" Yankovic (his debut album)
"Runaway," "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Livin' on a Prayer," "Wanted Dead or Alive," "Bad Medicine" by Bon Jovi
"Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer
"Mr. Roboto" by Styx
"Rock You Like a Hurricane," "No One Like You" by The Scorpions
"Hot for Teacher," "Best of Both Worlds," by Van Halen
"A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran (almost makes up for the embarrassing "Hungry Like the Wolf")
"To Hell With the Devil" by Stryper
"Satch Boogie" by Joe Satriani
"Appetite for Destruction (album)" by Guns n' Roses
"Rag Doll," by Aerosmith
"One" by Metallica
"Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode
"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
"Kickstart my Heart" by Motley Crue
"Tommy the Cat" by Primus

AND . . . !

"Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley

.rai//

But hey, you know what they say about arguing on the Internet . . .

[Bobtheduck]

Big hair
hideous fashion (mostly hairstyles)
big hair
people looking like skunks and hedgehogs (big hair)
Bouffants
Hair metal (big hair)
Guys with midriff baring shirts.

The late '90s was the best period fashion-wise, because it was simple! T-shirt and Jeans... Maybe not for everyone, but for most, and this is how I'll dress the rest of my life. It never gets old, and it was actually popular for a while. As for hair, well... I guess hair will grow and shrink, but this will always be hideous:



It was hideous when it started in the '80s, it's hideous now. I am aware that many many girls on this forum probably have hair like that, and I'm also aware that each and every one of them would look better with normal hair (like a girl I used to know, she had long, dirty blonde, somewhat wavy hair and she was gorgeous, then she did the scene thing... *shiver* I want to beat up the friends she has that tell her that looks better) I'd post her picture, as it's actually much worse than that (because her hair is short and permanently charged with around 10,000 volts) but... Well, I guess that's where I feel I'd have crossed a line...

Rocklobster, you may not notice but '80s is coming back, and it's as hideous as ever... or, rather, the Gen Xers are nostalgic trying to bring back the '80s, the baby boomers are trying to turn everyone into hippies... So it's somewhere in between, not counting the upward moving technology and the "chan" generation who sits in the front of my class saying memes 10,000 times making me want to shoot myself just to make it stop...

*cough* Ok, so I got sidetracked... Anyhow, the worst thing about the '80s was the big hair.

[ShiroiHikari]

Well, to be fair, the late 1960s and most of the 1970s actually DID suck from what I can tell, so it's okay to ridicule them. XD Kidding.

In about five years, you'll start hearing the 90's getting seriously picked on. That's about how long it takes.

Probably. It could take a little longer though, since the whole 90s nostalgia thing is just now starting to kick in (dear God I feel old).

Anyway, why do people say that 80s movies suck? Sure, there were some bad ones, but there were plenty of good ones too. ._. Maybe you kids are just too young to appreciate classics such as Back to the Future. >_>

As for my opinion on The Neverending Story: It was definitely much better when I was 10 years old. It didn't stand the test of time particularly well.

I, for one, don't want to let the MTV thing go and I'll tell you why: not only do they not play music videos much anymore, but their programming SUCKS. It's the most vapid channel on television. The least they could do is do a relaunch with a new name.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I am aware that many many girls on this forum probably have hair like that, and I'm also aware that each and every one of them would look better with normal hair

Eh, you can't really say that. I personally find hairstyles similar to that to be rather attractive. I also like normal hair, of course.

As Raiden has been stressing, everything assessment here is purely based on subjective opinion. That essentially means that this whole thread is pointless.

[Cognitive Gear]

Anyway, why do people say that 80s movies suck? Sure, there were some bad ones, but there were plenty of good ones too. ._. Maybe you kids are just too young to appreciate classics such as Back to the Future. >_>

Back to the Future, Karate Kid, Red Dawn, Top Gun, Short Circuit, Alien (series), Blade Runner, The Empire Strikes Back, The Princess Bride, Terminator 2, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Blues Brothers, Amadeus, Platoon, The Shining, Clue, Die Hard, Godfather, and the list goes on and on.

The 80's had some fantastic movies.

[Bobtheduck]

Clubbing animals to death with a large piece of wood wasn't considered primitive back in its day, either.

I'm not going to put the NES above modern machines like some nostalgics do (who are taking it too far) but You gotta realize that games like Super Mario 3, Mother, Ninja Gaiden, Double Dragon, Kirby, the original Zelda, Castlevania 3... They still stand as some of the best games ever made, and just because it's 8-bit doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Now, I'm glad gaming has evolved in intricacy and definitely in visuals (MGS4 is ooooooh) but we should never forget its origins or think they're somehow replaced... And the SNES? Probably the best system ever made, library wise... PS2 comes close, but...

Eh, you can't really say that.

Can, did, still do. It's hideous. It was goofy in the '80s, now it's just sad. Besides, all the scene girls look the same... Why not try for some originality?

[ShiroiHikari]

Back to the Future, Karate Kid, Red Dawn, Top Gun, Short Circuit, Alien (series), Blade Runner, The Empire Strikes Back, The Princess Bride, Terminator 2, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Blues Brothers, Amadeus, Platoon, The Shining, Clue, Die Hard, Godfather, and the list goes on and on.

The 80's had some fantastic movies.

Exactly! Thank you!

Also, several NES games stand the test of time quite well. A lot of them were bad, but a lot of Atari games were bad too. There are bad games on every system. And I don't think the NES is so much primitive as it is simple.

[GhostontheNet]

I am an unashamed 80's child. I loved my childhood and am not at all cynical about it. We had good things in the 80's:
The original NES
MTV actually had music!
great movies: Star Wars, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, The Princess Bride, The Neverending Story, Ferris Bueller's Day Off...
great TV: Quantum Leap, Disney cartoons that were worth watching, Voltron, Transformers, Head of the Class, You Can't do That on TV...
great music: Def Leppard, B-52s, Duran Duran, AC/DC (ok, so they started in the 70's, but still), Huey Lewis and the News, Tears For Fears
so why does my childhood get so much ridicule?

It beats me why the 80's are so hated on, the bold and innovative underground music of the period remains unbeat by anything that doesn't musically derive from that period. Over and over again, when you trace the musical roots, and you find yourself back in the 80's. Admittedly, the bright and cheerful looks of the 80's look even more ridiculous than usual, but I happen to find the looks of the 80's Gothic, Punk, New Wave, and Rivethead scenes to be really cool. While the NES is hardly the most advanced game system ever released, the reason people get nostalgic about it is that it's games have lasting spunk and charm. You're also right that the period produced a lot of movies and media with lasting cultural resonance. So yeah, in spite of all the complete rubbish my forum mates have written, I don't know why the 80's are so hated on. The worst thing I can think of is the doubly elected Ronald Reagan, but having doubly elected George Bush in our own decade, we don't really have a high ground to stand upon.

[sharien chan]

enough said...XD

[Nate]

Not in its day it wasn't.

Did somebody just say the NES wasn't primitive in its day? O RLY? Hey, let's look at a screenshot comparison!

This is the game "Ghostbusters" for the NES.



Here is the exact same game on the Sega Master System, which was Sega's 8-bit system (in other words, the same level of power as the NES).



I say, could it be that the NES version looks like crap compared to the Master System version? Indeed, it is so!

The NES was primitive even FOR its day. The ONLY reason it became popular was because the games were better than the Master System's, otherwise, the Master System kicked the crap out of the NES in every other conceivable way (it's interesting to note though that the Master System was extraordinarily popular in Europe though).

[LadyRushia]

I wonder how many topics we can fit in this thread. It reeks of Internets.

All I'm gonna say about the 80's is that without the 80's there wouldn't be the 90's, and without the 90's there wouldn't be the 2000's or whatever they're going to call this decade.