Hollywood bets you'll love the '80s

By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY
Thu Oct 6, 6:47 AM ET



Hollywood's hottest trend is 20 years old.


The 1980s, the decade of big hair, big shoulder pads and big robots, is making a comeback as producers resurrect TV shows and cartoons from the Reagan era for a new generation.


Along with Warner Bros.' successful summer release of The Dukes of Hazzard, 20th Century Fox is developing a movie version of Dallas, and Universal Pictures plans to release an updated Miami Vice next July.


For families, cartoons such as The Transformers, Voltron and The Smurfs- which also were popular toys - are getting makeovers in a bid to make new fans out of the children of the children of the '80s.


One of VH1's most popular and oft-repeated programs is I Love the '80s and its sequel, I Love the '80s Strikes Back. The network has a third installment running Oct. 24-28, I Love the '80s: 3-D, which can be watched with special glasses to make the nostalgia jump out.


But when does the pop culture of an era go from out-of-fashion to retro-cool?


Producers say it's when the children of the era grow up and settle down.


"There's a point where you stop caring about new music and start caring about things from a point in your youth," says Michael Hirschorn, a VH1 programming vice president and executive producer of I Love the '80s. "We're most impressionable when we're 12 to 24 years old, so that what we wore, what we watched, what we listened to has greater import at the time, when you had yet to be distracted by things like jobs and families."


It happened with the '60s during the '80s, though it was reflected in more somber tones through movies such as The Big Chill, 1988's Vietnam-protesting drama 1969 and record compilations such as Freedom Rock.


The culture of the 1970s returned in the '90s, with    Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown borrowing heavily from the era.    Kevin Smith's characters in Clerks and Chasing Amy were obsessed with their '70s youth, especially Jaws and Star Wars.


The comic book company Devil's Due Publishing scored best-selling titles recently by resurrecting the GI Joe and Voltron series, both hit '80s cartoons.


"Twenty years after something is popular, people who liked those things as kids come back again and collect them now that they have disposable income," says Josh Blaylock, 28, president of Devil's Due. "Part of the appeal as you get older is you want to see the characters come back with a harder edge," he says.


Adam Goodman, head of production for DreamWorks, which is making The Transformers, says the 1980s are back because twenty- and thirtysomethings now have kids.


"We grow up with certain icons and certain entertainment ... and being able to share it with someone else and see it through their eyes for the first time is very satisfying," Goodman says.

Great Article - I think this will help support some of Marty Mcfly's recent postings about the 80's kids and why some embrace it and why some don't. Very refreshing and also, it doesn't make me feel quite alone with the whole 80's feeling or that I was the only one feeling this resurrection.

Great Article - I think this will help support some of Marty Mcfly's recent postings about the 80's kids and why some embrace it and why some don't. Very refreshing and also, it doesn't make me feel quite alone with the whole 80's feeling or that I was the only one feeling this resurrection.


I know exactly what you mean, Ultraviolet521.  Prior to discovering this web site, I thought that I was one of the few people who was in love with the 80's.  I didn't really think that other people were interested in it, so I kept my thoughts to myself.  Now that I'm here, it's as if the flloodgates have been opened, and I can't seem to shut up about it!  ;)

I guess that the article shows that there are lots of people who were kids/teenagers in the 80's (or "adopted" children of the 80's), and that Hollywood is finally starting to take notice.  I just hope that they "do justice to the 80's" during the revival, and don't cheapen the memories for the sake of making money.

I could have told the Producer of USA Today that anyway!

An 80's revival of sorts has been going on for a while now in the fashion industry, loud stripes, off the shoulder tops, legwarmers, Lacoste Polo shirts, guys wearing Pink...

Whilst agreeing with the article as to the reasons why we are seeing a retro revival, the answer is my eyes is simple: Commerical music and trends today are rubbish.
The 80's had...in no order:

Better Cartoons
Better Toys
Better Arcade Games
More varied genres of Music

And this in turn has sent a new generation out to hunt out and dig out the gold.  Fair play to the kids these days, I wouldn't dream of going back to the 70's for my music kicks as the 80's had waaaay to much good stuff going on. 

But today it seems that a lot of youngsters are turning to the past for music.  70's and 80's and 90's revival nights are rife, and the two young lads I work with are 80's nuts!

Great Article - I think this will help support some of Marty Mcfly's recent postings about the 80's kids and why some embrace it and why some don't. Very refreshing and also, it doesn't make me feel quite alone with the whole 80's feeling or that I was the only one feeling this resurrection.


:)

Great article.

As for "kids" liking that era, I wonder if people themselves are changing too? In other words, some of my 13 year old friends/classmates in 1995 (b. 1982) who dissed the 80's because they liked the grunge era so much, are now 23 and they miss stuff from when they were kids.

Most 13 year olds aren't gonna be too nostalgix for when they're 8, but a 20 or 30-something (heck, even a high schooler) can see the huge differences as well as get more experience/knowledge. That's probably another reason more people around my age are digging the 80's now.

It's not cool to hate them anymore like it was 10 years ago. ;)

The only thing I would disagree a teeny bit with, is I think it's closer to 25-30 years to make a full-fledged comeback. Right now I'm seeing traces of a "new wave"/Pac Man era revvial. Roughly 1979-83. I think 1989 is still gonna have to wait awhile to resurge.

Also a retro revival hinges on two things - the coming back of the original era, and the willingness of the modern era to accept/embrace it. In other words, because the 90's tended to be anti 80's in many areas, I think we'll have to wait for this late 90's vibe to disappear before the 80's can make a full comeback.

I see that happening around 2010. I hope I'm right. :D 

:)

Great article.

As for "kids" liking that era, I wonder if people themselves are changing too? In other words, some of my 13 year old friends/classmates in 1995 (b. 1982) who dissed the 80's because they liked the grunge era so much, are now 23 and they miss stuff from when they were kids.

Most 13 year olds aren't gonna be too nostalgix for when they're 8, but a 20 or 30-something (heck, even a high schooler) can see the huge differences as well as get more experience/knowledge. That's probably another reason more people around my age are digging the 80's now.

It's not cool to hate them anymore like it was 10 years ago. ;)

The only thing I would disagree a teeny bit with, is I think it's closer to 25-30 years to make a full-fledged comeback. Right now I'm seeing traces of a "new wave"/Pac Man era revvial. Roughly 1979-83. I think 1989 is still gonna have to wait awhile to resurge.

Also a retro revival hinges on two things - the coming back of the original era, and the willingness of the modern era to accept/embrace it. In other words, because the 90's tended to be anti 80's in many areas, I think we'll have to wait for this late 90's vibe to disappear before the 80's can make a full comeback.

I see that happening around 2010. I hope I'm right. :D 



You're absolutely right McFly.  My Wife is 26, and she's really missing the early-mid 90's which heralded some really excellent chart music.

Some of the absolute trash that has filled the music charts in recent years is continuing to make the 80's and early 90's look very good indeed.  80's are no longer widely dissed, because criticism of the modern music scene has probably reached an all time high.

For good music nowadays, I think people are having to dig a little deeper behind the commerical chart scene and go underground.  20 years ago, all you needed to do was turn on the radio and listen...that was the difference.

As for a 1989 revival, I don't think it'll ever happen.  Like most decades before it, the 80's are having the best bits picked off it's carcass - and the general consensus of opinion seems to be that years of 1980-1986 were the 'vintage' ones.  I think the 80's started going wrong during the latter part of the decade, when the likes of Stock, Aiken and Waterman raped the music scene and left the door open for the backlash we witnessed in the 90's.

Great article, thanks for posting it.

Too bad we can't go back to the ages we were in the 80's.  I could handle being in my teens again.

I myself have noticed before that it seems like the 80s are hot again:

http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php/topic,12124.msg557137.html


Hey, if the pop culture from two decades back is always the current retro trend, does that mean in ten years, we can expect retro 90s to be hot? I'm not looking forward to Power Rangers and Pokemon making a comeback.  :P

The 80's are definately coming back.  In the last little while, alot of the popular techno and dance songs I've been hearing are either covers or samples of great 80's hits.  The kids of today hear those, and then go back and listen to the original versions :)

I know exactly what you mean, Ultraviolet521.  Prior to discovering this web site, I thought that I was one of the few people who was in love with the 80's.  I didn't really think that other people were interested in it, so I kept my thoughts to myself.  Now that I'm here, it's as if the flloodgates have been opened, and I can't seem to shut up about it!   ;)

I guess that the article shows that there are lots of people who were kids/teenagers in the 80's (or "adopted" children of the 80's), and that Hollywood is finally starting to take notice.  I just hope that they "do justice to the 80's" during the revival, and don't cheapen the memories for the sake of making money.
::)  Whew..I am Drunk on this subject...The 80s arent back..they have always been here to us..who were there...The kids now are Creeping in and joining the party,,,but its us...Actually lived it that can say the true expierience of the whole time...I freak on these kids now who try to reinact the Scene...You had to be there,,,I dont care how many movies...Songs...Etc...you listen to...it was...and always will be....A...Have to be there thing...The 80s arent back...They NEVER LEFT....

::)  Whew..I am Drunk on this subject...The 80s arent back..they have always been here to us..who were there...The kids now are Creeping in and joining the party,,,but its us...Actually lived it that can say the true expierience of the whole time...I freak on these kids now who try to reinact the Scene...You had to be there,,,I dont care how many movies...Songs...Etc...you listen to...it was...and always will be....A...Have to be there thing...The 80s arent back...They NEVER LEFT....


They were gone, except for those who refused to let it end. I am glad we're not in the 80s otherwise we wouldn't be talking online at this moment. But, culturally, 80s thing's are slowly sliding back into the mainstream and becoming retro cool. I lived 8 years of the 80's, and believe me, I soaked in a good amount of memories during those formative years...