MovieChat Forums > Explorers (1985) Discussion > Being 10 years old in 1985

Being 10 years old in 1985

posted 10 years ago by EliasExplorer
14 replies | jump to latest

I am sure that kids from every generation, be it the 50s,60s,70s,90s,or 00s, will have their own stories and feelings of what it was like to be 10 years old around a certain time... but I have to say that being 10 in 1985 was something very magical.

Let me start with the movies of that era. I am sure that most of us will agree that Steven Spielberg and the people around him (Chris Columbus, Joe Dante, George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis) had a huge influence on the movies that were made between 1977 and 1985.
I mean we were able to watch fantastic movies like Close Encounters, E.T., The Goonies, Explorers, Indiana Jones, the three Star Wars movies, Gremlins, Back to the Future, and so much more in the mid-eighties.
Then there was also The Neverending Story, Flight of the Navigator, Young Sherlock Holmes,...the list goes on and on.

I remember how exciting it was to catch a glimpse of the lobby cards in the theatre, the anticipation of seeing the movie with my parents or older nephews, ...
Coming home afterwards and (there was no Internet yet) reliving the movie in your fantasy by looking at a few pictures in a magazine (if you were lucky to catch one).
I have very vivid memories of seeing The Goonies and Explorers in the cinema and being absolutely enchanted by these experiences...

I also remember walking in toystores or department stores and looking at the wonderful movie toys (I am referring mostly to the Kenner Star Wars toys).
And then there were also all these wonderful cartoons and television series like Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, The Powers of Matthew Star, ...
I am sure every generation has its own movies and series, and toys and music, but man oh man it sure was amazing being ten years old in 1985.

Maybe part of the magic was that there was no Internet, and not everything was "one click away". You had to wait for things, wait for a television series to be aired, waiting weeks with high anticipation till you could visit the cinema, ...
Maybe one of the most magical inventions of the 80s was the VCR. I can still remember my father bringing a VCR from work in the weekend, and then we went to the videostore to rent movies for the weekend...

I became a father for the first time this week, and now I have this idea to oollect all the movies I mentioned in this post on dvd, so one day when my son is old enough (between 6-10) I can watch those amazing movies with him, and I am sure I will enjoy seeing his reactions afterwards :).

If you have similar experiences of being a kid in the 80s feel free to share them here on this board.
Thanks for reading!

[–] theunopeneddoor-697-442391 10 years ago

Congrats on becoming a father!

Joseph Chastainme
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marks-the-series/806493646056177

[–] EliasExplorer 10 years ago

Thank you very much!! :)

[–] martinprince990 10 years ago

I was 12 in 85, but still know exactly what you're talking about, and while you're right in that every generation has their time, I think ours was the best.

Some of the movies you posted I had the pleasure of watching so many times that I can still literally recite many parts of them to this day.

As a father myself, I look forward to showing my kids these movies in a couple of years. I just hope I get get to them before my kids are lost on the hyperactive, ADD inducing animated movies and shows of today.

I looked this movie up today as I ended up watching "earth to echo" this weekend with them and was surprised that they seemed ready to follow it a bit. It really was not a great movie but it made me think of Explorers right away and watched to queue it up for them right then and there.

[–] keef_mac-236-658455 10 years ago

I was 2 in 1985 but I know exactly what you mean. I really miss my local video store, saturdays aren't the same now without renting out a film and buying all the necessities (popcorn, coke etc). My daughter is 2 now and I intend to introduce her to all the films you mentioned (particularly The Goonies) and make a big deal of them, not just have it be a film on in the background as seems to be the way now with Netflix being so handy.

[–] shaunqui 10 years ago

I was 4 in '85. But everything you said is spot on. This generation has lost the wonder and imagination of those times that we had back then. I'll forever be grateful for being a kid at that time.

Also miss taking the time to go to Blockbuster Video and renting movies out with some snacks and making a night of it. At least we still have the Theater, although i'm not sure how appreciated that is by young ones today.

[–] beyond2049 10 years ago

I was 11, and I agree with you 100%! 1985 was absolute magic... between the movies and technology during that time.. the world was full of wonder and excitement.

1985 was the best years of my life, no doubt about it.

[–] Galagatron 10 years ago

We were the E.T. and Return of the Jedi target audience, and because of that, there were all those fantasy and sci-fi movies. Strangely though, despite being memorable and well-liked, most barely made any money at the box office especially in comparison to Star Wars movies, E.T., and Back to the Future. Explorers, Tron, The Last Starfighter, Legend, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Labyrinth, and more all seemed to have a better life on cable and home video.

[–] Fluke_Skywalker 10 years ago

I was 11 in 1985, so I can totally identify with what all of you have said.

Kids today really do have a lot of cool stuff, but they're missing something that we had in spades in the 80s and I wouldn't trade it for all of the iTech in the world; a sense of wonder. It's gone. You have 10 year olds today who are jaded. Jaded! It's criminal.

----
A journey into the realm of the obscure: http://saturdayshowcase.blogspot.com/

[–] ojleslie 10 years ago

I was a twenty something when this movie came out and I still agree with you.

I think it started with Star Wars, when you were allowed to see a SF flick without being lectured to, with an underlying sense of humor, and where the props had a distinctly used look to them. And the beginnings of attainable CG helped things along too.

[–] Robbmonster 9 years ago

Interestingly, you original post was made on my 35th birthday, so I was 5 in 1985.

I had yet to reach the prime of my childhood, but I distinctly remember many of the things you mentioned. Going to the toy store to check out the toys - Star Wars, Lego, and Transformers were my favourites, of course - and I remember around 1990 going to the video store with my buddies and renting a bunch of movies we often were not meant to be watching (usually horror movies), as well as the standard kids fare. Explorers, Stand by Me, the Goonies, the Monster Squad, and many others I have forgotten. My friends and I WERE the Monster Squad, we were the Goonies, we were the kids in Stand by Me. We lived in a small town and our friendships were our lives.

WWF was also a huge part of childhood, and then the Ninja Turtles came along...

Video stores. The area where I live used to be littered with them. 8 within reasonable walking distance that I was a member of, and probably a few more I simple wasn't aware of. Now, they are ALL gone, the last man standing closed down about a year ago. Despite my feelings of regretful nostalgia, it's interesting to realize I hadn't actually rented anything from a video store for about the last 5 years.

No internet of course, but a VCR, and when a movie came on TV I was interested in, I'd be sitting there with my remote control ready to 'take the ads out'.

Were things REALLY better back then? Who's to say. It's odd in a way to think that 30 years from now, 35 year old kids in 2045 will be looking back nostalgically reflecting on how great 2015 was. Netflix was flying, Marvel Studios was spitting out 5 movies per year, movies were about real characters and not just special effects fests. Kids would get a medal just for participating. You actually had to type your opinions rather than just thinking them while wearing a funny headset...

Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
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[–] Synetech 9 years ago

If there were a Most-correct-person-in-the-universe award, you would win it hands down.

I have always maintained that the 80’s in North America were the perfect time and place for a child to grow up. Children in other times, and some other countries just did not have the same perfect confluence of magic and wonder.

(Response notification is off.)

[–] shaggyhairedteen 9 years ago

Some of my fondest memories are from being a Kid in the early 80s. sounds like we were about the same age at the same time