What is it about the 80's that everyone seems to love?

This (explanation?) was posted in the "Fresh Off the Boat" message board:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3551096/board/thread/248889161?d=248941895#248941895

Depends on your definition of just "what" that you're referring to. Are you saying that people you know are saying this or is it a sentiment you read about on message boards or chat rooms? When I watch 80s music videos on Youtube I see a lot comments by teens and tweens who say that they wish they were born and raised back in that era so they could enjoy music like that for the first time. I have to laugh when I read that because they seem to think that access to music and pop culture were the same then as it is now. IT WASN'T!

I grew up in the 80s and remember all of it as a child and a teenager. Living during that time I don't recall anyone stating what a great decade it was compared to the 70s and 60s, in fact a lot of commentary and pop culture references made by older people (mostly Baby Boomers I had as teachers, mentors, and bosses) they always alluded to the 60s as being THE decade of cultural change and progression. Starting off with JFK's inauguration speech to the landing on the Moon the 60s were a big deal on 80s TV shows, documentaries, Hollywood movies, and books.

As I got older and entered college by the late 80s I met a lot of idealists my age who wanted to usher in another revolution that mirrored the hippie movement of the 60s. Interestingly enough that never happened and Reagan's second term was winding down with George HW Bush entering the spotlight, but in contrast to Reagan he didn't have Uncle Ronnie's charisma or allure so his welcome wore very thin by the next Presidential election cycle.

By the early 90s most of my friends, associates, and acquaintances I had met were glad the 80s were over, and by the time micro-processing had advanced technology for the personal computer everyone was eye-balling the future and I remember the apprehensive buzz surrounding the birth of the world-wide-web. From a music and pop culture perspective, MTV and music overall for me had become bland and over-produced. The two year spotlight on the Seattle Sound that killed off the Hair-Metal band scene had reached its Zenith by '93 and soon devolved into generic "NuMetal" with every new band sounding like Kurt Cobain, Lane Staley or Chris Cornell and maybe a hybrid of all three.

Rap and Hip Hop, which really made a name for itself in the 80s and was still shunned by the mainstream, as well as the Grammy Awards had turned a 180 and it became fashionable to be a gangsta rapper and white kids started talking with Afro-American lingo even though they were from predominantly white neighborhoods. The 90s to me are precursor to what we see today in pop culture, music and in movies where everything has become to highly commercialized and demographically planned out that everything has less meaning than it use to.

With the rise of social media and high speed/broadband technology the immediacy of self-gratification has replaced the curiosity as well the independent thinking that really made music change people from within. Don't get me wrong, THERE ARE young people today who are all about expressing themselves with their own ideas, but overall the commercial aspect of entertainment has either drowned out the audiences' ears or the drive by young artists to challenge the establishment is something they haven't figured out yet. But I think someone eventually will knock the vase over and make people take notice.

It was a shallow decade from a pop culture POV, and I say that in the best possible way.

The music was upbeat, the movies were pure popcorn, our social consciences were focused on achieving goals rather than fighting, fashion and decor had bright colors,...the list goes on and on.

They weren't perfect, but I think they were more positive...
...or maybe it's just me.

(And yes, the toys and cartoons were WAY better).

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I said I'd feed you...I didn't say who to.

It just was a better time. I am glad that I didn't grow up in the 60s with all the crap that happened back then with Vietnam and such. ESPN and MTV were probably at their peak during that time. MTV was best the first few yrs and then a certain genre killed it for me. Then it was further killed by reality shows. 80s fashions were more brighter than the drab 70s fashions. Looking at me in the 70s was frightening.

Basketball was at its best back in the decade. NBA was awesome in the 80s. You had Magic, Iceman, Kareem, Bird, The Dream, Dr. J, MJ and Nique all plying their trade. Shooting was better and it was more up tempo. Fantastic. And then the Bad Boy Pistons/Riley's Knicks just killed it for several yrs. College basketball was also watchable back then. I can't watch it now. It's a terrible product because all the best players leave after a yr or two. You wouldn't have seniors like Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin battling it out. They would have left early in today's game. No doubt.

Football was good for me because my team, the Phins, went to two Super Bowls. I also saw Dan Marino in his prime. The '84 Phins is my favorite team of all-time. Oh what a great offensive team that was. You could hit people back then also. Seems like the game flowed better with fewer flags as I recall.

I do miss a lot of the decade. Certain aspects I don't miss. Like I wouldn't want to go back to high school again. It could be rough at times like probably most people.

Like another thread, I kinda miss the days of arcades. I also miss my Apple II E which had some great games like Ultima III, Castle Wolfenstein and Microleague Baseball. Spent hours on those games.

Going to the movies was an event. I don't recall audiences being as rude as they are now. I do blame cellphones for a lot of that.

I enjoyed the music back then. I knew everyone in the top 40. I couldn't really tell you now who is on it. MTV could make or break acts. That was good and bad. I do believe some acts were more concerned with how they looked like a Poison then how good their songs were. I do admit missing how you used to buy concert tickets. You would go to a music shop and they would bring out a huge book and point to what was available. Oh good times. Of course those were also the days where you camped out for tickets. Never did do that though.

Seems like today people are just glued to their cellphones or whatever electronic device they have in their hands. There's less interaction with people. It was just a nicer time back in the 80s.

My only guess is the nostalgia. I was born in 1989 so I don't remember anything about it, but I like nostalgia pieces in general.

[deleted]

For me, it's mainly the music, the music, and...the music...Did I mention the music?...It's the best music ever!

The music was light and fluffy, as was some of the TV shows and movies. They had plots and premises that would never even make it off the drawing board today, but not only worked but no nobody blinked and I at the ridiculousness of some of them. There was a magical quality to them.

It was also the heyday of action movies, toys, and a lot of things that just aren't popular anymore. For the first time ever we could watch movies at home because the VCR. The same could be said about portable music and the walkman.

So many things were new. Now everything is a 10 out of 10, obnoxious, in your face, and as a result not that impressive. Back and then they were still in awe factor.

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