My friend, Mackenzie, from The Random Path, shared last week the things she didn’t miss from the 80’s, which then made me think about all the things I loved growing up. To my surprise, there were actually quite a few things.
Of course, part of it is romanticized nostalgia. Like Hallmark says, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Or I’m just getting old and forgetful.
It’s likely a bit of both. 🙂
I’ll Be Missing You
Most revolve around entertainment, which has always been my great love.
The Advent of Madonna
It’s kind of crazy when you think how long Madonna has endured. Sure, her popularity have seen peaks and valleys over the years, but only a foolish person would ever dismiss her. From Borderline to the awesomeness of Like of Virgin (who can forget the MTV awards?) she was a huge part of my musical life growing up.
Special Mention: Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Mariah Carey and please no judgement, NKOTB. In my defense, I was their target age and spent almost all my money on Teen Beat to paper my wall with their pictures. Come on, sing it with me, “You’ve got the right stuff, baby”, you know you want to!
Who Ya Gonna Call? Ghostbusters!
This might be one of the greatest comedies of all time. My parents took my brother to see it at the movie theatre, which was a rare and special treat. I wasn’t invited because they weren’t sure if it was too scary for me. I was known to have nightmares, which in turn probably gave them nightmares when they would wake up to find me hovering over them. So I understand their hesitation. 🙂 While the special affects don’t hold up today, the humor more than does.
Special Mention: At every slumber party I attended in the 5th grade, we watched Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and afterwards had our very own dance off! Goonies, Star Wars Trilogy (I know they weren’t all released in the 80s but that’s when I watched them) Princess Bride (Inconceivable!) and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off remain favorites to this day.
The Dukes of Hazzard
Bo and Luke were two good ‘ol boys and The Dukes of Hazzard was one of my favorite TV shows in the early 80’s. Back then, I didn’t understand what moonshine was or why Boss Hog was so hot to trot for Roscoe P. Coltraine to arrest them, but I did know it was fun. My cousins and I used to try to slide in and out of the car through the window, which wasn’t as easy as they made it look. And generally got us yelled at by the man, aka the parents.
Wonder Woman
I wasn’t the diehard superhero fan I am today, but I loved Wonder Woman growing up. She wore cool accessories and had an invisible jet. It didn’t seem cheesy or campy back then, but fun. And there is a little piece of me that is terrified to see what they do with a modern Wonder Woman in the upcoming Batman and Superman movie.
Special Mention: The Cosby Show, Doogie Howser, Growing Pains, McGuyver, Roseanne, Married with Children, TGIF Friday and Dallas. I didn’t watch it, but my Grandma did and I still remember the “Who Shot JR?” frenzy.
VCR Players
I remember when we got our first VCR. It was so cool! We could tape TV shows and rent movies. We rarely went to the movies, so this was huge treat for us. While DVDs were far superior, this was the start of something good.
The Wizard of Oz
Now I know what you’re thinking … that movie didn’t come out in the 80’s, but I watched it every year growing up. I’d sing along to every song and then I’d have a nightmare afterwards. The Wicked Witch terrified me. Granted, the Hulk scared me too. It’s entirely possible that I had a green prejudice.
It’s So Hard to Say Good-Bye
Ah, a great trip down memory lane. I remember my first perm (it was a disaster), starting to wear make-up (so cool!) and sadly putting away my Barbie dolls (sniff sniff). Ode to the 80s: I don’t want to go back, but I missed you more than I thought would!
What are some of things you loved in the 80’s?
Tanya
Ghostbusters was awesome! I’ve seen that movies so many times. Bill Murray is just classic, I mean his sarcasm is soooo funny!
Madonna was the bomb yo, but I saw her in concert when I was 13 and was completely traumatized. Picture a sheltered quiet kid, seeing the Blond Ambition tour, in person. 🙂
I remember slumber parties! Ah, those were the days…. 🙂
I couldn’t imagine seeing Madonna when I was 13. I would have been traumatized too! Heck, I would probably traumatized today. LOL! Slumber parties were so great. Such great memories of them and hanging out with my friends. Bill Murray is hilarious and Ghostbusters never ever gets old.
Do you remember when…I think it was VH1 had that show “remember the 80’s?” And they took on one year at a time? Man that brought back so many memories. For me it was all the John Hughes movies. Such a huge part of my teenage years. And just pop music in general. I don’t miss the clothes and the perms though. 🙂
I completely forgot John Hughes movies! Crazy! I didn’t have the chance to see many movies when they came out back then so I always tend to think movies came out later than they did. But I love Sixteen Candles (Jake!), The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink. Yes, I had a little Molly Ringwald obsession! I don’t miss the clothes, but I do kinda miss the perms. My first perm was a disaster but after that they were pretty decent. I have super straight hair so I liked the volume it gave me.
I love Madonna’s earlier stuff…now not so much :). I grew up in the 80s and it was the best time of my life! Remember Blossom???
And the music my word! I loved it! Remember New Edition? Break dancing! I can go on forever!
Thanks for the walk down memory lane T!
Yeah, I definitely prefer her older stuff too. Even though she always had a “look at me” persona, now days some of her antics seem more desperate than cool, ya know? I definitely remember Blossom, “Yo!” There were so many good shows that I can’t even remember them all. I always wanted to be able to break dance, but I wasn’t that coordinated or flexible!