The 1980s: Living in a Fantasy World

[@whatsinameme5258]

Movie/TV show clips used from: >Family Guy. >The Empire Strikes Back. >ET. >Alf. >Return of the Jedi. >Alien. >Labyrinth. >The Princess Bride. >Rambo First Blood. >Rambo 2. >Ghostbusters. >Star Trek The Next Generation. >Kung Fury. >Inglorious Basterds. >Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. >Breaking Bad. >Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. >Fight Club. Video Game clips from: >Super Mario Bros Wii U. Songs used: >Rainbow in the Dark by Dio. >I Want to Know What Love Is by Foreigner. >Take On Me by A-Ha >God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood. >Ramba Tambas by T-Dub. >Don't Stop Believing by Journey. >Enter Sandman by Metallica. >Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.

[@EvanRoyalty]

The biggest illusion of the 80s is the idea that it was when things were working as intended and had yet to be squandered; rather than the consequences of the world of the time simply not having occurred yet.

[@whatsinameme5258]

Exactly.

[@uberfeel]

nostalgia for consumerism is usually most people feel nostalgic for the 80's

[@lebarak69]

It’s really crazy how we still have that 80s nostalgia so much so that even zoomers who never lived through it have it. I am even guilty of it, I love outrun (even my wallpaper is of the neon car and mountains), cyberpunk and shred metal. Can’t wait for the 90s! Our occulturation continues…

[@Anthropomorphic]

Pretty common phenomenon, actually. Think of how common 50's nostalgia is among people who weren't around back then. It's a global phenomenon as well: people around the world are nostalgic for how they imagine the past was like in *America,* not their own country.

[@lebarak69]

@@AnthropomorphicThats even crazier, so many long for a time that they never were in, from a nation they aren’t even from. Speaks of how well the American 🇺🇸 dream was presented

[@thekivster]

I’m gen z and I like 80s metal a lot. It doesn’t mean I’m nostalgic for it.

[@thekivster]

@@lebarak69 wait who are you

[@colepatrick5433]

90s video gonna hit like that Rocky 4 training montage

[@oleksandrbyelyenko435]

Well, wait till the time we gonna praise 2000's. And we already entering nostalgia for the naughts . I feel that 90s nostalgia went by and didn't stay for long

[@robertholston4708]

Yeah it felt like in the mid 2010s there was a 90s nostalgia going on. Then like Stranger Things came out and a couple other things and it's been 80s nostalgia since. Even though 80s nostalgia never went away it came back.

[@oleksandrbyelyenko435]

7:26 yes. Glad someone said it.

[@monsterguyx]

As a teenager in the 1980's, my experience of the decade was defined by the more counter-cultural media of the times, most of which had a decidedly anti-authoritarian, anti-Reagan message: hardcore punk rock, speed metal and thrash, post-punk, goth, and industrial music, the rise of hip-hop culture, ultra-violent, gory slasher and body-horror movies; there was no shortage of subversive art inspired by the economic disparity of Reaganomics, the crack epidemic and drug war, the AIDS crisis and its effect on the Gay-rights movement. For many Americans, the 80's were far from the neon-colored MTV fantasy recalled by modern nostalgia.

[@whatsinameme5258]

That is true, but it should be noted that this does not contradict the Denial theme of the decade. I mentioned the Anti-Authoritarian aspect. A song like "We're not gonna take it" by Twisted Sister represents the Denial attitude of the 80s. The idea of "sticking it to the man". By contrast, the Testing Era is quite the opposite. I believe the last Testing Era was the 1940s, and the current one is the 2020s. In contrast to the likes of Twister Sister, a work of art of the Testing Era, such as Orwell's 1984 is quite different. In Orwell's work, rebellion is not so glamorized, and even seems utterly hopeless. In the 80s, whether they were left, right, or center politically, everyone believed they were the underdog sticking it to the man. In the 2020s, rebellion is not so fun anymore.

[@jmartin1774]

8:42 Thank you. I realized this long ago. There's always been a "message" behind entertainment. All the way back to Leave it to Beaver. Interesting it was called television "programming".

[@CountGremlin]

What an awesome insight of the 80s. It's also crazy that Kung Fury was almost a decade ago 💀

[@lebarak69]

I got the shock stage when I realized that king fury is 10 years old 😭

[@lucasgraeff5391]

Your videos are incredible, really great narrative and exposition of ideas! Also, from the 80's I love the synths and music production. I also listen to Living on a prayer a lot unironically, it's a classic with so much energy and if you let your mind wander while listening, it's so so powerful as a theme.

[@thekivster]

Interesting that Kung Fury is made by someone with the last name Sandberg. You are so right about the anti-woke stuff. They have no idea that this stuff has been around for decades.

[@KimInChains]

Swedish

[@ПётрПавловский-щ1х]

Swedish name

[@Зеленыйслоник-е8ъ]

5:03 That Hit hard, man.

[@BeatlesBible1]

Great video

[@tanzzz3170]

The same goes for 2000s France Daft Punk's Discovery (2001) Amelie (2001) Pure Denial

[@milannovotny2085]

Oh my, Amelie was soooooo huge here in Czechia. And Tais-toi ! (2003) is popular here even today, sort of considered to be a classic. Also RRRrrrr !!! (2004) sounds like denial to me.

[@hertzamok]

The hardcore scene birthed itself in the 80s as a harsh reality diy movement against the denial. IE the sobriety of 1st wave straight edge and anti Reaganism. Simultaneously hip hop formed out of the ashes of the Bronx and started as a retaliation against monotonous denial through syncopation. Those scenes broke the ground for the popular culture to embrace this kind of anger and loudness in a safer more palatable inwards facing aggression/ dramatized street life identification in the 90s.

[@whatsinameme5258]

That is true, but it should be noted that this does not contradict the Denial theme of the decade. I mentioned the Anti-Authoritarian aspect. A song like "We're not gonna take it" by Twisted Sister represents the Denial attitude of the 80s. The idea of "sticking it to the man". By contrast, the Testing Era is quite the opposite. I believe the last Testing Era was the 1940s, and the current one is the 2020s. In contrast to the likes of Twister Sister, a work of art of the Testing Era, such as Orwell's 1984 is quite different. In Orwell's work, rebellion is not so glamorized, and even seems utterly hopeless. In the 80s, whether they were left, right, or center politically, everyone believed they were the underdog sticking it to the man. In the 2020s, rebellion is not so fun anymore.

[@Dutchman451]

I'm so glad Kung Fury is referenced in this vid. Awesome videos Mr 'Culturation

[@DannyK1992]

like Jack Howitzer in GTA 5 said: “the 80s are never over! You don’t just turn off the 80s!” 12:24

[@whatsinameme5258]

Yes GTA 5 is full of 80s nostalgia. If I remember correctly, some of the minigames even take place in an Outrun aesthetic type place. There's a Tron type minigame.

[@Sanguivore]

Holy shit, a T Dubs reference. Love that dude!

[@whatsinameme5258]

A man of culture I see

[@OverdadeiroIkarus]

8:15 while i agree with the take on anti-sjw's, i got to add my view as a younger guy, it's not that there were not politics in art before, but for me atleast most mainstream art makes surface level virtue signals instead of being a honest message or theme in of the work, i (unfortunatlly) grew up with this discourse every were and that's my overall view on it

[@OverdadeiroIkarus]

Plus the focus on "current thing" politics instead of general ideas

[@colecarstarphen8743]

Where is the dsbm vid?

[@Ekaidseaky]

Your anti woke segment is actually spot on. Its what ive been noticing for a while.

[@bobyrob9261]

Interesting, as always.

[@akunan4989]

It makes me wonder what do you think about the concept of the Vulgar Wave (by Paul Skallas), given both talk about cultural zeitgeists and its trends.

[@whatsinameme5258]

Just read a bit about it, and yeah, that seems on point. I got about halfway through an article before I got hit with a paywall, but from what I read, I agree that the Vulgar Wave ended around 2008-2010. I think people like The Critical Drinker want to return to that Vulgar Wave, when we could have movies like Step Brothers and Tropic Thunder. It is understandable that men would want to return to sometime between the 80s and early 2000s for that reason. This stuff seems rather crass today, but I can't say I like the woke stuff either. I think we can do better than both the Vulgar Wave and the "Current Thing", but we probably won't.

[@gazer99]

This series is genius man

[@tanzzz3170]

I have a mini-theory about a Contrast Opposition of these Stages of cultural grief. There are 8 stages/80 years (included Non-Grief) so Denial is the opposite of 4 stages differ from it and that is Testing. If you're from the generation which Active during Testing, you're likely view Denial in negative way. Other example, I'm young adult that lives in Anger stage of my country and will experience Bargaining very soon. So i will view Acceptance and Non-Grief as cultural bankruptcy and bland boring. I think this is how my mini-theory works and may explains your worldview in some ways.

[@VARVIS_]

Great video once again, what are your thoughts on the extreme genres of music that emerged during the 80s, first cracks in the damn so to speak?

[@whatsinameme5258]

Thrash Metal and Grindcore are Denial genres imo, as they are often political and rebellious. But when you get to Death and Black Metal, it's Anger creeping in for sure. It's not always one or the other. All of these genres are arguably Denial and Anger bleeding together. But I do think this theory explains why the 80s has the most "Punk" sounding metal of all the decades.

[@tanzzz3170]

Because 1984-1989 was Unraveling/Third Turning in Anglo-American in Strauss-Howe generational theory. This Unraveling + Denial is NOT normal type of Denial Normal Denial is Awakening/Second Turning Denial. So the 1984-1989 US was far more Cynical and Extreme kind of Denial than the normal Denial that work in most other cycles. These two theories are quite different. Strauss-Howe is about human saeculum and not strict 80 years (it can be 70-95 years per cycle) On the other hand,Stages of Cultural Grief is strict 80 years and decadization.

[@quantum.9883]

@@whatsinameme5258 Also in the UK most punk is from the mid 70's to early 80's which is very shock era. Additionally I can also think of industrial/experimental band Throbbing Gristle as very much being the epitome of this shock era with their very shocking live performances (if you want to know you can search online), lyrics, media and sound using very new electronic instruments. Their came a point where being shocking became a tiresome theme for the band leading to it's disbandment in 1980 (combined with internal conflicts between its members).

[@givem110]

Interesting therory but this stuff doesn't happen organically. Our culture is created by institutes like tavistock. Hippie rock of the 60's and 70's was made by children of military intelligence officials. Not all of course but for the 80's there was an attempt to send out more positive nostalgic vibes. The 90's backlash came from younger gen x who saw through allot of the 80's bullshit. But we were pushed in that direction by the media as being damaged was cliche in the 90's. Propaganda is different now and more aggressive because its almost impossible to make propaganda in the internet age with a multiracial society. It was easier back then when it was democrats, republicans and blacks to propagandize.

[@whatsinameme5258]

The inorganic vs organic thing is a bit besides the point in my opinion. I don't think that even the highest up powerful people are consciously aware of all this stuff. There are forces beyond governments and corporations, forces that even they are subject to. Call it spiritual forces, call it collective consciousness, what have you. They cannot completely control reality. They may have a lot of influence over people, but these forces still influence them as well.

[@givem110]

@@whatsinameme5258 I agree they can't micro manage everything but american media is the most powerful weapon ever invented and can steer people in a general direction. The 80's needed to be optimistic because of how bad the late 7/'s were and the fact that our manufacturing ( huge part of the American dream) was being stolen) I think the more dreamy the propaganda the more insidious stuff is going on.

[@tanzzz3170]

It's the opposite, Organic/Nature Forces control the Media and Elites, this Stages of Cultural Grief is not something special thing that happen once, it is a loop. Every countries on earth experience stages of cultural grief organically but with different types of it (strictly same succeeding stages but in different decades).

[@tanzzz3170]

Institutions? Elites? Medias? Officials? There is ONE thing these people have in common every single time.

[@OverdadeiroIkarus]

Never got the 80's love as a gen z dude, i like 70's stuff because it has a experimental side to it, but the 80's have some cool media

[@OverdadeiroIkarus]

Especially the denial of authority

[@whatsinameme5258]

I know this is really controversial, especially from a metalhead, but the 80s is probably the least interesting decade to me entertainment wise. Music or otherwise. You're right, the 70s stuff has more variety due to experimentation.

[@OverdadeiroIkarus]

@@whatsinameme5258 Yes, the my favorite old metal bands and films are from 90's and 70's, my taste just jumped a decade

[@quantum.9883]

I agree, like a lot of my favourite stuff from the 80's is usually early 80's Shock era (New Wave/Early UK Synthpop, Bladerunner and early cyberpunk media) Everything about this kind of media is new and shocking, whether it be the integration and rise of electronic instruments in popular music or the depiction of dystopia in science fiction setting as the logical consequence of neoliberalism.

[@eclat4641]

I love this video. I love the80’s . I was in the 80’s . Early on you say a bunch of characters are aliens… but some are not… Later you say dragon but it is a dinosaur…

[@whatsinameme5258]

Forgive me if I'm taking this comment too seriously, but I figured I'd respond haha. The only thing that arguably isn't an alien, are the Pacman ghosts. But I believe that the concept of a ghost is really just an alien in a fantasy context. We'd probably think Slimer and the other Ghostbusters villains were aliens, if we weren't explicitly told they were something else. Bowser is a fire breathing "dinosaur". That is close enough to a dragon. Mario very clearly is about the Princess and Dragon trope, no matter how you spin it. Thank you for enjoying the video.

[@eclat4641]

@@whatsinameme5258 i am happy we could talk, i look forward to your videos.

[@eclat4641]

@@whatsinameme5258 yeah the pac man ghosts- But i get the analogy-

[@thirdofhisname3]

Dinosaur Lives Matter✊️🦖

[@tautology_zero]

As a non-USAian of gen-x age I mostly agree with you. The 80s were quite twee and crap. One thing I disagree though is that computer games were split between the early 8-bit games at the start of the decade and the Mario style at the end. To me 80s computer games were more Repton and Elote and less Mario and Metrovania.

[@dagon99]

a decade of consumerism becomes the product of hyper-consumption decades later, its all so tiresome. As much as I somewhat agree with the anti-sjw sentiment they're critiques always felt superficial. not to say they weren't genuine in their dissatisfaction but the fixation on returning to "normalcy"(assuming its conflated with the depiction of the 80s) is just more of an "end of history" attempt. upholding neo-libs/cons to what end? frankly, i just want the car designs to be the standard.

[@Malum09]

Good old Ronnie Reagan was a good seller because look how everyone is buying the 1980s!

[@nerosmith2578]

Noticed!

[@DylonDylonDylon]

Another banger...!

[@DannyK1992]

I wonder if you’re gonna mention Woodstock 99 in the video about the 90s You said 90s is anger , Woodstock 99 was anger in its purest unadulterated form

[@georgecisneros5281]

All this indicates is that Big Brother has won. And perhaps was always destined to.😔

[@whatsinameme5258]

"You can't win, but there are alternatives to fighting." -Ben Kenobi.

[@georgecisneros5281]

Acceptance=Normalization (as per Yuri Bezmenov’s description)…?

[@whatsinameme5258]

Could be. It does line up somewhat. >Demoralization: Shock and Denial. >Destabilization: Anger and Bargaining. >Crisis: Depression and Testing. >Normalization: Acceptance and Non-Grief (Non-Grief being transitional stage between Acceptance and the next Shock, i.e. the 1960s)

[@thekivster]

This video is well made but it seems like you first came up with the conclusion and then tried to find examples to justify it.

[@whatsinameme5258]

I'm actually a bit surprised you are the first to say I'm cherry picking, as I was anticipating more of that reaction. However, I would just say it's not that I went out of my way to confirm my theory, but rather I just notice the patterns, and also what resonates with people. Songs like Don't Stop Believing and Smells Like Teen Spirit really struck a chord with a huge amount of the population, due to reflecting the beginning of the Denial and Anger respectively. But it's true there are songs that don't fit the theme of their decade, but they often fall into obscurity, which is why most 80s bands changed their sound in the 90s for instance, to remain relevant.

[@thekivster]

@@whatsinameme5258 I will say that after a new decade starts it seems that music completely changes along with it. Like there was barely any heavy metal in the 70s but it exploded in the 80s

[@landoftheninja]

Ayee what's going on my fellow insomniac

[@OverdadeiroIkarus]

@@landoftheninja we up

[@milannovotny2085]

Quite ironic that when you talk about people not liking today's pop music, a chart including Blinding Lights by Weeknd pops up. It's one of the most 80s sounding songs of this decade. Other would be As It Was by Harry Styles. Both could've been recorded by a-aha and sound pretty similar to Take Me On. Also Dua Lipa, who is included in this chart too, is totally a part of this 80s retro wave, especially her album Future Nostalgia - it's even in the name. Anyway, the biggest reason people not liking or even knowing the biggest contemporary music artists is the non-existence of monoculture that was replaced by a very fragmented reality of social media. That is why I disagree when people say that The Beatles had it more difficult to be so big without social media, in comparison with Taylor Swift. I think it's quite impressive for her to be as big and enduring in this landscape and definitely more difficult than in the past where it was all about to bey played by radio stations and TVs. Nobody listens to radio or watches TV today, you have your own personalized radio on Spotify or KZbin Music and your own personal TV on TikTok and KZbin.

[@whatsinameme5258]

I'll just say that choosing that image with Blinding Lights was no coincidence. People hate today's sound so much that they'd rather hear a rehash of Take On Me. Hearing Blinding Lights in public a few dozen times was a big inspiration for this video. There is a monoculture still, it just isn't appealing to people, which is why there is fragmentation. In fact, it's deliberately hostile to people's sensibilities in many respects. The monoculture is WAP by Cardi B and Woke Star Wars. The Internet just gives people an avenue to make fun of this monoculture or ignore it.

[@benb3316]

Oh, yeah - "Woke" has been around forever. Just it's been called things like "Political Correctness" which were just as hated. Suggest exiting this golden decade and just wallow in the gloom and hopelessness of today.

[@ShadesMP5]

You have some interesting ideas but I don't agree with some of your premises. Like the stages of grief is based on what trauma or tragedy exactly? The 1960s? The Vietnam War? The Civil Rights and Women's rights movements? The general chaos of the 1960s? You say "America's Conquring the Globe" Really? The US didn't conquer the world then or now. The World was divided in 2 from 1945-1989/91 between the Free World and The Communist world and a 3rd world that was neutral or playing both sides. The Cold War was in the back of EVERYBODY'S mind until 1989. Most sci-fi and fiction of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80's was often analogies, allegories or essays on the Cold War. The Nostalgia for the 80s coming from Boomers, Gen X, and Xennials (1977-1983) is based on a desire for a time of Normalcy, Originality, and Optimism. The 80s was about experimentation, pushing the envelope, and cranking it to 11. Kung Furry (which is PURE AWESOMENESS btw) focuses on the cranking it to 11 part. It's about all the cliches of 80s movies and how they have become so over the top and outdated that they have become joke. Like the buddy cop movie and the Loose cannon cop cliches. Kung Fury is just about how cool can you make something until it transcends being cool and becomes hilarious. Like a song that is SO epically bad that it becomes fun to listen too. Also Kung Fury was from Sweden of all places. So on top of being a tribute to the 80s it's Swedish perspective of the USA and the 80s. The longing for the 80s is based on a desire to live in an era where partisan and woke politics weren't injected into everything. An Era of entertainment where there was originality and not an endless line of reboots and remakes. Hollywood and music took chances back then. 80s Nostalgia is not about a denial of reality. It's a belief that we can do better than this because we DID better than this in the 80s, 90s,and 2000s. We aren't rewarding talent or innovating anymore. Hollywood is rewarding DEI over talent. There was no Social Media complaining about everything. Most people had thick skins and weren't offended by every little thing. People want the simplicity of the 80s. Just like people of the 80s wanted to return to the simplicity of the 1950s. Which is what Back to The Future was about. The 80s was just as complex and nuanced as any other decade. It's just in the 80s people kept their politics out of the office and out of the classroom. Most people didn't wear their politics and emotions on their sleave like they do now. As for the 80s in fiction. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies are what the 80s was actually like. The Guardians of the Galaxy 2014 captured the magic of Star Wars more than Star Wars the Force Awakens 2015. And 2015's Moonbeam City's Dazzle Novak character IS THE Decade. He's a perfect representation of the decade warts and all.

[@lebarak69]

Dude fell for the denial 😂

[@ShadesMP5]

@@lebarak69 Did you even read my comment? I ACTUALLY lived through the 80s, I'm speaking form experience. The 80s and 80s Nostalgia is about a love for a simpler time when life was actually better than the 2020s. A time when originality was everywhere and we weren't getting an endless supply of remakes, reboots, remixes, samples, and woke shit.

[@loicestrade4054]

Tribal Allegiance?! 😂😂 LOL!

[@cadian122]

Lmao Kung Fury is crazy ... Sandberg as the main cop says everything you need to know lol ... I agree with this video a lot ... Its so true that it was just diffrent propaganda... Im 35 years old ... So I had to watch 80s movies later at home well after they came out... So maybe they don't have the same sway that they do over others... Although there are some amazing classics like The Terminator, Predator, and Aliens ... But those were more critical of the cultural norms and not celebrating it... I mean Predator is literally disconstructing the entire decade in front of your face, its a masterpiece... Its funny you mentioned inglorious bastards... Many of my friends that later supported (unthinking follow the government stuff like mask mandates, covid lockdowns, belief that the elections were real and fair, belief that Ukraine are the good guys and Russia is all evil, that Putin is literally Hitler, that Trump is literally Hitler ect..) They really really loved that movie.. and for me while it was really well acted and had some laughs, it just struck me so much that it was so over the top propaganda and kinda goofy and its like my friends didn't think that... That movie actually made me sympathetic to the Germans in several scenes from the Bear Jew scene to the Bar shootout with the young father ... I found myself asking (who defines who the bad guys are) And that was one of the several preludes to my long red pilled journey lol...

[@luismiguel69able]

I grew up in the 80s, and it was brutally bad. I not white though, I much prefer Today over the 80s. Music and TV were fun in the 80s though. And I'd retire if we had 18% interest rates again but Everything else was rough.

[@BigBl0ck-r9y]

1970s has better music

[@whatsinameme5258]

I think I might agree.

[@danteshollowedgrounds]

I mean you can just blame the old heads & boomers with this type of situation but I digress. I'm not gonna lie today's stuff is just as mid or completely worse than what we had back then.

[@whatsinameme5258]

I'm not gonna say it's better today, but it sure doesn't help that they are just regurgitating Indiana Jones and Star Wars forever, instead of something original. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I can almost empathize with the spiteful millennials ruining these franchises. If I were in their shoes, I'd resent that my job was just keeping the 80s on life support instead of creating my own stuff.

[@danteshollowedgrounds]

@@whatsinameme5258 True not gonna lie.