‘Stranger Things’ Gives Us That 80s Nostalgia That We Never Even Had
Stranger Things has once again outdone itself with a crazy plot, terrifying creatures, and of course, a whole bunch of cringey puberty (hellooooo hormones). The third season has received so much praise from fans and critics. I mean, how can someone not love it? El and Max become best friends, Dustin sings the cutest yet nerdiest duet with his girlfriend, AND we’re introduced to the beloved Scoops Troop. Can the show possibly get any better?
As I watched the first episode of the third season, I couldn’t help but come up with the most random thought. You see, I was at the part where Billy was flirting with Karen — a very spicy scene I must say. Besides the fact that her makeup magically stayed put after the swim, I noticed that her eyeshadow was just so…tacky. I then looked at Billy and saw how weird that mullet made the gorgeous Dacre Montgomery look.
“Ugh,” I thought. “Why were the 80s so cringey?”
I also paused and said, “Why the f*ck are we so obsessed with that decade?”
If you take a look at my wardrobe, you’ll see high waisted jeans, tacky patterned button downs, huge scrunchies, and about 5 pairs of striped tube socks. Sometimes I look like I walked straight out of the 80s playlist on Spotify. In fact, I thrift a lot just so I can get that vintage aesthetic. I see a lot of people try to achieve that look as well.
It’s weird.
It makes me sort of cringe.
And it’s something that I just had to look into.
I started thinking about all those movies and shows that just give me those “the 80s were great and trendy” vibes.
Glow
Call Me By Your Name
Ready Player One
The Goldbergs
Super 8
Bumblebee
It
…Stranger Things
Why are these shows and movies set during the 1980s?
Well, the creators of these films and shows usually lived during that time. They have an emotional attachment to the decade because it was important to them and shaped who they are. It’s just like how I love the late 1990s and early 2000s because I associate these time periods with my childhood.
Makes sense.
I also came across this concept called “The 30 Year Cycle.” Patrick Metzger explains this very well in his article, “The Nostalgia Pendulum: A Rolling 30-Year Cycle of Pop Culture Trends.” It’s basically a weird pattern where things from 30 years ago reappear in pop culture and we just tend to obsess over it. For instance, if you look at Back to the Future (1985), Marty goes back to 1955 and the film is set in that time period. There are a whole bunch of other movies from the 80s that do this like Grease and Stand By Me. TV shows do this as well. That ’70s Show (1996–2006) serves as the perfect example.
There’s just been so much content from the 1980s being thrown at us. Look at the amount of vintage clothes sold on Etsy, musical artists bringing 80s vibes into their music (ahem Bruno Mars), and just the fact that Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman came out in 2018 and 2019.
What’s even crazier is the fact that we’re slowly getting those nostalgic feelings for the 1990s. It’s like it’s sort of creeping up on us.
Captain Marvel
Spice Girls reunion concerts
…platform shoes…
It’s not necessarily the people who lived in that certain decade that absorb the content. It’s the younger people, who haven’t even lived in that time period, that become obsessed.
This is definitely something to take note of especially since 2020 is oh so close. It’s weird and will constantly by explored. As for now, I’ll keep wearing my tacky shirts and baggy, high waisted jeans. I mean, the 80s were kind of trendy after all.
