Growing up in the 80s was great in so many ways. I almost look back on it as the last innocent decade before the beginning of the "slow" and gradual technical takeover - when automation and the insatiable desire for more and more microwave (instant gratification) living really began to push us all over the edge. In the 80s we were all still very connected to and focused on our physical tribes (just look at all the movies from that decade featuring GROUPS of friends, fighters, musicians, nerds, jocks, rebels, vampires, etc). Eye contact was normal, necessary, and nourishing. After the 80s, our physical groups began to shift more and more into digital/social ones and eye contact has been replaced by more and more screen time. My children know very little of what it's like to play outside ALL DAY in the neighborhood with friends, exploring creeks, the woods, walking train tracks, walking or riding bikes miles to a convenience store with friends to buy sodas and candy. The almost giddy-like excitement of going to Video Zone and spending half an hour scanning the wall-to-wall shelves of old and new VHS movies to choose from, rent, take home and enjoy!
I'm glad I grew up in an era when "screen time" meant only one thing: MOVIES!
Here are some of MY all-time great and classic films that really affected me and helped shape the stories that I have written and continue to write:
Raider's Of The Lost Ark
Rambo: First Blood
The Outsiders
The Goonies
Stand By Me
Back To The Future
The Lost Boys
Red Dawn
Uncommon Valor
The Breakfast Club
Some Kind of Wonderful
Less Than Zero
Mississippi Burning
Dead Poets Society
Glory
Dances With Wolves (1990)
(My mom wouldn't let me watch many of these so I had to watch them across the street at my friend's house on HBO!)
The adventure, the camaraderie, the emotion, the justice, the struggle, and the overcoming that is present in these films captured my imagination, my heart, and my pen.