Tag: Indiana Jones

The Definition of a True 80s Kid….

Posted on by CV Whitfield

I was an 80s kid.

I was not born in 1988. That does not count. Doesn’t.

I was born in 1972. I was 8 when the 80s started and 18 when they ended. To be an 80s kid, you needed to be alive for the entire decade. More than that. You have to be able to remember the entire decade. You have to have been present for all the 80s greatness. Including but not limited to: seeing E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark in the movie theater, as well as both 80s Star Wars movies! Buying your favorite album on vinyl, cassette and CD. Working on an Apple II in your classroom. Begging your parents for an Atari 2600 and then do it again at the end of the decade for a Nintendo!

I hear the “I’m an 80s kid!” all the time. Then I inquire about their life. I hear they say they were born in 1982. I quickly respond, “you’re not an 80s kid but a 90s one!” Some seem offended. Many realize my point. If you were born in 1982, you were only 8 when the decade ended. There’s no way you ran home from school to watch He-Man, Thundercats, Voltron, Inspector Gadget. You didn’t get up early on Saturday to watch Saturday Morning Cartoons – Smurfs, Spider-man and his Amazing Friends, Carebears, Pac-man, Super Friends.

One doesn’t just have to be born in 1972 to be considered an 80s kid. But I do think the best range of birth years is 1970 through 1975. This allows you to be as young as 5 and as old as 10 when the greatest decade starts. But to be honest, I really think I had the perfect age range to enjoy the 1980s.

So, if you say you’re an 80s kid, make sure this simple definition defines you. If you were a kid and your earliest memories is watching Batman: The Animated Series, unfortunately, you just missed the 80s. You’re all 90s. Not to say I miss that decade from time to time.

Were you an 80s kid? Wasn’t it great?

Of course it was!

0

1989.

Posted on by CV Whitfield

If you had the privilege of living in 1989, then you experienced the very first massive Block Buster summer. Being a kid, it was geek overload. And it was a historic event that should be talked about more often.

First, this was the summer of sequels: Ghostbusters II, Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade, Back to the Future II, Star Trek V, Lethal Weapon II, License to Kill (Bond 16), Karate Kid III, Friday the 13th VIII, and Nightmare on Elm Street 5! That’s a lot of sequels for any year.

Not to mention, we got great movies like: Batman, Dead Poets Society, When Harry Met Sally, The Abyss, and yes, Weekend at Bernies! That’s not even the entire list. Just my favorites.

There was no internet. No social media. The only way to get a heads up on things was to read Starlog magazine or Variety. Sometimes you could watch TV and catch an episode of Entertainment Tonight. Lastly, word of mouth – maybe you had a friend that had a cousin who’s roommate was working as a grip on the film production. Sometimes, when I think back to that time, I’m surprised I found out about anything.

It was Starlog magazine and comic fanzine called Comic Scene where I first heard of the film Batman. Seeing that first image of Michael Keaton in the batsuit in front of the Batmobile, I was mesmerized. I remember just staring at it for hours (literally). I was just so happy and excited at the same time. This definitely was not the old TV series. I just wanted to talk about it so I drove to the local comic book store. (And in a small town, I don’t remember too many folks that were geeks like me).

I remember that the casting was not accepted by fans. Many really were worried that although it looked dark, it was going to be another campy version of Batman (the casting of Michael Keaton – who was considered a comedic actor). Now that I think about it. It wasn’t that much different than today. We still voiced opinions. We still griped. We still complained. Yet, the only difference was: it was you and 4 of your friends not a sea of millions of digital voices. I do recall that I was quite positive the movie was going to be everything we could want. It was going to be just as good as Superman (1978) – which was my favorite super-hero film of all time – then and now. (I understand that up till 1989, there wasn’t many of them. But still…)

That was a summer of sounds too. It felt like no matter where you went you heard the song On Our Own by Bobby Brown or Batdance by Prince. I know it sounds odd when I say, when I hear those songs even today, I’m transported back to 1989. My body is connected to that year. Even crazier, I feel like I can perceive the year, smell it, touch it. It’s hard to explain. Yet, I see specific moments – as if part of me is still there.

If the 1980s had to end on a bang, I would say it did. Technically, it was more like an explosion – a death start-like explosion!

(More 80s to come….)

0