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I Am A Child Of The 80s

© Jen Davis

I am a child of the 80s.

I'm someone who grew up in the "me" decade. I willingly participated in all the trends of the times. I tried talking like a Valley Girl, even though suburban Long Island, New York was about as far from the Valley as you could get. I tried the Miami Vice and Madonna's "Like A Virgin" looks, although thankfully not at the same time. I played Pac Man, Trivial Pursuit, and tried to solve the Rubik's Cube. I had mall hair. I was the 80s personified.

Part of being a suburban teenager in the 80s meant that your social life revolved around the mall, the diner and the movie theater. Some of my favorite memories of times spent with my friends in those days included a movie - taking up a whole row of the theater for "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986) and laughing so hard we cried; insisting on a slumber party after seeing "Prince of Darkness" (1987) because we were too scared to go home and sleep in our own rooms; getting carded at 15 to see the PG rated "A View To A Kill" (1985) while classmates breezed in unnoticed to see the latest R rated violent shoot-em-up flick. It should be no surprise then that even to this day, some of my favorite movies come from the 80s. Maybe some of yours do, too.

So let's talk movies.

I am not a critic. Let's get that straight right up front. I'm not claiming to be Siskel or Ebert, and a while a critique may sneak in here or there, this won't be a place for movie reviews. Rather, we'll be looking at movies most of us have seen, sometimes many times, in new ways. Take "Top Gun." (1986) You might feel like you've seen it a million times. But what is it about that movie that makes you leave the channel on when you see it on TV, or put on the DVD? Yes, there's Tom Cruise, and that's an incentive for the ladies out there (the beach volleyball scene with Val Kilmer being a favorite of mine as well), but what about guys? Why do they tune in? Is it the planes, the girls, the soundtrack? What is it that makes them ignore everything and everyone around them when the movie is on? Let's find out!

There's one other thing I should tell you up front. I'm interested in movies. Not films, not cinema, or any other fancy name you can give it. I'm interested in two hours worth of keep you in your seat, the story always has a happy ending movie. I like movies that keep me entertained, not leaving the theater trying to figure out the symbolism and feeling like I should go back to school. I'm not knocking these kinds of movies; they're just not my cup of tea. I need the sense of escapism that movies offer.