Overview

"The 1980s is remembered as a time of big hair, synthetic music, and microwave cookery. It is also remembered as the heyday of conservative politics, socioeconomic inequality, and moral panics. It is dichotomously remembered as either a nostalgic age of innocence or a regressive moral wasteland, depending on who you ask, and when. But, most of all, it is remembered. In retro fashion trends, in '80s-based film and television narratives, and through countless rebooted movies, video games, superheroes, and even political slogans imploring us to Make America Great Again (Again). More than merely a historical period, ""the '80s"" has grown into a contested myth, ever-evolving through the critical and expressive lens of popular culture. This book explores the many shapes the '80s mythos has taken across a diverse array of media. Essays examine television series such as Stranger Things, Cobra Kai, and POSE, films such as Dallas Buyers Club, Summer of '84, and Chocolate Babies, as well as video games, pop music, and toys. Collectively, these essays explore how representations of the 1980s influence the way we think about our past, our present, and our future."

Full Product Details

Author:   Randy Laist
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.313kg
ISBN:  

9781476686516

ISBN 10:   1476686513
Pages:   234
Publication Date:   10 March 2023
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Introduction Randy Laist Time After Time: The Meaning of ’80s Nostalgia “There’s nothing for you back there”: Reflective Nostalgia in Stranger Things Valerie Surrett The Breakfast Club, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Riverdale’s ’80s Palimpsest Stephen Hock The Americans and How We Think About the Reagan ’80s Lilly J. Goren “It’s just one of them things innit, there’s nothing you can do about it”: The Specter of Thatcherism in This Is England ’86–’90 Jack Anderson Remembering to Forget: 1980s Retro Gaming and the Aesthetics of Escape John Misak The Pop Music Montage: Nostalgia as a Function of 1980s Film Soundtracks Carrie Clanton Men Without Hats and Material Girls “Cobra Kai Never Dies”: Reframing Masculinities in The Karate Kid’s Nostalgic Transgenerational Reboot Kristen Galvin Tragic Masculinities and Craig Mazin’s Chernobyl John Quinn Safety, Stoneybrook, and the Sitters Morgan E. Foster The Cutest Doll at the Arcade: Technology and (American) Girl Power Myrna Moretti Back to the (Gendered) Future: Feminist Nostalgia in Netflix’s Stranger Things and GLOW Ann M. Ciasullo A Very ’80s Love Affair: Joanna Hogg’s Formalist Feminism in The Souvenir Helena I. Gurfinkel Fight the Power: Social Justice Jem, ­­She-Ra, and My Little Pony: Combating Misogyny, Homophobia, and Racism in ­­Girl-Centered Reboots Melanie Hurley Nostalgia for What Always Was: Race and American Superheroes in Television and Film Patrick L. Hamilton and Allan W. Austin “Dad, every serial killer is somebody’s neighbor!” The Problem of White Supremacy in Summer of ’84 Erika Tiburcio Moreno Dallas Buyers Club: Libertarian American Dreams in the Neoliberal 1980s Craig Clark Ryan Murphy’s ’80s and the Past as Political Postmodern Battleground Ilaria Biano Cinematically Satirizing AIDS Realities of the Reagan Decade in Chocolate Babies Kylo-Patrick R. Hart Film and Television Works Cited About the Contributors Index

Reviews

Engaging, challenging, and of vital importance to discourse, fandom, and scholarship. --Marc DiPaolo, author of War, Politics and Superheroes and Fake Italian

“Engaging, challenging, and of vital importance to discourse, fandom, and scholarship.”—Marc DiPaolo, author of War, Politics and Superheroes and Fake Italian

Author Information

Randy Laist is a professor of English at Goodwin University and the University of Bridgeport. He has authored and edited several books on literature, popular culture, and pedagogy. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

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