They tend to offer cartoonishly simple and violent solutions to complex problems...
You mean like...?
Oh wait! Those were on Hillary's watch.
Posted on 06/22/2023 2:24:04 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Threats from Moscow. Rampant inflation. A deadly disease resisting eradication. Worries about the replacement of American workers. Sly. Ahnold.
Looking at the news of the past several years, we might think we’ve been rocketed back to the 1980s, just with less neon and fewer Rubik’s Cubes. History is repeating itself, and not only through fractured politics and the threat of a new Cold War.
In the ’80s, a parade of one-man armies marched into movie theaters, dispensing justice and obliterating the baddies — and all the real-world anxieties those villains represented. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and the action stars who followed in their slipstream jibed with the national mood.
Forty years ago, anyone afraid and uncertain could seek comfort in the thickly muscled arms of action movie stars, whose characters fulfilled empowerment fantasies by meeting adversity with a wry smile and a loaded machine gun. Stallone’s “Rambo” saga saw a tormented Vietnam vet become so unstoppable that he could head back to the jungle and restore American pride. Other films saw these actors take on drug dealers, serial killers, even — in the case of the bizarre “Cobra” — a cadre of ax-wielding cultists.
As we head into summer, these heroes, as promised, are back. Schwarzenegger and Stallone, both in their 70s, are now mowing down villains in their first TV shows, “FUBAR” and “Tulsa King,” respectively. These shows follow the retro footsteps of last year’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” which blasted to the top of the box office — and landed on Oscar ballots — proving that audiences are ready for testosterone-soaked nostalgia.
In the 1980s, these movies were a chance to cheer on someone who could actually do something about the threats affecting their lives. For more than a decade, studios have delivered a seemingly endless series of heroes who rely on superpowers to save the day in elaborate, computer-generated scenes. Yet we are still drawn to ’80s-style blockbusters that take place in a world that looks like ours. Watching one gives us a guilt-free hit of adrenaline in dark times.
But action-movie highs come at a cost. They tend to offer cartoonishly simple and violent solutions to complex problems — just as strongmen trying to appeal to desperate citizens do. Certainly the first generation of ’80s action films, and some of the recent renaissance, are frequently misogynistic, and often have nasty streaks of racism and xenophobia.
And those faults can’t just be attributed to the movies being products of their times. “Rambo: Last Blood,” the most recent in the franchise, came out in 2019 and saw its hero take on demonically evil Mexicans, as if a Trump campaign speech had been fused with a Hollywood pitch. Extreme right-leaning politicians have also embraced the action stars of this era. Steven Seagal was feted by Russian President Vladimir Putin this year. Jean-Claude Van Damme’s “Bloodsport” is said to be one of former President Donald Trump’s favorite movies, though he apparently skips through much of the dialogue.
These movies’ stark “we’re good, you’re evil” philosophy affected us in ways we may not have recognized when they came out. The feeling of “you’re either with us or against us” that filled the screen permeates current political discourse. The films’ idolization of firearms, with endless Glocks, pump-actions and assault rifles, has surely helped fan the flames of American gun worship. As outrageously entertaining as Schwarzenegger’s “Commando” is, its director ruefully admits that the movie has been used to stir up child soldiers in Africa before they were forced into combat.
So, how should we think about our nostalgia for these heroes? Perhaps the trick is to approach them with the kind of nuance that’s too often missing these days. We can appreciate their can-do spirit and the excitement they generate, while admitting their dangers and considering how their best qualities might fit in the 21st century.
It’s still thrilling to watch two Terminators grapple in a shopping mall, or see John McClane save Christmas, or cheer as Rocky battles Drago. And it’s strangely soothing right now to watch Arnie melt down a rogue cyborg (take that, ChatGPT!) or Sly decimate a Soviet army (in your face, Putin!). In the short term, they ease our minds — and remind us that in real life we shouldn’t wait for someone else to save us.
Airplane and Blazing Saddles. Awesome flicks.
Yippie-kay-Yeah, MF-er.
“Excuse me while I whip this out “
I welcome you with a Laurel...and Hardy handshake.
A lot of people missed that.
Welcome to the party pal!!
None of the movies made in the ‘80s would survive the current cancel culture. That’s why we seek them rather than the new ones.
Oh I wouldn’t go so far as to say they were all good... there are a LOT of stinkers, and even a good number of very popular films do not stand up well to the test of time (and no that’s not judging them by woke values).
However, ENTERTAINMENT was certainly the goal, unlike today where ENTERTAINMENT has nothing to do with it at all.
Fubar is good name for a movie about the woke.
They tend to offer cartoonishly simple and violent solutions to complex problems...
You mean like...?
Oh wait! Those were on Hillary's watch.
Same pathologies that were present in the ‘80s are back. Rampant crime. Urban decay. Feckless government unconcerned about real problems that effect real people, with head in clouds in lala land. Administrative state designed to crush the soul out of free men. Schwarzenegger even got with the times and did a mini-series called FUBAR. New stars are coming forward now. Old stars still have some game.
The quality of popular films and music seemed to drop precipitously after about 2006.
What trans fiipino black lesbian half retard satan worshiper in a wheel chair will they cast to replace ahnold for modern audiences?
The answer to his question can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqYJRc0TJkQ
True - but MANY were!
Like Stallone’s Cobra was awful … and though I haven’t seen it in years I bet it’s better than any dreck out in the last 10!
True or not I remember one analysis of the problem with getting America behind our troops in the Vietnam War was that many had now grown up on TV.
A show comes on with a problem, it is fought over and then solved and ended with a validating celebration such as the good guys having a drink and being happy. Same with a movie. All done. But Vietnam wasn’t over quickly and people got impatient.
Is there really nostalgia for 80s action films?
Maybe people just got sick of all the superhero comic book garbage.
Rocky sequel. Also....
Mary, Shuttle Stewardess : [Over Intercom] Attention ladies and gentlemen, please. Would everybody move to the lounge who is not carrying a bomb.
[Everyone on the plane stands up and screams]
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