80’s American Cinema

The 1980’s was an iconic period for cinema. The trend of sequels became a legit movie making approach. The movie industry decided to look into what worked and stuck with that. Seems like just the easy thing to do, however, with the repetition in film sequels and series they needed stories that the audience would still enjoy. Very popular series and franchises were created including Star Wars, Star Trek, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, etc. The 80’s also produced many teen films. Since AIP first started targeting teen audiences, movies in the 80’s did the same but with a slightly different approach. These films portrayed teen life and influenced a generation of teens with films made about them for them. Some of the films are still greatly appreciated as teen classics such as The Breakfast Club, 16 candles, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Heathers, The Karate Kid etc. Genres like sci-fi, horror, and fantasy were also really popular in the 80’s. Films like Back to the Future, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Fly, Alien, Beetlejuice (one of my favs since I was little) were released in the 80’s.

Money was the main focus of movie making in the 80’s and surpassed quality and art. The idea of front loading emerged in the 70’s but solidified itself in the 80’s. Front loading is a process where merchandising and major advertising are released before the initial release of the actual film. Toys, clothes, souvenirs, and other merchandise were released to create hype and to assure the film will become successful. However, in order to ensure no movies would end up unsuccessful after spending money on front loading, studios basically began creating the movies themselves and took away freedoms from directors. The main goal was to create the next major blockbuster film.

The 80’s is argued to be the last decade where there is a clear divide between the mainstream and counterculture in cinema. Since the rise in technology and introduction of the internet, essential subcultures slowly blurred. But would reappear in the 90’s with independent artist who emerged from the 80’s like Jim Jarmusch and Spike Lee.

However, other themes were also explored in the 80’s like everyday “mainstream” life represented as something to stay away from. Like in the movie Something Wild (1986), where a man (played by Jeff Daniels) is saved from his dead end, white-collar career after a closer look and experience of life on the open road after meeting free-spirited character (played by Melanie Griffith). Or the film Lost in America (1985), when a married couple just drop everything, including their jobs, and go on a cross-country roadtrip. There were also darker themed movies representing teens of this era like in Dennis Hopper’s Out of the Blue (1980), where a 15 year old girl in an abusive family has trouble fitting in but finds comfort through music and the punk scene. Similar to the teens in Penelope Spheeris’ Suburbia (1983), a coming of age drama of suburban punks who run away from home.