So blatant homophobia or homosexual vibes? Which is it going to be?
Implied racism, sexism, homophobia? Okay, but why is that specifically an 80s trait? Have you watched any comedies from the 90s or 00s?
As for the power metal/Queen stuff - okay, I'm thinking of Flash Gordon and Highlander. Both still highly watched as cult classics. But I can name a whole lot of other fantasy movies that had none of those. Conan The Barbarian? Dragonslayer? Clash of the Titans? Krull? Think you missed the mark here.
Weinstein got his start in the 80s in arthouse style movies but I feel he hit his stride in the 90s, so that feels out of place.
Toxic bullying is simply a product of the 80s? News to me.
Product placement and toy tie-ins are just relegated to the 80s? Really?
If you are
n't aware of just how much homophobia is rooted in closeted repressed homosexuals self hating their own, you probably should spend time talking to more lgbtq+ people.
And if you can't see how sweaty and oily shirtless men in loin cloths wrestling one another is hilariously queer coded, that's a you problem. Most of the Conan fantasy barbarian archetype is rooted heavily in Greek, Mediterranean and pre-Christian monotheistic cultures. All of whom we all know were
clearly well known for their purely heterosexual leanings, obviously. (Seeing as this is the internet, yes, I will point out that this is sarcasm).
The Queen bit was more a joke on my part. As I said before, I despise electric instruments and rock music in fantasy. That's just my personal preference, but if you are
really going to tell me that hair metal and power ballads weren't a literal
defining part of 80s culture, I'm calling bulls%#&. This is even more hilarious is of open up this discussion to heavy metal and fantasy films made post 80s that were clearly trying to evoke an 80s esthetic. Hell,
heavy metal magazine was arguably just as influential as Conan and Krull on the fantasy genre. Like I said, I despise this connection with a raging passion, but I'm not denying it exists. Speaking of Conan and Krull...see my previous comments about sweaty oily shirtless men.
In regards to Winestein, stright from Wikipedia:
Among the actresses who claim to have suffered harassment or rape by Weinstein are
Rose McGowan,
Angelina Jolie,
Mira Sorvino,
Paz de la Huerta,
Annabella Sciorra and
Gwyneth Paltrow. Another, Italian actress
Asia Argento, collated a list of sexual abuse accusations against Weinstein.
[139] The incidents alleged in the list date from 1980 to 2015 and include 18 complaints of rape.
[139] In them, it is alleged that Weinstein granted important roles in films in exchange for sexual favors. As a result, the Weinstein Company and the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to expel Weinstein.
Now, I could literally spend the next hour and half digging through the
dozen if not
hundreds of examples of Hollywood's well known and well documented history of sexual harassment and other similar scandals, but something tells me that's a discussion neither of us really want to have and quite likely will verge into territory breaking forum rules, but, hey, if you
really want to ignore the obvious industry wide issue and instead to cherry pick apart one example, by all means. (And again, to make it clear for everyone out there, yes, this is not an 80s only issue, though if you are going to argue that the modern times are as bad as the 80s in this such, the fact that we are even discussing Weinstein or could reference other sex offenders and rapists like Bill Cosby even as passing jokes is clear evidence of the times having changed).
In terms of 80s bullying? My dude. The 80s practically
created the trope of the high school bully. Well, that and the made coke fueled ravings of Stephen King. Ace Merrill in 'Stand By Me' (1986), Mick in 'Teen Wolf' (1985),
Stan Gable in 'Revenge of the Nerds' (1984), Scut Farkus in 'A Christmas Story' (1983) (albeit this was supposed to be set in the 40s? 50s?), Andrew Clark in 'The Breakfast Club' (1985), Judy in 'Sleepaway Camp' (1983),
Biff Tannen in 'Back to the Future' (1985), and Johnny Lawrence in 'The Karate Kid' (1984). Hell, the Goonies (198) practically
is a damned RPG tabletop campaign, just not a fantasy and they had Troy and the Hillside bullies. The 80s were the decade that is quite literally the template for bullying in fiction.
And are you
really going to tell me that He-Man, Transformers, Thundercats, and G.I. Joe aren't basically just animated toy ads? Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer these cartoons and older toy tie in things from that decade, but let's not kid here. I mean hell, there's being ignorant and then there's being oblivious.
All of this is
precisely what I mean by rose-tinted goggles. Contrary to what the other person said, I don't hate the 80s. Quite the opposite. I just don't think the 80s esthetic fits DnD, and I don't like people sanding off the rough edges of previous decades to fit their nostalgic 'member berries narrative. If you want an 80s movie, you take it warts and all.
Of note, I could equally criticize any other decade just as much. Modern times, for example? The writing of most films now a days is absolute sh&% compared older decades. And practical effects are basically a dying art because none of the modern special effects artists were taught how to actually use the older techniques. And I'm not even one of those people who blindly bashes CG. It has a time and a place. The point is take credit and give criticism where due.