Tap Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 The thread about 80s movies got me thinking....why do we rewatch 80s-90's movies and think they were terrible, but the real 'classics' are great? Sometimes it is a kid show, and well obviously we are not kids anymore, but if my 12yo watched those same teen movies I watched, she would say they are cheesey. Why does that happen? Things are pretty much the same now Rich-kids/poor-kid relationships, teen angst/rebellion, graduating/going off to college and wanting to date someone that is out of you social circle. Things haven't really changed that much, just the details are different. The music is more vulgar, but skirts are still short and shirts are still tight and all the social situations just repeat themselves. What is it about this era of movies that lends itself to cheesy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Something about the 80s was a sort of flashback to the ideals of an Ozzie and Harriet/Leave it to Beaver 1950s. I suspect that 30 years later that makes it seem a bit cheesy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I didn't delve too much into that 80's movie thread, but I *don't* think that at all. Some movies from the 80's and 90's are just as good as the "classics" and some movies from the 30's and 40's are as bad as the worst junk from the 80's. My only explanation is that we all remember the cheesy stuff from the 80's and 90's because we lived through it and it's recent. But only the good stuff from the more distant past gets broadcast, put on DVD, and recirculated of the older movies, allowing us to forget the bad ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Look at spycar's list and you will find lots of non cheesy movies. I think many children's movies don't make the non-cheesy cut but many serious dramas do and so do some comedies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I think lots of new movies are bad... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 My only explanation is that we all remember the cheesy stuff from the 80's and 90's because we lived through it and it's recent. But only the good stuff from the more distant past gets broadcast, put on DVD, and recirculated of the older movies, allowing us to forget the bad ones. This. If you watch something like Mystery Science Theater 3000, there were certainly some really bad films made before 1980. I think we just don't see them as often, because they get forgotten, whereas we actually remember first-hand a lot of bad movies from our youth. I do think some of it is also just production value. Poorly-made movies today still use more modern movie-making techniques than poorly-made movies from a decade or two ago. So, they're going to look better than more recent bad films. But I'm sure that in twenty years we'll look back on many movies coming out now and think they look just as ridiculous as bad movies from the 80s do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 When I was small there was a tv show called Fractured Flickers that made fun of silent pictures...films that were, in the 1960's, over 30 years old. Now those same films are classics ( well, some of them). It is the turn of the almost 30-yr-old films of the 80s to look campy to some folks. A large part of it is the mores, clothing, technology seen in the films looks antiquated but not historically interesting (yet). I mean - WarGames is a fun film...but the technology is so, so, old (and yet in the film supposed to be cutting edge!). I once taught a film history course (college level) and amid groans of the class threaded up the projector (yes, I am old, too) to show them a silent film by Sergei Eisenstein, The Battleship Potemkin. The class soon hushed as they became rapt with amazement at the not just the narrative, but also the very modern editing and camerawork which they did not expect from a "creakin' old film". I am rambling so will stop now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 well the language of the older movies can be cheesy LOL growing up I watched anything with JOHN STAMOS in it--including full house-lol and now my son who is 8 has discovered it.....it's sooo funny to see him watching it....it sounds sooo corny and cheesey to me..... :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 The thread about 80s movies got me thinking....why do we rewatch 80s-90's movies and think they were terrible, but the real 'classics' are great? Sometimes it is a kid show, and well obviously we are not kids anymore, but if my 12yo watched those same teen movies I watched, she would say they are cheesey. Why does that happen? Things are pretty much the same now Rich-kids/poor-kid relationships, teen angst/rebellion, graduating/going off to college and wanting to date someone that is out of you social circle. Things haven't really changed that much, just the details are different. The music is more vulgar, but skirts are still short and shirts are still tight and all the social situations just repeat themselves. What is it about this era of movies that lends itself to cheesy? I caught a little of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure the other day. What struck me was the clothing and hair styles. They really do seem goofy to my eyes now. But the other thing I've noticed is a distinct change in pacing to a movie. Especially in comedy, I feel like I'm sitting and waiting for the laugh track. But also in drama, I think that there are shorter scenes and more frequent shifts. But maybe the change is within ourselves. In the 80s I was a teen and then young college student. I wasn't watching a lot of deep movies. I was watching Nightmare on Elm Street or Pretty in Pink or Top Gun. Aside from Top Gun, those aren't the sort of movie I'd watch now. The few movies I recall from that era that were more adult have traveled well. Dangerous Liaisons, for example. (Though I wonder if it's helped a bit by having been a period drama to begin with. Thus the hair and dress seem no more out of date than they were to begin with.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 The really ugly teased bangs and neon colored clothes. Compare that to the dresses and suits (!) teenagers even wore in movies from the 40s. And b&w can look cleaner. I really think a lot of it is visual. The style of speech (valley girl/surfer slang) of 80s movies is also distinctly different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 The really ugly teased bangs and neon colored clothes. Compare that to the dresses and suits (!) teenagers even wore in movies from the 40s. And b&w can look cleaner. I really think a lot of it is visual. The style of speech (valley girl/surfer slang) of 80s movies is also distinctly different. :iagree: I was an 80's teen and I'd have to say that the movies and shows that do have to fall into a cheesy category do so because of these reasons. I definitely do not think they all do but any measure. My older two also discovered Full House a few years ago and loved it. There are lots of greats and even some of the cheesy ones are great. They can get pretty goofy though. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Part of it is that movie-makers have become better and better at their craft. And I agree with others that after a long time, the bad movies get weeded out. It hasn't been long enough for the bad 80's movies to get weeded out, since they're still alive in our memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I think some of the classics are a bit lame. Dh and I have been watching our way through some classic movie lists, and I am often struck by the lack of artistry. The message of the movie is often knocked right over your head. I like movies that are subtle and layered. Don't get me wrong, I love the beauty, the mannerisms, and the dialogue. Anyway, I don't think that you can divide it up by date. I think there is a variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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