At a time when summer movies seem uniquely capable of consolidating the cultural discourse, our Evolution of the Modern Blockbuster series looks back to the summers, and summer movies, of 1984 and 1989, when MTV editing, post-Boomer cynicism and other cultural sea changes converged to shape the summer blockbuster we all know and can’t avoid. Below is part one; parts two through five are forthcoming later this week:
San Antonio-based film critic Aaron Aradillas is a contributor to The House Next Door, a contributor to Rockcritics.com and the host of “Back by Midnight,” an Internet radio program about film and television.
I didn’t know how good I had it at 8 years old. I just didn’t know. Thank you for reminding me!!!
yeah, I’d just point out there was no cable in outer boroughs at that time, so we didn’t have MTV. 8th grade, man! I had Purple Rain on vinyl LP, didn’t see the movie until years later. waiting for part 2…
I was 16 in 1984 and 21 in 1989 and these movies were my life. I went from being a child to being a “man” in between these two bookmarks. I’m not sure what I have come here to say, but I will say that I loved this 5-part series. Thank you.