What Film Best Represents Each Decade (1960's to 2000's)?
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Aug. 1, 2019, 12:34 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
Movies are definitely one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world, and they often capture the essence of the time period in which they are made, so I wish to start a thread that asks the users what films they feel best represent each decade. For the purposes of this thread, I shall start with the 1960’s, but not go into any previous decades, because that decade was when many societal and cultural changes occurred, and I shall be ending with the 2000’s, but not the 2010’s, since that decade has not yet ended.
The film that I feel best represents the 1960’s is either Help or The Yellow Submarine, both of which star The Beatles, because they were one of the most popular bands in the world during that decade, and those two films capture the simpler, more idealistic nature of the 60’s.
For the 1970’s I chose the original Star Wars film, because that decade was the decade in which science fiction and fantasy films surged in popularity, a trend that continued into the 1980’s, and that film is probably the best-known of all those films, conveying a sense of grandeur, awe, and epic adventure.
The film that I feel best represents the 1980’s is either The Breakfast Club or Terminator; during that decade, the two most popular types of films were teen comedies and action films, and those two films are some of the best-known examples of each genre. The Breakfast Club captures the spirit of adolescent rebellion against the established authorities of that time (ironically, the authorities in the 80’s were likely no more than adolescents themselves during the 60’s, which were also a time of great rebellion against the establishment), and Terminator helped to launch the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger by capturing fears and uncertainties about technologies that were new at that time.
For the 1990’s, I believe that the films that most represent that decade are Home Alone and The Matrix, which were released at opposite ends of that decade. Home Alone made Macaulay Culkin a superstar and also established a near-ubiquitous character type during that decade; a bratty protagonist who has trouble connecting emotionally with their parents and manages to outwit bumbling adults through clever planning and strategy; that character archetype definitely existed before the 1990’s (with Dennis the Menace likely being the first modern example, back in the 1950’s), but the 90's were when such characters were most prominent. The Matrix, much like Terminator a decade earlier, captured the fears and worries of a new technology emerging, since, at that time, the internet was still young but was becoming widespread and greatly affecting many aspects of life and society.
The film that I feel best represents the 2000’s is Batman Begins, because that film popularized the trend of making media “darker and edgier,” a trend that continued for much of that decade and still continues, today, albeit not quite as strongly as it did for the several years following BB. The previous decade featured many film adaptations of popular “nerdy” franchises, many of which were campy and corny, but this film was a gritty and “realistic” approach to such media, which, in many ways, reflected how society was changing overall; with the then-recent September 11, 2001 attacks having caused people to be more paranoid and alert after a decade of peace and economic prosperity, media was more cynical and pessimistic about society and the world.
What does everyone else say about this? What films do you believe best represent each decade from the 1960’s to the 2000’s?
PepsiAddicted says... #3
good list Caerwyn, I dont think reagan era should be the only/main keyword for 80s movies but its not wrong either. id pick something like The Naked Gun because in the 80s, or late 80s in this case, they had a unique and silly way that totally died out in the 90s and never really came back again.
man clueless. i was so in love with alicia silverstone back then. the outfits.. and her nose
August 1, 2019 3:21 a.m.
captain_sisay_2591 says... #5
60’s - To Kill a Mockingbird
70’s - Star Wars
80’s - Aliens
90’s - American Beauty
00’s - LOTR: The Return of the King
10’s - The Social Network
August 1, 2019 1:58 p.m.
Sheogoroth says... #6
60's - Dr. Strangelove I feel like the conception of the 60s gets consumed by hippies, and while there were hippies, it would be like summarizing the 80s with Yuppies or the 90s with computers.
70's - Star Wars
80's - Gremlins Breakfast Club, Ferris Beuler's Day off, Back to the Future, ET, Goonies, Top Gun, Fast Times at Ridgemont. I feel like all of these films capture the same 80's idea of a snarky white kid who can do whatever he wants and everything works out in the end. I like Gremlins for this because it captured a bit of that idea, but also the cultural fascination with Eastern mysticism and martial arts(Karate Kid, Last Dragon, Action Jackson) and the goofy havoc with latent edginess of a lot of other films.
90's - Batman Forever This was Jim Carrey's decade, and no list would be complete without him.
Caerwyn says... #2
1960s - Easy Rider - this classic film does a great job of capturing both hippie culture and the vitriol against the hippies, with an outstanding soundtrack featuring Steppenwolf, The Byrds, Hendrix, and others.
1970s - There's a lot of great films to come out of the 70s, and the decade is complex enough that I'm having trouble choosing one film to sum up the decade as a whole. I considered some of the great films--The Deer Hunter capture the anti-war sentiment of the decade perfectly; Chinatown captures the sense of nihilism--but those are not the names I'll submit.
My choice for the 70s is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Strange as it may be, I think a cult classic rooted absurdism and sexual liberation is probably the best film to sum up the decade.
1980s - Top Gun - I'm not sure there's another film which quite captures the vibe of Reagan-era politics.
1990s - Clueless - between the costumes and general vibe, this film screams the 90s.
August 1, 2019 1:22 a.m.