Fresh Question #8: Children of a Decade

[Nightwing]

Greetings, to my favorite web community. It's new FQ time, and if you like bragging on behalf of yourself or your generation, then you'll love this one. Having been a child of the 80s, I grew up with the best stuff as far as the entertainment world is concerned. Not to mention the lack of censorship and analytical nonsense that goes into things these days (see: the psychological analysis of Winnie The Pooh). So with that in mind, let's get to our self-promoting debate:

What was/is the best decade to grow up in and why??

[electricsheep]

the 80s for sure, it was a fun, diverse, and pretty much care-free decade, which is reflected in just about everything entertainment-wise that came out in the 80s...

[SilverKnight]

Couldn't tell ya, I've been oblvious to most of the 80's and 90's. But, if I had to choose, I'd say...80's I guess. The beginning of video games (The Legend of Zelda is STILL the hardest damn NES game ever made, in my humble opinion), kick ass cartoons (Voltron is the BOMB), and you could get away with wearing some of the funkiest damn clothing ever seen in history (and that INCLUDES the loin cloth :D).

[Captain Caps]

No matter what your age in that decade (I was only 7 when the decade ended), you were absorbing an atmosphere that remains with you. That would explain why I love the 80s so much...I was watching Disney specials that had 80s music, and I loved the music videos I was able to see (which weren't that many, since Mom didn't really like MTV, and only started to let us watch it around the time Nirvana went big). The videos I did see ("Thriller", "If I Could Turn Back Time", "Material Girl") left an impression on my tiny mind. Now, I love the 80s out of all the years I've been alive (the timespan from 1990 to the early days of 1992 run a close second. Anything after that was abysmal).

Sincerely,

John "Captain Caps" Kilduff

[The Dork Knight]

Late 80's/Early 90's were the perfect time to grow up in.

- Foley Is Good

[Barb Gordon]

I'd have to agree. late 80's/early 90's was so awesome! Although I remember most of the 90's more because i was born in '83, and the 80's are a blur since i was little,lol. Actually...last week was a blur too.....

Barb^-^

[Calhoun07]

Since I only got to grow up in one, I feel I am a bit biased.

[Elven Moon]

I'd say the 80s. Having been born in the early 80s, I grew up in this world and so it holds a sentimental meaning for me. Perhaps this is why I love 80s music, movies, cartoons, etc. so much.

[Nightflower]

Lack of censorship? I'll admit my knowledge of the 80s decade is a little limited, but was there *really* a lack of censorship and analytical nonsense? There will always be naysayers in every decade, no matter what the issue is. You have to remember that us teens and early-20-ers were really young that time, and lack of knowledge of an issue should not be confused with a lack of the issue itself. Young kids today are probably not aware of network decisions behind shows or of their shows being bland and censored for fear of violence. I seem to recall some hubbub about the Ninja Turtles being too violent. But- as I said- I don't know much about the 80s.

That particular decade does seems a lot more attractive now than say, five years ago. I'd like to hear responses from people on the board who grew up in earlier eras. The 60s seemed funner, diverser and carefreer than the 80s to me. :p

[zero zero nine]

It depends on what you mean by growing up. Do you mean childhood or adolescence? I wish I could have been a child (about 7-8) right now. Children are smarter than ever. Technology improves exponentially every few months or so... I don't like the eighties (when I was a child).

[SilentBobWooHoo]

Well...I've only been alive during the 90's, so that's my answer. Seriously, I think some of the best movies and comics ever have come out during this decade (well, this is true with the 80's also with the likes of Watchmen and Silence of the Lambs)...but all I remember about my life has been in the 90's...so yeah, the 90's :)

[Blue Priestess]

Best decade? I've only been here for two. Well, except for some good television, the 90s sucked like a black hole. So, the 80s is the best decade. By default.

Mela

[Momijii]

I'm a child of the 80's and early 90's ,but censorship existed in the 80's aswell,I say kids from the 80's weren't as sensitive as this generation.Kid shows of the 80's generation weren't as censored with was great.Then for this generation doctors give hyper kids drugs to keep them clam...which is all a sign of the times.

[G. Wen]

The '80's did have this fun, flamboyant, colorful feel to it, and I miss that aspect of the '80's. And then there was the '80's music, which is hard to beat. And the fashion, though ugly, was fun to look at and wear. But the '80's was also superficial, the era when school cliques were formed. In the '90's people started breaking the rules (cliques) and realized that they didn't have to fit into any social group, they could just be themselves. And the pre-boybands '90's music was also great. And the fashion was better looking. But the '90's were also depressing (grunge rock). So I think the '80's and '90's tie.

[atf487]

Well, I was born like 2 months and 11 days before the 80's ended, so I have no choice. But the eighties would have seemed to weird to me, considering Im used to the pointless Limp Bizkit, to the sad world of "other programs" on halftime shows (its sad cause it needs porn stars to get viewers). Well, The mid-ninties also sported great music, (im a pop-punk/grunge fan) but I was too young to actually appreciate it. I guess the 2000-2009 will be my greatest decade overall.

[RogueMartian]

Born in 81. I'd rather have been born in 91. I had nintendo, kids now will have PS2. I had nickelodeon, which was good in the 80s, but CN now is so much better than nick was then. My dad had a computer for work when I was little, it had about 4 colors. Now many kids have a PC with millions of colors and games and learning programs that are fantastic. I like music better now than I did in the 80s, and I am forever thankful that I was not a teenager in the 80s, the clothes and hairstyles were horrible. But I guess it all depends on taste.

[DR. BELCH]

--had its virtues. In the fifties, folks knew their place and kept there, people were good and suspicious of thier neighbors, thanks to McCarthy, and we weren't so ready to embrace/condone idiocy and immorality as we are now.
The sixties is notable for producing some of the best music; it actually meant something then. Unfortunately the moral lines also began to blur here, so that wasa bad trade-off. In the seventies minorities began to appear more in TV and other entertainment venues--good; racial violence increased as minorities filtered into peceful communities and brounght drugs, violence, and upheaval--bad.
This trend continued into the eighties, where the peaceful small town was replaced by the heavily-minority city surrounded by the tiny white satellite community, and people yearned for the old values of their fathers/grandfathers thirty years ago. On the plus side, the end of Carterian maliase and the decade of Ronald Reagan issued in a new age of prosperity that tried to lessen the racial and economic gap.
In the nineties it got even worse--Clinton took over and tore the economy apart, desroying all Reagan built while indulging his Caligulan appetites. Rodney King replaced M.L King as the blacks' hero, and a thousand atrocities were committed in his name. Immorality flourished, and those who opposed it were called enemies of freedom. The TV ratings were born and swept the country like a pox, ruining lives. Music ceased to mean anything, the charts dominated by ignorant, vulgarity-spewing minority rappers and brainless bubblegun harlots.
So basically I want the morality of the fifties, the music of the sixties, the opportunity of the seventies, the strong leaders of the eighties, and...nothing of the nineties; I hated them. Well...all right, maybe the technology.
Hopefully in 2002 we'll see that; with G.W. Bush in office we might at least have a shot at firm leadership which can steer us back into the America my parents and grandparents knew.

[James]

Hmm, so far the late 90's has spawned some great toys which I would have KILLED for as a kid (and with the new He-Man range looking spiffy... howl!) - I'd have loved the accuracy and craftmanship of todays models. I got the Phoenix from Battle Of The Planets imported from Japan - the most AMAZING model I have come across. The excellent superhero characters too... and the games... the GREAT 2000AD figures... yum.

However, the 60's would have been cool. A time of change, freedom and gratitous vices - a time where we weren't saturated by mass market music and the fear of HIV among others... but then the 60's also was neck deep in the cold war - which terrified many a kid, and for you US-ians, Vietnam was still parading it's ugly head. Not the best time to grow up...

I'm quite happy with 80's/90's. I'm a '75 guy and had the fun of the cool 80's programmes and films (BTTF, Ghostbusters, Knightrider, Battle Of The Planets, Twin Peaks, Batman, Blake's 7) plus the more adult themes that were popping up in the 90's (as the world moved back from Glen Larson's mediorce story constructions ;) ). Plus grunge was kicking away at the seems of the music industry. Not a bad time to live...

I pity the poor saps who have to cope with LIMP Bizkit and the surge of rather bland Faith No More inspired (for they were the best!) RapRock.... Poor dudes...

[Emmanuel Cruz]

I always say this, but I would love to re-live the 80's. I was born in 1988, so I never got to witness the full glory of the 80's. It looks so interesting.

[Squall]

I think that the 1350's are the best decade ever. The Renaissance was gaining steam, baby! :) The Catholic Church issued a decree that said that you could buy sins which would not be counted against you. The Holy Roman Empire allowed peasants to work for deeds to land (as long as the land wasn't already claimed by a noble), and the Mongols were riding around on adventures (read: conquering Eurasia). Of course, England and France were fighting the Hundred Years' War, and the Sultan of the Assabinaid Empire was killing Christians and Jews by the hundreds of thousands, and there was also that black plague thing... but hey, no decade is perfect, right? :yakko:

[James]

At least the 1350s didn't suffer the Monkees, the Bay City Rollers, T'Pau, Take That or Alien Ant Farm.

Oh good lord, I've just realised I have now experienced 4 decades!

Sob! I'm only 26! - How unfair is that!?

[DisneyBoy]

80s. He-Man. She-Ra. Darkwing Duck. The Little Mermaid. Beauty and the Beast. Aladdin. Batman. Batman Returns. Whitney Houston. Enough said.

[Nightflower]

Originally posted by DisneyBoy
80s. He-Man. She-Ra. Darkwing Duck. The Little Mermaid. Beauty and the Beast. Aladdin. Batman. Batman Returns. Whitney Houston. Enough said.

Oh? I thought Darkwing Duck, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Batman Returns and Whitney Houston was during the early 90s!

[JustJack]

Originally posted by Nightflower


Oh? I thought Darkwing Duck, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Batman Returns and Whitney Houston was during the early 90s!

I think She-Ra was also apart of the 90's? I forget Hmm.. But, everything else on that list is 90's, entirely. Except for He-Man, of course. c'mon, DisneyBoy! You're confusing your decades! ;) :p

[Nightflower]

Nope. Batman aired in 1989, and He-Man and She-Ra began in the 80s, even if they overlapped into the other decade. Sorry DisneyBoy.... looks like you're a 90s poster child after all :)