“What happened to originality? I miss the ‘80s!”
Oh, Gen-X. How could you let this happen? You’ve become as uncool as your boomer parents, railing against rebooted properties and pining for days of yore, when everything was fresh and original and new.
Was it, though?
The answer is a resounding NO if you really think about it. Even when movies and hit TV shows didn’t take place in the ’50s and ‘60s, they made reference to those decades in the dialogue, had people driving vintage cars, or loaded up the soundtracks with oldies. Everything was like “Remember baseball cards and matinee movies about giant ants? Remember when everything was magical and the spirit of Woodstock was still alive?”
Oftentimes, old properties were flat out rebooted, just as they are today. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY, and now you’re complaining about the new stuff just like your parents did.
Those are just the tip of the iceberg. The ‘80s was rife with revivals. Now that ‘80s kids are running the show, you’re seeing reboots and reimaginings of ‘80s and ‘90s properties.
40 years from now, perhaps, people nostalgic for these simpler times will have all-new versions of The Walking Dead, Stranger Things and The Office streaming directly into their brains.
Patrick Walts 