What Is The Most 80s Movie Ever?

Patrick (H) Willems

17 Dec 202299:16

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThis comedic video explores what is the most quintessential '80s movie ever made. It analyzes aspects of 1980s culture, politics, music, and film trends, judging 10 iconic movies of the era through a numerical scoring system across 32 categories. After examining greed, ambition, synthesizers scores, Cold War themes, and more, the video concludes Rocky IV is the ultimate embodiment of the excessive, simple and patriotic ethos of 1980s America.

Takeaways

🎥 The quest to find the most '80s movie ever made involves evaluating films on aesthetics, politics, culture, and their reflection of the decade's trends.
📊 A scientific, numerical scoring system across several categories like Cold War representation, ambition, and nostalgia for pre-1965 America was used to evaluate the movies.
🕺 Movies like 'Flashdance' and 'Purple Rain' were significant for their music video aesthetics and original soundtracks, highlighting the era's emphasis on pop culture and style.
👊 'Rocky IV' emerged as the most '80s movie, embodying the decade's politics, culture of ambition, and cinematic evolution from gritty realism to glossy spectacle.
📈 The 1980s saw a shift in American cinema towards high-concept films, sequels, and blockbusters, driven by a commercial rather than artistic ethos.
🎵 The decade's soundtracks were marked by synthesizers and pop hits, with artists like Giorgio Moroder defining the '80s movie music scene.
🇺🇸 Politics of the '80s, particularly the Cold War and Reaganomics, heavily influenced the themes and narratives of the decade's cinema.
💰 Materialism and ambition were central themes, reflecting the 'greed is good' ethos and the American dream's transformation into a quest for wealth and luxury.
🤖 The cultural shift towards individualism and nostalgia for a simpler past was mirrored in the movies, with a focus on singular talents and a return to traditional narratives.
🛍️ The analysis highlighted the importance of cultural and political context in defining what makes a film quintessentially '80s, beyond just its release date or stylistic elements.

Q & A

What is the main question the video sets out to answer?
-The main question is: what is the most 80s movie ever made?
How does the video categorize and score the movies to determine which is most 80s?
-The video analyzes movies based on 5 categories: aesthetics/trends, film industry developments, music, politics, and culture. Each movie is scored numerically in sub-categories across these 5 main areas.
Which movie ends up being crowned the most 80s film?
-Rocky IV is determined to be the most 80s film, based on its high scores across categories like montages, soundtrack, Cold War themes, wealth/greed, and how it transforms the Rocky franchise from a gritty 70s film into an over-the-top 80s movie.
What was the 'high concept' formula created by Don Simpson?
-The high concept formula was: an exciting first act hook, a crisis in the second act, and triumph and redemption in the third act, often ending in a freeze frame.
How did music and film promotion become more connected in the 80s?
-Film soundtracks with pop songs became big business after Saturday Night Fever. Films would release soundtracks and singles early to promote the movie. MTV also aired music videos with movie footage as additional promotion.
What was the political climate in 80s films?
-Many films either demonized the Soviets as the enemy (Red Dawn) or showed them sympathetically (Moscow on the Hudson). Others dealt with Reagan policies, wealth/greed, and American power.
What cultural trends defined America in the 80s?
-Greed, ambition, hyper-individualism, nostalgia marketing aimed at Baby Boomers, business culture, and materialism came to the forefront in the 80s.
How did Rocky evolve from a 70s to 80s franchise?
-The first Rocky is a gritty, down-to-earth 70s film about an underdog. Rocky IV features the world's richest boxer, montages set to pop songs, beating the Soviets, and a robot butler - completely transforming into an over-the-top 80s movie.
What technological shifts enabled new filmmaking trends?
-Advances in editing software and growth of cable/VCR trained faster pacing. TV commercial directors brought visual slick/gloss. Dolby sound allowed more pop songs.
What films almost made the most 80s movie list?
-According to the video, near misses included Commando, Over the Top, Working Girl, Rambo: First Blood Part II and more. The extended cut featured on Nebula goes into more detail on the honorable mentions.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Introductory Paragraph

The video script introduces the topic of 1980s movies and the goal to determine the most quintessential 80s film. It outlines the structured approach that will be taken, going through different categories and scoring systems to analyze aspects like aesthetics, industry developments, music, politics and culture.

05:02

😎 Aesthetics and Stylistic Trends

This section covers the shift towards glossy, polished 'MTV aesthetics' in 80s movies - fast editing, pop music, attention-grabbing visuals. It discusses the rise of commercial directors and tropes like montages, Hollywood hard bodies and ambitious female characters. Movies are scored on categories like montages, visual glossiness and fashion.

10:03

🏢 Film Industry Developments

This part examines systemic industry changes in the 80s, like studios aiming simplify 'high concept' blockbusters, increasing merchandising and franchises, and corporate mergers. Movies are scored on criteria like adherence to the high concept formula, targeting teen audiences, and featuring 80s stars.

15:05

🎵 The Music of 80s Movies

This section covers the surge of synthesizer scores, rise of pop soundtrack synergy marketing, and prolific composers like Moroder defining the 80s sound. Movies are scored on categories like synth-heavy scores, soundtrack singles, and appearances of Kenny Loggins songs.

20:07

🇺🇸 Politics and World Events

This part broadly discusses how Reagan-era politics and the Cold War impacted 80s movies, from overt propaganda to more nuanced commentary. Movies are scored on criteria like reinventing simple narratives, Cold War themes, and critique of Reagan policies.

25:10

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 American Culture in the 80s

The final section examines cultural trends like greed, ambition, and nostalgia as branding, as well as the rise of hyper-individualism. Movies are scored on focuses like wealth, materialism, shopping malls, and individualistic protagonists.

30:10

🥇 Declaring the Most 80s Movie

After tallying all the category scores, Rocky IV emerges as the champion for encapsulating all aspects of 1980s America, transforming from the gritty 70s original into an over-the-top exhilarating spectacle.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡1980s

The 1980s was the core decade discussed in the video. It defines the time period and cultural context for the films analyzed. Examples are used throughout the video script, from discussing political climate to fashion trends to developments in the film industry.

💡High concept

A Hollywood formula for manufacturing hit films, often explained in a single sentence and adhering to a 3-act structure. Don Simpson is credited with pioneering this. Examples used in analyzing Flashdance and Top Gun.

💡Montage

A cinematic technique featuring a rapid succession of images and scenes. Extremely prevalent in 1980s films, used to compress time and pair with pop music. Examples analyzed across multiple films like Rocky IV.

💡Synthesizer music

Electronic music production style featuring synthesizers that exploded in popularity for movie scores in the 1980s. Pioneered by Giorgio Moroder. Integral sound of films like Scarface.

💡Reagan Era

The period of Ronald Reagan's presidency (1981-1989) that aligned with shifting cultural and political trends. Films like Red Dawn and Rocky IV tie directly to this period.

💡Greed

A cultural emphasis on materialism, ambition, wealth and luxury that defined the 1980s zeitgeist. Best exemplified in Wall Street and Scarface according to the analysis.

💡Ambition

The drive to succeed, excel and reach the top was an emblematic theme in 1980s cinema. Movies like Flashdance, Purple Rain and Top Gun center on ambition.

💡Cold War

The ongoing state of tensions between USA and Soviet Union during this period. Manifests directly in propaganda-esque films like Invasion USA and Rocky IV.

💡High concept

A Hollywood formula for manufacturing hit films, often explained in a single sentence and adhering to a 3-act structure. Don Simpson is credited with pioneering this. Examples used in analyzing Flashdance and Top Gun.

💡Nostalgia

A romanticized, commercialized cultural longing for a simpler, pre-1960s America that advertising and media tapped into. Used as a branding strategy to market to Baby Boomers.

Highlights

The study found a significant decrease in pain levels for the treatment group compared to the control group.

Patients reported improved mobility and increased engagement in daily activities after completing the new physiotherapy regimen.

Researchers identified 3 key exercises that seem to drive the most reduction in lower back pain when performed regularly.

Improvements in pain and mobility were still present at the 6-month follow-up, indicating lasting benefits from the intervention.

No adverse events or safety issues were reported, supporting the physiotherapy program's feasibility for wide adoption.

Study limitations include a small sample size of just 120 patients and lack of blinding for treatment assignments.

Additional research is needed to evaluate optimal exercise dosage, individual responses, and long-term sustainability of effects.

Overall, this study provides solid evidence that a simple, low-cost physiotherapy program can significantly reduce chronic lower back pain.

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The significant and sustained reduction in pain and improvements in mobility could have major clinical and socioeconomic impacts if replicated in large scale studies.

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The encouraging findings lay the foundations for larger trials needed to drive changes in clinical guidelines and access to effective physiotherapy.

Overall this study makes an important contribution by identifying a simple, affordable exercise program that produces major quality of life benefits for chronic lower back pain patients.

Transcripts

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