I was alive then, and it was wild. Say what you want but it was a good time to be alive. Snapshotted in the films of that era: a mix of possibility and optimism, expansion and vibrancy - that started to decay in the 90s (grunge et al was a symptom of the 90s zeitgeist) and was completely demolished by the noughties.
Stranger Things is one of a few recent 'era remake' period pieces that capitalizes on demand for this kind of nostalgia.
In a strange way, I think hacker culture of the 90s continued the excitement of the 80s, but underground, when it had already begun to die in the mainstream. Who's with me on this? Or knows what I'm talking about?
In the 2000s I traveled to Asia and found the same sense of aliveness in the Sinosphere, unsurprisingly. That's gone from there now, too, replaced with something else in capitalisms' rapide marche. But I really want to know -- will this vibe ever return to the West?
Or, put it differently, where in the world can you now find that mix of fun, openness, positivity and possibility that was once alive in the 1980s? :)
Ha. 70s is a diff vibe. To me it's diffuse, unfocused, open and permeable, but no direction -- no decisiveness. The 80s is all like "We know what we want and we are going there now! You with us? Okay, come along! You're not? CYA later, alligator." Hahaha! :)
But I'm curious -- for you, where was the 70s good and what was good about it? :) haha! :)
i want movies with big bad-ass ass-kicking stars. all powerful usa looking far ahead at the horizon.
At the time, of course, life was limited to dancing to disco and blasting classical on the Klipsch and gaining another few hundred feet uphill of mellow on Mt. Tam, but soon —maybe even by 2020*?— we'd be hang gliding in space colonies at the Lagrange points, eg https://nss.org/wp-content/uploads/Bernal_Interior_AC76-0628...
* after all, extrapolating from:
1903 - beginning of manned aeronautics
1961 - beginning of manned spaceflight
Then came the 80s, a period Rogan described as a clumsy expression of perhaps the wrong values – a perspective that struck me significantly. This era represented a departure from the openness of the 70s, which I find highly valuable. My previous comment didn't fully capture the importance I place on the availability of hallucinogenic drugs and associated experiences (their connection with UAP and religion is explored in the podcast as well), which I believe can be experienced without societal decay or government collapse.
Rogan and Pasulka highlighted the contrast between the 70s and 80s. The 70s brought an expansion of experiences through fantastic drugs, while the 80s, post-war on drugs, ushered in a change not just in societal values but also in the drugs themselves. The shift towards substances like cocaine, seen as ego-driven, was emblematic of this change. It's fascinating and somewhat saddening to think that the energetic and valuable thread of the 70s was lost in the 80s.
Despite the positive energy of the 80s, I feel we need to recapture the 70s vibe. I highly recommend watching this podcast episode, especially for that insightful discussion, as I think it'll resonate with many.