[Grodin]

I talked about the 80s in the "80s dating advice for girls thread". Short version: it wasn't all roses.

Fat people though, there were seriously a lot less of them then, a lot. For those that weren't an 80s kid, watch a movie like Revenge of the Nerds, take a look at the "nerds" that were considered fat. Almost svelte by today's standards. Or, just pick a movie from the 80s, if there is a so called fat character, compare to what is fat today. Look at John Belushi (great comedian). Considered fat in his day. Compare to Chris Farley (also funny as F) or Ralphie May. Or any number of fat comedians who make John Candy look "not so fat" (he was a freak of nature back in the day). Just a comparison. I'm pretty much captain obvious at this point, everyone knows America has a fat problem (myself included, I'm looking like Belushi).

[Simeon_Strangelight]

(06-03-2015 09:34 AM)CodyB Wrote:  

I don't think so.

In the 1980s, America was eating more fast food than it ever had. The nutritional content of food was secondary to gimmick factor. TV dinners and McDonalds had been around for a long time, but they became staples in the 1970s-80s.

Organic didn't exist, food was produced with little to no scrutiny from regulatory bodies, meat was injected with water to make it bigger, vegetables were sprayed to hell with pestecide and transfat went into many foods unchecked.


I grew up in Australia in the 1990s. This was essentially Australia's golden mall era and now it is yielding to online shopping and a return to High St. About fucking time. I personally don't lament the loss of this era as it destroyed small towns, old cinemas and small businesses everywhere. I'm glad to see them failing to fill shops now.

No way in hell. Even the McDonald's burger had highly different ingredients.

Most people were not eating out. By 1986 only 25% of households had microwave ovens, so what the fuck were the pre-heating?

I have lived in the 1980s and been living in New York as a kid in 1986 - most people were having home-cooked meals - often from scratch. Frequent takeouts, fast-foods, take-aways only became popular in the 1990s. And the obesity numbers showed it really. You need to watch any movie from the 1970s and 80s and be astonished how thin the people were - all on artificial food?

[Hotwheels]

You guys are trying to work it with science.

I was there. The few fat chicks were ridiculed all day long. Actually, the fattest broad in my class looked pretty damn nice at our 5 year. Because she took it upon herself to look good. Lost a TON and was with a guy that has his shit together.

Without the weight she was easily within the top five out of a class of 150.

[CodyB]

(06-04-2015 01:53 AM)BlueOcean Wrote:  

Here's a McDonald's commercial from the 1980s.

I want you guys to analyze it:

That guy is weak as hell.

He says he was a salesperson? He must have been really bad at that.

And what the fuck is she wearing? Shoulder pads?

[General Stalin]

Most people look and dress like shit. 80's and early 90's style was probably the worst ever. I say good riddance - though it was likely the last period of time that the social climate was pleasurable and inviting.

[MY DETROIT PLAYAS]

This is how I dressed in the 80's
*Boombox sold separately

[It_is_my_time]

(06-04-2015 12:09 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Most people look and dress like shit. 80's and early 90's style was probably the worst ever. I say good riddance - though it was likely the last period of time that the social climate was pleasurable and inviting.

Nah, there were some funny looking clothes for sure, as there are in most every time period. The women's big hair style was silly looking, but it at least told you they put in time to look good. And the women wearing shoulder pads was funny looking.

But today you have women wearing flip flops into the office, and even church, heck even the White House. You even have all sorts of men wearing flip flops in public. You have women showing skin no one wants to see, and the women today are fatter. Men rarely wear suits and look sharp, today it is often a "dad" attire, which is very sloppy and almost looks like what a child would wear. And most women, even when they try to dress up and look nice today, end up looking frumpy or just flat out silly.

[Malo]

(06-03-2015 10:11 PM)rpg Wrote:  

Yes the 80's were freakin awesome.

What's funny is that in the 80's, people were lamenting the loss of the charmed 70's and 60's.

They were complaining that society turned colder, that people are obsessed with their ridiculous video games instead of doing something meaningful, that people are losing their mind with their freaky outfits and retarded music.

I actually remember "adults" (30yo and above) discussing this clearly, since I was a child back then.

One thing never changes, and that is the "good old days" syndrome.

[BlueOcean]

(06-04-2015 12:09 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Most people look and dress like shit. 80's and early 90's style was probably the worst ever. I say good riddance - though it was likely the last period of time that the social climate was pleasurable and inviting.

People were a lot friendlier and more open back in the 80s. I think smartphones, the internet, tv, and video games have made the average person more socially isolated. It's a more atomized society today and people seem less easy around one another.

[Veloce]

I long for the 80s and 90s as much as the next person that was there. My first post in this thread was more pertaining to malls. I hung out in my local mall as a teen and don't have particularly good memories, but I was an embryo then with no game and no sex drive.

9/11 was a turning point. I see a clear definition of life pre-9/11 and post-9/11. Smartphones were the nail in the coffin.

I remember a lot more social interaction in the 80s and 90s.

I'm typing this from Bulgaria. Gaming is pretty challenging and frustrating here, but being here is like going back in time and is making me really happy. I was at a bar last night that was blasting Danzig, Bloodhound Gang, Rammstein, WHAM, it was a really weird mix of music I listened to growing up and through high school, pretty awesome. Keep in mind, this wasn't an 80s or 90s themed night; these songs are still really popular here and people dance everywhere, drink in the streets, drink in parks in huge groups of kids, there's kids 16 years old drinking in these groups with zero cops hassling them or citing tickets, there's zero obesity, not a single person in the bar is glued to their smartphone. I felt self conscious even texting or taking pictures. The guys have it really really good here. It was a throwback to how life used to be.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

Most people in the 1980s did not have a ton of hair-spray in it and looked like Wookies.



For most it was relatively boring with maybe a little bit more fluff. Young girls were not putting anything into their hair.

You have to keep in mind that the more difficult a hairstyle is with a ton of hairspray, the less people in the real world are going to have it. Even the pics from the mall were hand-picked to show highly different looks to our current ones. In a way it's similar to taking shots of SJW pink-haired feminists and goths and then claiming that this is how most men and women looked in 2015.

As far as the fashion goes - it was mostly atrocious for sure. 1980s likely will never come back and will be forgotten just like the 1970s men suits with frills.

Some decades are a bit better and might make a comeback. On the other hand - again - most people were dressed in jeans, jackets, shirts, and suits - so essentially for the majority of the population it wasn't that different to now.

[Hotwheels]

(06-06-2015 03:15 AM)Malo Wrote:  

(06-03-2015 10:11 PM)rpg Wrote:  

Yes the 80's were freakin awesome.

What's funny is that in the 80's, people were lamenting the loss of the charmed 70's and 60's.

They were complaining that society turned colder, that people are obsessed with their ridiculous video games instead of doing something meaningful, that people are losing their mind with their freaky outfits and retarded music.

I actually remember "adults" (30yo and above) discussing this clearly, since I was a child back then.

One thing never changes, and that is the "good old days" syndrome.

I grew up in the 80's and popped my cherry in the 80's.

No one was thinking wistfully of the 70's or earlier. Maybe your parents wanted to score some easy reefer.

[Veloce]

I'm as nostalgic about the 80s and 90s as anyone, I just never saw the mall as anything special except to play some videogames. Even when I was a teenager, I hated the types of girls that hung out at the mall in my city.

I see several catalysts in the cultural shift of America, but especially 9/11, and especially smartphones. I can distinctly remember how things were before these two events.

I'm typing this in Eastern Europe and being here is a little like going back in time, on top of some other positives:

-the fashion can be very dorky, or a complete lack of fashion awareness
-in the week I've been here, I RARELY see anyone on their smartphone in bars
-there are people out, all the time, walking, at cafes, in groups, in parks, socializing. Sitting at home and watching TV doesn't seem to be a very popular pasttime here
-Everyone drinks, all the way down to 16 year olds. In parks, on the street, at lunch. There are no citations.
-At the bar last night I heard WHAM, Culture Club, Danzig, Bloodhound Gang, Rammstein. Weird mix of 80s and 90s. Keep in mind, this wasn't an 80s/90s themed night. These songs are still popular here
-People dance. I haven't yet been to a club where people stand around self-consciously.

There are plenty of negatives, and gaming here is very challenging and frustrating so far, but aside from that I'm very happy to be here. There are glimpses of what life used to be like.

[BlueOcean]

I feel like young people these days cocoon themselves a lot more. They used to enjoy hanging out at the mall or the beach. These days it seems like a big
percentage of them are at home so much of the time. Even when they do come out, there seems to be limited social interaction among them. They don't really dominate public spaces
like they once did.

I'm not sure when the change came. As recently as 2000, I think the culture was fairly outgoing. Within a few years, that had changed completely and youths became more reclusive. Then there was another major change from 2006 to 2011, when smartphones and social media became popular. I think that did a lot to move social interaction online.

The people who are the most out and about these days are families with young kids and immigrants. American youths have gone quiet.

[Veloce]

Whoops @ double post, glitch in the Matrix over here, one was an edited post obviously

[Dr. Howard]

There were things I like about the 80s and things I did not. I was a teenager in the 90s in canada so we were still about 5 years behind america in terms of style at that point.

Here is what I disliked
- the hair - fuck that big hair and then its even weirder cousin the wave of the perm. I loved chicks with 'pantene pro v' hair and is one of the turnabouts of 2000 that I enjoyed the most...chicks with normal hair, maybe some hair dye but thats it.
- the hair down there - Porn had not spread the idea that chicks should have shaved pussies or at least landing strips yet. I am not on team hairy pussy
- the glasses - sweet mother fucking mr. magoo. Anyone with glasses had these frames that looked like they just taped two magnifying glasses together. I like my some cute, mousey nerdy girls so the eyewear made them all look awful.

There is also alot to like but what I liked the most at that age was
- arcades - for some reason, pre-nintendo, being at an arcade and playing video games was cool. You would see many badasses from your local high school there with a hot slut hanging off their arm smoking cigarettes and playing video games.
- being able to hang out - You could sit on a curb and drink a slushee and talk shit with your friends and no one would say anything. Today someone would call the cops or wonder where your parents were.

[Dusty]

Smoking was allowed in doors back then.

[The Beast1]

(06-06-2015 02:57 PM)Dusty Wrote:  

Smoking was allowed in doors back then.

I almost miss that hazy tobacco smell in bars. In my hometown you could smoke in bars up to about 2011. If a bar sold food then they wouldn't allow smoking. The hipster bars were great. Shame the nanny statists ended that too.

9/11 was the watershed moment that ended the cultural spirit that was constantly evolving since the late 1940s. Culturally America has stagnated since then. The 90s was peak optimism and the last great decade.

[Dusty]

I hate smoking, but I wish they allowed smoking in bars. That's because I rarely go into bars, and the no smoking laws pushed the smokers out into the street. I can't walk down the sidewalk past a bar without going through a maze of smokers blowing their shit on me.

[TigerMandingo]

(06-06-2015 03:08 PM)Dusty Wrote:  

I hate smoking, but I wish they allowed smoking in bars. That's because I rarely go into bars, and the no smoking laws pushed the smokers out into the street. I can't walk down the sidewalk past a bar without going through a maze of smokers blowing their shit on me.

The anti-smoking campaign really took off in the 90s, with all the "Truth" ads and their bullshit statistics. I don't care for smoking either way, I just thought it was strange that smokers were being hunted down like Nazi war criminals. Isn't smoking beneficial in terms of weight loss? I would think it would be wise to promote smoking if anything, given the country's obesity problem.

[philosophical_recovery]

(06-06-2015 02:33 PM)Dr. Howard Wrote:  

There were things I like about the 80s and things I did not. I was a teenager in the 90s in canada so we were still about 5 years behind america in terms of style at that point.

Here is what I disliked
- the hair - fuck that big hair and then its even weirder cousin the wave of the perm. I loved chicks with 'pantene pro v' hair and is one of the turnabouts of 2000 that I enjoyed the most...chicks with normal hair, maybe some hair dye but thats it.
- the hair down there - Porn had not spread the idea that chicks should have shaved pussies or at least landing strips yet. I am not on team hairy pussy
- the glasses - sweet mother fucking mr. magoo. Anyone with glasses had these frames that looked like they just taped two magnifying glasses together. I like my some cute, mousey nerdy girls so the eyewear made them all look awful.

[Dusty]

(06-06-2015 04:05 PM)philosophical_recovery Wrote:  

(06-06-2015 02:33 PM)Dr. Howard Wrote:  

There were things I like about the 80s and things I did not. I was a teenager in the 90s in canada so we were still about 5 years behind america in terms of style at that point.

Here is what I disliked
- the hair - fuck that big hair and then its even weirder cousin the wave of the perm. I loved chicks with 'pantene pro v' hair and is one of the turnabouts of 2000 that I enjoyed the most...chicks with normal hair, maybe some hair dye but thats it.
- the hair down there - Porn had not spread the idea that chicks should have shaved pussies or at least landing strips yet. I am not on team hairy pussy
- the glasses - sweet mother fucking mr. magoo. Anyone with glasses had these frames that looked like they just taped two magnifying glasses together. I like my some cute, mousey nerdy girls so the eyewear made them all look awful.

I like my women how I like my coffee. With no pubic hairs.

[markygras]

In on this 80s nostalgia -

This guy posted a homevideo he made of visiting a 7-11 in 1987 in Orlando. People were more talkative, more social skills, no heads buried in smart phones...

[youtube]RYbe-35_BaA[/youtube]


One caveat, the one guy is walking with a hand-held camera, a novelty back then, so people's reactions may have been due to that as well

[Days of Broken Arrows]

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Below is the video filmed at a 7-Eleven in1987 that Markygras tried to post (see above).

Beyond that, I want to say I think the commenters bringing up Sept. 11 as a turning point in America are onto something. I've been so fixated on smart phones changing the game I hadn't even thought about that, but it definitely altered the way Americans behave and the way the government gets to behave.

[cascadecombo]

(06-03-2015 10:10 AM)YossariansRight Wrote:  

No ones mentioned it yet. In the '80s, CHICKS HAD MUFF! WONDERFUL, THICK, WILD MUFF!!!

Come spend some time in Asia if you want muff.

Smoking too, it's almost like living in the 80s/90s. Fashion wise at least.