I graduated high school in 1989 and my favourite 80s movies were The Princess Bride and Three O'Clock High. The Brat Pack flicks were also good but they lacked the uncertainty of 3OH and the self-awareness of TPB. While the films of the childhood of any given generation "define" that generation, it's important to note that they're made by previous generations. The teen flicks of the 80s were really just nostalgia films for the 1950s and 60s by Boomers and Silent Generation authors and directors. Some deliberately set there like Back to the Future or Peggy Sue Got Married, but almost all having that aesthetic. The Brat Pack / John Hughes films all had that and were very self-assured. There seemed to be very little self-reflection. Within the story and the characters, yes, but note between the story and the audience if that makes sense. I think what set TPB and 3OH apart was that they question the narrative. In 3OH it's clear that the stories people tell about both Buddy and Jerry aren't true and that you shouldn't trust how people describe things. The opening description of Buddy and the closing gossip about Jerry are a conversation with the film and the audience. It's similar in TPB - the grandson questions throughout and it turns out Dread Pirate Roberts is more a concept than a man. The final "As you wish" comes from the grandfather and shows that stories exist to connect generations. Yes that's between the grandfather and the grandson, but it's also is with the audience. That stories exist to connect generations. That message resonated more with me as a Gen Xer. We were born during a time when history had kind of taken a pause. Previous generations had gone through massive changes and tragedies while we... we saw the rise of MTV and Tang. Amazing things had happened before us, but were the folks telling us being honest about their roles in those events? Some, sure; others, no. We wanted those connections but we also had doubts. Someone was supporting the Vietnam War; someone was shouting abuse at Ruby Bridges. We never seemed to meet those people. As Gen Z has come of age they've been a bit harsher and clear eyed in their views on Brat Pack and John Hughes films and found them troubling. I can't really disagree. I find it interesting because their concerns echoed many of my Silent Generation mother's concerns. I wasn't as receptive to them as a teen, but in my 50s I have to agree with folks two generations away from me on either side.
I'd argue that you have it back to front. In the 80's actors were, in fact, considered god-like and the article which called them "brat pack" was trying to bring them back down to earth with a pithy phrase. We had limited access to them beyond their performances and carefully managed publicity. Today, in the internet age, actors expose the fact that they're mostly just dumb chancers who got lucky with a modicum of talent because we're exposed to their stupidity all the time on twitter and instagram and whatever. Pre-internet celebrities were considered to be extraordinary and exemplary, post-internet we've all been invited to realise they're all just vacuous narcissist dickheads who just happen to be doing a highly paid job with big exposure.
Andrew McCarthy stayed at a hotel my aunt worked at in the 90s and she said he was a rude, entitled prick. Nothing but bad vibes coming from him The dude seems bitter and it shows based on your description. He made Rotten movies aft r the Brat Pack movies and nobody forced him to.
Wow, i just realized Brat Pack was a play on the Rat pack. How did i not notice that???
I graduated high school in 1989 and my favourite 80s movies were The Princess Bride and Three O'Clock High. The Brat Pack flicks were also good but they lacked the uncertainty of 3OH and the self-awareness of TPB.
While the films of the childhood of any given generation "define" that generation, it's important to note that they're made by previous generations. The teen flicks of the 80s were really just nostalgia films for the 1950s and 60s by Boomers and Silent Generation authors and directors. Some deliberately set there like Back to the Future or Peggy Sue Got Married, but almost all having that aesthetic.
The Brat Pack / John Hughes films all had that and were very self-assured. There seemed to be very little self-reflection. Within the story and the characters, yes, but note between the story and the audience if that makes sense.
I think what set TPB and 3OH apart was that they question the narrative. In 3OH it's clear that the stories people tell about both Buddy and Jerry aren't true and that you shouldn't trust how people describe things. The opening description of Buddy and the closing gossip about Jerry are a conversation with the film and the audience. It's similar in TPB - the grandson questions throughout and it turns out Dread Pirate Roberts is more a concept than a man. The final "As you wish" comes from the grandfather and shows that stories exist to connect generations. Yes that's between the grandfather and the grandson, but it's also is with the audience. That stories exist to connect generations.
That message resonated more with me as a Gen Xer. We were born during a time when history had kind of taken a pause. Previous generations had gone through massive changes and tragedies while we... we saw the rise of MTV and Tang. Amazing things had happened before us, but were the folks telling us being honest about their roles in those events? Some, sure; others, no. We wanted those connections but we also had doubts. Someone was supporting the Vietnam War; someone was shouting abuse at Ruby Bridges. We never seemed to meet those people.
As Gen Z has come of age they've been a bit harsher and clear eyed in their views on Brat Pack and John Hughes films and found them troubling. I can't really disagree. I find it interesting because their concerns echoed many of my Silent Generation mother's concerns. I wasn't as receptive to them as a teen, but in my 50s I have to agree with folks two generations away from me on either side.
I'd argue that you have it back to front. In the 80's actors were, in fact, considered god-like and the article which called them "brat pack" was trying to bring them back down to earth with a pithy phrase. We had limited access to them beyond their performances and carefully managed publicity. Today, in the internet age, actors expose the fact that they're mostly just dumb chancers who got lucky with a modicum of talent because we're exposed to their stupidity all the time on twitter and instagram and whatever. Pre-internet celebrities were considered to be extraordinary and exemplary, post-internet we've all been invited to realise they're all just vacuous narcissist dickheads who just happen to be doing a highly paid job with big exposure.
Andrew McCarthy stayed at a hotel my aunt worked at in the 90s and she said he was a rude, entitled prick. Nothing but bad vibes coming from him The dude seems bitter and it shows based on your description. He made Rotten movies aft r the Brat Pack movies and nobody forced him to.