But I am THIS GRATEFUL not to have become a teenager or adult in the 80s.
I think if you look around, you can see that most of us survived quite well. Actually, this superficial stuff you see--and the trends that sadly encouraged conformity rather than individuality--did have the effect of simplifying life. Everyone dressed the same way, everyone mostly listened to the same hit music lists on broadcast radio. It wasn't a particularly stimulating time, but it wasn't particularly overwhelming, either--except for those getting caught up in these little details of themselves (and thus anerexia, or the general angst portrayed in "The Breakfast Club," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," etc.)
Though I regret the lack of diversity in our resources (and fashion expression) at the time, at the same time, this prevented us from being pressured to (or equipped to) experiment with the gammit of dark alternative lifestyles promoted to young people today as appropriate of exploration. We weren't encouraged to surgically alter our bodies to follow our sexual whims and fantasies, nor even to pierce our bodies for sensual pleasure. Though of course alternative sexual culture, occultism, and other dark avenues existed, they were a lot harder to run into and to access.
I really love today's choices for opening up and enriching the diversity of life, but they can be more overwhelming and are certainly more dangerous for the inexperienced teenager to navigate. I wouldn't want to go back to the 80's, either, but it was a simpler time.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-10-30 03:38 pm (UTC)I think if you look around, you can see that most of us survived quite well. Actually, this superficial stuff you see--and the trends that sadly encouraged conformity rather than individuality--did have the effect of simplifying life. Everyone dressed the same way, everyone mostly listened to the same hit music lists on broadcast radio. It wasn't a particularly stimulating time, but it wasn't particularly overwhelming, either--except for those getting caught up in these little details of themselves (and thus anerexia, or the general angst portrayed in "The Breakfast Club," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," etc.)
Though I regret the lack of diversity in our resources (and fashion expression) at the time, at the same time, this prevented us from being pressured to (or equipped to) experiment with the gammit of dark alternative lifestyles promoted to young people today as appropriate of exploration. We weren't encouraged to surgically alter our bodies to follow our sexual whims and fantasies, nor even to pierce our bodies for sensual pleasure. Though of course alternative sexual culture, occultism, and other dark avenues existed, they were a lot harder to run into and to access.
I really love today's choices for opening up and enriching the diversity of life, but they can be more overwhelming and are certainly more dangerous for the inexperienced teenager to navigate. I wouldn't want to go back to the 80's, either, but it was a simpler time.