Reflection 4: That's Totally Gay, Dude—On the Politically Incorrect Cinema of the 1980s

The eighties can count some of the most respected films ever produced among its own. From Raging Bull to Ghandi to Driving Miss Daisy. However, another legacy of the decade was its penchant for highly racist, misogynistic, and homophobic film depictions. Eighties films routinely (and unapologetically) portrayed broadly stereotypical characters. Thus, ‘80s films regularly presented Asians as “others” (Sixteen Candles), a woman’s body as not her own (Weird Science), and homosexuals as laughable caricatures (Mannequin). Eighties films were generally not concerned with accurate portrayals of, say, Latinos or immigrants or the disabled, but with “shorthand” representations that audiences could quickly refer to for a laugh. Since the '80s, American society has largely adhered to policies of political correctness. Today, many of these negative portrayals are kept at bay. While we have our own social challenges in 2023, much of what we saw in the ‘80s would be unacceptable today. If we view films as a reflection of the times that produced them, then what do the movies of the '80s say about that decade? Likewise, what do today’s somewhat more sanitized representations say about our own time? Choose at least two of the following in your discussion:

• "Nineteen Movie Moments from the '80s Gen Z Would Eviscerate Today" (Buzzfeed)
  
• "What's So 'Cringeworthy' about Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles?" (NPR) 
• "Nine Movies from the '80s That Would be TOTALLY Unacceptable Now" (Digital Spy)
  
• "When Your Favorite Childhood Films are a Little More Homophobic Than You Remembered" (HuffPost)
• "Times Move Pretty Fast! Rewatching '80s Favourites in the Age of #MeToo" (Guardian)
  

Requirements:

• MLA Style, including works cited
• Approx. 500 words

Submission window:  Thu 11.16 - Mon 11.20