7 ’80s Movies That Have Aged Like Milk
The ’80s were some of the best times, but for certain movies, they might have missed the mark. With larger-than-life hair and neon everything, the decade helped define pop culture, and with social media non-existent, people looked to movies as their main source of entertainment and cultural influence.
However, social awareness wasn’t as prominent, leading to questionable creative decisions that don’t bode well with certain groups. As a result, some films don’t hold up well with today’s audiences, where knowledge and understanding are much stronger and more accessible in the digital age. Without further ado, here are seven ’80s movies that have aged like milk.
1
‘Sixteen Candles’ (1984)
Sixteen Candles is the quintessential teen love story of the ’80s. However, the rom-com is guilty of the obvious portrayal of yellowface. The film’s exchange student, Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe), is shown in stereotypical Asian fashion. On top of his exaggerated accent, his broken English purposely dumbs him down for cheap laughs, making him “too foreign” for American high school. His silliness extends to his physical comedy scenes. Long Duk Dong becomes the school’s literal punching bag at a party, enforcing the idea that foreign students are clumsy and chaotic.
The idea of consent is also blurry in Sixteen Candles. Samantha (Molly Ringwald) is constantly spied on and even sexualized without her realizing it. One troubling scene involves Jake Ryan’s (Michael Schoeffling) girlfriend being given away while intoxicated to another student in exchange for his car. Back then, being drunk was seen as a joke, but these days, violating the rights of an unconscious person is a serious crime.
2
‘Soul Man’ (1986)
Today, the line, “These are the ’80s, man. It’s the Cosby decade,” carries a very different — and more negative — meaning. Soul Man is not simply about a man with “soul.” On the contrary, the title relies on a stereotype of Black Americans, who are often associated with soul music. But the title is only the tip of the iceberg. More troubling is the fact that the film’s protagonist uses blackface to obtain a scholarship intended exclusively for Black students at Harvard Law School.
Even worse, the privileged lead character, Mark Watson (C. Thomas Howell), turns to blackface after being financially cut off by his father. A reasonable alternative would be to get a job and pay for his own college expenses, but his sense of entitlement drives him to pretend to be Black. With no prior knowledge of the African American experience, he foolishly believes that they have no problems in American society and are even allowed special treatment.
3
‘Police Academy’ (1984)
When Police Academy says that anyone can join the police force, it literally means everyone. From this theme alone, audiences can expect a misfit group of unassuming individuals to pick up a badge and fight crime despite their poor resumes. This serves as the movie’s trademark juvenile comedy. Although humor isn’t new in police procedurals, as made popular by shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Police Academy’s brand of humor is tasteless, as it relies on discriminatory jokes.
On a personal level, Police Academy’s poor treatment of women would not be tolerated in today’s cinemas. Female police cadets are constantly mocked and sexualized, and these behaviors are often played off as harmless jokes instead of being recognized as misconduct. On a broader scale, the institutional portrayal of power is reckless and rule-breaking. In today’s view of law enforcement, this would be considered irresponsible.
4
‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1984)
In an era when the internet was barely accessible to the public, movies were one of the main mediums through which audiences learned about the world. However, this also carries the risk of misrepresenting certain communities, which has often occurred in American cinema. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is one such example. While the Indiana Jones franchise is known for its adventurous spirit, this entry is widely criticized for its racial stereotyping of so-called “third-world” countries.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’s plot revolves around the fictional Thuggee cult, which is loosely based on depictions of India. Members of this community are divided into two stereotypical categories: helpless, desperate villagers lacking proper hygiene and a violent, fanatical underground group, reinforcing the “savage” imagery of non-Anglo-American countries. One controversial scene includes Indiana Jones being served dinner at Pankot Palace, where it is implied that Indians eat gross body parts such as chilled monkey brains and eyeball soup.
5
‘The Breakfast Club’ (1985)
The Breakfast Club is a lesson in common high school archetypes: brain, athlete, basket case, princess, and criminal. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the characters live up to the label they had been given. Still, Bender’s (Judd Nelson) early behavior towards Claire (Ringwald) is unacceptable. As the designated bad boy, Bender’s bound to break some rules, but invading Claire’s personal space and verbally harassing her is one step too far.
On a more sensitive note, The Breakfast Club oversimplifies mental health issues. In turn of events, Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) is revealed to be suicidal. Instead of taking him seriously, the other four initially laugh in disbelief, unable to fathom that a jock like Brian could even write a suicide note. In its conclusion, The Breakfast Club makes a statement that people of different cliques can connect, but the message becomes contradictory when Allison (Ally Sheedy) is given a goth-to-girl makeover, which goes to show that you’re only attractive when you fit in with conventional beauty standards.
6
‘Dirty Dancing’ (1987)
Dirty Dancing takes the line, “Nobody puts Baby in the corner,” a little too literally. Whether it’s the 2020s or the 1980s, teenagers are bound to rebel at some point. Dirty Dancing‘s Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) finds herself swept up by the sheer charisma of dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) at Kellerman’s Resort. There’s nothing more thrilling than a vacation hook-up, but with Johnny being 25 and Baby only 17, the age gap is problematic.
Age gap aside, Dirty Dancing presents itself as a critique of classism. Baby’s cardiologist father, Jake (Jerry Orbach), exhibits an internalized ignorance toward working-class employees like Johnny. Baby going behind her father’s back to be with Johnny initially seems like a protest against class divisions. However, that rebelliousness feels less convincing when we remember that Jake is a working professional and that Baby is merely a guest at the resort. In this light, the much older Jake should’ve also been more aware of respecting professional boundaries.
7
‘Porky’s’ (1981)
Before American Pie, there was Porky’s. Despite the 18-year difference, both films address one of high schoolers’ biggest urges: losing their virginities. Of course, a film revolving around underage students and the carnal need for sex is already a red flag from the get-go. The alarming pursuit of sex is deemed a rite of passage. In their boyish fashion, these young men think that the ultimate source of sex is in adult environments like strip clubs.
Blinded by the need to pop their cherries, the boys deem women as nothing more than objects to fill their urges. Porky’s then turns female characters into inappropriate jokes. The film normalizes the boys spying on girls in the locker room without consent. Porky’s humorizes their dangerous behavior, presenting it as a “boys will be boys” attitude that dismisses their recklessness. However, many major cases of sexual assault stem from microaggressions such as this one.
- Release Date
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November 13, 1981
- Runtime
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94 minutes
- Director
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Bob Clark
- Producers
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Arnold Kopelson, Don Carmody, Harold Greenberg
