Steven Spielberg on why we're so obsessed with the '80s
If anyone's more obsessed than you with the '80s, it's Steven Spielberg.
The legendary director of new Easter egg-filled geek adventure Ready Player Onereflected on why we're so obsessed with nostalgia for the decade in a Q&A at the film's Australian premiere in Sydney on Tuesday.
SEE ALSO:'Ready Player One' review roundup: Dubbed 'the geekiest movie ever made'And he should know — Spielberg directed, wrote or produced Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, E.T., Poltergeist, The Goonies and more in the 1980s.
Based on Ernest Cline's 2011 science fiction novel, Ready Player Oneis set in a dystopian 2045 and follows the adventures of a teenager in an escapist VR game.
Spielberg filled the film with niche references to films, games, music and television from the '70s, '80s and '90s — but he clearly knows which decade wields the most power for his audiences.
"I think we’re nostalgic for the ‘80s because it was a stress-free decade," he said in a livestream from the UK. "Everything was sort of innocuous: style, music, it was great — Duran Duran, Eddie Van Halen."
Ready Player One's soundtrack is indeed a smorgasbord of '80s classics including Talking Heads, New Order, Wham!, Devo, Men Without Hats, and the aforementioned Van Halen and Duran Duran — as well as a strong use of Twisted Sister's 1984 hit "We're Not Gonna Take It," in one of the film's big moments.
'Ready Player One' is chock full of nostalgic references, down to the poster.Credit: warner brosSpielberg continued, painting a pretty rose-colored picture of the political context of the '80s (with a thinly veiled dig at current President Donald Trump). "It was a place with Ronald Reagan — we had an actor as a president and he actually was articulate and made sense, even though I’m a Democrat not a Republican."
"We’re nostalgic for the ‘80s because it was a stress-free decade."
Spielberg sees the present-day context of the film's release, and that of Cline's 2011 novel, as problematic enough for us to want to truly escape (and look, he's not wrong).
"I think with what’s happening in the world right now, and even when Ernie wrote the book, I think we feel there have been times in the past that the present kind of forces us to return to — at least those who existed in the ‘80s."
But perhaps, for those of us born in the '90s and later, we're just super keen on the '80s because it was goddamn cool — anyone born after 1990 who's watched Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller's Day Offhas probably gone to a party in costume from these films. Just look at the kids from Stranger Things.
"Even those who didn’t can still relate to the movie not having been born in the ‘80s because of social media, YouTube and Google — the ‘80s, the ‘70s, even decade is so accessible to all of us today," said Spielberg.
Ready Player Onehits theatres March 29.
Featured Video For You
-
The OLED BurnFacebook building $200 standalone Oculus VR headset for 2018: reportOver W2tr wasted for failing to prevent animal epidemics: lawmakerUS bombers conduct unprecedented drill as Trump briefed on options on NK[From the Scene] How ‘world’s first oil town’ is wrestling to become ‘green''North Korea remains hostile toward South Korea''China, Russia loosening noose on North Korea again'Jacked Jeff Bezos knows grassBest smart home deals this week at AmazonNorth Korea reports five deaths, damage in typhoon
- ·Sinkhole swallows up car, injuring 2 in Seoul
- ·Scientists just fit a GIF onto DNA, which might be the most important thing to ever happen to GIF
- ·NK special forces practice paragliding CFC ambush: military
- ·US says it is aware of report of North Korea's missile launch
- ·11 Places to See Tiny Trains
- ·Letterboxd is changing the way we talk about movies online
- ·Subway halted for 50 minutes, affecting 1,800 commuters
- ·剧作家刘恒志:《南繁硅谷传奇》以影视形式弘扬袁隆平精神
- ·Keurig K Mini deal — get $30 off at Target
- ·Take an internet break this year
- ·Korea, Australia voice concerns over NK nukes, call for diplomatic efforts
- ·Facebook wants NYU to stop sharing political ad data it keeps secret
- ·Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp 2024 livestream: Watch US Open for free
- ·Can't imagine tennis without Nadal: Alcaraz
- ·Over W2tr wasted for failing to prevent animal epidemics: lawmaker
- ·North Korea calls Japan's export curbs politically motivated
- ·17 Spectacular Outdoor Staircases
- ·Beyoncé and her babies are being rightly compared to works of timeless art
- ·Letterboxd is changing the way we talk about movies online
- ·Apple to hold another event on November 10
- ·I went to an offline dating event for singles. Here's how it went.
- ·Bolton: 'N. Korea missile launches didn't break promise'
- ·Moon proposes global peace zone at DMZ
- ·Apple to hold another event on November 10
- ·Sinkhole swallows up car, injuring 2 in Seoul
- ·Coach gets suspended sentence for beating female students
- ·[Online Predators] Deepfake pornography haunts S. Korea
- ·Facebook pauses groups recommendation feature until after election
- ·Facebook wants NYU to stop sharing political ad data it keeps secret
- ·See Hummer EV do its CrabWalk move on video
- ·Tesla considers adding a new ‘stuck detection' feature to Cybertruck. Here’s why.
- ·Alcaraz holds off Struff to reach Madrid quarter
- ·North Korea fires short
- ·World's smallest battery assembles itself like a Swiss roll cake
- ·Tesla's big software update includes something called 'Night Curfew'
- ·Trump, Moon agree not to seek 'offensive stance' against North Korea