How Sci-Fi Films Defined the 1980s Aesthetic

Presenter: Emily Braun

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Fall

Department: Modern Languages & Literatures

Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1jE8bf-wmZdETITM0f_J2DzS_agnGf83W

Abstract:
The 1980s decade is known as a time of vibrancy, curiosity and hope for the future. Some may think of vests, leather jackets, shoulder pads and big hair, and others may think of the Reagan years and the demise of the Cold War. However, what many fail to realize, is how we owe a lot of our perception of the 80s to sci-fi films released within that decade. Their costumes, characters and dystopian settings defined the aesthetic of the 1980s through their influence on pop culture and the arts. With the advancements in filmmaking starting in the late 1800s and the tense space race between the USSR and the US, sci-fi films were high-quality entertainment and fueled the public’s desire and fascination with the unknown. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Blade Runner (1982) heavily influenced both women’s and men’s fashion trends, while Robocop (1987) and Back to the Future (1985) impacted politics, either through the nature of the film or because it was used for the sake of politics. The sci-fi genre spreads through not only film, but music and novels as well, with an upbeat, futuristic flash mob in Rick Springfield’s 1983 “Human Touch” music video, and The Handmaid’s Tale, written by Margaret Atwood in 1985 in the “speculative fiction” subgenre of sci-fi for its plausibility and blend between the real and supernatural. The most captivating component of science fiction films is how our society continues to be inspired by their conjured up realities even in the modern world.

(There is a 1080p version of my video on YouTube for anyone who wants to watch it in better quality. You can search my name and project title, and it should pop up in the search results.)