These wonderful films are entertaining for audiences of all ages, yet they also seem dreadfully archaic now. The film of the 1980s might occasionally appear to be a product of its period, representing a culture very unlike to that of the current day. These 1980s movies have a lot of dubious scenes that modern production firms could never get away with.
WARNING!!! Controversial subject matter ahead, pertaining to dated views, and other sensitive subject matter.
Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure Containing Intolerable Slurs
Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, starring Keanu Reeves in one of his earlier appearances, is a hysterically absurd time-travel tale. This bizarre film follows young slackers Bill and Ted as they go back in time to ace their history test. The movie is funny, but it also has some unexpectedly homophobic content.
Bill is delighted to learn that Ted survived his perilous encounter with a medieval castle guard after mistakenly assuming his pal to be dead. Upon sharing a hug, the pair become concerned that they are showing too much affection. A homophobic insult that Bill and Ted jointly utter would never be acceptable in a present film.
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom Fails Representationally
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, starring one of the most recognizable action heroes, takes viewers on an incredibly thrilling journey as Indiana is charged with finding an ancient stone in India. Although the film is visually stunning, its portrayal of the Indian villagers is highly dubious.
The Indian characters in Temple of Doom receive bad treatment inside the storyline; they are consistently portrayed as vulnerable and weak. Another repulsive aspect of the movie’s representation of the villagers is how they indulge in bizarre foods like insects and monkey brains, which makes it one of the most heinous depictions of the Indian population.
Zapped Can’t Overcome Its Misogyny
Zapped!, which was released in 1982, is a great comedy about growing up. After a lab experiment goes wrong, Barney, a young high school student, acquires telekinesis abilities in the movie. Despite having a fantastic sense of humor, Zappedportrayal !’s of women is not particularly admirable.
This teen comedy has numerous strange scenes of female nudity, as Barney utilizes his telekinetic talents to undress women. The overt sexualization of its female characters feels especially offensive in the present era, as the “Me Too” movement has brought up numerous concerns about the historical mistreatment of women.
Groundhog Day Is Downright Creepy
Although Bill Murray’s ageless masterpiece Groundhog Day doesn’t answer its main question, it is nevertheless regarded as one of cinema’s top comedy. Its scenario involves weatherman Phil being compelled to repeatedly live the same day, and although moviegoers adore it, its romance subplot is morally questionable.
By today’s standards, Phil’s courtship of Rita, a coworker, is inadvertently disturbing as he takes advantage of the time loop. The conceited and self-centered weatherman develops an unhealthy obsession with his coworker and uses his special position to learn everything there is to know about her in order to manipulate the unfortunate woman into succumbing to his charms.
Sixteen Candles Is Fantastically Ignorant
The coming-of-age comedy Sixteen Candles, which John Hughes directed, is very enjoyable. Samantha Baker, 16, is depressed in the story after discovering that her parents forgot her birthday. Although the story seems charming, it contains some extremely offensive content.
The portrayal of Long Duk Dong, a student on exchange, in the film is particularly morally repugnant. In this blatantly racist parody, the Asian child is portrayed as a simpleton who confuses a fork and spoon for a set of chopsticks. Additionally, a loud gong is heard whenever he appears in the image, emphasizing his race in a way that would be considered culturally offensive in modern times.
Ghostbusters Leaves A Lot To Be Desired For Its Female Characters
Ivan Reitman’s brilliant direction of Ghostbusters, widely recognized as one of Hollywood’s best supernatural comedy, perfectly captured the connection between its four actors. The movie is a success as a comedic horror movie, but it also has one of the most problematic action heroes, and Peter Venkman’s handling of the female characters in the picture has drawn much criticism in more recent years.
In the course of his duties as a Ghostbuster, Peter breaks into Dana’s apartment without her consent and begins to flirt with the teenager despite the fact that they are essentially strangers. The arrogant scientist’s attempts to attract a female university student, complimenting the young woman while having her complete an ESP test, despite being twice her age, are more concerning.
The Goonies Features Xenophobic Behavior
The 1985 film The Goonies features a family-friendly adventure as the titular group of kids look for some pirate loot. Although the movie appears to be nice and kid-friendly, its substance is shockingly coarse for a family film.
One of the most unexpected aspects of this film is the decision to have the kids swear while on their epic trek. A particularly xenophobic scene from The Goonies involves Mouth deliberately giving Rosalita, the Spanish housekeeper, false information. By today’s standards, this harsh abuse of her limited English proficiency would be exceedingly offensive.
Back To The Future Has A Famously Disturbing Plot
Back to the Future is a humorous series of films that follows the exploits of the bumbling scientist Doc Brown and his teenage friend Marty. It is regarded as a successful film trilogy. Despite the fact that the sci-fi tale is well-liked by many people, the first movie has some issues because Marty visits the time of his parents’ school days and develops feelings for his mother.
It is extremely horrifying how much Lorraine is drawn to Marty romantically as she develops a crush on her own kid. George, Marty’s father, is also poorly portrayed in the film, which shows him using a pair of binoculars to watch a woman undress. One of the most misogynistic parts of 80s film is that George is portrayed as a nice person despite his strange conduct.
Howard The Duck Features An Unsettling Romance
One of the strangest movies of the 1980s, Howard The Duck, directed by Willard Huyck, is about a humanoid duck that comes to Earth to stop an alien invasion. The courtship between Howard and human musician Beverly Switzler, which presents numerous frightening possibilities, is a particularly odd plot feature in this edition.
The fact that Howard and Beverly are from entirely different species adds to the horror of an already horrifying love story. The clearly unusual couple not only engage in continual flirtation, but also enjoy a private time in bed, exhibiting appalling bestiality that would never pass muster in a contemporary film.
Short Circuit Highlights A Racist Performance
With the debut of Short Circuit, Johnny 5, one of the most adored robot characters in film, was born. Ben Jabituya, a friend of his, joins him as they set out on a touching journey. Ben’s portrayal by Fisher Stevens unfortunately has some negative overtones.
Fisher Stevens made the decision to don brownface to play the part of the Indian American engineer. As a result of its imitation of racial minorities, this once-common film technique is today regarded as being extremely contentious.
