1980's or the 1950's? Back to the Future

      

       Right now, it's 2015. This is the year Marty McFly and Doc, from the 1985 movie Back to the Future, went in their time machine. Yes, it is; It's strange to watch a movie from the past about the past's past. In the first Back to the Future movie, Marty didn't go to 2015, but he went to 1955. Through such a point of view, you can see the way the 80's saw the 50's, and not just how we see them. You can also see the differences between the 80's and the 50's and contrast them with today.

      The most obvious of differences between these three decades (50's, 80's, and the 2010's) is fashion - at least, it is the easiest to identify. The 80's were... interesting. Imagine blue eyeshadow, tacky vests, and baggy blue jeans. Better yet, imagine bell bottoms. These were the 80's. It wasn't all neon colors and frizzy hair, though. People liked all sorts of colors, not just the bright ones, and just as our fashion fads and styles vary now, so they did then. 

      The 50's were sweet and charming. Girls didn't really wear pants. Instead, they wore charming knee length dresses or blouses with skirts. They wore sweet little heels of pastel and neutral colors and makeup that was subtle yet charming. The boys were pretty classy. They wore their plaid jackets and their pleated dress pants along with a pair of nice dress shoes. Their hair was nicely slicked back and they had a feel of efficiency to them.

      Today, almost all girls wear pants. Maybe some of us wear skirts and dresses occasionally too, but the common thing is to wear pants. We like our skinny jeans and we like our short shorts. When we wear skirts, they're usually a bit up above the knee paired with a pretty blouse tucked in. We really have a million styles though. I suppose living in the now makes it hard to identify what makes our decade different. Well, we like graphic t-shirts. We like leggings. We like oversized cardigans in winter and undersized shirts in summer (belly shirts, that is). I, myself, like few of these variables, however they are the present within popculture. 

  Cultural and social differences between these three decades are harder to identify. They can be found in a general sense, however. If the film, was accurate, then I am somewhat accurate; if not, I'm not sure where I am. The 80's were all about swagger. People, primarily the youth, had a strong sense of independence about them and seemed as if they might break out into a music number any moment.

One strong example of this street-kid aura is how Marty, from Back to the Future, gets places by holding onto the backs of vehicles while riding a skateboard. At the time, I suppose the 80's kids were cool. It's interesting to look at them now, however, because they seem so tacky. This may be partially due to the fact they are our parent's generation. 

 

      The 50's [to me] said "let's have fun". They were preppy, but exciting; charming, but still real life. Their was a social order and bullying wasn't all too uncommon. It may have been a survival of the fittest sort of regimen. The pretty girls were, well... as in every era, liked. The biggest difference, however, between now and then is that the dumb jock stereotype still had a lot of power back then. They have much less now, at least in my experience.

      How about now? The present just seems like a blender of concepts to me. Because I am not significantly involved in it's pop culture, I can see there is more to the present than our pop culture. I will try to describe it, though. People are doing something unusual today to "fit in". They are trying to be different. At the same time that they're trying to be different, however, they are falling into clumpy categories. Some that come to mind are hipsters, sporty but funny people, and sweet prepsters. Of course, however, people can't be stereotyped too readily, especially when one is up close.

      How did the 80's see the 50's? How do we see the 50's? How do we see the 80's? The main difference between our perception of the 50's and the 80's perception of the 50's is not literal distance of time, but distance of familiarity. The 80's generation had parents from the 50's. They experienced second-hand fifties. The same thing goes for us about the 80's. Teens don't usually want to be just like their parents and judge them more than most people. Most likely, they attach that dislike to their perception of anything closely related to their parents. Therefore, we both see our parent's generation as a bit tacky - a bit ridiculous. The 50's, however, are not so infused within our lives to lose all interest. True; our grandparents came from the 50's, but we don't live with them every single day. The 50's are different enough and unknown enough to still hold appeal.