Flash back 15 years. Ma and pa sent you packing PB&J in a Care Bears lunchbox. Man, that Professor Coldheart was mean. But maybe you'll buy a Love-a-Lot Bear T-shirt these days, anyway.
How about that Atari 7800, or better yet, Nintendo? The latter trumped its predecessor, no doubt about that. But you bought one of those recently peddled Atari T-shirts, didn't you? Bet you wear it while playing Tetris on your NES, traitor.
The '80s are back again, infiltrating pop culture. Let's all rock out to "Like a Virgin," shall we? Or better yet, let's get to the root of the recent fascination with a decade etched solidly in our memories.
Gary Hoppenstand, a professor and associate chairperson of the department of American Thought and Language, said the current fad of '80s nostalgia is part of a cycle that happens with every decade, and in the new millennium, it's about that time when people realize, "Hey, there were some interesting things that happened 20 years ago."
"It's interesting how much people love nostalgia," he said. "The '50s and '60s were popular in the '70s and the '60s and '70s were popular in the '90s.
"There has to be some sort of period in between for there to be some romanticizing and if it's too close, there is no attraction to that period of time."
Hoppenstand said people find a sense of security in thinking of the past and since there was a lot of "returning to our values" in the '80s, Americans view the time span with a sense of comfort and security.
"The Reagan values were contrasts to the Carter era of the '70s, and with Reagan, there was a lot of emphasis on returning to certain 'core values,'" Hoppenstand said.
Some students, like agricultural and extension education graduate student Abby Rubley, aren't '80s fanatics, but have some fond memories of the time period.
"I was born in '78, so I was up to 12 years old and I guess the music of that time comes to mind," she said. "Bananarama was one that I enjoyed from the '80s."
"And Cabbage Patch dolls - I just had one and it was great."
Rubley said any time you're 10 years old, it's an important and fun time in a child's life, which is why it's easy to remember what was going on around you.
"I wasn't necessarily aware of it at the time, but when I look back now, when I think about what was going on in the '80s ,like the Cold War and the Challenger explosion, a lot of those things were really instrumental during that time," she said. "I clearly remember where I was when that (Challenger explosion) happened."
Jason Lantrip, owner of Scavenger Hunt, 321 E. Grand River Ave., said the store carries and sells a lot of '80s clothing, and the majority of the items sold are T-shirts with '80s characters such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Gizmo from the movie "Gremlins."
"Whether it be parachute pants, weird Bugle Boy pants or sleeves that zip on and off - thinking back on it now, it's so modern," Lantrip said. "Even though we write off a lot of it now, a lot of interesting ideas in terms of fashion and music all tied together and you could pretty much get it all at the mall.
"It was a level playing field and almost anyone could go to the mall and dress like your favorite MTV stars - and MTV certainly cannot be underestimated in the equation."
Hoppenstand said music and film played huge roles in the current '80s nostalgia trend.
"It was a decade where Hollywood discovered its potential with special-effects films," he said. "Sure, George Lucas came out with Star Wars in 1977, but it really was in the '80s when things kicked in."
Hoppenstand said nostalgic feelings often rely on popular culture as their foundation, and people who have nostalgia tend to fixate on popular icons of the time period.
"When people think of the '50s, for instance, they think of figures like James Dean and Elvis Presley," he said. "I tend to think the same way."
