80s FAMILY FILMS & CHARACTER BUILDING

This topic is an ongoing theme throughout this website and I've written various similar articles

My favourite type of conversation to have in the store is about the amazing childrens & family films of the 1980s. It's always a wonderful and nostalgic point of discussion and every now and then I am able to offer some insight and trivia that people never knew or considered. I just had one of these conversations with a lovely lady who has been interested in introducing her kids to some of these classics. Naturally I am only happy to oblige. Last time she was in she had a specific film in mind and desperately wanted her kids to see THE LAST STARFIGHTER. And so it was....

She returned today to continue our discussion and she seemed a lot less enthusiastic. THE LAST STARFIGHTER had frightened her kids and she was now very hesitant to continue her quest. Her kids are aged between 7 and 12. She was a little shocked to discover that the movie was a lot more confronting than she remembered it being as a kid. So then I started talking about that being the wonderful thing about 80's kids flicks... that they challenged kids and gave them something to think about and helped build up a resilience. We talked about movies like FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR, THE DARK CRYSTAL, GREMLINS, THE NEVERENDING STORY, ET and THE GOONIES. She agreed with me that these films made her childhood wonderful and that her memories of them were fond ones. Again, she was surprised to realise how confronting they were upon reflection. She told me that as a mother she was now too scared to expose her kids to them. "What if they have nightmares?"... "It might scare them" etc. 

As lovely as this lady is (very lovely) I think that she's neglecting the fact that she grew up just fine. That she remembers these films with affection. That her kids are no younger than she was when she loved these titles. That being a little bit scared during a movie isn't a bad thing. 

And so I did recommend that she persevere and put her kids to the test... but I also gave her a good list of some tamer 80's family films like THE WIZARD, LITTLE SPIES and UNCLE BUCK.

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