Why did Fantasy take off in the 80s?

[8wid]

I'm curious as to why themes regarding mythology, horror, classical science fiction, fantasy with elements of magic, spaceships, castles, and more took off in the 1980s cinema and started making movies like The Last Starfighter, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Transformers, and many more during this decade. What changed in society and or culture to make this such a popular genre in movies and TV of the time?

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

The answer is pretty simple to me, I believe it was Star Wars that kicked it all off, as that was a mix of sci-fi and fantasy.

 

[def28]

There were tons of Sci Fi/Horror/Fantasy films in other decades as well. Alot of film makers of the 70s/80s probably grew up reading old Ec comics/Pulp Stories/serials like Buck Rodgers and Flash Gordon of the 30's through 50s. Lucas definitely grew up on shows like Flash Gordon. Indiana Jones is straight out of all those old Serials as well. So I would say the decades a film maker grew up in made a difference. 80s also just rode the wave of pop culture and cashed in to what flicks were popular. Speilberg and Lucas definitely helped pave the way to the success and mixing of those genres.

There were tons of them though, I still discover a new bad 80s fantasy/horror flick every other week it seems.

 

[cherokeesam]

1) Better fx.
2) Dungeons & Dragons.

 

[LOBO3315a]

Cherokeesam speaks the truth. That along with Star Wars brought Science Fiction (and by default Fantasy) into the mainstream.

Swords and Sorcery movies wouldn't really have great mainstream success for a long time, though. Outside of the Conan series, the only other successful movie of that type that I can remember is Willow. It really wasn't until the LOTR series that I think Swords and Sorcery movies enjoyed mainstream success.

 

[R_Hythlodeus]

Escapism always has it's strongest moments when reality is nothing you want to live in. As Star Wars was a reaction to the Vietnam war and the advent of CBMs were a reaction to the GW Bush era, the Sword and Sorcery movies were big in a decade that brought us Thatcherism, Reagonomics and Wall Street bankers as rolemodels.

 

[Art_of_Crime]

Ahnuld

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Advancements in special effects?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Star Wars broke box office records when it was first released. Hollywood finally realized geek properties could be easy money.

 

[moviedoors]

Yeah, Star Wars.

 

[chamber-music]

Hollywood Execs and movie producers were doing alot of Cocaine so greenlighted almost anything

But seriously as def28 its beacuse directors and producers who grew up watching serials like Flash Gordon and reading Pulp Novels like Conan in the 40s/50s were now adults and made movies on stuff they love from their childhood.

Plus Star Wars made a huge amount of money and hollywood was trying to cash in on the success

 

[bullets]

I'd like to see more sword and sorcery films being made. I was hoping Conan would really take off but it bombed and the reviews say it's horrible.

 

[Wolfwood]

I think all the custom Astro Vans had something to do with it.

 

[The Guard]

Pretty sure it was advancements in special effects. Studios had wanted to make some films for a long time. They just couldn't, and didn't into the 2000's. But it wasn't that there were no fantasy/sci fi films out there...there just weren't a lot of good, or memorable ones.

 

[def28]

Its mostly what was popular during the time. Alot more low budget studios during the time and they loved to rip off. There has always been a popularity in horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi in film regardless of where effects have been at the time.

Alot of it came from 70s as well with Logans Run, Star Wars, Star Trek, Westworld, THX 1138, Superman, Invasion Of the Body Snatchers, Solaris, Alien, Close Encounters and Halloween to name a few. All from 70s. Late 70s mostly. But still, very responsible for the popularity in the 80s. Movies became cheaper to make. They didnt just make blockbuster films, effects may have had a little to do with it because it became cheaper but regardless they would have made what was popular anyways. Most the effects of Star Wars/Indiana Jones/Conan rip offs are pretty bad. Alot of smaller companies were also goen around like Roger Corman movies etc.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

The average intelligence level in the Western world peaked in the 80s and has been declining steadily since then. Might also be a reason why people want "realism" these days.

Think about it

 

[cherokeesam]

Hollywood Execs and movie producers were doing alot of Cocaine so greenlighted almost anything

But seriously as def28 its beacuse directors and producers who grew up watching serials like Flash Gordon and reading Pulp Novels like Conan in the 40s/50s were now adults and made movies on stuff they love from their childhood.

Plus Star Wars made a huge amount of money and hollywood was trying to cash in on the success

True, people like Lucas and Spielberg were drawing from the material of their youth, but it wasn't just a nostalgia kick....in that case, movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones would have only appealed to the Boomers who were roughly the same age as Lucas and Spielberg. Instead, they introduced space opera and cliffhanger serials to a whole new generation that wasn't even remotely familiar with them.

But I guess you can see the same thing happening these days....Transformers and GI Joe and Thundercats and (probably) the true "greatest age" of Marvel/DC writing are what today's 30-40something producers grew up on, and they're introducing that to a younger generation.

 

[def28]

Very true.

We are definitely reliving the 80s. Seeing the The Thing, Fright Night, Footloose and Conan all released with in months of each other is pretty crazy. I hear they are even remaking Chopping Mall. Some producer most have some sentimental attachment to that one. That flick didnt exactly scream box office smash back then.

 

[flickchick85]

While certainly Star Wars kicked it off, movie trends in general are always reactions to the times. Noir came about from post-war disillusionment. Musicals and Spaghetti Westerns flourished the next decade or so partially as a response to all that cynicism and new-wavy stuff that was coming from overseas. And the idealized, violence-glorifying Western was promptly killed when people witnessed the true effects of gunshots on a grand scale firsthand on television for the first time in Vietnam. That ushered in a new age of cynical realism, so I'd imagine nostalgic, earnest fantasy may have emerged as a reponse to that.

 

[Superfreak]

F/X and computer processing power are the key to this answer. The genre has always existed in film, but it wasn't til the 80s that it was possible to deliver an image that looked realistic in terms of live action.

 

[jmc]

As many have mentioned Star Wars kicked things off, suddenly it became possible to things you use to only imagine.

 

[:eek:]

Not sure if I would say that fantasy really "took off" in the 80's. Sure, there were the Star Wars sequels and I suppose you can mention Indiana Jones because they usually have some supernatural elements. But there really wasn't much else. At least not successful ones. It's not like the last ten years when things definitely took off with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, all these superhero movies and more. Advances in technology is obviously the major factor why it happened.