# What are the movies that are most emblematic of the decade in which they were released? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006 "2011-07-14T13:23:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/21 "2011-07-14T15:32:27Z")
This exercise depends upon the notion that, for example, 1971 has more in common with 1979 than it does with 1969. I can’t see that being even a little bit the case. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/22 "2011-07-14T15:42:13Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > 2000s - Hesitantly, either _Iron Man_ or _Avatar_. Leaning toward _Avatar_ as being more emblematic, but that’s because I’m feeling cynical right now. Ironically, I’m leaning towards _2012_: lots of folks on the internet, the President is black, international terrorism is a major issue, global cooperation is the key to looming environmental concerns… ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/23 "2011-07-14T15:48:35Z")
70s: Saturday Night Fever 80s: St. Elmo’s Fire 90s: Swingers 00s: Up in the Air ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/24 "2011-07-14T15:51:09Z")
Another way to express it is, “What’s the decadest movie of the decade?” Like, what’s the 80sest movie of the 80s, which is clearly “The Breakfast Club”. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/25 "2011-07-14T15:58:14Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Another way to express it is, “What’s the decadest movie of the decade?” Like, what’s the 80sest movie of the 80s, which is clearly “The Breakfast Club”. I don’t see how any 80s movie comes even close to out 80sing **Top Gun**. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/26 "2011-07-14T16:12:36Z")
Lots of interesting choices. I’ll add _WarGames_ as an 80’s movie to the bone. Had the Cold War/Nuclear Holocaust threat hanging over it, the hacker kid in his room (the 80’s saw the first home PC boom), plus even had a few scenes in an arcade. All of it adds to a movie that couldn’t have been set in a decade other than the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/27 "2011-07-14T16:54:45Z")
I agree with many of the choices, but I’ll try to post some that haven’t been listed to expand the pool a bit: '30s: _It’s a Gift_ '40s: _The Big Sleep_ '50s: _North by Northwest_ '60s: _The Hustler_ '70s: _The French Connection_ '80s: _Flashdance_ (it’s really hard to think of anything other than a John Hughes film) '90s: _Glengarry Glen Ross_ '00s: _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/28 "2011-07-14T16:57:35Z")
'40s: It’s a Wonderful Life. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/29 "2011-07-14T18:05:44Z")
'70s: Gotta agree with “Saturday Night Fever.” '80s (My decade): “The Breakfast Club.” With a spotlight on the song encapsulating the '80s, “(Don’t You) Forget About Me.” '90s: I’d go with “American Beauty,” too. Or maybe “Clueless.” '00s: “Wall-e.” For a movie not set in the '00s, it sure did sum up what everyone was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/30 "2011-07-14T22:05:15Z")
1960’s - Yellow Submarine. I mean, seriously: does any other movie capture the period so completely? Other movies may show the 60’s, but this one actually gets the viewer to \*feel \*what it was like to drop acid while listening to Beatles records. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/31 "2011-07-14T22:11:22Z")
For the 70s, I’d go with _Apocalypse Now_. Made in 1979, everything about it screams “70s” - from the use of the Doors’ music, through the Vietnam War setting, through the general messed-upness of everyone on set. 😃 But especially the _feel_ of it - that everything is going to hell in a handbasket. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/32 "2011-07-14T22:18:50Z")
For the early 80s, I think I’d go with _Valley Girl_. For the late 80s, it’s a toss-up between any John Hughes movie and _Wall Street_. The first group captures the teenage angsty part, and the second one captures the “fuck you, I’ve got mine” part. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/33 "2011-07-14T22:26:47Z")
Why not Logan’s Run from the 1970s? Not only do all the “futuristic” people look like they’re from the 1970s, but you have a hedonistic society that produces nothing of substance. Sure sounds like the disco era to me. (Not that a lot of good stuff didn’t come out of the 70s. Hell, I even like disco.) ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/34 "2011-07-14T22:33:00Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I don’t see how any 80s movie comes even close to out 80sing **Top Gun**. The animated _ **Transformers** _, perhaps? Course, I was a kid in the 80’s, so my memories of them are a kid’s memories. – And the 2000’s _ **Transformers** _ embilizes what art in the 00’s was all about, strip-mining existing pop culture. Except that’s mostly what they did in the 90’s, too, so I guess that doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/35 "2011-07-14T22:45:46Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Why not Logan’s Run from the 1970s? Not only do all the “futuristic” people look like they’re from the 1970s, but you have a hedonistic society that produces nothing of substance. Sure sounds like the disco era to me. (Not that a lot of good stuff didn’t come out of the 70s. Hell, I even like disco.) Logan’s Run for the 70s isn’t bad. 😃 I still prefer Apocalypse Now (or if one must go for science fiction, Zardoz for that “bad 70s drugs” vibe 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/36 "2011-07-14T22:54:08Z")
70s - for me, almost everything about [Breaking Away](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078902/) screams 70s. 80s - [Pretty in Pink](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091790/). (Although I watched [Echo Park](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090994/) a while back, and while it is not a very good movie, it really has a strong 80s vibe going on. Made me kind of nostalgic. [Earth Girls are Easy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097257/) also deserves a mention for its overwhelming 80s-ness. 90s - [Singles](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105415/) for early 90s. [The Matrix](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/) for late 90s. 00s - As a metaphor, [The Dark Knight](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/), I guess. War on terror and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/37 "2011-07-14T23:07:50Z")
For the 90s, _Fight Club._ 80s, as someone mentioned earlier, _St Elmo’s Fire._ 50s, _The Wild One_, although I wasn’t there, but it’s the one that feels the most of it’s time for me. 60s is probably the hardest one, due to the massive change in films in that decade, probably more than in any other since the 30s. If I had to pick one, probably _The Good, The Bad and The Ugly._ 70s, hmm, _Five Easy Pieces_ is good for the transition from 60s to 70s, _Dirty Harry_ has the bad hair and the violence, and _The Last Waltz_, probably accidentally, the excess. _Taxi Driver_ is probably the closest to combining all of them. 00s, this is difficult. I’ve probably seen too many recent films to just pick one, but the earlier suggestion of _The Dark Knight_ is not a bad one. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/38 "2011-07-15T01:11:14Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Here’s a few contenders that haven’t been named yet. Couldn’t just narrow it down to a single one: > > 1950s - _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_, _All That Heaven Allows_, _the Sweet Smell of Success_, _Rear Window_ > > 1960s - _A Hard Day’s Night_, _Bonnie and Clyde_, _Dr. Strangelove_ > > 1970s - _the Parrallax View_, _Nashville_, _Halloween_, _Fame_ (technically an 80s film, but definitely emblematic of the urban decay of NYC in the late 70s.) > > 1980s - _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, _Longtime Companion_, _After Hours_ > > 1990s - _Swingers_, _Go_, _Being John Malkovich_ > > 2000s - _Memento_, _the Hurt Locker_, _Closer_ 50s Blackboard Jungle ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/39 "2011-07-15T04:03:24Z")
OK, now I’m going with Taxi Driver for the 70s. Taxi Driver is oozing the 70s from every orifice. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006/40 "2011-07-15T04:06:41Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > How does the Sound of Music set in the late 30’s or early 40’s sum up the 60’s? Or the Godfather which was primarily set in the 50’s sum up the 70’s? A movie says more about the time it was made than the time it was set. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-movies-that-are-most-emblematic-of-the-decade-in-which-they-were-released/589006.md?page=3)