--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oftentimes when people make movies about…" description: "\"Oftentimes when people make movies about the '80s, they go back and look at '80s films, [but] those look nothing like the '80s. It's some watered-down ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/brett-morgen-30402_80s_oftentimes-when-people-make-movies-about_2851159.jpg" --- # Oftentimes when people make movies about the '80s, they go… ![“Oftentimes when people make movies about the '80s, they go back and look at '80s films, [but] those look nothing like the '80s. It's some watered-down version of reality.” quote by Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/brett-morgen-30402_80s_oftentimes-when-people-make-movies-about_2851159.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/brett-morgen-30402_80s_oftentimes-when-people-make-movies-about_2851159.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/brett-morgen-30402_80s_oftentimes-when-people-make-movies-about_2851159.jpg) > “Oftentimes when people make movies about the '80s, they go back and look at '80s films, \[but\] those look nothing like the '80s. It's some watered-down version of reality.” [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Films about the 80s often misrepresent the era, offering diluted, nostalgic versions rather than reality. **In simple terms:** Movies give a softened view of the 80s. Key Takeaway Seek authentic history. Themes media nostalgia representation history Mood critical thoughtful Type cultural analytical When to use this quote - education - media literacy Key Concepts cultural memory film criticism Questions to Reflect On - What real 80s moments are missing? - How does nostalgia shape perception? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can distort facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [I love like the 80s look - 80s and early 90s, like the high-waisted jeans and the crop tops, and the floral prints, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perrie-edwards/i-love-like-the-80s-look-80s-and-early-90s-like-the-high-waisted/) [Perrie Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perrie-edwards/) > [Maybe in the 90s or possibly in the next century people will look upon the 80s as the age of masturbation, when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/maybe-in-the-90s-or-possibly-in-the-next-century-people-will-look/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [It's just people who grew up in that time are suddenly old enough to be creators themselves, but I think they have a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/it-s-just-people-who-grew-up-in-that-time-are-suddenly-old-enough-to/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [I think the action movies in the 80s and 90s were different. It was a testosterone age. Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Sylvester…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-tatum/i-think-the-action-movies-in-the-80s-and-90s-were-different-it-was-a/) [Channing Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-tatum/) > [I was listening to music to kind of pump myself up and get psyched up, like I was listening to Iron Maiden and Misfits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-was-listening-to-music-to-kind-of-pump-myself-up-and-get-psyched-up/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [I don't know what it was like in the '80s. I don't really even know what it was like in the '90s, because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-guyton/i-don-t-know-what-it-was-like-in-the-80s-i-don-t-really-even-know/) [Wade Guyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-guyton/) > [I didn't like the '80s at all; it was a vulgar moment of fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentino-garavani/i-didn-t-like-the-80s-at-all-it-was-a-vulgar-moment-of-fashion/) [Valentino Garavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valentino-garavani/) > [I was the kid at school who just wanted to put badges on everything and wear purple tights. I loved all of the 80s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-was-the-kid-at-school-who-just-wanted-to-put-badges-on-everything/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [I like Cronenberg's early work; his '80s films had all these weird, amorphous flesh objects in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autre-ne-veut/i-like-cronenberg-s-early-work-his-80s-films-had-all-these-weird/) [Autre Ne Veut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autre-ne-veut/) > [They have so many great horror movies made in the '80s. I mean, the old-school horror is so good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maika-monroe/they-have-so-many-great-horror-movies-made-in-the-80s-i-mean-the-old/) [Maika Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maika-monroe/) > [When I was in a couple of movies in the '80s, I was winging it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-rock/when-i-was-in-a-couple-of-movies-in-the-80s-i-was-winging-it/) [Ad-Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-rock/) > [If people want to compare us to the Shangri-Las, then that's all well and good. But those groups were put together. They were told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keren-woodward/if-people-want-to-compare-us-to-the-shangri-las-then-that-s-all-well/) [Keren Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keren-woodward/) > [What they call 'alt-comedy' now is basically what comedy was like in the '80s. People tried different things, and everybody went to the clubs;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-kirkman/what-they-call-alt-comedy-now-is-basically-what-comedy-was-like-in/) [Jen Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-kirkman/) > [It seemed like after the 80s and 90s there came a sort of weird time in politics, where something like Spitting Image was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armando-iannucci/it-seemed-like-after-the-80s-and-90s-there-came-a-sort-of-weird-time/) [Armando Iannucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armando-iannucci/) > [I really like arcade games and like the '80s and early '90s kind of games, just because there's a real kind of naivete to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taika-waititi/i-really-like-arcade-games-and-like-the-80s-and-early-90s-kind-of/) [Taika Waititi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taika-waititi/) ## More by Brett Morgen > [I never met Kurt Cobain, but I felt like I got to know him in a manner probably more intimate than anyone I've known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/i-never-met-kurt-cobain-but-i-felt-like-i-got-to-know-him-in-a-manner/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [Sometimes, you chase the moment and you can never catch it. Films take so long to make that you can never anticipate what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/sometimes-you-chase-the-moment-and-you-can-never-catch-it-films-take/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [When I grew up, we had no babysitters and nobody every observed us. People don't parent like that today. They're very hands-on; kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/when-i-grew-up-we-had-no-babysitters-and-nobody-every-observed-us/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [ Kurt \[Cobain\], from the moment he could hold a paintbrush in his hand, was painting. And from the moment he could hold a guitar,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/kurt-cobain-from-the-moment-he-could-hold-a-paintbrush-in-his-hand/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [ Everybody feels protective and possessive about Kurt \[Cobain\] , and I think that can be attributed to his unique gift, an ability to touch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/everybody-feels-protective-and-possessive-about-kurt-cobain-and-i/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [As a generation, Generation X or whatever we were called, we were not being nurtured. We didn't have Obama. We didn't have Bill Clinton.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/as-a-generation-generation-x-or-whatever-we-were-called-we-were-not/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [My documentaries have always been very much constructed in the spirit of dominant cinema. From the time I started making non-fiction, I was mainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/my-documentaries-have-always-been-very-much-constructed-in-the-spirit/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [ You have Kurt \[Cobain\], and he's singing about your experiences. They're our collective experiences. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/you-have-kurt-cobain-and-he-s-singing-about-your-experiences-they-re/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [ Kurt \[Cobain \]was a feminist. A lot of the bashing against Courtney \[Love\] I think has to deal with gender bias and the media,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/kurt-cobain-was-a-feminist-a-lot-of-the-bashing-against-courtney-love/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [I have three children, and they have never spent a minute unsupervised in their lives. My generation overcompensated like mad. I'm not even joking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/i-have-three-children-and-they-have-never-spent-a-minute-unsupervised/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [ One thing about Kurt \[Cobain\] is before he was a musician, and before he was a rock star, he was an artist, and an… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/one-thing-about-kurt-cobain-is-before-he-was-a-musician-and-before-he/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [You can't divorce yourself from your own life experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/you-can-t-divorce-yourself-from-your-own-life-experiences/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [Every second counts. We are only on this earth for a short amount of time, and we get to decide how we want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/every-second-counts-we-are-only-on-this-earth-for-a-short-amount-of/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [The only people who really love the '80s are millennials. We had Reagan and Bush for our entire youth, the culture was terrible, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/the-only-people-who-really-love-the-80s-are-millennials-we-had-reagan/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [I've never had access to another person's art and work or, particularly, someone who is as prolific and was able to externalize his interior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/i-ve-never-had-access-to-another-person-s-art-and-work-or/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) [Explore all 17 Brett Morgen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) ## More 80s quotes > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [As an actor I kind of do. I started out doing voice overs in the mid 80s when I was in grad school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-haden-church/as-an-actor-i-kind-of-do-i-started-out-doing-voice-overs-in-the-mid/) [Thomas Haden Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-haden-church/) > [It's nice to have been around long enough to be a part of people's lives. A lot of people who come to my show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-easton/it-s-nice-to-have-been-around-long-enough-to-be-a-part-of-people-s/) [Sheena Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-easton/) > [ It was a very economically depressed time \[the 80s\] and because of that, there was a lot of space. Everything was relatively dilapidated, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/it-was-a-very-economically-depressed-time-the-80s-and-because-of-that/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [If for no other reason than it's just fun to watch people age, and it's fun to watch what happened to '80s hairdos and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-borstein/if-for-no-other-reason-than-it-s-just-fun-to-watch-people-age-and-it/) [Alex Borstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-borstein/) > [I don't dislike rappers or hip-hop or people who like it. I went to the Def Jam tour in Manchester in the '80s when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-don-t-dislike-rappers-or-hip-hop-or-people-who-like-it-i-went-to/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [Since I was gay and loved disco music, it was kinda pre-programmed that my first experiences with house music and acid - which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-kohncke/since-i-was-gay-and-loved-disco-music-it-was-kinda-pre-programmed/) Justus Kohncke > [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [When I was coming up in the '80s television, if you were on television that meant either you were a young actor just coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/when-i-was-coming-up-in-the-80s-television-if-you-were-on-television/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [My fashion was not the best in the '80s. I looked crazy as hell. I used to wear my pants tucked into my socks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-cole/my-fashion-was-not-the-best-in-the-80s-i-looked-crazy-as-hell-i-used/) [Deon Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-cole/) > [Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/bin-laden-was-though-a-product-of-a-monumental-miscalculation-by/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [When someone asks if you're a god, you say YES!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/when-someone-asks-if-you-re-a-god-you-say-yes/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [His (Lloyd Kaufman) string of low-budget, lowbrow horror comedies stretching back to the ’80s has been cited as influence by Peter Jackson, the Farrelly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-lumenick/his-lloyd-kaufman-string-of-low-budget-lowbrow-horror-comedies/) Lou Lumenick > [I have this obsession with the '80s because I missed all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-spektor/i-have-this-obsession-with-the-80s-because-i-missed-all-of-it/) [Regina Spektor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-spektor/) > [It was the case in the 70s and 80s that people believed music could change the world. But now people aren't making music because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/it-was-the-case-in-the-70s-and-80s-that-people-believed-music-could/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) Browse all 488 80s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Oftentimes when people make movies about the '80s, they go back and look at '80s films, [but] those look nothing like the '80s. 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