--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone…" description: "\"I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time when all that was rotten bubbled to the surface. If you were not at the receiving end of this m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/derek-jarman-21896_decade_i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-i_884604.jpg" --- # I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time… ![“I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time when all that was rotten bubbled to the surface. If you were not at the receiving end of this mayhem you could be unaware of it.” quote by Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/derek-jarman-21896_decade_i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-i_884604.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/derek-jarman-21896_decade_i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-i_884604.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/derek-jarman-21896_decade_i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-i_884604.jpg) > “I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time when all that was rotten bubbled to the surface. If you were not at the receiving end of this mayhem you could be unaware of it.” [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The 1980s were a period of deep social decay that became visible, affecting those directly involved while others remained oblivious. **In simple terms:** The 80s exposed hidden rot, harming those caught in it. Key Takeaway Recognize and address systemic decay early. Themes decay awareness social critique history politics Mood critical reflective somber Type analytical political historical When to use this quote - political activism - community organizing - historical analysis - media literacy Key Concepts systemic failure social unrest cultural decay Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify hidden systemic problems? - What role does personal experience play in recognizing societal decay? A Different Perspective Not all decay is visible; some may be hidden by privilege or denial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eighties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighties/) [Mayhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mayhem/) [Mortuary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortuary/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time when all that was rotten bubbled to the surface. If you were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-it-was-the-time-when-all-that-2/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [I feel like I sort of missed the eighties. At the time, we didn't know we were having fun, which is probably the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tama-janowitz/i-feel-like-i-sort-of-missed-the-eighties-at-the-time-we-didn-t-know/) [Tama Janowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tama-janowitz/) > [“If Charley Yoder did come courting tonight, wouldn’t this be a fine kettle of fish? How would she explain away the English boy asleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-reed/if-charley-yoder-did-come-courting-tonight-wouldn-t-this-be-a-fine/) [Stephanie Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-reed/) > [“I am bubbled, I’m bubbled, O how I am troubled! Bamboozled and bit, my distresses are doubled!” John Gay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-mitchell/i-am-bubbled-i-m-bubbled-o-how-i-am-troubled-bamboozled-and-bit-my/) [Gladys Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-mitchell/) > [“Saw you out there in the garden. Looked so damn...fine," he said, quietly. "Was like I hadta have ya, right then. Bubbled up like...I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seville/saw-you-out-there-in-the-garden-looked-so-damn-fine-he-said-quietly/) [Jane Seville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seville/) > [“The Ticket-wallah, whose pimples bubbled as I watched, was as intractably dense as his counterpart in King's Cross. The Corporation breeds them from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-ticket-wallah-whose-pimples-bubbled-as-i-watched-was-as/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The past bubbled out of his black mouth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/the-past-bubbled-out-of-his-black-mouth/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [Far, far below, red liquid bubbled. Blood? Lava? Evil ketchup? None of the posibilities were good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/far-far-below-red-liquid-bubbled-blood-lava-evil-ketchup-none-of-the/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Jump way back to one time, Evie and me did this fashion shoot in a junk yard, in a slaughterhouse, in a mortuary. We'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/jump-way-back-to-one-time-evie-and-me-did-this-fashion-shoot-in-a/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“herself for such a place—something between a sweat shop and a mortuary. Instead, she caught”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-lee-weyrich/herself-for-such-a-place-something-between-a-sweat-shop-and-a/) [Becky Lee Weyrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-lee-weyrich/) > [A lot of bands have intense names, like "Rigor Mortis" or "Mortuary". We weren't that intense, we called ourselves "Injured". Later on we changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/a-lot-of-bands-have-intense-names-like-rigor-mortis-or-mortuary-we/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [“What could I say that wouldn't shock her even more? I need the mortuary because it connects me to death in a safe way?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/what-could-i-say-that-wouldn-t-shock-her-even-more-i-need-the/) [Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/) > [“Most people are not really scared of death. They are merely terrified of being taken to a mortuary and/or being buried or cremated and/or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-people-are-not-really-scared-of-death-they-are-merely-terrified/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [ \[Stephanie\] 'You see, Mrs. Mayer was going on about George's lodge, and how he wanted to be buried with his ring, and so Grandma… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/stephanie-you-see-mrs-mayer-was-going-on-about-george-s-lodge-and-how/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“What kind of mortuary is this, anyway? It hasn't even got electricity. This sort of town needs more and more of it, what with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-dowlatabadi/what-kind-of-mortuary-is-this-anyway-it-hasn-t-even-got-electricity/) [Mahmoud Dowlatabadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-dowlatabadi/) ## More by Derek Jarman > [One of the joys our technological civilization has lost is the excitement with which seasonal flowers and fruits were welcomed; the first daffodil, strawberry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/one-of-the-joys-our-technological-civilization-has-lost-is-the/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [These names: gay, queer, homosexual are limiting. I would love to finish with them. We're going to have to decide which terms to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/these-names-gay-queer-homosexual-are-limiting-i-would-love-to-finish/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [“The Gautama Buddha instructs me to walk away from illness. But he wasn't attached to a drip.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/the-gautama-buddha-instructs-me-to-walk-away-from-illness-but-he-wasn/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [I want the world to be filled with white fluffy duckies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/i-want-the-world-to-be-filled-with-white-fluffy-duckies/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [Indian yellow, banned. Cows were poisoned with mango leaves and the colour was made from their urine. It is the bright yellow in Indian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/indian-yellow-banned-cows-were-poisoned-with-mango-leaves-and-the/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [If Gucci handbags were still in fashion Greenaway would carry his scripts in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/if-gucci-handbags-were-still-in-fashion-greenaway-would-carry-his/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [Oh how Shakespeare would have loved cinema!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/oh-how-shakespeare-would-have-loved-cinema/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time when all that was rotten bubbled to the surface. If you were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-it-was-the-time-when-all-that-2/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [The preserve of ambition and folly in pursuit of illusion, or delusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/the-preserve-of-ambition-and-folly-in-pursuit-of-illusion-or-delusion/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [Red protects itself. No colour is as territorial. It stakes a claim, is on the alert against the spectrum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/red-protects-itself-no-colour-is-as-territorial-it-stakes-a-claim-is/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [I'm not afraid of death but I am afraid of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/i-m-not-afraid-of-death-but-i-am-afraid-of-dying/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [Violet has the shortest wavelength of the spectrum. Behind it, the invisible ultraviolet. Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Poor violet, violated for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/violet-has-the-shortest-wavelength-of-the-spectrum-behind-it-the/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [“If you can, trap me. I'll make a good patient because I was brought up in the environment of authority; it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/if-you-can-trap-me-i-ll-make-a-good-patient-because-i-was-brought-up/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [The queers of the sixties, like those since, have connived with their repression under a veneer of respectability. Good mannered city queens in suits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/the-queers-of-the-sixties-like-those-since-have-connived-with-their/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [The Last Of England works with image and sound, a language which is nearer to poetry than prose. It tells its story quite happily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/the-last-of-england-works-with-image-and-sound-a-language-which-is/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) [Explore all 28 Derek Jarman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) ## More Decade quotes > [It's funny, I used to say on 'That 70's Show', you could really put us in any decade, and it was about the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-prepon/it-s-funny-i-used-to-say-on-that-70-s-show-you-could-really-put-us-in/) [Laura Prepon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-prepon/) > [It was an odd coincidence that my career took off the same decade as having babies. I often wished it had been different, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-kaczmarek/it-was-an-odd-coincidence-that-my-career-took-off-the-same-decade-as/) [Jane Kaczmarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-kaczmarek/) > [I saw Len Hutton in his prime, Another time, another time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/i-saw-len-hutton-in-his-prime-another-time-another-time/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) > [The 1970s, the decade of my teenage years, was a transitional period in American youth culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allin-cornell/the-1970s-the-decade-of-my-teenage-years-was-a-transitional-period-in/) [Eric Allin Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allin-cornell/) > [I was eating beans by candle light for a decade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-andre/i-was-eating-beans-by-candle-light-for-a-decade/) [Eric Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-andre/) > [I'm a product of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/i-m-a-product-of-the-1970s/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [“The eighties happened. The nineties happened. Death and sickness and getting fat and going bald happened. I traded lots of dreams for a bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-eighties-happened-the-nineties-happened-death-and-sickness-and/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [When you're playing the same character for a decade it's natural that there are moments when you want to try something new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-schwimmer/when-you-re-playing-the-same-character-for-a-decade-it-s-natural-that/) [David Schwimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-schwimmer/) > [I grew up in the '60s, which was a creative time, so it wasn't that big of a stretch to go from a baseball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/i-grew-up-in-the-60s-which-was-a-creative-time-so-it-wasn-t-that-big/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [I was a child of the '80s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-was-a-child-of-the-80s/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [I don't buy into the glory days thing. I think every time has its great things to it. The '60s were such a glorious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/i-don-t-buy-into-the-glory-days-thing-i-think-every-time-has-its/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [You know, there's nothing in 'E.T.' that earmarks it as really '80s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-duffer/you-know-there-s-nothing-in-e-t-that-earmarks-it-as-really-80s/) [Matt Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-duffer/) > [When I look back on my life, it seems nearly everything of interest happened in little more than one decade - dramas, tragedies, major…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-radziwill/when-i-look-back-on-my-life-it-seems-nearly-everything-of-interest/) [Lee Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-radziwill/) > [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/) > [I sort of don't remember anything I did in the '70s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-peterson/i-sort-of-don-t-remember-anything-i-did-in-the-70s/) [Cassandra Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-peterson/) Browse all 615 Decade quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time when all that was rotten bubbled to the surface. If you were not at the receiving end of this mayhem you could be unaware of it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Derek Jarman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-it-was-the-time-when-all-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decade" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-it-was-the-time-when-all-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/derek-jarman-21896_decade_i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-i_884604.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/derek-jarman-21896_decade_i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-i_884604.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/derek-jarman-21896_decade_i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-i_884604.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wouldn't wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time when all that was rotten bubbled to the surface. If…” — Derek Jarman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Derek Jarman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wouldn't wish the eighties on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-it-was-the-time-when-all-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/i-wouldn-t-wish-the-eighties-on-anyone-it-was-the-time-when-all-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```