Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: 1980s

  • 24 Days of Blogging

    24 Days of Blogging

    I have been making collages and mixed media art since I was really young. I have several large collage pieces up around the house. I also use collage work as witchy work making vision boards/ spell boards. One of my old favorite papers to use for batsh#t crazy headlines and photos was Weekly World News.

    Do you remember this ridiculous publication? They gave us Bat Boy (which there is a musical about), so many aliens, every Elvis sighting, and so much more bizarre esoterica. Weekly World News was a print paper that ran from 1979 to 2007(!?) and was the trashiest and most fun of the “tabloids”. And in researching this I also learned they still have an online presence. In it’s peak WWW had a total circulation of 1.2 million readers. As a child and teen I would often pick one up to use in art projects since they cost…well $.70 in 1989 so not very much.

    I was sitting here doing some collage stuff not too long ago and I found myself reminiscing about the Weekly World News as collage fodder. Of course it has not been in print since 2007, but suddenly I had the thought to check on ebay for old issues that I could pull apart for collage work. Much to my delight there were several bundles to choose from so I received 3 issues from June-August of 1989. They are obviously products of their time; several articles are homophobic, fatphobic, xenophobic, etc. which is a little disappointing but not at all shocking. Some of the ridiculous stories though are so off the wall and farfetched that it feels worth it to rip them apart for their bits and pieces. Below are some of the ridiculous headlines, photos and articles.

    Now I just need a big lot of teen magazines from the 80s and 90s. Any leads?

    “Weekly World News.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekly_World_News.

  • My Pre-Halloween Streaming

    My husband and I have been doing some spooky movie/ tv show watching over the last couple of weeks and there have been some seriously fun and good ones and some fun and terrible ones, but here are some of the standouts for me.

    Little Monsters (Hulu): Lupita Nyong’o is absolutely radiant in this zombie horror film about a field trip gone wrong. Also features Josh Gad in a role that had to be so much fun to play. It was campy, good horror comedy. Highly recommended.

    Zomboat (Hulu): This is another zombie based horror comedy, but a series this time. It is funny, very British, and only one season 6 episodes so very bingable. Hoping there will be a second season because ot os genuinely fun.

    Night of the Demons (Amazon): This movie was released in 1988 and it is a good old fashioned 80s slasher flick. I want the goth bride outfit from this badly. So bad it is good. Stars Linnea Quigley, which is a plus.

    Fright Night (Amazon): The original 1985, which I have seen before, but have renewed my love for. Chris Sarandon is wonderfully smarmy. Posits the theory that Vampirism makes your hair grow to be longer and a different color. Roddy McDowall overacts to raise the dead.

    The Cabin in the Woods (Hulu): I admit I am late on this one. I watched it because one of my podcasts (Talk from Superheroes) was discussing it and they highly recommended not spoiling the film. It was a very entertaining film. Superb twists throughout.

    We have watched more, but these are the ones that stood out. Have you been watching scary/halloweeny movies? What are you watching?

  • The Strangest Things in Stranger Things

    I am an absolute sucker for nostalgia. As a child of the 80’s there have been numerous shows and movies that have played right to that place in my heart. The one that has done so the most successfully and completely is Stranger Things. My husband and I binge watched season three this weekend, and I was hit straight in the face with the mother of all nostalgia bombs. From the familiar feeling of the mall to the outrageously wonderful tackiness of the clothing I am ready to go back in time.

    This is not my first bout with eighties nostalgia, and in fact I have been suffering from the affliction for a couple of years. It honestly began with netflix whose numerous 80s based shows (Stranger Things, GLOW, etc.) led to me binging so many 80s movies it is ridiculous and to listening to 80s music. Since the great 80s uprising in my head I have invested in records by Cyndi Lauper, Thompson Twins, and the complete works of Devo. I have also purchased many an 80s film,  some even on VHS.

    So…Here are some of my favorite 80s things that I would like to revive in my world thanks to nostalgia.

    1. Bathing Suits – The mom’s at the pool left me craving a classic 80s bathing suit.

     

    2. Clothing with Designs – Strong Bold Designs.

    3. Eighties Hair and Makeup – I need a crimper so badly.

    4. My favorite 80s things, pure nostalgia.

     

    Are you a child of the eighties? Are you nostaglic? Where would you go back to in time?

  • What I am loving: Movies of the 80s edition

    What I am loving: Movies of the 80s edition

    Playing on Amazon Prime one day I found the movie Earth Girls are Easy, a particular favorite of mine from when I was younger. If you are unfamiliar with this particular film it centers around Gina Davis’ character Valerie and what happens when an alien ship crash lands in her pool. The furry aliens are shaved and reveal themselves to be Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans and Jeff Goldblum. Valerie is just trying to keep them “safe” while waiting for her pool to be drained by a surfer dude named Woody, played by Michael McKean. There is sex, weird super feel good touching, dance battles, musical sequences and eventually a happy and slightly bizzare ending.

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    I thoroughly enjoyed my latest watching of this film and was conveying as much to my sister-in-law, Niki, when she mentioned a movie she remembered from the eighties with Jeff Goldblum and Cyndi Lauper. I am a movie buff and was shocked that I had no knowledge of this film. Niki recalled that the movie was called Vibes. Well it wasn’t on streaming anywhere, but I found a copy of the dvd for sale on Amazon, so I ordered it.

    Vibes is about a couple of psychics, Goldblum and Lauper, being used to recover some kind of treasure in South America by Peter Falk. Lauper plays a woman who channels a spirit which tells her important things, and Goldblum is a man who can touch an object and tell you where it has been. Overall the movie is an entertaining romp, and Lauper is ADORABLE in it. I wanted 90% of her clothing, and enjoyed her performance so much.

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    Then yesterday I decided to hop into yet another 80s film with Desperately Seeking Susan, a film I know I watched as a kid but that left no impression except that Madonna is cool. Rewatching it I thoroughly enjoyed the punk aesthetic, and the mistaken identity/ amnesia story. Roberta’s husband was appealingly skeezy, Roberta adorably naive, Dez (played by Aiden Quinn much to my delight) charmingly frustrated, and Susan breezily chill and confident. I genuinely enjoyed watching it again for the first time, since I had forgotten everything but the fact that it starred Madonna.

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    More than anything, though, I am in love with the style of the female characters in these films. My freak/punk/goth heart swelled at the fishnet, petticoats, lace, boots, ornate jackets and leather. It sent me down a rabbit hole on Pinterest. Are there any other 80s movies I should revisit? Let me know in the comments.

    Here are some images of amazing styles from the three films.