Something about the music, fashion, and movie settings of the 1980s continues to emote. I would think of it purely as a personal connection. But it seems widespread. And, as a child of the 1990s, why do the 1980s connect so strongly for me?

Looking at it from my white, and privileged, perspective, the 1980s seems like a changing age. The real dawn of the digital era; when computers were breaking into popular culture, and, yet, were still almost “magical” in their potential.

In the media, movies, and TV, the 1980s is also portrayed as an age of opportunity. That the corporate and financial worlds were suddenly more open to workers who were young, of different educational backgrounds, a truer meritocracy. All the evidence demonstrates that this wasn’t true. It was a mirage that Reagan and Thatcher worked hard to create. But it’s a mirage that persists.

The 1980s exists in an idealized state. A time of opportunity and a time when the world was on the brink of something. And, yet, also holding onto an innocence which no longer exists.