How did the '80s become a punchline?

 How did the '80s become a punchline¹?

Give anything 20 years and it'll start to look like the makings of a joke. And so -- welcome back to the '80s, or, as LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge" put it, "borrowed nostalgia² for the unremembered '80s." You don't even need to have had first-hand experience with the decade to make fun of it.

Today's opening of "MacGruber" -- which Karina Longworth's review clusters alongside "Hot Tub Time Machine" and "Cop Out" as movies whose primary subject is a decade's worth of pop culture rather than actual people -- confirms what we already knew: VH1's "I Love The 80s" was far, far more insidious³ than we figured.

Compare and contrast -- the trailers for "MacGruber" and "Hot Tub Time Machine" are below:

The '70s didn't suddenly see a big spate⁴ of films mocking the '50s, nor the '80s the '60s and so forth⁵. There is a joke in "Dazed and Confused" -- the only one that really guns for the low-hanging fruit -- where a character speculates on the rule of how every other decade is awesome⁶, and figures out since the '70s suck, maybe the '80s will be totally awesome. But that's about it.

That an entire decade's worth of pop culture is, in and of itself, a punchline, is new and unnerving. It's different from the numerous films taking old TV franchises⁷ as a starting point for a movie. The idea isn't playing with an established brand and resurrecting familiar images; it's toying with passed-down imagery as a joke whose currency is already established.

HealthTop TipsNutritionLoveLifestyleHappinessWeight Loss

The idea that changes in fashion (accessories, clothing, music, so on) automatically constitute hilarity⁸, then, is a special rule we've come up with for the '80s. Familiarity breeds contemptuous affection for a decade that's just stupid, which was VH1's whole premise⁹ -- mention just a title or name, then laugh away. What's unclear is whether thirtysomethings now getting to make their own movies will be able to sell that to kids too young to directly remember the '80s, those for whom the below montage conjures¹⁰ no nostalgia.

What really gives me pause is wondering whether this is a one-off or a harbinger of something more sinister¹¹. 20 years hence, will we be deluged¹² with movies portraying¹³ the aughts as a time of toxic¹⁴ smart-phone abuse, American Apparel and people writing their own Wikipedia entries? It's easy to reduce a decade to its pop-culture sound-bites and trend topics when you have no memory of being complicit with them. Sneering¹⁵ is easy, compassion¹⁶ is hard.

1 punchline   

n.（笑话、故事等的）结尾警语，点睛之笔

参考例句：

• Even then,the magical pause can strengthen the punchline.即使这样，有魔力的停顿依然可以增强笑点。
• A good joke or a mystery novel has along wind up to the final punchline.好的笑话或神秘小说都是一路曲折，直至最后的笑料或真相。

2 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

3 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

4 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

8 hilarity   

n.欢乐；热闹

参考例句：

• The announcement was greeted with much hilarity and mirth.这一项宣布引起了热烈的欢呼声。
• Wine gives not light hilarity,but noisy merriment.酒不给人以轻松的欢乐，而给人以嚣嚷的狂欢。

9 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

10 conjures   

用魔术变出( conjure的第三人称单数 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• The word 'birthday' conjures up images of presents and parties. “生日”这个词使人想起礼物和聚会的情景。
• The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。

11 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

12 deluged   

v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 )；淹没；被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没；穷于应付

参考例句：

• The minister was deluged with questions. 部长穷于应付像洪水般涌来的问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They deluged me with questions. 他们向我连珠发问。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

14 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

15 sneering   

嘲笑的，轻蔑的

参考例句：

• "What are you sneering at?" “你冷笑什么？” 来自子夜部分
• The old sorceress slunk in with a sneering smile. 老女巫鬼鬼崇崇地走进来，冷冷一笑。

16 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。