David Hasselhoff and a certain black car were appointment viewing in the 1980s. Photo / Supplied
OPINION:
I always smile when I hear someone refer to the "good old days" with a wistful tone, as they review their history through rose-tinted lenses. My good old days were growing up as a teenager in the 1980s.
We were not tethered to the world through smartphones. We had Datsun
120Ys, $4 jugs at the Carlton, acid-washed jeans and the sweet sounds of Duran Duran.
Being a teenager was the constant juxtaposition of trying hard to stand out, but also trying hard to fit in at the same time. My world reached from the surf breaks of Taranaki to the beaches of Wairarapa. Anywhere else was a blur on the edge of my conscience.
It may have been the good old days for me, but for most of the world it was a pretty terrible time. Poverty in Asia, the Berlin Wall, apartheid, famines and wars in Africa, petrol shortages, record unemployment, Aids and the whole world living under the constant threat of nuclear annihilation.
The 1980s were much more violent than the 2020s. If you were a person of colour, non-heterosexual, a female, a child, or had mental health issues, you had fewer rights and love than you have now.
