Quintessential Films Of The 1980s

290 Words2 Pages
In looking at the quintessential films of the 1980s through the lens of the Eddie Murphy moment, the particular elements of shifting U.S. feminism and nuclear energy stand outside of the Murphy influence and their effect on New Hollywood. Silkwood (Nichols, 1983) offers a look at these elements through the socio-political impact of second wave feminism, nuclear power fears in the shadow of the cold war and a Hawkish national agenda under President Ronald Reagan, the de facto politics of labor intimidation, and small budget film, as levers of change for Hollywood.
The period from 1980 to 1983 is stamped by the Reagan era excess of dangerous jobs for large paychecks, post-Viet Nam transience, and the social failure of families, marriage, education,