Pop Culture | Movies | 80s
15 Moments From The '80s That Made Puberty Hit Us Like A Ton Of Bricks
Every decade has those generation-defining moments that stick in your memory forever. Whether it's a cultural milestone, the arrival of new technology, or an event that changes the world forever, chances are it's something you'll never forget. Likewise, every generation also has its moments that lead to a lot of young people discovering for the first time that they're suddenly thinking about others in a way that's a little more... explicit than they were before.
Things like movies and TV often carry a lot of these moments, and in the case of these 15, we're pretty sure nobody who grew up in the 80s will ever forget them.
The ending of An Officer And a Gentleman.
One of the most iconic movie endings of the decade left women everywhere swooning and wishing that Richard Gere would show up at their work to carry them away.
Any moment with Rob Lowe in St. Elmo's Fire
Rob Lowe was one of the ultimate 80s heartthrobs, and nowhere was this more obvious than in his brooding performance in St. Elmo's Fire.
Leia's gold bikini
An entire generation of nerds simultaneously discovered how much they liked girls when Carrie Fisher showed up in this legendary gold ensemble.
Pretty much all of 9 1/2 Weeks
It was the Fifty Shades of its decade, and while we definitely weren't supposed to be watching this if we were under 18, video rentals and late-night TV did the work for us.
"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."
Who wasn't in love with Patrick Swayze after this iconic moment from Dirty Dancing? Nobody, that's who.
The pool scene. You know the one.
Fast Times At Ridgemont High is one of the most iconic movies of the decade, and while there are tons of great moments from it, there's one in particular that every pre-pubescent boy was deeply affected by.
Pressures of everyday life.
Matt Dillon was an up-and-coming star that had every lady swooning, and nowhere was this more true than as the ultimate brooding bad boy in Drugstore Cowboy.
If none of these moments did it for you, chances are one of the rest of these did...
"Showering is real fun, isn't it?"
After Weird Science came out, pretty much every teenage boy wanted to try to create their own girlfriend in a lab.
The dancing in Footloose
Kevin Bacon danced his way into everybody's heart by teaching an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that dancing, well, is the greatest thing there is.
Flashdance's use of water.
Jennifer Beals became a household name because of this movie. Can't imagine why.
"They're only noodles, Michael."
Maybe you like your bad boys on more of the supernatural side (get the hell outta here, Twilight fans)? Well Kiefer Sutherland's performance in The Lost Boys as the biggest bad of them all definitely had you covered.
In Your Eyes
The singularly most iconic scene of any 80s movie (don't even act like there's a better one). John Cusack taught us that all you need to woo a lady is a boombox and some Peter Gabriel.
The exact moment Kurt Russell fell in love with Goldie Hawn
They say it was the connection they formed on set, and sure that's romantic and stuff, but come on, this scene from Overboard is clearly what did it.
"President of what?"
Speaking or Kurt Russell, he always played the coolest of anti-heroes, and none were cooler than Snake Plissken from Escape From New York. How could you not fall for that attitude?
Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
Before he went nuts, Tom Cruise was the epitome of cool, and ladies everywhere fell for him thanks to the sheer inescapable popularity of Top Gun.