Retroist Retro Podcast

The Retroist
Retroist Retro Podcast

For over a decade, The Retroist Podcast has taken a nostalgic look back at the last 40+ years of retro themed pop culture. The show attempts to connect or reconnect you to things from your past through storytelling and discussion of compelling milestones and forgotten tidbits of pop culture.

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    Retroist Podcast Episode 341 (Valley Girl)

    A few months ago, I was chatting with my sister and out of nowhere she asked me if I had done a Valley Girl podcast yet. She loves this movie and it has come up a few times over the years. I responded that I hadn’t gotten to it yet and that I would get to it soon. I had actually tried to record it many years ago, in my first year or so of podcast, but I don’t think I handled it well, and never released it. I felt a little guilty and so I decided that I needed to get a Valley Girl episode into the feed. I start the show talking about what it was like not having agency in what videos were rented in your house. Being the youngest, I was a little resentful at the time, but now I realize how much richer my life is because of all the movies I was exposed to that I never would have chosen. One of those is Valley Girl, which my sister rented for herself, but I was never one to shy away from new entertainment and I watched it as well multiple times. After I finished telling my story I move onto the film itself. I discuss how a Zappa song turned into a lawsuit that didn’t derail a film that has often been described as Vall-sploitation. Other films in this genre were released, but non were as well-made and well-acted as this one. Then I talk about production, the case, the music, the reception, and much more. I am not sure why Valley Girl isn’t more popular. Maybe its because its a little rough around the edges, but I find that charming. It, and movies lie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, helped to establish tropes that other 80s films would borrow, and it deserves to be watched and celebrated.

    33 min
4.8
out of 5
446 Ratings

About

For over a decade, The Retroist Podcast has taken a nostalgic look back at the last 40+ years of retro themed pop culture. The show attempts to connect or reconnect you to things from your past through storytelling and discussion of compelling milestones and forgotten tidbits of pop culture.

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