The Deepest Cuts

Wax on, wax off.

They didn’t make films in the 80s. They made movies – enchanted windows of wish-fulfilment, in which impossibly attractive characters, subtly highlighted by golden sunlight or the opulent colours of fairgrounds and amusement arcades, led us into adventures that were worlds away from our humdrum classrooms and playgrounds.

Wax on, wax off.

Their appeal might be baffling to everyone who has grown up with the sterile perfection of digital media. But my generation keep revisiting the same familiar faces - the Goonies, the Extra Terrestrial... the Karate Kid. These were the people that shaped us, that gave us aspirations and ideals, that showed us who we wanted to be.

Wax on, wax off.

Comfort viewing, it was supposed to be. But these days, some old haunts turn out to be less reassuringly familiar than expected...