Decadence

Every now and then, you'll see someone writing about New Wave music as if it were an 80s phenomenon.  It did last through the 80s, but punk and new wave started in the 70s and a lot of the most significant work was done then.

I guess if enough years pass, time starts to merge, and one decade may seem like another. But they're not.  It's worth remembering that the 1920s was the Jazz Age, the 1930s was the Depression (starting with the crash in 1929), the 1940s was World War II (the war started in 1939, but America didn't enter until 1941) and so on.

Why this preamble?  Because I saw a book entitled Wild And Crazy Guys about the comedy legends who arose in the early years of Saturday Night Live, and took over Hollywood.  On the cover it says "How the comedy mavericks of the '80s changed Hollywood forever."

Comedy mavericks of the '80s?  Yeah, sure, they did a lot of work in that decade, but didn't most of the guys pictured on the cover--Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd--come of age, comedy-wise, in the '70s? (I'll give them Eddie Murphy.) The title itself is a phrase coined by Martin in the 1970s.

Let's ignore their TV work, mostly done in the 70s, and concentrate on movies.  Chase became a star with Foul Play in 1978.  Belushi became a star in 1978 with Animal House (and died in 1982).  Steve Martin became a star in 1979 with The Jerk.  Bill Murray became a star in 1979 with Meatballs.

Sure, they all went on to make more movies--some of them big hits--after that decade, but in truth by the '80s they were barely mavericks any more.  They were the establishment.

PS  I saw Wild And Crazy Guys in a bookstore.  I opened it up and the first thing I read was a claim that Pulp Fiction (1994) was released in 1996.