There’s one thing about being an ’80s child that feels totally different. And no, it’s not simply nostalgia speaking.
I’m a product of the latch-key technology, these of us who got here dwelling from college to empty homes and managed homework, chores, and the dinner prep our dad and mom left us to deal with.
I’m a proud GenXer, born right into a world that didn’t cushion or coddle us.
We confronted all types of challenges, from navigating schoolyard bullying and dodgeball bruises to rising up quick in households the place single dad and mom typically labored double shifts to make ends meet.
I discovered resilience the onerous method — by private trials and grit. My mother labored nights and went to highschool through the day, decided to higher herself and construct a greater life for us, even when it meant time was all the time tight.
I noticed rather a lot as a child: household abuse, onerous life classes, and, sure, even racism up shut.
My grandparents had been Mexican, dark-skinned, and proud (my grandpa was a WWII hero and Purple Coronary heart recipient), whereas I used to be a blonde-haired, green-eyed little woman who felt like an outsider in each worlds.
However all these moments, from the painful to the empowering, formed me. I survived, grew more durable, and discovered that life doesn’t wait so that you can really feel “prepared.”
These experiences made me who I’m — capable of deal with a few of life’s hardest knocks, like watching my husband move away instantly and elevating a five-year-old son alone.
Why? As a result of once you’re constructed with grit, you deal with it and transfer on. That’s what our technology did.
The TV That Raised Us
Rising up, TV was extra than simply background noise; it was a part of our DNA.
We didn’t have limitless streaming choices or rigorously curated content material designed to make us really feel “seen.”
As an alternative, we had heroes like Hannibal from The A-Workforce, Michael Knight from Knight Rider, and MacGyver — characters who taught us to roll with the punches, make do with what we had, and determine issues out on the fly.
These guys weren’t ready round for a rescue; they had been taking motion, instructing us to do the identical.
Watching MacGyver (the unique) whip up lifesaving devices out of duct tape and a paperclip taught us that resourcefulness was generally all you wanted.
Life’s issues weren’t solved with the most recent tech or limitless choices—they had been solved by being inventive and fast in your ft.
Right this moment, it’s straightforward to Google your method out of an issue or name in assist with a single faucet, however again then, it was all about figuring it out your self.
Watching MacGyver, we discovered that you can make issues occur in case you simply had the desire and the best instruments (even when it was solely a Swiss Military knife).
Then there have been icons like Cagney and Lacey, two robust girls who determinedly and resiliently took on the gritty world of police work.
They had been robust as nails, dealing with every thing from harmful instances to non-public challenges in an period when girls had been nonetheless preventing for his or her place within the workforce.
Watching them confirmed us that something was potential in case you had the center to push ahead.
Cagney and Lacey taught us that toughness isn’t only a man factor — it’s a mindset, one we are able to all embrace.
Characters like Hannibal from The A-Workforce took a unique method, bringing robust love and grit into each mission.
They didn’t await issues to be good, didn’t ask for permission, and positively didn’t count on a security web. They took on the percentages with grit, a cigar, and a wink.
This was a technology that didn’t whine, didn’t make excuses, and positively didn’t demand perfection.
They taught us to get on the market, get a bit soiled, and make issues work — even when it means bending a number of guidelines.
Then there was Household Ties, which hit us with a mix of humor and real-life points in a method that felt recent and relatable.
Alex P. Keaton’s unapologetic ambition and drive completely captured the spirit of 80s individualism and the rising “yuppie” tradition.
The Keatons’ mixture of free-thinking dad and mom and a hard-driven child confirmed us the steadiness between independence and household help.
They weren’t an ideal household by any means, however they cherished one another by each problem, instructing us that household dynamics may very well be sophisticated and nonetheless work.
Taking Accountability and Transferring Ahead
The way in which we noticed it on TV, our heroes didn’t have to lean on help teams or pour their souls out to therapists (not knocking it, but it surely wasn’t a part of the tradition then).
As an alternative, they carried their baggage with them, dealing with points as they got here up and transferring on with out trying again.
Michael Knight didn’t have a staff of therapists dissecting his each transfer — he had KITT, and collectively, they tackled no matter got here their method, no hand-holding required.
It wasn’t about pushing down feelings however studying to face them, deal with them, and maintain going.
Watching these characters, we discovered that life wasn’t going to decelerate for us, and generally, you needed to decide your self up, mud off, and maintain transferring ahead.
Quick-forward to right this moment, and it’s no shock that these classes resonate much more.
Rewatching these exhibits, I discover the simplicity of their method refreshing. There’s no overanalyzing, no prolonged debates about motives — simply motion.
These characters took on life with out apologies, instructing us to belief our instincts and to resolve issues moderately than dwell on them.
In a world the place self-doubt and indecision appear to run excessive, these simple, decisive characters really feel like a breath of recent air.
Constructed to Final: Why ’80s TV Heroes Are Nonetheless Position Fashions
TV has modified, and so have the heroes it brings to our screens.
Right this moment, we’re extra more likely to see characters wrestling with advanced emotional layers, grappling with trauma, and even attending remedy, which is undeniably essential.
However ’80s characters? They had been right here to get issues performed, not dwell on the “why.”
Watching The A-Workforce or Knight Rider, you bought the message that life was about discovering a method ahead, not sitting round ready for the right situations.
These characters didn’t ask permission, and so they didn’t waste time worrying in regards to the grey areas. They made their selections, confronted the results, and saved transferring.
In the long run, these characters taught us one thing priceless — once you’ve been by rather a lot, you don’t await permission to reside your life.
You are taking motion, make robust decisions, and don’t overthink the “what-ifs.”
There’s one thing empowering about that sort of readability, and perhaps that’s why these characters maintain such a robust place in our hearts.
They remind us of a time when issues felt a bit extra simple, a bit more durable, and much more resilient.
So right here’s to the exhibits that raised us on grit, problem-solving, and an excellent dose of self-reliance.
They may not be the flashy anti-heroes of right this moment, however they’re position fashions in their very own proper — constructed to final, similar to the technology that grew up watching them.
Who had been your favourite ’80s TV heroes? Drop your picks within the feedback, and let’s hear how these basic characters formed you.
