This '80s compilation video hits all the nostalgia buttons

Of all the decades to remember, the 1980s is easily the most accessible era for nearly everyone to get nostalgic with. In America, the decade leading up to the '80s introduced average consumers to cable television. These were the years of MTV, CNN, HBO, and other media abbreviations that went beyond the original big three US television networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) that dominated the airwaves over the previous 30 years.

Even in the Philippines we thankfully had access to western media via movie theaters, and primetime TV programming that heavily broadcast US network shows such as Knight Rider, Star Trek: the Next Generation, Manimal, The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, and so much more.

Sigh.

"Great Scott!"

What is it with nostalgia? Somehow, looking back at much simpler times when there was no internet and you were required to answer the phone when it rings, it makes you want to relive those memories of happier days when you rooted for Maddie Hayes and David Addison to get together, or cheered whenever Balki and Cousin Larry did the Dance of Joy.

So, it's no wonder that a video from late last year is now making the rounds on social media, stoking everyone's 1980s nostalgia feels. The video from The Vintage Tribute YouTube channel is a supercut of some major pop culture entertainment references from film, television, and music.

"THIS is a knife."

Seriously, we can pause frame-by-frame and make a game of which scenes or what music video these images were pulled from. Name it the video Trivial Pursuit of 1980s pop culture and call it a day.

"Yeeeeeaaaah!"

If you grew up in this era, already you can hear in your head the quotes and references as the images flash across your eyes. The four-and-a-half minute video uses the '80s anthem Waiting for a Star to Fall by Boy Meets Girl as its background music and it is absoulutely epic.

Check it out:

This isn't the first video in recent memory to do this sort of compilation and we doubt that it will be the last, but during these trying times we'll take all the happiness we can get, thank you.

"Nobody puts baby in a corner."

The take-away from such a mega collection of clips is that pop culture isn't limited to things that are commonly associated with being, well, "geeky," such as sci-fi (Star Wars) or fantasy (Willow, The Neverending Story) or comedy (The Three Amigos), or all three genres combined (Ghostbusters).

Never feed after midnight, so make sure there's no food stuck in his teeth.

There's also drama (The Breakfast Club), action (Lethal Weapon), and music (Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, etc.). It goes to show that enjoyment of the 1980s is inclusive. It had something for everyone.

"You know that we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl."

Even if you were born a generation later, young people today are rediscovering '80s movies through their parents or older friends. On YouTube and Twitch alone there is an entire category of reaction videos, where people born at the tail end of the '80s and much later get to watch the "classics" and share their reactions with the viewer.

"I'll be right here." Please pass the tissue.

Evidence of how powerful a pop-culture era the 1980s were can be seen in the massive popularity of Stranger Things on Netflix, the It remake movies, Ghostbusters: Afterlife which is the third movie of the 1980s franchise, and the remake of Dune.

A dance with Jareth, the Goblin King "As The World Falls Down."

Sandwiched between the disco dance era of the 1970s, and the angst-fuelled rebellion of the 1990s, the 1980s was a damn fine magical time filled with neon lights and pastel fashions. Everything seemed new again and technology grew drastically.

Video games came to the home from arcades, compact discs challenged vinyl, films can be bought via VHS or Betamax. Cellphones! The birth of the internet! It was an incredible time to be alive.

"Dead or alive, you're coming with me."

Somehow it never gets old channeling the '80s. If the times are getting you down, especially now, it's videos like this that serve as an instant pick-me-up from dreary realities. It also serves as reminder that better days are always ahead.

All images copyright of their respective owners