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I LOVE Stranger Things! I always appreciate it when I find some morsel of popular culture that I can use to bond with my children and my daughter also loves this so it’s a win:win! Have to say I’m hanging my head in shame though because I also love The Goonies. Maybe it caught me at a susceptible age, but I think it’s a rollicking adventure - and who can resist that Cyndi Lauper song?

Never thought of Stand By Me as part of the same genre but I can see your thinking. Wonderful film and equally wonderful novella.

I had never really considered the idea of parenthood as a feature of these productions before but you make a really good point about the way that parents perceive their role and are perceived by their children. I think the baby boom generation certainly felt more keenly that they had to grow up on their own - that’s certainly the vibe I got from my parents. I remember my mum saying that she and my dad always made a concerted effort to tell us ‘I love you’, because that wasn’t necessarily something they got from their parents - and my grand parents were wonderful people, I hasten to add! Lots of food for thought. Little sad you didn’t mention The Red Hand Gang though 😉

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Well, obviously Cyndi Lauper is the best thing about the Goonies - and I have to admit that I had never seen it before and a 52 year old British man is maybe not the target audience. Also I'm now regretting making fun of it for the sake of a punchy sign-off line. I need to remember we have our 'no dunking' rule for a reason ;)

Of course, it's probably also because I'm now a middle aged man that I've started noticing and thinking about all the parents in these movies - I need to be looking out for how Gen X parents are portrayed in things now to try and spot our parenting obsessions (fathers doing a lot more childcare, for one)

Also, all I could find of the Red Hand Gang to watch was the opening credits on YouTube, and I felt like that possibly wasn't enough - it seems it kind of vanished in the States, even though it never seemed to be off the telly here 🤷‍♂️

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But that sign-off was definitely punchy so you can be forgiven.

When I looked up The Red Hand Gang I was surprised at how few episodes were ever made. Apparently it was cancelled during its first series. Bit of a shock as, as you say, it seemed to be on the TV permanently during the early 80s!

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I know, right? I just imagined it was some cornerstone of the American Gen X experience, but no. Just us

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Beautiful!

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Thanks, Mark! I’m afraid there’s a lot more to come, I kept having ideas about Stranger Things

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