“It’s the ’80s, do a lot of coke and vote for Ronald Regan!” That song may be an all-time classic Mystery Science Theater 3000 riff from the Gremlins rip-off Hobgoblins, but one might find themselves also singing that ditty more and more often when watching TV and movies.

Stranger Things, Totally Killer, It, and even parts of Loki’s second season take us back to the 1980s, filling the screen with neon clothes, Dungeons & Dragons references, and so much punk and synth-pop.

It’s easy to see why the ’80s would get attention in the past decade, as kids of that era have grown to be the adults with buying power (such as it is) and control over media franchises. However, ’80s nostalgia has become bankrupt even quicker than previous versions, precisely because of its thin and disinterested look at the target decade.

The 1980s are the New 1950s...