The Neon Screen

An illustrated poem about my favorite decade for movies...
On
January 20, 2010
Before you read on, I must tell you that this is a long article. You don't have to read it in one sitting...Actually, I would encourage taking your time with it.

You see, I've written many articles and done many interviews relating to the 80s, but this will be my first time of writing of the 80s in poetry.

I've written several poems of various sorts, mainly for school and relating to heavy topics like the books we were reading and the subjects we were studying. We very rarely had the opportunity to write about anything fun...Now I'm changing that. 80s movies fill me with great joy, and so I now present my illustrated salute to the cinema of my favorite decade.

This poem is entitled:

"The Neon Screen"

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My search for peace and solace,
Takes many twists and turns.
One day I can be shining bright,
The next day anger burns.

I look upon my VHS tapes
And my DVDs.
I look towards premium
And basic channels on TVs.

The neon screen is shining,
The colors fill my eyes.
I see a movie 50 times,
And still I feel surprised.

The films come from the 80s.
A decade that, for me,
Can free me from stress and torture,
If temporarily.

So many different movies,
I will write of today.
The laughs, the thrills, the tears, the chills,
Let's begin this display.

Carl Spackler fought a gopher whose I.Q had his beat.
He tried to take the varmint out and destroyed Bushwood's peat.



Jake and Elwood sped around to save their youthful home,
But Nazis, cops, and Jake's ex followed wherever they'd roam.



Jason Vorhees' mother had campers on their toes.
Camp Crystal Lake was drenched in blood the color of a rose.



Superman lost his powers for the love of Lois Lane.
Zod, Ursa and Non drove old Metropolis insane.



Clifford Peache was protected and New York teens danced on cars.
The former hoped for safety, the latter shot for stars.



The Elephant Man was troubled, but much to his surprise,
He wasn't treated like a freak, but just a normal guy.



Darth Vader's secret gave young Luke an emotional fright.
Han knew Leia loved him while he was in Carbonite.



Jake LaMotta was a champ, at least inside the ring.
Outside, though, he wasn't a man...Instead he was a thing.



You could call Rumack many things,
But Shirley wasn't one.
The crew all somehow played it straight,
But we, the fans, had fun.



These 10 movies varied in mood and look and sound.
The 70s were over,
Now the 80s had touched down.

We now arrive at the New Year of 1981.
10 movies chosen randomly can thrill and chill and stun.

Some teens have it rough in education we call higher,
But a bar like "Porky's" can give their grades a fire.



Indy Jones wanted the Ark,
The Nazis sought it, too.
A Pepper wanted blood to spill.
He made the viewers spew.



"On Golden Pond", a peace was made for family divided.
For one of Hank Fonda's last roles, an Oscar was provided.



Lazy? Ugly? Horny?
Young Matty didn't care.
She took Ned into her bed,
And gave his life a scare.



Arthur B.,
He loved to drink,
Day and night,
Through and through.

Joan hated wire hangers,
And despised her daughter, too.



Bibi Dahl lusted for Bond.
She wanted him so bad.
Never mind that he was old enough to be her Dad.



One runner ran to compete,
The other ran for God.



A house burned in the name of love,
Both endless and quite odd.



And now we come to '82,
'Twas the year of my birth.
For 80s movie lovers,
These films all have some worth.

An alien named E.T phoned home when stuck in Cali,
And took Elliot past the moon high above the young child's valley.



Deckard pursued Replicants through the dark and the rain.
More human than human, a quite complex thing to explain.



The Freelings paid for souls that all refused to move along,
And repeated the word "La" as they sang their little song.



Dorsey and Grant both went drag to achieve show biz glory,
Each fell in love and tried to keep up with their own backstories.



Zack Mayo joined the Navy,
He had nowhere else to go.
Although it was quite hard at first,
A bright spirit did show.



We witnessed Pink's neuroses from his damaged family,
Even on the road, it was impossible to flee.



Linda's gorgeous breasts set Brad's mind full of passion.
She caught him doing his thing...It was quite an odd distraction.



John Rambo made his debut on a trip up the West Coast.
An accusation of vagrancy caused his mind to roast.



Flynn went inside a video game...That game, of course, is "Tron".
No Visual Effects Oscar...They said cheating was wrong.



The year is 1983.
New films have come to fore.
Lots of flicks came out that year.
Let's examine 10 more.

The Outsiders' and The Socs' fights never seemed to end.
The former fought for Johnny, their hospital-housed friend.



Tony Montana was one man,
But somehow he took out,
At least a dozen hitmen,
With shots and vulgar shouts.



Alex was a welder.
Her dream was one of dance.
Moves classical and modern,
Gave her a fighting chance.



Read the "Terms Of Endearment",
And one can come to find,
That screams are required,
When family sadness shocks your mind.



Misfits worked for "D.C Cab", as they do in real life,
And "Mr. Mom" proved that a man could also be a wife.



A "Valley Girl" named Julie fell in love with a young punk,
And Joel liked "Old Time Rock 'N' Roll".
He never cared for funk.



"Christine" could drive herself and make bullies feel the burn.
She caused Arnie Curningham's damaged spirit to turn.



Jennifer Spencer was one of the very few,
Who went free from Dirty Harry,
Who knew what she must do.



The year's now 1984,
The year that many say defined the decade that you read and I write of today.

For Ren and friends to cut "Footloose" would really bring them joy,
Though Reverend Shaw loathed it because he lost his little boy.



"The Terminator" wasn't always on the side of good.
He pursued Sarah Connor through her L.A neighborhood.
With the help of Kyle Reese, Sarah gained the nerve,
To give the psychotic creature the treatment he deserved.



Nigel Tufnel's side project was what he dubbed as "Mach".
Lovely instrumentals with titles that could shock.
Tufnel's instrumentals came about, in part, because of the original rock star known as Mozart.



The kids of Elm Street weren't safe when drifting into sleep.
They'd wake up dead because of a steel-fingered violent creep.

Those Elm Street kids just weren't safe when resting in their beds.
It could be worse.
They could be Wolverines fighting off Reds.



Daniel Russo instilled fear into the Cobra Kai.
It was quite surprising.
He was such a little guy



The Bus Boys sang the "Ghostbusters" were "cleaning up the town".
That's hard to do when marshmallow is flying all around,



Joan Wilder's words of romancing came in assorted tomes,
But real life was so much more fun than staying bound at home.



Detroit is hard to live in when your life-long friend has died.
Axel took initiative.
This cop? He never cried.
He visited Beverly Hills,
And often was disguised.
He avenged his dear friend and left Cali cops surprised.



Now 1985 is here,
We're past the halfway mark.
So many films came out that year to make our spirits spark.

Rambo made his return.
3 years had made him change.
His thoughts and bod were different.
For viewers, it was strange.



Ivan Drago killed a friend of Rambo's brother Rocky.
Balboa beat up Drago who no longer acted cocky.



Meanwhile, back in America,
Young Billie Jean fought back,
When the Davy Family became under attack.



Terry wanted to write,
But chances couldn't stand.
She hoped to achieve her life goal,
By dressing as a man.



Big Bird ran from his foster home to get back to the Street,
But Miss Finch and the Sleaze Brothers were following his feet.



"The Goonies" reaffirmed their bond below Oregon ground,
And similar events were happening in old Chi-Town.



5 Shermer, Illinois high schoolers,
Each a different kind,
Were in the same detention and learned of ties that bind.



In that same town,
A girl named Lisa came from a P.C,
And showed 2 nerds that they could change the way their lives could be.



Back in good old Cali,
A young man named Scott found that puberty could do much more than change his voice around.



Scott also had a cousin with the last name of McFly,
Who was friends with a man named Doc, an interesting guy.
Doc's DeLorean, at first glance, seemed to be a car,
But it could travel through time and change the man you are.



Marty went to '55 and changed things drastically.
Our journey goes to '86.
What films can we all see?

Maverick and Iceman had different thoughts, for sure,
But now they're laughed at by those who are sexually insecure.



"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" helped clean Cameron's spirit out,
While Ferris, on a parade float, made people "Twist And Shout".



Johnny 5 was a robot,
Or so it seemed at first,
But he became near human,
For knowledge he had thirst.



Felson never lost the hustle or the twinkle in his eye,
Seth Brundle was half-a-man and half-mutated-fly.



Danny and Debbie had troubles regarding romance,
4 young boys heard of a dead body they hoped to glance.



Thornton Melon helped his son by going to his college.
Chandler Jarrell saw things that forever changed his knowledge.



Ellen Ripley didn't say goodbye to her young girl.
Finding out about her death set Ripley's life a-whirl.
Damaged Ellen cut a bitch and saved a girl named Newt.
Ripley was at peace and hoped she'd never again shoot.



Things don't always work that way,
As the 90s would show.
Those words are for another day,
'87, let's go!

Emmy was a "Mannequin", a dream doll come to life.
Martin Riggs hoped to end his and once more see his wife.
Happiness on the East Coast,
Distress on the West,
Shouldn't that be reversed?
Well, we'll move on, I guess.



Gordon Gekko was a man who made sure to get paid.
His brother Dan ran from Alex, the mistress he betrayed.



Frances was nicknamed "Baby",
Her life was quite a hassle.
Until she was helped by a dance instructor,
Last name Castle.



Vizzini spoke of many things that he deemed "inconceivable".
Capone killed with a baseball bat,
An anger unbelievable.



Loretta could stop your love proclamations with a slap.
RoboCop took violent thugs and shot them off the map.



The Predator managed to kill off most of those he crossed.
Dutch was the lone commando whose life was never lost.



1987's passed,
We have 2 years to go.
Let's head to 1988 and let the film strips flow.

Sarah Tobias was raped.
Her attackers went free.
Now she is suing the men who kept the company.



Roger was a real rabbit.
Jessica, one by marraige.
Eddie Valiant glowered,
His spirit a broke carraige.
All of them stood together,
When faced with cold Judge Doom.
Toontown was saved through their efforts and once more had a bloom.



Otto tried to play it cool,
But simply was insane.
Chucky was a murderous toy who wanted to raise Cain.



Raymond was autistic and worked well when he gambled.
Walsh was sent to nab the Duke who always, always rambled.
Raymond doesn't represent all those who are autistic,
But all of us speak like Walsh, with words both vulgar and sick.



Raymond had a cousin who went by the name of Brian.
Before he would pour out some beer, he'd send the bottles flyin'.



Drebin saved the Queen Of England in spite of himself.
C.C helped out Hilary no matter what her health.



In another part of Cali, there's a stressed out New York cop.
His name is John McClane and he's headed for the top.
The Nakatomi building is the place to be exact.
Hans Gruber and his money lovers need to watch their backs.



We're now at 1989.
The decade's almost through.
This year saw films with different viewpoints,
Some old and some new.

Sally could fake orgasms,
Kinsella sought redemption.
Ariel wanted to live a life without exemption.
Everybody has something to say or think or yell.
Sally and Ray could speak,
But it was hard for Ariel.



A man named Hoke helped Miss Daisy all around their little town.
Mookie had a garbage can as Sal's burned to the ground.
2 movies quite divisive,
No matter who you are.
Emotions can be set free,
With nothing there to bar.



Lloyd stood outside Diane's house,
With feelings hard to say,
But he hoped Peter Gabriel would save romance's day.



Dalton was a man who managed to both love and fight,
But his love Elizabeth questioned if he was right.
Anger and intensity can both run very high,
But in Chinquapin, LA,
A group of women cry.
They also laugh and cheer as sisters seem to do.
Although they weren't related,
I couldn't tell.
Could you?



J.D and Veronica sent bullies straight to Hell.
Let's be honest, everyone.
Would you do so as well?



"Batman" took on a Joker who liked listening to Prince.
They came back in 2008.
Each had grown darker since.



These films are an example of the many that there are from when the President could also be a movie star.



Thousands of films from the 80s,
My God, where to begin?
That's not even including films with folks like Ginger Lynn.



The neon screen will always shine upon my weary head.
I'll watch these films at straight up noon or laying in my bed.

These 80s movies bring me cheer,
Even the dramas, too.
So many films to cheer me up whenever I feel blue.

There's so much more for me to see,
It's time for me to go,
And learn of more 80s films and their gorgeous neon glow.
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