If you can imagine the title for this series as a neon sign in electric-pink cursive, or air-brushed on a loose-fitting tee with a lightning bolt in the background, or “comin’ at ya” off a movie screen in 3-D with a badass accompanying guitar lick, then you know what the 1980s were all about. This fall, the Dryden Theatre pays homage to the sights, sounds, and perms of the ’80s, the only decade with a fanbase so dedicated it approaches religious zealotry.

Partially credited with bringing the disco era to a screeching halt, producer Allan Carr’s glitzy camp classic Can’t Stop the Music (1980) stars the Village People and a roller-skating Steve Guttenberg, and features prophetic lines like, “This is the ’80s, darling…You’ll see a lot of things you’ve never see before.” Little did they know what we were all in for.

Breakdancing broke out of the boroughs, and is captured during its nascent moments in the first hip-hop TV show, Graffiti Rock, and the super-fresh feature, Breakin’ II: Electric Boogaloo. BMX romanced teenage boys coast to coast, and—the ultimate old-school biking film, BMX Bandits, only added to the seduction. Hair metal, in the form of bands like Judas Priest, intoxicated throngs of young Americans, who then compulsively grew mullets and donned acid-wash jeans. The phenomenon is documented in Jeff Krulik’s Heavy Metal Parking Lot, which Krulik will present in person on September 29.

In the ’80s, horror films became hip, irreverent, and culturally relevant. Zombies experienced a resurrection, as seen in many of these selections (Return of the Living Dead, Evil Dead II, Night of the Comet) that make audiences laugh and scream, often at the same time. John Carpenter’s sci-fi/horror/action/comedy They Live took genre-bending to extremes while poking fun at yuppies in the era of “Greed is Good.” They Live might also feature the definitive demonstration of “shade-tippin,’” an odd signifier that became an almost metaphysical gesture, connoting a variety of ’80s-esque attitudes, like “whoa,” “gnarly,” or “check me out.”

Some films, though grounded in trends specific to the decade, transcend that trendiness. River’s Edge, Repo Man, and Stop Making Sense have all survived the jokiness others have become subject to while remaining distinctly ’80s.

One of the problems with ’80s appreciation is that the decade has become a commodity in popular media. Certain television stations (ahem, VH1) have commodified the memes of the 1980s and represent it through excerpts, clips, and soundbites. So, what you get is a clichéd, watered-down, and revisionist version of the ’80s. For this series, we’ve tried to explore the way it really was—for better or worse, and completely uncut—during the “Me” Decade.

Dude, this is going to be awesome.

Michael Neault, Associate Programmer, Motion Picture Department

Thursday, September 6
Can’t Stop the Music (Nancy Walker, US 1980, 118 min.) Co-presented by ImageOut, the Rochester LGBT Film Festival.

Thursday, September 13
7 p.m. Graffiti Rock (Clark Santee, US 1984, 23 min.) and 8 p.m. Breakin’ II: Electric Boogaloo (Sam Firstenberg, US 1984, 94 min.) Co-presented by Fish & Crown Records (http://fishandcrown.com).

Thursday, September 20
Director Tim Hunter in Person!
River’s Edge (Tim Hunter, US 1986, 99 min.)

Saturday, September 29
Director Jeff Krulik in Person!
Krulik’s films including Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986, 16 min.), King of Porn (1996, 7 min.), I Created Lancelot Link (1999, 15 min.), Obsessed With Jews (2000, 8 min.), Harry Potter Parking Lot (2000, 7 min.), and Hitler’s Hat (2003, 47 min.) Special ticket pricing; no Take-10 tickets or passes. The Experimental Television Center’s Presentation Funds Program is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, a public agency.

Sunday, September 30
7 p.m. Repo Man (Alex Cox, US 1984, 92 min.) Co-presented by Manic Mondays ’80s Dance Party (http://www.myspace.com/manicmondays).

Thursday, October 4
7 p.m. Valley Girl (Martha Coolidge, US 1983, 95 min.) and 9 p.m. Night of the Comet (Thom Eberhart, US 1984, 95 min.) Co-presented by Godiva’s Vintage Clothing.

Thursday, October 11
BMX Bandits (Brian Trenchard-Smith, Australia 1983, 88 min. ) Co-presented by Coalition BMX (www.coalitionbmx.com).

Thursday, October 18
Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, US 1984, 88 min.) Co-presented by Thursday Night Shakedown. Talking Heads-themed dance party to follow at the Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Avenue, Rochester.

Thursday, October 25
Actor Pat Healy in Person!
“The Art of Shade Tippin’” lecture followed by They Live (John Carpenter, US 1988, 97 min.)

Saturday, October 27
8 p.m. Evil Dead II (Sam Raimi, US 1987, 85 min.) and 9:30 p.m. Return of the Living Dead (Dan O’Bannon, US 1985, 91 min.)

Sunday, October 28
7 p.m. Evil Dead II (Sam Raimi, US 1987, 85 min.) and 8:30 p.m. Return of the Living Dead (Dan O’Bannon, US 1985, 91 min.)

All films will be screened in the Dryden Theatre at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Admission is $6, $5 students, and $4 members.