'80s icons like Hulk Hogan are dying. Why it's affecting us so much

USA Today

2 days ago

It was supposed to be the decade that never ended.
But with the back-to-back-to-back deaths of 1980s icons Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan, it feels like Generation X is bidding a final farewell to the Decade of Decadence.
The losses are feeling particularly heavy for many people because these icons were products of 'the pop culture decade … a decade unlike any other,' said Chris Clews, keynote speaker, author and '80s pop culture expert.
The decade was marked by experimentation, innovation and an openness that made it possible for legendary artists to create entertainment that continues to influence pop culture today, he said. The decade was a 'glitter bomb' of 'awesome insanity' and 'larger-than-life characters.'
'They were able to flourish in that decade because there was just this incredible creativity that was happening and people were being who they really wanted to be almost for the first time,' said Clews, who wrote 'Raised on the '80s: 30+ Unexpected Life Lessons from the Movies and Music That Defined Pop Culture's Most Excellent Decade).'
Grief is different for everyone, and experts say mourning someone you didn't personally know − a phenomenon called collective or public grief − is a complicated, yet valid, experience.
"Collective and public grief, as I call it, is always unique in how we attach," David Kessler, grief expert and founder of Grief.com, previously told USA TODAY.
This form of grief can be further compounded when hearing unexpected news of the death of a beloved public figure.
It can feel unexpected because we tend to remember people as they were in their prime and compartmentalize them that way in our minds, Clews said. To him, Hogan will always be 'hulking up' during "Saturday Night's Main Event," and Osbourne will always be performing alongside the late, great guitarist Randy Rhoads.
'We think they're never going to die because we don't recognize they're aging,' he said. 'They were in their 20s and 30s and we kind of get stuck with thinking they're always going to be that age.'
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It's also how we tend to think about ourselves, Clews added. As he mourns for these pop culture icons, he also mourns his youth.
'With somebody like Hulk Hogan or Malcolm-Jamal Warner or Ozzy, I immediately go back to a moment in my youth where I remember seeing them or hearing them for the first time,' he said. 'And it suddenly makes me realize that was a long time ago.'
The '80s are having a rough week, Clews said. But he encourages his fellow Gen Xers to take advantage of modern streaming services and revisit some of their favorite movies or music from the decade.
'Be thankful you were here to see them and appreciate the people that have the incredible talent to inspire you, to entertain you and to bring you joy at times when you really need it because all three of them (Warner, Osbourne and Hogan) have done just that,' he said.
Adrianna Rodriguez is a Millennial (sadly) who can be reached at [e-mail].