X-Entertainmenthttp://www.x-entertainment.com
The pop-culture cycle is very simple to decipher. Every 20 years, things come back into style. The '80s had the '60s, the '90s brought back the '70s, so simple math dictates the '00s recycle the decade of greed: the '80s. On the plus side, we don't have to deal with bell-bottoms or disco anymore. On the negative well, it's the '80s. Big hair, zippers and narcissism anyone? Fortunately, X-Entertainment understands this cycle is inevitable and does its best it to soften the impending culture shock. Run by a fella named Matt who seems to have stopped taking his meds a long time ago (or maybe upped his dosage), X-Entertainment has an almost fetish-like love for all things 1980-90. The essays are basically reviews of all the goofiness we went through, centering mostly on TV, commercials, movies and the rampant commercialism synonymous with the time. Each is written with a sarcastic bent that will allow you to understand just how low the entertainment had sunk. I give you Exhibit A: At this writing, the latest movie review is titled "Godzilla vs. Megalon — God himself couldn't save this one." Other popular topics include G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Transformers, and, of course, NES games. Ah, original Nintendo how we all knew and loved your 8-bit goodness. You've contributed more to shortening attention spans than Pixie Stix and Strawberry Quick combined. Kudos. And because X-Entertainment knows the average member of our illustrious society cannot go 38.6 seconds without some sort of visual stimulation, you get more than witty essays. You also get photo essays. Yep, stories told through pictures, mostly starring toys of questionable origin participating in escapades of dubious merit. And really, is there a better way to describe the "80s?
Go. Read, feel a little nostalgic and enjoy.
—Patrick J. Graney
This article appears in Feb 13-19, 2002.