Sean Äaberg

THE GOBLIN NEWSLETTER 17

Added 2024-07-08 18:31:49 +0000 UTC

We watched the Goonies again at the Academy Theatre. Before we watched it, I asked myself why we keep watching certain movies. Is there a central message that bears repeating? Why do we like this movie so much? Skeletons? Astoria? Booby traps? The eighties? We were the same age as the kids were when this movie came out? So I went into the Goonies with that question in mind. Watching the Goonies it became clear to me that it’s like a Ramones album, but set in Oregon in the 80s instead of Queens in the 70s. The characters, the intentional vulgarity, the strange family that is built up & the general tone evoke the Ramones in a way that I feel stands far above Rock&Roll Highschool, the outsiders doing their best on their own terms with what they’ve got. There is a theme of misfits coming up against the odds & winning that strikes a deep chord in me. Even though I haven’t had that feeling of being a victim of circumstance in a long time (despite national circumstances), the fight for independence is constant & always changing. I also just like Astoria, which feels almost the same now as in 1985. You can even visit the jail in the beginning which is the Oregon Film Museum now, they have the Fratelli’s car parked in front. I also am an unashamed Corey Feldman booster. Mikey beats his asthma inhaler which I had a hard time breaking my addiction to as a kid. We aren’t going to find a pirate’s treasure & save the Goon docks from developers, but the fight is similar & constant.