Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed.

Computer hacking in ’80s movies was nonsensical but charming

The 1980s were the heyday of “computer movies,” from WarGames to Weird Science to Tron. Personal computing was ubiquitous, but still new enough to be used as an anything-goes plot tool without being as openly laughable as it is today (not that this stops modern screenwriters from computer magicking their way out of plot snarls, anyway). These beige boxes and their mystifying non-GUI interfaces can do anything!

Maybe it’s just nostalgia, but this admixture of wide-eyed wonder and infinite—however goofy—possibility about the power of computing is downright charming, this new supercut by Found Item Clothing shows.