Plutonia Publications Podcast · Alessandro Girola e Alberica Sveva Simeone

Speciale 40: Kids on bikes

·25 min·2 clips

How did suburban bike freedom and pre-console socialization create a film genre where kids face fantastic, oversized adventures?

The episode begins by defining the 'kids on bikes' genre as emerging from 1980s suburban America, where families moved to peripheries, granting kids bike mobility and freedom before video game consoles dominated socialization. Films like 'IT', 'The Goonies', and 'Explorers' featured pre-teen protagonists encountering oversized fantastic elements while adults were portrayed as problematic or divorced. The host notes that divorce without blame became common in the U.S. early 1980s, contributing to children's autonomy. He mentions other films incorporating genre elements, such as 'Red Dawn' and 'Gremlins', with the latter unintentionally changing the genre. A key turning point was Steven Spielberg's suggestion to the MPAA to introduce PG-13 ratings after controversies over violence in films like 'Gremlins' and 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'. Approved in 1984, PG-13 required films with child disobedience or danger to restrict under-13 audiences, forcing producers to feature older teen protagonists to attract viewers. This led to films like 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Back to the Future', effectively ending the classic 'kids on bikes' era. The host discusses later revivals such as 'Super 8' and 'Attack the Block', which adapted the genre to modern settings. He then shifts to personal reflection, recalling his own bike adventures in Milan's suburbs during the 1980s and 1990s, where he rode a blue bike until his early twenties for role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. He describes exploring abandoned houses and engaging in primitive airsoft-like activities, mirroring film adventures without supernatural elements. The host compares 1980s limited learning opportunities to today's digital threats and possibilities, questioning if smartphones cause kids to skip a naive imaginative phase. He acknowledges nostalgia might idealize past boredom, where books were companions, versus current constant connectivity. The episode concludes with a call for listener feedback and promotions for the podcast's website and books.

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