Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Yavin4

(35,354 posts)
Sun Aug 30, 2020, 02:22 PM Aug 2020

HBO Max's documentary "Class Action Park" and American's pandemic response

Last night I caught HBO Max's documentary "Class Action Park". It's about a water theme park in New Jersey, called Action Park that opened in the 1980s. It was owned by a shady former Wall Street trader, and he operated it with virtually no safety rules or checks. He didn't even have insurance on the place. Multiple kids got injured on various rides, and there were even some deaths.

The documentary interviewed adults who were kids at the park during that time. The park was literally run by teenagers. Think of it as an 80s movie in real life. Many of the interviewees fondly remember the lack of rules, safety, and adult supervision. Kids were free to do whatever they wanted. Getting injured and scarred were signs of pride.

I was their age at the height of the park's popularity although I didn't live in NJ and never heard of the park until I saw the documentary. I do vividly recall that era and how kids were pretty much allowed to do whatever they wanted without adult supervision. The 80s were the time of Reagan and de-regulation.

That period has made a large imprint on our culture today. The 80s kids never really grew out of it. Recklessness and indifference to human suffering are common with this generation. Nothing can hurt me, and if you get hurt, suck it up. This explains why so many are repulsed by laws mandating wearing masks.

3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
HBO Max's documentary "Class Action Park" and American's pandemic response (Original Post) Yavin4 Aug 2020 OP
I hadn't looked at it from that angle...thanks for sharing! Karadeniz Aug 2020 #1
We used to call it accident park.nt Javaman Aug 2020 #2
Yup growing up in the 80's was pretty awesome ... mr_lebowski Aug 2020 #3
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»HBO Max's documentary "Cl...