You're listening to imaginary worlds, a show about how we create them and why we suspend or disbelief. I'm Eric Melinsky.

In my elementary school, every year the dedicated day to talk about nuclear war, that cancel classes, would watch a movie about

Hiroshima, and then we'd have breakout sessions with the teachers to talk about our fears.

And I remember in one of those sessions, this kid said, very matter of

faculty, none of us are going to live to see our high school graduation. Everyone was quiet,

even the teacher. The Cold War was so Everyone was the so hot that year

1984. How could it end any other way?

How could it end any other way?

1984 was the first way.

1984 was the first year. I became totally aware of what was going on in the world.

I went from 12 to 13, elementary school to junior high, and it was quite a year to have that kind of awareness.

I remember there was already a lot of anticipation going into 1984 because of the novel. People actually wondered if the novel would suddenly

come true or we'd realize that Big Brother had been on our walls all along. But instead of an Orwellian dystopia, we got a lot of fun stuff.

16 candles. Karate kid, Miami Vice, Purple Rain, Like a Virgin, born in the USA.

1984 was also a huge year for science fiction and fantasy,

from movies to TV shows, to novels, to comics, to video games. So we are kicking off a mini series

about different works of sci-fi and fantasy that made their debut 40 years ago

and they're still having an impact today.

And when I looked at the sci-fi and fantasy movies from 1984,

right away I noticed a murderer's row of villains. In fact, four movies caught my eye. These four films were

meant to be mainstream blockbusters, but they were also manifestations of

our collective anxieties.

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