Eleanor & Park: 80s Pop Culture

Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor & Park, intermixes lots of 80s culture in her writing of the YA novel.  Indie/Post-Punk/Alternative Rock bands like the Smiths, Husker Du, U2 are important to Park and Eleanor's relationship. Songs like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJRP3LRcUFg

They also bond over comics like X-men and Watchmen:




The importance of music and pop culture reminds me of how I bonded over music, favorite books, TV shows, and movies when I was in high school.  How about you?  What music was most important to you? Did your friends love that music as well? Did you often talk about your favorite shows or movies?

Why do you think Rowell includes so much of this in her novel?  Do you think Eleanor and Park's relationship develops pretty naturally? Is it believable to you? We'll be considering these questions and many more--this is such a rich book for discussion!  I look forward to our class discussions.