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1980s

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades: 1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. It is the final decade of the Cold War, the conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, but the decade ends in Communism's timely collapse and the liberation of third world countries from despotism is one of history's most positive aspects from the 1980s.

Like the 1960s, the decade was an era of frantic change, characterised by political and economic decentralisation, especially in countries with mixed and command economies. Political events and trends of the 1980s culminated in the toppling of military governments and authoritarian regimes, and the downfall of the military juntas of Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. In most of the third world, the decade was characterized by debt crisis that began in 1982, with Mexico leading the developing world in poor economic health throughout the decade, and other third world powers like India began to experiment free market economics with comparably good results we see today.

The 1980s are also generally considered to be the transition between the industrial and information ages. The petroleum supply disruptions which had marked the 1970s were not repeated, and new oil-field discoveries boosted supply and helped keep energy prices relatively low in most places during the decade. The 1980s saw rapid developments in numerous sectors of technology which have defined the modern consumer world. Electronics such as personal computers, gaming systems, the first commercially available hand-held mobile phones, and new audio and data storage technologies such as the compact disc, are all still prominent well into the 2000s. On the strength of their high-technology industries, the Japanese economy soared to record highs in the 1980s, prompting many American companies to frantically study and adopt Japanese management practices.

The decade was one of contrasts. Whilst investors and executives bestrode the world's stock exchanges, social consciences were much in evidence: celebrities gathered to bring forth awareness of a new disease AIDS to global attention; to record major charity records and perform major charity concerts such as Live Aid; environmental concerns became ever more pressing in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster; the deployment of cruise missiles in Western Europe led to a resurgence of CND protests and marches and the start of the long vigil of the Greenham Common women in England; and political correctness became common verbal and ideological currency. Women entered the workplace in large numbers, the new wave of third world immigration, and African Americans enjoyed relative advances, but minority groups continued their struggle against discrimination).

In the United States, the decade was symbolized by the presidency of Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989 (termed "Reagan Years") as it epitomized the rise of conservatism as the dominant creed in American political and cultural life. This extended somewhat into the early 1990s, but the recession of the late '80s and early 1990s caused significant backlash against then-president George H.W. Bush and the Republican Party. Some historians may feel the 1980s' economic policy of "reaganomics" gave more power to corporate businesses, while it had decreased the country's working-class and worsened conditions in US inner-cities under the illegal drug epidemic and homelessness became a common sight on American streets.

Much of the 1980s was characterized by social conservatism throughout the world. This was due to the rise in cost of living in the wake of the oil shock of the previous decade, the influence of Reaganomics in the USA and Thatcherism in the UK, and the 80s 'debt crisis' of the third world. The era was characterized by a blend of conservative family values alongside a period of increased telecommunications and a shift towards liberal market economies and the new openness of perestroika and glasnost. The transitional passage also saw massive democratic revolutions like the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in China, the Czechoslovak velvet revolution, and the overthrow of the dictatorial regime in Romania and other communist Warsaw Pact states in Central and Eastern Europe. These changes continued to be felt in the 1990s and on into the 21st Century.

In the UK, this decade is often referred to as "the decade that taste (or style) forgot" due to the questionable fashion, hairstyles and music. Other nicknames include 'the Me Decade' and 'the Greed decade', reflecting the economic and social climate. In the US, "yuppie" entered the lexicon for the 1980's well-publicized rise of a new middle class, yet are in the upper economic strata. Yuppies are affluent college graduates in their late 20's/30's entered the workplace in prestigious office professions, and had more purchasing power in trendy, luxurious goods. Although most yuppies are political and economic conservative, the 1980's was a time of social and cultural liberalism, to ultimately change the American character.

Contents

Bookending events

Significant events that occurred around 1980 which would influence the course of history and character of the decade, include:

Significant events that marked the passing of the decade include:

  • The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
  • The Tiananmen Square Massacre brought world popular opinion against communist China in June 1989.
  • The release of Nelson Mandela from prison in February 1990 ushered in the fall of Apartheid.
  • The US army invasion of Panama on December 1989.
  • The Gulf War when Iraq invades Kuwait in August 1990.

Notes

Margaret Thatcher's reign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom encompassed the entire period, from 1979 to 1990. Ronald Reagan's presidency lasted from 1981, a year after the decade began, to 1989, a year before the decade ended.

Technology

IBM PC.
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IBM PC.
Mir.
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Mir.
  • Bulletin board system popularity.
  • Compact discs are introduced in 1983.
  • Popularization of personal computers, Walkmans, VHS videocassette recorders, and cassette players.
  • IBM PC, the predecessor of modern PC computers, was introduced in 1981. Other significant home computers include Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, BBC Micro and Apple Macintosh.
  • Home video games become enormously popular, most notably Atari until the market crashes in 1983; the rise of the NES and the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis brings about full recovery. Handheld consoles are introduced in the late 1980s.
  • The first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1, aboard USS Columbia launched in 1981.
  • Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.
  • The Soviet Union launches the space station Mir in 1986.
  • Interest in space exploration wanes as the space shuttle takes precedence. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 pass Saturn in 1980 and 1981 respectively. Voyager 2 goes on to give the first up-close looks at Uranus (1986) and Neptune (1989). Japan and Europe have their first ventures into interplanetary exploration with the launches of Giotto, Sakigake, and others in the "Halley Armada".
  • Apple Macintosh, first commercially successful graphical user interface, is released in 1984.
  • Accident at Chernobyl nuclear reactor, April 1986, the world's worst nuclear accident to date.
  • Framework (office suite) launched.
  • In England, Sir Clive Sinclair introduces the environmentally friendly but short-lived C5 car in 1985.
  • Microsoft releases the first versions of Windows
  • First commercial hand-held mobile phone - Motorola DynaTAC 8000X (1983).
  • New digital technology contributes to the popularity of synthesizers in electronic music, and in popular music in general.

Science

  • AIDS first announced to global conscience in June 1981, first detected in a group of American gay men, but turned into a pandemic by 1985-1986.
  • Discovery of the W and Z bosons at CERN.
  • Development of the scanning tunneling microscope by Colin Mullins and Heinrich Rohrer.
  • Discovery of the Carbon allotrope fullerene, also known as buckyballs.
  • Geneticist Dr Alec Jeffreys develops DNA fingerprinting, which will be of immense impact on crime-fighting.
  • American chemist Kary Mullis discovers polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which will become the basis of genetic fingerprinting and one of the key tools for all sorts of work with genetics.

War and politics

Berlin Wall.
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Berlin Wall.
  • Cold War peaks; fall of the Iron Curtain. Roughly defined as Communism versus Capitalism, or USA versus USSR (via proxy war in communist countries.)
    • Jimmy Carter announces a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow; most Eastern Bloc countries boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when the US olympic team dominated the most medal wins.
    • Solidarity movement in Poland launched in 1981. It eventually topples the country's Communist regime.
    • Ronald Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative, derided as "Star Wars." Deploys Pershing missiles in Western Europe to counter the Soviet SS-20, to some protests, especially by anti-war and anti-nuclear activists in western Europe in 1983-1987.
    • Three Soviet Premiers die in rapid succession: Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, and Konstantin Chernenko; they are followed by Mikhail Gorbachev in November 1985, after three years of uncertainty.
    • American schoolgirl Samantha Smith visits Russia after writing to Yuri Andropov and becomes involved in the growing peace movement between East and West before her death in 1985.
    • Gorbachev introduces Glasnost and Perestroika in the Soviet Union in 1986-1989 to eventually reform communism.
    • Fall of the Berlin Wall in East Germany in 1989, the event enabled German reunification the following year.
    • Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia.
    • Revolution in Romania; president Nicolae Ceauşescu is executed by firing squad.
    • Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi tackles with a growing Sikh insurgency and the Khalistan movement. She orders Operation Blue Star on the holy Golden Temple. She is assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, civil war nearly erupts between Sikhs and the country.
    • In 1989, students protest in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China and are eventually suppressed.
    • Soviet fighters down the civilian Korean Air Flight 007 in 1983, leading to a high point in international tensions.
    • Ronald Reagan decides to invade Grenada in 1983 and depose the nascent hard-line communist government.
    • The United States launches a covert war against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua and is condemned by the World Court for mining Nicaragua's harbour, an authority and judgment the U.S. administration did not recognize.
    • The Reagan Doctrine implements support for anti-communist or anti-Soviet insurgencies most notably in Nicaragua, Angola, Cambodia, and Afghanistan (and, for related reasons, support for major anti-communist efforts by the government of El Salvador against insurgents in that country). This leads to continued civil war, the deposition of several regimes, some democratization, and the Iran-Contra scandal. Declassified documents indicate the Central Intelligence Agency's role in each conflict.
    • El Salvador suffers a 12-year civil war between the conservative government—aided heavily by the United States—and the leftist coalition of the FMLN. This period includes the El Mozote Massacre, in which some 900 civilians were killed, and the assassinations of Archbishop Óscar Romero and Herbert Ernesto Anaya, head of the Salvadoran Human Rights Commission.
    • President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia dies on March 4, 1980.
    • Over 120,000 flee Cuba in 1980 during the Mariel Boatlift.
  • An international human rights summit agreed to outlaw any use of torture and false imprisonment was ratified by over 120 countries, although unclear if the United States took part, in 1987.
  • The continued rise of Islamic Fundamentalism following the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini rules for a decade until his death in June 1989.
    • The Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988 causes an estimated 1 million deaths, while the US quietly took sides with Iraq under dictator Saddam Hussein, because of US opposition to Iran under Khomeini.
    • Israel invades Lebanon in 1982; Israel drops bombs in Iraq in 1982 to destroy their chemical and nuclear weapons programs. A suicide bomber kills 241 U.S. marines stationed there as peacekeepers.
    • In 1985, a radical PLO offshoot called the Palestine Liberation Front hijacks the Achille Lauro, a cruise ship, and shoots the wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer, throwing him overboard.
    • Middle-eastern terrorist groups such as Abu Nidal's Black September and Hezbollah rise to prominence in Western attention.
    • The release of Americans held hostage in Iran occurs on January 20, 1981, the same day Ronald Reagan is sworn in as the president of the United States, as his negotiations with hostage leaders in the term's first hours.
    • In 1988, Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa urging the killing of author Salman Rushdie, whose book The Satanic Verses incensed hard-line muslims in many countries.
    • Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland, UK. Two Libyan nationals indicted by a special court representing the UK but held in the Netherlands are finally extradited by Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2003.
  • Several military dictatorships fell or faced destabilization attempts
    • Large protests in the Philippines topples the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship-1986; military rule ends after protests in Argentina-1983, in South Korea-1987 and in Peru in early 1990.
    • Under George H. W. Bush, the U.S. DEA and regular army invade Panama in 1989 to overthrow Manuel Noriega.
    • The Reagan administration bombs Libya in 1986 in response to alleged Libyan support for attacks on U.S. servicemen in Europe. One of the casualties is Gaddafi's adopted infant daughter.
    • King Juan Carlos of Spain prevents a military coup in 1981. Spain joined NATO in 1982; it joined the European Union with Portugal in 1986.
    • In Chile, dictator Augusto Pinochet forms a new constitution, holds a referendum on rule and loses. Democracy is restored by 1989 and a civilian president took office in March 1990.
    • Margaret Thatcher and Thatcherism dominate British politics.
    • The "Reagan Revolution", beginning with the election of 1980, introduces so-called neoconservatives to Washington.
    • In 1981, François Mitterrand becomes France's President, the most politically successful Socialist in French history, but his 14-year rule ends in 1995.
    • Helmut Kohl is elected in West Germany in 1982, leading to the defeat of the anti-deployment movement; in the 1990s he becomes the longest serving Chancellor of Germany so far (Kohl's rule expired in 1994).
    • The Falklands War is waged; Argentina invades and occupies the Falkland islands in 1982 but is subsequently defeated by the United Kingdom.
    • P.W. Botha suppresses anti-apartheid activists; international boycotts of South Africa continue, but reforms arrived in January 1990.
    • The Soviet Union ends its disastrous military campaign in Afghanistan by July 1988.
    • Vietnam continues its military occupation of Cambodia by March 1989, democracy slowly returns to Cambodia in 1990-1991.
    • Former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim is exposed as a former Nazi.
    • In Europe, especially in 1989 rise of alleged neo-fascist parties, such as (Le Pen in France, Schönhuber/Republikaner in Germany, Haider in Austria), parallel to a rise of Green parties and liberal anti-racist activism, such as SOS Racisme in France. "Skinhead" white racist gangs emerged in the UK and North America as well to target racial minorities, homosexuals, liberals and immigrants.
    • Dark years for Malta and its politics. Violence culminates after the murder of Raymond Caruana and restricted entry to Nationalist supporters into the southern village of Zejtun.
    • Sicily, Italy swept by mafia violence in the mid-1980s and Italian police steps in to curtail the power of organized crime by 1993.
    • The Rainbow Warrior is sunk by French secret service agents.
    • The Samuel Doe regime takes power in Liberia- 1980.
    • IRA factions and terrorism continued in Northern Ireland.

Economics

  • In developing countries the decade was charactized by a debt crisis of enormous magnitude that began in 1982 when Mexico declared that it cannot pay back its debts. Structural adjustment programs, driven by World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, were another essential feature to developing countries, some are quite severe. Mexican and other third world immigration into the US grew in the 1980s as a result.
Dow Jones (19 July 1987 through 19 January 1988).
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Dow Jones (19 July 1987 through 19 January 1988).
  • Reaganomics, Thatcherism, and Rogernomics. Only parts of the US economy grew from these newly-implanted economic policies had radically reshaped the way big business is done.
  • Gordon Gecko, the fictious villainous character on the 1986 comedy movie Wall Street has unfortunately became the icon of 1980's economic executives in a more deregulated corporate US economy.
  • In the United States the longest bull market in history begins in 1983; Dow Jones Industrial Average passes 2000 point milestone January 8, 1987, but started to slow and decline in the late 1980s.
  • OPEC controls slip; petroleum prices collapse below $10 per barrel by mid-1986, devastating oil-producing nations such as Mexico and Venezuela, but American consumers admired the $1 a gallon average price in the late 1980's, but increased after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
  • U.S. Midwest Farm Crisis 1981–1985, especially affected the Midwest US and Southeast US regions.
  • U.S. "rust belt" industrial cities are impacted by the fall of manufacturing demand, as thousands of factories and plants closed for good or shipped workers' jobs overseas to countries with lower business costs.
  • California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Texas are the top five economic boom states in the 1980's, but California will be rocked by high state business taxes, the closure of vital aerospace and aviation plants and stagnant economic growth from 1988 to 1995.
  • East Asian Tigers' share of world trade rises significantly, with China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan leading the way.
  • U.S. balance of trade falls into chronic deficit; populists criticize trade relations with Japan, which became a gigantic rival in global economic power.
  • Stockmarkets across the world crash on Black Monday, October 19, 1987. The New York Stock Exchange suffers its largest one-day stock market drop in history. Not as harsh stock market drops have been called Black Tuesday and Black Thursday.
  • Late 1980s recession, continued onto the early 1990's. It wasn't as severe like the early 1980's recession that began in the mid-1970s. In the US and Europe, unemployment claims and poverty rates jumped.

Political correctness and trends

  • Political correctness becomes a concern in mainstream politics.
  • American Conservatism peaked in 1984, but nearly declines in 1990.
  • Social attitudes of the White American majority on African Americans eased and became more tolerant of people of color. This goes to every other ethnic, racial and national minority, probably the majority of people are baby boomers who changed these attitudes. The 1980s is a time when bigotry was passe and prejudice lost moral acceptance, and multi-culturalism became popularized.
  • The rise of right-wing talk radio began by Rush Limbaugh from his flagship station, WABC in New York City in 1986, before he became nationally syndicated by 1989. Limbaugh and other conservative talk shows changed much of public opinion on divisive national politics to this day.
  • Gay issues rise to public awareness through the tabloid talk show genre popularized by Oprah Winfrey which gave gays, bisexuals, and transvestites an unprecedented degree of high impact media visibility, the Bowers v. Hardwick Supreme Court decision, gender bending perceptions of Boy George, George Michael and Prince, as well as the increased consciousness of the AIDS epidemic and its perception as a "gay disease."
  • A much remarked upon new trend in the 1980s in Britain was openly gay pop stars such as Boy George, Dead Or Alive and the Pet Shop Boys.
  • Women's Liberation movement increases women's role in the workplace, and establishes new precedents for US women. As a carry-over from the 1970s, more and more women take to calling themselves "Ms." versus "Mrs." or "Miss." The same occurs in Germany, with women choosing "Frau" instead of "Fraulein" in an effort to remove marital status from title. In most western countries, women had the option to keep their maiden name after marriage, like Canada, where the law no longer automatically changes women's last names unlike in the US.
  • Child abuse gained public attention, as much child molestation had concerned parents and teachers ("Don't talk to strangers" took a serious tone than ever), and social welfare for handicapped children, no longer forced into obscurity, teasing or mental institutions.
  • No-Fault divorce laws pave the way for increased divorce rate, as depicted in the movie, Irreconcilable Differences and divorce is now widely acceptable in western countries, but then some "family values" conservatives objected to divorce among other moral and cultural issues.
  • National safety campaign to increase seat belt use to save lives in automobile accidents, became popular and mandatory in most US states and countries by 1990. Similar efforts to push child safety seats and bike helmet use, mandatory in a number of US states and some countries.
  • Alcohol education and drug education expands; examples are M.A.D.D., Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign and D.A.R.E.. By 1990, every state in the US officially declares the drinking age 21, the only country to ever do so, but critics blame American moralism against young people in parties for the legislative action other than to curtain drunk driving accidents.
  • More Americans rejected smoking, perceived as unhealthy and deadly than in previous decades, after the 1984 reconfirmation by the US Surgeon General reinstates the 1964 warning of cigarettes. "Smoking" and "non-smoking" sections in American restaurants are common, state efforts to combat underage smoking gets tough such as enacting bans of cigarette sales to minors under age 18, and most pregnant women began to shun smoking in order not to harm their developing fetus/unborn baby.
  • Opposition to nuclear power plants further grows, especially after the catastrophic 1986 Chernobyl accident in the Ukraine, USSR sent a cloud of radiation fallout across most of Eastern Europe, and the 1988 US government inspection of nuclear power facilities.
  • Environmental concerns are growing. In the United Kingdom environmentally-friendly domestic products surge in popularity. Western European countries adapted "greener" policies to cut back on oil use, recycling most of the nations' trash, and more conservation efforts of energy and water sources. The "Eco-activist" trend reached the US in the late 1980's.

Popular culture

  • In the early 1980s, the first generation of computer graphics in arcade games produce the popular Space Invaders arcade game (technically, Space Invaders came out in 1978), followed by Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Frogger. Towards the end of the decade, home video game consoles begin to outstrip the arcade game. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) debuts in America by 1985 has accelerated public interest in video games after a brief decline.
  • Computer technology culture starts to enter the mainstream and appears in movies such as 1982's Tron and 1983's WarGames with the then-state of the art special effects continually changed movies.
  • The Rubik's Cube, Cabbage Patch Kids, "Baby on Board" signs hung in car (usually minivan) windows, Teddy Ruxpin, and Trivial Pursuit fads capture the interest of the American and British public.
    Rubik's Cube.
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    Rubik's Cube.
  • The Karate Kid becomes a blockbuster hit. Ninja and martial arts mania sweeps North America due to the popularity of Kung Fu Theater and Ninja Movies. The cartoon characters Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles become very popular and widely mass-marketed. The emergence of self-styled martial arts experts gives rise to the so-called "McDojo" and "Bullshido" trends.
  • "Cool shades" or sunglasses became popular "must-wear", so did Nike sneakers, men's shorts and other athletic wear like sweats and jerseys for an active generation of young people.
  • Aerobics is huge. The fad reaches across exercise videos, fashion, and music trends as seen in Olivia Newton-John's music video (Let's Get) Physical, the 1983 movie Flashdance that inspired legwarmers as a fashion trend and the popular Jane Fonda workout videos.
  • Americans are more health-conscious and seek lighter alternatives: "Lose weight", "Low-Cal", "Low-Salt", "Sugar-free", "No cholesterol", and any food, but later meant every product had a title end in "Lite" (from the top-selling beer Miller [[Lite]] first sold in 1980), are the decade's catch words of a culture seeks to keep it "lite" or as they said "lighten up".
  • Australian pop culture introduces new trends in the US throughout the 1980s: celebrities (Olivia Newton-John and Yahoo Serious), music (INXS and Men at Work), movies (Crocodile Dundee), fashion (Roos shoe brand and Koala Blue chain) and tastes ("shrimp on the barbies" with Foster's Lager) to enhance the continent's cultural image.
  • Rap music begins to break into the mainstream and a string of breakdancing movies appeared Beat Street, Breakin', and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (the latter two of which were released the same year in an effort to capitalize on the breakdancing craze); the must-have accessory here was the boom box. Breakdance battles showed up as an alternative to gang fights and were popular in music videos, such as Michael Jackson's Beat It. By the conclusion of the decade, breakdancing had fallen so far out of favor that it was relegated to joke status. However, it enjoyed an underground resurgence in the early 2000s.
  • In the US, Spanish-language television and radio stations build two major networks (Univision-1985 and Telemundo-1986) to carry shows and music to the US Latino audience, believed to been left out of the mainstream media at the time.

Fashions

See also: 1980s fashion
  • Dance clothing - Inspired by the 1980 movie Fame and the 1983 movie Flashdance. The dance clothing trends included ripped sweatshirts, legwarmers, and headbands.
  • New Wave fashion - Early New Wave fashion trendsetters such as Blondie inspired the two-tone hair style with an emphasis on black and white clothing.
  • Power Dressing was a major fashion statement of the decade, characterised by the use of increasingly large shoulder pads - the origins of this trend are often attributed to the American television series Dynasty and, specifically to one of its stars - English-born Joan Collins, who caused quite a stir as the scheming character Alexis Carrington.
  • Name brands such as Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren.
  • Pop stars of the era such as Duran Duran and television shows like Miami Vice brought the pastel suit trend to the male fashion world, often accompanied by "designer stubble" and blonde highlights.
  • For the first generation of MTV video artists, fashion was an important component of the visual pop star package. Artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson inspired their own fashion trends.
  • Through much of the 1980s, hair became very big and poofy. The permanent wave, blonde highlights for men and the mullet were all very big. The Jheri curl becomes an African American hairstyle popularized by entertainers such as Michael Jackson and El Debarge.
  • Ray Ban sunglasses were very popular. First the Wayfarer style, as worn by Tom Cruise in the film Risky Business, then the Aviator style, as worn by Tom Cruise in the 1986 movie Top Gun.
  • Swatch watches were new trendy, popular watches.
  • High-tech, high-priced athletic shoes made a splash, including Reebok Freestyle and the first Air Jordan.
  • Stone-wash and acid-wash jeans.
  • Parachute pants a la MC Hammer.

Music

See also: Timeline of trends in music (1980-1989)
  • In the United States, MTV is launched and music videos begin to have a huge effect on the record industry. Early eighties groups such as Devo and Haircut 100 are pioneers. Pop artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson master the format and turn it into big business.
  • The sounds of new technology, synthesizers and electronic keyboards, along with drum machines, lend an electronic, distinct sound to most 1980s records.
  • New Wave music, or Synthpop, a form of synthesized pop-rock, is popular throughout decade, especially the early eighties.
  • Rap music, began in ghettos by African American youths debuts in the pop cultural scene as early as 1979, by the Sugar Hill Gang's single release Rapper's Delight. In 1988, MTV picked up rap music videos by a one-hour format "YO, MTV Raps!" to a racially diverse audience.
  • The Hip hop scene evolves to become a powerful musical force, bringing with it several dance styles. Hip hop also brings artists like Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow and N.W.A. to the forefront; hip hop's spread outside of New York City, especially to Los Angeles, accelerates and then by 1990, takes off beyond America's shores.
  • Top-charting artists of the 1980s include The Police, Pat Benatar, Lionel Richie, The Go-Go's, Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Van Halen, Foreigner, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis and the News, Juice Newton, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, Queen, U2, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Cher, Rick Springfield, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Olivia Newton-John, Prince, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Beastie Boys, Amy Grant, Laura Branigan and Bon Jovi.
  • Massive sales for Ethiopian famine relief records by Band Aid ("Do They Know It's Christmas?") and USA for Africa ("We Are the World"), followed by Live Aid famine relief concert in London and Philadelphia. Other artists push for nuclear disarmament, racial harmony (Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney in a 1981 duet release: Ebony and Ivory), and AIDS awareness.
  • American singer Prince, French band Indochine ("3e sexe"), Canadian singer Norman Iceberg ("Be My Human Tonight"), Spanish band Mecano ("Mujer Contra Mujer") were all part of a huge new worldwide movement of artists who wrote innovative lyrics sometimes with sexual innuendos that reflected the then popular and highly fashionable androgynous style.
  • In the US, contemporary Christian music gains popularity in the mid-80s with such crossover artists as Amy Grant, Kathy Troccoli, BeBe and CeCe Winans and Michael W. Smith.
  • Hard Rock became extremely popular in 1980s, and became one of the most dominating music genres of the 1980s. Artists such as Van Halen, Twisted Sister, Aerosmith, Poison, Ratt, Skid Row (heavy metal band), Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, and AC/DC got extensive airplay.
  • Thrash metal becomes underground sensation originating in the Bay Area, California. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer become popular, and are frequently seen as the alternatives to the poppier metal bands.
  • House music - a new development in dance music mid-way through the decade, growing out of the post-disco scene early in the decade, later developing into acid house - a harder form of dance often associated with the developing late 1980s drug culture.
  • Indie Rock is born, with bands such as The Smiths, Sonic Youth and Pixies as pioneers.
  • And as music becomes more commercial, thousands of new bands form all over the country and spring up in opposition by making music faster, louder, harder and injecting a larger amount of political and social awareness into the lyrics. Known as Hardcore punk, it would go on to influence and create other musical genres well into the 21st century. Popular bands included Dead Kennedys in San Francisco, Minor Threat in Washington DC, Black Flag in Los Angeles and Reagan Youth in New York.
  • El General records first album and reggaeton is born in Panama.

Television

  • The Oprah Winfrey Show hits the national scene shattering 20th century taboos and creating confession culture. According to a Yale study, the tabloid talk show genre popularized by Oprah Winfrey's success provided much needed high impact media visibility for gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, and transgender people and allows them to enter the mainstream culture.[1]
  • Wayne and Victoria Chew were married live on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 1985 broadcast on ABC Television worldwide from Times Square, New York. One of the most widely viewed non-celebrity weddings in television history. Chew family updates and appearances on Clark's show, and ABC's GMA have followed the televised wedding. Wayne Chew is currently working on various entertainment projects and Victoria is employed as a medical accounting specialist. They have been married over twenty years.
  • Television networks are challenged by cable television. In the U.S., Cheers and The Cosby Show and Family Ties take top ratings on Thursday nights and the Fox network is launched. CNN becomes the first 24-hour news channel. The growth of cable television with hundreds of new cable networks of a certain field or interest, like The weather channel debuts in 1982, gave a whole new medium for television.
  • Two U.S. ratings giants of primetime, Dynasty and The Golden Girls, feature either regular or recurring gay characters throughout their long runs, leaving the door wide open for sustained gay characters on television.
  • UK soap operas Brookside and EastEnders feature regular gay characters.
  • He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the first animated children's television program built exclusively around a toyline, starts a new trend of increasing the connection between children's programming and toy advertising, alarming many parents and watchdog organizations; an explosive number of toy tie-in cartoons follow, most notably (for the era) Transformers, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and Dino-Riders.
  • Animation in the United States and elsewhere begins a dramatic comeback in production values and mainstream popular appeal both in feature films and on television. Star Blazers, Voltron, and Robotech helped develop the first wave of organized anime fandom in North America.
  • Soap operas gain popularity among high-schoolers and college students in the United States, thanks in part to the supercoupling of Luke and Laura on the most popular soap of the day, General Hospital.
  • MTV and MuchMusic break out, influencing pop culture. Both play music videos 24 hours a day, with no commercials and very few breaks.
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation debuts in syndication in 1987. Widely regarded as one of the best shows in the Star Trek series.
  • In the United Kingdom, the Sky Television plc satellite service is launched in 1989.
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000 debuts on the Minneapolis UHF station KTMA in 1988; the following year it's picked up by the fledgling Comedy Channel, which later became Comedy Central.
  • The Simpsons debuts on Fox on December 17, 1989.
  • On February 1, 1982, David Letterman becomes the host of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman, which will remain on the air until 1993, when Letterman leaves for CBS.
  • On December 6, 1989, the once extremely successful and popular British science fiction series Doctor Who comes to an end after more than 26 years and 703 episodes.
  • The #1 shows on American network television throughout the decade:

Film

The Terminator 1984, one the most successful films of 1980s
Enlarge
The Terminator 1984, one the most successful films of 1980s
  • Ghostbusters, in 1984 and directed by Ivan Reitman, captured the imagination of all the world, followed by Ghostbusters II in 1989.
  • The original Star Wars trilogy is concluded with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
  • Science fiction becomes popular following from the success of Star Wars, best exemplified by Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) which shatters records for box office gross receipts, becoming the decade's biggest earner both in America and Britain. Many other sci-fi films are made such as Blade Runner, Aliens, Tron and The Terminator.
  • Special effects become more sophisitcated and advanced with films like Tron, Predator and The Abyss, paving the way for the realistic effects-led films of the 1990s.
  • Movies reach a high; the big horror franchises that existed for most (or all) of the 80s were the Friday the 13th movies, the Nightmare on Elm Street series and the Halloween series. Others include the Hellraiser films, Poltergeist and Evil Dead series', The Lost Boys, The Fly and The Thing.
  • Back to the Future opens in 1985, followed by Back to the Future II in 1989.
  • There are several high-profile commercial flops during the decade such as Howard the Duck, Ishtar, Dune, Revolution, Inchon and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. The most famous is Heaven's Gate which cost $44 million yet only grossed $3.4 million, leading the studio United Artists into bankruptcy.
  • Movie sequels were very common.
  • Action movies, present since the 1950s, were being produced en masse, where actors like Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger were pioneers. Among the most famous action movies were Rambo series, Robocop, Predator, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Escape From New York and Commando.
  • Teen films are very popular, most notably those of John Hughes who, with the so-called "Brat Pack", made such decade-defining films as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Uncle Buck. Other teen films of the decade include The Sure Thing, St. Elmo's Fire, Risky Business, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Heathers, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Rumble Fish. In addition, teen sex comedies begin to be made, most notably Porky's and the Lemon Popsicle series.
  • The success of The Little Mermaid in 1989 heralds a renaissance for Disney and animated films after a string of commercial failures.
  • Several films examining America's role in the Vietnam war are made, most notably Platoon (1986), as well as Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, Good Morning Vietnam (all 1987), Born on the Fourth of July and Casualties of War (both 1989). The Rambo series takes a more visceral look at the effects of the war.
  • There are many music/dance films released, notably Fame, Flashdance, Footloose and Dirty Dancing. Several breakdancing films are also made such as Body Rock, Beat Street, Breakin' and its sequel Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.
  • There is much controversy generated by the colourisation of old black and white films.
  • Ronald Reagan becomes the first former actor to become the American president; he frequently makes references to films such as Back to the Future and Rambo.
  • There is an emphasis on producing mass-market blockbusters in place of the more director-led system of the 1970s. The term 'High Concept' describes a trend whereby a film can be summed up in a single sentence.
  • Tie-in merchandise becomes very common following the success of Star Wars tie-in products.
  • Video cassettes are very popular. There is a videotape format war between VHS and Betamax during the decade, with VHS winning despite been seen as offering poorer quality recordings. Video renting is also very popular, with the first Blockbuster opening in 1985.
  • In Britain there is concern over the violent content of the so-called 'video nasties'. This leads to the introduction of the Video Recordings Act 1984, which banned films such as The Driller Killer, I Spit On Your Grave and Cannibal Holocaust. Similarly, many claimed that the Hungerford massacre had been inspired by violent films.
  • The Sundance Institute is set up in 1981 to help independent film-makers gain professional contacts and experience. The first Sundance Film Festival is held in 1986. The cross-over success of the film sex, lies and videotape in 1989 paves the way for the independent film boom in the 90s.
  • In 1989 Batman becomes the first film to break the $100 million mark in its first 10 days, thanks largely to a huge advertising campaign; in Britain Batman is the first to receive a 12 certificate.
  • Return of the Jedi is the first film to use the THX sound system.
  • In America Red Dawn becomes the first film released with a PG-13 rating.

Video games

  • Video games become popular, along with video arcades. Although graphics are incredibly primitive by 2000s and even 1990s standards, they would improve much during the latter part of the decade.
  • Space Invaders, invented in Japan in 1978 and first previewed at a UK trade show in 1979, makes a huge impact on the early 80s gaming scene.
  • Pac-Man fever craze early in the decade, especially around 1982-1983
  • Super Mario Bros. games become popular starting in 1986 and continue to be popular today.
  • Atari fails to institute proper quality controls on the software for its popular Video Computer System game console (known for much of the decade as the Atari 2600)- the glut of terrible software causes a massive collapse of the home console industry. Nintendo's Famicom/NES console release rectifies this problem by only being able to play games personally approved by the company, and revives home gaming. PC Engine and Sega Mega Drive were next generation game consoles that were released during the last years of the decade.
  • Home computers became popular in 1980s and during that decade they were mostly used for gaming. These days prevailing IBM PC standard was born in 1981 but had a status of non-entertainment computer throughout the decade. Along with IBM PC computers, Commodore 64, released in 1982, was the most popular 8-bit generation home computer and its follower, Amiga (1985), was the most popular 16-bit home computer.

Others

  • AIDS is identified and named.
  • Assassination of John Lennon and Olof Palme, attempts on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.
  • Research increases on alcohol and weight.
  • Remove Intoxicated Drivers grows rapidly.
  • Crack Cocaine epidemic in urban areas, resulting in violent crime and drug trafficking soaring to record levels in most large American cities. Crime and drug use rates begin to fall toward the end of the decade.
  • Riots in the mostly black poor section of Miami in May 1980 and January 1989.
  • The May 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption in Washington, US is one of the biggest volcanic events ever recorded. 65 killed, massive mudflows to the west and ashfall to the east (in Yakima, Washington and Spokane, Washington).
  • The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake strikes the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1989 World Series gained worldwide attention. 72 people killed, thousands injured, major structural damage on freeways and buildings, broken gas-line fires in San Francisco, and $10 billion in damage costs.
  • Natural disasters: The 1982-1983 El Nino brought destructive weather in most of the world, the 1985 Mexico earthquake registered 8.1 on the richter scale devastates Mexico City and throughout central Mexico, The 1985 Nevado del Ruiz mudslide in Colombia, the 1986 Lake Nyos toxic cloud in Cameroon and the 1988 Armenian earthquake rocked the Caucasus region of the USSR.

People

Entertainers

  • Run-DMC (musicians, Raising Hell)
  • King Diamond (musicians, Them)
  • Corrosion Of Conformity (musicians, Eye For An Eye)
  • Paula Abdul (musician, Forever Your Girl)
  • Tiffany (singer) (musician, Tiffany (album))
  • AC/DC (music band, Back in Black, For Those About to Rock We Salute You, Who Made Who, Blow Up Your Video)
  • Aerosmith (music band, Done With Mirrors, Permanent Vacation, Pump)
  • A-ha (musician band, Take On Me,The Sun Always Shines On TV)
  • Brat Pack (actors)
  • Journey (music band, Escape, Frontiers, Raised on Radio)
  • Bon Jovi (music band, Bon Jovi, 7800 Fahrenheit, Slippery When Wet, New Jersey)
  • Mötley Crüe (music band, Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain, Girls, Girls, Girls, Dr. Feelgood (album))
  • Poison (music band, Look What the Cat Dragged In, Open Up and Say...Ahh!)
  • Amy Grant (musician)
  • Cliff Richard (musician, Dreamin',Daddy's Home,Carrie,Wired of Sound)
  • David Brooks (country singer)
  • Darryl Hall and John Oates (pop singers)
  • Eazy-E (rap singer)
  • Garth Brooks (musician)
  • The Cars (music band)
  • Phoebe Cates (actress, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Gremlins)
  • David Cronenberg (director)
  • Genesis (music band)
  • Guns N' Roses (music band, Appetite for Destruction, G N' R Lies)
  • Tom Cruise (actor, Top Gun, Rain Man, Risky Business, The Color of Money)
  • Bo Derek (actress)
  • Matt Dillon (actor)
  • Dalida
  • David Bowie (musician, Let's Dance)
  • Depeche Mode (music band)
  • Duran Duran (music band, Duran Duran, Rio, Seven And The Ragged Tiger, Notorious, Big Thing)
  • Ozzy Osbourne (musician, Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman, Bark at the Moon, The Ultimate Sin, No Rest for the Wicked)
  • Emilio Estevez (actor, The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, Young Guns)
  • Molly Ringwald (actress, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink)
  • Matthew Broderick (actor, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Glory)
  • Anthony Michael Hall (actor, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science)
  • Andrew McCarthy (actor, St. Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink)
  • Harrison Ford (actor, Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series, Blade Runner, Witness)
  • Jodie Foster (actress, The Accused)
  • Iron Maiden (music band)
  • INXS (music band, The Swing, Kick)
  • Max Headroom (fictious character lives inside a TV set)
  • Nena (German singer 99 Luftwaffe Balloons)
  • New Order (music band)
  • NWA (rap music group, Straight Outta Compton, Fuck the Police)
  • Michael J. Fox (actor, Back to the Future series, Teen Wolf)
  • Mel Gibson (actor, Lethal Weapon series, Mad Max series)
  • Whoopi Goldberg (actress, The Color Purple, Jumpin' Jack Flash)
  • Debbie Harry (musician from Blondie)
  • Paul Hogan (actor, Crocodile Dundee)
  • John Hughes (film director)
  • Chrissie Hynde (musician from Pretenders)
  • Michael Jackson (musician, Thriller, Bad)
  • Janet Jackson (musician, Control, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814)
  • Elton John (musician)
  • Olivia Newton-John (pop singer)
  • Michael Keaton (actor, Batman, Mr. Mom, Night Shift)
  • Spike Lee (director)
  • Annie Lennox (singer from Eurythmics)
  • George Lucas (film director, Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series, Captain Eo)
  • David Lynch (director)
  • Madonna (musician, also known as Material Girl)
  • Slayer (music band)
  • Metallica (music band, Kill 'Em All, Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, ...And Justice for All)
  • Megadeth (music band)
  • George Michael (musician from Wham!)
  • Rick Moranis (actor)
  • Eddie Murphy (actor, Saturday Night Live, Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places)
  • Jack Nicholson (actor, Terms of Endearment, The Shining, Batman, Prizzi's Honor, Ironweed, Reds)
  • Tom Petty (musician, Hard Promises, Long After Dark, Southern Accents, Full Moon Fever)
  • The Police (music band, Zenyatta Mondatta, Ghost in the Machine, Synchronicity)
  • Phil Collins (pop singer, from the music band Genesis)
  • Queen (music band)
  • Quiet Riot (music band, Metal Health)
  • Rush (music band)
  • Sean Penn (actor)
  • Michelle Pfeiffer (actress, Grease 2, Scarface, Dangerous Liaisons)
  • Prince (musician Purple Rain, Sign 'O' the Times)
  • Kenny Rogers (musician)
  • Meg Ryan (actress)
  • Charlie Sheen (actor)
  • Sheena Easton (pop singer)
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger (actor, The Terminator, Predator, Conan the Barbarian)
  • Sylvester Stallone (actor, Rambo: First Blood)
  • Oliver Stone (director)
  • Meryl Streep (actress, Ironweed, A Cry in the Dark, She-Devil)
  • Patrick Swayze (actor, Dirty Dancing)
  • Judas Priest (music band, British Steel)
  • The Cure (music band)
  • U2 (music band, War, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum)
  • Van Halen (music band, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, Diver Down, 1984, 5150, OU812)
  • Sigourney Weaver (actress, Working Girl)
  • Cyndi Lauper (musician, She's so Unusual, True Colors, A Night to Remember)
  • MC Hammer (musician)
  • Whitesnake (music band, Slide It In, Whitesnake, Slip of the Tongue)
  • ZZ Top (music band, Eliminator, Afterburner)
  • Teena Marie (musician)
  • Laura Branigan (pop singer)
  • Kim Wilde (pop singer)
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers (music band)
  • Sheila E (band drummer)

Sports figures

Films

  • American Gigolo (1980)
  • Blues Brothers (1980)
  • Caddyshack (1980)
  • The Final Countdown (1980)
  • Dressed to Kill (1980)
  • Friday the 13th (1980)
  • Nine to Five (1980)
  • Raging Bull (1980)
  • Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  • Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  • Blow Out (1981)
  • Halloween II (1981)
  • Blade Runner (1982)
  • Tron (1982)
  • Poltergeist (1982)
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
  • The Last American Virgin (1982)
  • Tootsie (1982)
  • Scarface (1983)
  • Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
  • Wargames (1983)
  • A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
  • Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
  • Footloose (1984)
  • Ghostbusters (1984)
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
  • Police Academy (1984)
  • This is Spinal Tap (1984)
  • Sixteen Candles (1984)
  • Body Double (1984)
  • The Terminator (1984)
  • The Karate Kid (1984)
  • Back to the Future (1985)
  • The Breakfast Club (1985)
  • Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
  • Fletch (1985)
  • The Goonies (1985)
  • St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
  • Secret Admirer (1985)
  • Pretty in Pink (1986)
  • Platoon (1986)
  • Aliens (1986)
  • Rad! (1986)
  • Top Gun (1986)
  • Short Circuit (1986)
  • Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
  • Full Metal Jacket (1986)
  • The Untouchables (1987)
  • RoboCop (1987)
  • Mannequin (1987)
  • The Lost Boys (1987)
  • The Princess Bride (1987)
  • Spaceballs (1987)
  • Who's That Girl? (1987)
  • Big (1988)
  • Coming To America (1988)
  • Die Hard (1988)
  • A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
  • Hairspray (1988)
  • License to Drive (1988)
  • Rain Man (1988)
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
  • Beetle Juice (1988)
  • Ghostbusters II (1989)
  • Back to the Future Part II (1989)
  • When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
  • Glory (1989)
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
  • Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
  • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
  • The Little Mermaid (1989)
  • Batman (1989)
  • Dead Poets Society (1989)
  • Do the Right Thing (1989)
  • Heathers (1989)

Television shows

See Also: 1980s in television

See also

  • 1980s Retro Movement

Citation Help

APA Style: Reference List

Encyclopedia Jr (2007). 1980s. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from http://www.encyclopediajr.com/wikiarticle/1/9/8/1980s.

MLA Style: Works Cited Page

"1980s." Encyclopedia Jr. 2007. 10 Feb 2012 <http://www.encyclopediajr.com/wikiarticle/1/9/8/1980s>.


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article 1980s.


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