Culture of the 1980s

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In the 1980s culture became more homogenized, as mass media reached areas which had previously developed in isolation.

• In the early 1980s, the first generation of computer graphics in arcade games produced the popular Space Invaders arcade game (first released in 1978), followed by Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Frogger. Towards the end of the decade, home video game consoles began to outstrip the arcade game. The Japanese Famicom was released to the white public as the Nintendo Entertainment System (also known as the NES) in 1985 and renewed public interest in video games following a brief decline caused by the Video Game Crash of 1983.
• Computer technology began to enter mainstream culture and appeared in movies such as Tron (1982) and WarGames (1983), using then-state of the art special effects that would go on to have a major impact on movie making.
• Rubik's Cube, Cabbage Patch Kids, "Baby on Board" signs, Teddy Ruxpin, and Trivial Pursuit fads captured the interest of the American and British public.
  

  

  Rubik's Cube, often used as the defining symbol of the 1980s
• Many cartoon characters such as Smurfs, Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, My Little Pony, GI Joe, Garfield, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Thundercats, Voltron, and Transformers appeared in the media and on merchandise, becoming huge trends of the 1980s. Many of these reappeared about twenty years later in slightly updated versions.
• Martial arts and Ninja mania swept North America due to the popularity of Kung Fu Theater and ninja movies. The Karate Kid became a blockbuster hit film, and raised interest in karate. The emergence of self-styled martial arts experts gave rise to the so-called "McDojo" and "Bullshido" trends. The cartoon characters Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became a widely mass-marketed pop culture phenomenon in the late 1980s.
• "Raybans" or sunglasses became popular "must-wear" items, as well as Nike sneakers, Members Only jackets, men's shorts and other athletic wear such as sweats and jerseys for an active generation of young people.
• Aerobics surged in popularity. The fad reached 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 became more health-conscious and sought a lighter diet, with "Lose weight", "Low-Cal", "Low-Salt", "Sugar-free", "No cholesterol" and other phrases becoming common buzzwords for modified foods and beverages. Fad diets became popular.
• MTV, an all-music television station, debuted in the United States in 1981.
• Australian pop culture introduced new trends in the U.S. throughout the 1980s to enhance the continent's cultural image. Examples include celebrities Olivia Newton-John, Jacko and Yahoo Serious, musicians INXS, Midnight Oil and Men at Work, the Crocodile Dundee and Mad Max movies, the Roos shoe brand and Koala Blue chain within the fashion segment, and tastes such as "shrimp on the barbie" and Foster's Lager.
• Rap music began to break into the mainstream, resulting in a string of breakdancing movies such as Beat Street, Breakin', and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. Boom boxes became widespread among inner city music listeners and especially breakdancers, for which the device became a vital element to the ritual. "Breakdance battles" were a more peaceful alternative to gang fights and became popular in music videos.
• In the U.S., Spanish-language television and radio stations built two major networks (Univision — 1985 and Telemundo — 1986) to carry shows and music for the U.S. Latino audience, believed at the time to have been left out of the mainstream media.
• The De Lorean debuted in 1981, and was produced for three years before the company declared bankruptcy in 1983. The car was later popularized in the 1985 film Back to the Future.

Contents 1 Sports 2 Art 3 Fashion 4 Music 5 Comics 6 Television 7 Film 8 Video games

[edit] Sports

Sport became more international in the 1980s as satellite television grew, with many sporting events reaching more countries than before. Examples include the first live broadcasts of the Super Bowl in the United Kingdom.

In 1980, the US Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviet Union 4 to 3, bolstering many U.S. citizens' feelings of national pride in what was termed a Miracle On Ice.

In this decade, the West Indies established themselves as the unofficial world champions of cricket, though in a shock upset, they lost the 1983 Cricket World Cup to India. This victory is cited as the reason cricket is almost a religion in India.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Art

Art exhibitions held in the 1980s included:

• 1982: Documenta 7 & 8
• 1988: Freeze

[edit] Fashion

See also: 1980s in fashion

1980s fashion incorporated distinct trends from different eras, including ancient Egypt, early 20th century British royalty, Edwardian era buccaneers, and punk rockers from the 1970s. A conservative, masculine fashion look that was most indicative of the decade was the wide use of shoulder pads (similar to those worn by women in the 1940s and to those worn in ice hockey). While in the 1970s the silhouette of fashion tended to be characterized by close-fitting clothes on top with wider looser clothes on bottom, this trend completely reversed itself in the early 1980s as both men and women began to wear loose shirts (tucked in) and tight close fitting pants. One variation of this trend was to wear loose-fitting long-sleeve shirts or sweaters with the sleeves scrunched up to the elbows). Men wore power suits, an example of the greater tendency for people to display their wealth. Brand names became increasingly important in this decade, making Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein household names.

Hairstyles are also well known from the decade. Big, messy hairstyles, similar to those worn by women in the 1940s, made popular with the introduction of glam metal, became all the rage throughout the entire decade. Shorter hairstyles also became more common for women. Colourful hair colours (made popular by singer Cyndi Lauper), were also used widely during the era. The eighties also made popular the well known mullet haircut for both men and women and the jerry curl, a wet curly hair style that was very popular in the African American community. The eighties also saw an interest in bright and colourful makeup as well as makeup used on men (as used by poodle rock bands of the era). The decade also saw the introduction and initial popularity of hair crimping.

In the United States, Madonna was known as the "Material Girl" and many teenage girls, sometimes referred to as "Madonna wannabes", looked to her for fashion statements. The popular movie Flashdance (1983) made ripped sweatshirts well-known to the general public. The television shows Dallas and Dynasty also had a similar impact. The television show Miami Vice influenced a whole generation of men by popularizing, if not actually inventing, the "T-shirt under Armani jacket"-style. The Crockett character played by Don Johnson also boosted Ray Ban's popularity by wearing a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers (Model L2052, Mock Tortoise). Crockett's perpetually unshaven appearance also sparked a minor fashion trend, inspiring men to wear a small amount of beard stubble, also known as five o'clock shadow or "designer stubble", at all times. The show's costume designer Gianni Versace provided the fashion sense. Pastel colours dominated the series in clothes. People were also known to wear acid-washed jeans and jackets.

[edit] Music

• The decade began with a backlash against disco music and a movement away from the orchestral arrangements that had characterized much of the music of the 1970s. Music in the 1980s was characterized by unheard of electronic sounds accomplished through the use of synthesizers and keyboards, along with drum machines. The Sheffield (UK) based band The Human League were pioneers of 'synthesized music' and were heavily influential in this genre.

This made a dramatic change in music. The music channel MTV had just began so many very creative music videos were being made alongside songs. The very first video to be aired on MTV was Buggles- Video Killed The Radio Star. This video heavily showed off the use of synthesizers as they were new to many people and the sounds they produced had been unheard of.

• Michael Jackson revolutionized music with his best-selling album Thriller. Thriller, released in 1982, is the world's all-time best selling album with over 104 million sold copies. His mannerisms and trends were copied repeatedly, from the single-glove, to the various jackets he wore, and the now-famous moonwalk.
• In the United States, MTV was launched and music videos began to have a huge effect on the record industry. The first video aired was Video Killed the Radio Star by the British band The Buggles, and it proved oddly prophetic. Bands such as Duran Duran made lavish music videos which made MTV a cultural phenomenon. Early eighties groups such as Devo and Haircut 100 were pioneers. Pop artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson mastered the format and turned it into big business.
• New Wave and Synthpop were developed by artists such as The Cars, Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, Japan, Soft Cell, Bananarama, New Order, and Tears for Fears, and become popular phenomena throughout the decade, especially in the early eighties.
• Heavy metal, Big Hair Bands and Glam metal, experienced extreme popularity in 1980s, becoming one of the most dominating music genres of the 1980s with artists such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Kiss, Twisted Sister, Aerosmith, Poison, Ratt, Skid Row, Hanoi Rocks, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Queen, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, and Rush, all receiving extensive airplay.
• Thrash metal appeared and became an underground sensation originating mostly in the Bay Area (San Francisco), and New York City. A few of these acts, such as Metallica, Megadeth (formed in Los Angeles), Anthrax and Slayer (formed in Huntington Beach), managed to achieve mainstream exposure (especially during the early 1990s), and were frequently seen as alternatives to the poppier "glam metal" bands of the day.
• Extreme metal began, with bands such as Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Death, Possessed, Morbid Angel and gained prominence in the underground.
• House music was a new development in dance music mid-way through the decade, growing out of the post-disco scene early in the decade and later developed into acid house, a harder form of dance often associated with the developing late 1980s drug culture.
• Hip hop and rap music, introduced by urban youths of predominantly African American descent, debuted in the pop culture scene as early as 1979, with the Sugar Hill Gang's single release Rapper's Delight. MTV picked up on this movement with "Yo! MTV Raps", a one-hour show dedicated to hip-hop music videos,which began to air in 1988 and hip hop became popular in 1986 when the golden age started.
• The Hip hop scene evolved to become a powerful musical force, bringing with it several dance styles and began to diverse. As hip hop artists such as Run-D.M.C.,Beastie Boys and LL cool J were the first to gather mainstream attention and by 1986 Hip Hop broke into the mainstream and became diverse, also Hip-Hops first female group called Salt-n-Pepa marked the rise of women in Hip hop.
• Alternative rock appeared as a then-aptly titled alternative to the mainstream rock trends of the day, with American bands such as R.E.M., The Replacements, Sonic Youth, They Might Be Giants, Camper Van Beethoven, the Violent Femmes and the Pixies, and British bands such as The Cure, The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen, as pioneers. This style of music was widely popular with college students and received almost all of its airplay from college radio stations, to the extent that it was known as college rock in the US for much of the decade.
• Top-charting artists of the 1980s include Pat Benatar, Billy Idol, Guns N' Roses, Journey, Robert Palmer,New Kids on the Block, The Police, Lionel Richie, Bananarama, The Go-Go's, Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Van Halen, Foreigner, John Farnham, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis and the News, Wang Chung, Tears for Fears, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Heart, Juice Newton, Culture Club, The Eurythmics, Def Leppard, Deacon Blue, Bryan Adams, Queen, Depeche Mode, U2, Simple Minds, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Cher, Rick Springfield, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Olivia Newton-John, Prince, Michael Jackson (the best-selling artist worldwide in the entire decade), Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Beastie Boys, Kim Wilde, Laura Branigan, The Cars and Bon Jovi.
• Records in aid of Ethiopian famine relief, by Band Aid ("Do They Know It's Christmas?") and USA for Africa ("We Are the World") topped the charts, while the Live Aid famine relief concert in London and Philadelphia attracted thousands of attendants and millions of television viewers. Other artists pushed 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") became part of a worldwide movement of artists writing innovative lyrics filled with sexual innuendos reflecting the then-popular and highly fashionable androgynous style.
• In the U.S., contemporary Christian music gained popularity in the mid-80s with such crossover artists as Amy Grant, Kathy Troccoli, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Michael W. Smith, Stryper, and Petra.
• With increased commercialization of popular music, thousands of new bands from all over the country sprang up in opposition by performing aggressive, stripped-down punk rock with an even larger amount of political and social awareness injected 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 City.
• El General recorded a first album and reggaeton was born in Panama.
• Prince was credited with jump-starting the Minneapolis sound.
• Power Ballads became popular with bands such as Heart and Guns 'N' Roses.
• Weird Al Yankovic started his career, singing songs like Dare to Be Stupid (song) and Eat It.
• Electric Blues witnessed a revival, the most performer of which was Stevie Ray Vaughn.

[edit] Comics

• American superhero comics underwent a new age, sparked by Alan Moore's Watchmen and Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, that paved the way for more independent and creative ideas. Many different genres other than superheroes were introduced to comics, along with the first translations of manga.
• More adult-targeted comics featuring mature themes, strong violence, and strong language, like the examples cited above, began to become more widespread.
• Comic collecting grew wildly in popularity during the decade.

[edit] Television

See also: 1980s in television

• The Cosby Show debuts in 1984 and is rated number 1 in the Nielsen Ratings in the United States for five consecutive TV seasons.
• The decade began poorly for minorities and gays. Music videos featuring minorities were not played by MTV and gays were portrayed poorly by the media, especially by a widely seen homophobic documentary (which aired in 1980) about gays in San Francisco. With the rise of AIDS, shows which portrayed gays or gay friendly characters were quickly pulled off the air (Three's Company, Bosom Buddies).
• Now regarded as an icon of the 1980s, Miami Vice (1984) redefined the cop show genre, combining film-like production values with MTV style music videos.
• The Oprah Winfrey Show hit the U.S. 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, allowing them greater entry into mainstream culture.[1]
• Brandon Tartikoff became an executive at NBC and is credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, ALF, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, Knight Rider, The A-Team, St. Elsewhere, Night Court, Hunter, Highway to Heaven, Matlock, Remington Steele, A Different World, 227 and Empty Nest.
• The Fox network was launched. CNN became the first 24-hour news channel. The growth of cable television with hundreds of new cable networks of a certain field or interest, such as The Weather Channel which debuted in 1982, offered television viewers a much expanded menu from which to choose.
• In the UK, two rival satellite television services launch in 1989. British Satellite Broadcasting and Sky Television offered viewers up to five extra channels, but both failed to gain the success enjoyed by cable television in North America. The two companies would later merge.
• Punky Brewster, reflecting many trends and fads of the 80s, captured the interest of younger viewers.
• Soap operas gained popularity among high-schoolers and college students in the United States, thanks in part to the supercoupling of Luke Spencer and Laura Webber on the most popular soap of the day, General Hospital. High-budget evening soap operas are also popular with Dynasty (TV series), Knot's Landing, and Dallas (TV series) running for most of the decade in the 10PM time slot.
• The gay community received an upsurge in popular exposure, with U.S. prime time ratings giants Dynasty and The Golden Girls and UK soap operas Brookside and EastEnders, featuring either regular or recurring gay characters throughout their long runs. These shows were highly influential in increasing the visibility of regular gay characters on television.
• The music-based cable networks MTV and MuchMusic first appeared on the airwaves, and became major pop cultural influences with music videos and in-depth coverage of musicians and trends among North American youth.
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the first animated children's television program built exclusively around a toy line, started 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 saw a dramatic improvement in production values and saw a resurgence of mainstream appeal, both in feature films and on television. Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets, Voltron, and Robotech helped to develop the first wave of organized anime fandom in North America.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation, regarded by some as the pinnacle of the Star Trek series, made its syndicated debut in 1987.
• Murder, She Wrote became a smash hit with audiences.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000 debuted on the Minneapolis UHF station KTMA in 1988; the following year it was picked up by the fledgling Comedy Channel, which later became Comedy Central.
• On February 1, 1982, David Letterman became the host of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman, which remained on the air until 1993 when Letterman left for CBS.
• On December 6, 1989, the once extremely successful and popular British science fiction series Doctor Who came to an end after more than 26 years and 703 episodes.
• The #1 shows on American network television throughout the decade:
  • 1979–1980: 60 Minutes
  • 1980–1981: Dallas
  • 1981–1982: Dallas
  • 1982–1983: 60 Minutes
  • 1983–1984: Dallas
  • 1984–1985: Dynasty
  • 1985–1986: The Cosby Show
  • 1986–1987: The Cosby Show
  • 1987–1988: The Cosby Show
  • 1988–1989: The Cosby Show
  • 1989–1990: The Cosby Show and Roseanne

• The Simpsons shorts debuted on the The Tracey Ullman Show. The Simpsons would go on over the next 2 decades to become the longest-running American sitcom in history.

[edit] Film

The 1980s was a prosperous and extremely active decade for the film industry, seeing many box office hits. The industry began to put a greater emphasis on producing mass-market blockbusters in place of the more director-led approach of the 1970s. (Many film historians have pointed to the massive box office flop of Heaven's Gate in 1980 leading to studios wanting greater control of film production.) During the 1980s, much controversy arose over the colourization of black and white films.

Video cassettes became extremely popular in households. A videotape format war broke out between JVC and Sony over their formats, VHS and Betamax. VHS eventually became the new standard, despite offering initial poorer quality recordings. Only after many years did VHS eventually catch-up, although the format always provided a recording length advantage. The widespread popularity of video cassettes aided in the rise of video rentals, with the first Blockbuster opening in 1985. The Sundance Institute was set up in 1981 to help independent film-makers gain professional contacts and experience. The first Sundance Film Festival was held in 1986. The cross-over success of the film sex, lies and videotape in 1989 paved the way for the independent film boom in the 1990s.

The Crime and Gangster film genre was also active, with hits such as The Untouchables and the legendary Scarface, both directed by Brian De Palma.

The science fiction genre experienced a surge in popularity following the success of Star Wars. This is best exemplified by Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which shattered records for box office gross receipts and became the decade's biggest earner both in the United States and United Kingdom. Popular/Cult sci-fi films of the decade also included Blade Runner, Aliens, Tron and The Terminator. The original Star Wars trilogy was concluded with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Tie-in merchandise became extremely common following the success of Star Wars tie-in products. Special effects become more sophisticated and advanced with films like Tron, Predator and The Abyss, paving the way for the CGI-intensive films of the 1990s. Also, Star Trek saw a resurgence of popularity for the original 1960s TV series with the release of a series of popular films in the 1980s, highlighted by Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Action movies, common since the 1950s, entered mass production, with actors like Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger helping to pioneer the genre. Among the most famous action movies were the Rambo series, RoboCop, Predator, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Escape from New York and Commando. Ghostbusters (1984, directed by Ivan Reitman) was very popular and successful, as was Back to the Future (1985), which captivated audiences with its youth-oriented time travel fantasy. Movie sequels became a trend as evidenced by Ghostbusters II and Back to the Future Part II (both 1989). Ronald Reagan frequently made references to Back to the Future and Rambo.

The Horror genre boomed with hit franchises including the Friday the 13th series, 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, The Shining and John Carpenter's The Thing. The splatter genre became popular with such films as My Bloody Valentine (film), Mortuary, Phantasm and The Hills Have Eyes. These films were often watched at home on video tapes rented from video rental stores. In addition, thriller films were also popular, especially those with strong sexual content. Notably Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill and Body Double, the hugley controversial art film Blue Velvet and the equally controversial Fatal Attraction about the consequences of infedility in marriage all caused strong commercial reaction.

The 1980s also experienced many infamous high-profile commercial flops, including Howard the Duck, Ishtar, Dune, Revolution, Inchon and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. The most famous flop is Heaven's Gate which cost US$44 million to produce yet only grossed $3.4 million, leading the studio United Artists into bankruptcy. However, the success of The Little Mermaid (1989) heralded a renaissance for Disney and animated films in general after a string of commercial failures.

Teen films arose as a highly successful genre, most notably those of John Hughes who, with the so-called "Brat Pack", made such decade-defining films as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty In Pink 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, Less Than Zero, the independent satire Heathers, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Say Anything and Rumble Fish. In addition, teen sex comedies made their mark in the public eye, such as Spring Break, Porky's and the Lemon Popsicle series. Several of these are set in the 1950s, reflecting the 50's-nostalgia common at the time.

Several films examining the United States' role in the Vietnam war were released, 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 took a more visceral look at the effects of the war.

Music/dance films appeared and became staples of the decade, notably Fame, Flashdance, Footloose, Streets of Fire and Dirty Dancing. Several breakdancing/hip-hop films were made including Body Rock, Beat Street, Rappin', Wild Style, Krush Groove, Breakin' and its sequel Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.

In Britain, concern ensued over the violent content of the 'video nasties'. This led to the introduction of the Video Recordings Act 1984, which banned explicit films such as The Driller Killer, I Spit On Your Grave and Cannibal Holocaust, all which were quite controversial in the country in their day. At the time, many claimed that the Hungerford massacre had been inspired by violent films. In the U.S., Red Dawn (1984) became the first film released with a PG-13 rating, and in the UK, Batman was the first to receive a 12 certificate.

[edit] Video games

Although popularity of video games and arcades began in the mid to late 1970s, it continued throughout the 1980s with rapid growth in video game technology throughout the decade. Space Invaders, developed in Japan in 1978, was first previewed at a UK trade show in 1979, making a huge impact on the early 80s gaming scene. Many other games followed including Pac-Man, creating a Pac Man fever craze early in the decade, especially in 1982 and 1983; Super Mario Bros. games became a highly successful franchise starting in 1985 and its popularity continues today.

In the 1980s, Atari failed to apply proper quality control to the software development process for its popular Video Computer System game console. The amount of low-quality software caused a massive collapse of the home console industry. The release of Nintendo's Famicom/NES console rectified the problem and revived home gaming by only being able to play games approved by the company. PC Engine and Sega Mega Drive were next generation game consoles that were released during the last years of the decade.

Home computers become popular in the 1980s and during that decade they were used heavily for gaming, especially the ZX Spectrum. The prevailing IBM PC standard was born in 1981 but had a status of a non-entertainment computer throughout the decade. Along with the IBM PC, the Commodore 64 (1982) was the most popular 8-bit home computer and its successor, the Amiga (1985), was the most popular 16-bit home computer.