1980s

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Millennia: 2nd millennium
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
Categories: Births - Deaths - Architecture
Establishments - Disestablishments


The 1980s was the decade spanning from 1980 to 1989, also called "The Eighties". The decade saw social, economic and general upheaval as wealth, production and western culture migrated to new industrializing economies. The American led global war on drugs began, and US automakers continued market losses to Japan and other countries. Chasing cheap labor, a lot of global manufacturing relocated into Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, China and Eastern Europe, away from traditional manufacturing strongholds. New middle class economies were beginning to emerge in the old Soviet bloc countries and other parts of the world, and Islamic fundamentalism began to assert itself in the Middle East.

In the United States, the early 1980s were characterized by a disco backlash connected with a religious revival (see Moral Majority) and conservative revival (known as the "Reagan revolution"). The New Right succeeded in building a policy approach and electoral apparatus that propelled Ronald Reagan into the White House in the 1980 presidential election. New Right activists generally denounced abortion, pornography, same-sex marriage, feminism, drug legalization, and affirmative action.

The era was characterized by the blend of conservative family values alongside a period of increased telecommunications, a shift towards liberal market economies and the new openness of perestroika and glasnost in the USSR. This transitional period also saw massive democratic revolutions such as 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. It came to be called as the late 1980s purple passage of the autumn of nations. These changes continued to be felt in the 1990s and into the 21st century.

The 1980s was also an era of tremendous population growth around the world, surpassing even the 1970s and 1990s for arguably being the largest in human history. This growth occurred not only in developing regions but also developed western nations, where many newborns were the offspring of Baby Boomers. Population growth was particularly astounding in a number of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian countries during this decade, with rates of natural increase close to or exceeding 4% annually.

Contents

[edit] Social trends

  • Social attitudes of the White American majority toward African Americans eased, as well as toward other ethnic, racial and national minorities. Baby boomers, who first began to enter positions of power during the 1980s, likely did much to effect this change. During the late 1980s, public bigotry became largely a thing of the past and racial prejudice lost moral acceptance; thus the popularized concept of multi-culturalism, particularly in advertising, first appeared.
  • Conservative talk radio starts in the 1980s and by 1984 Rush Limbaugh begins broadcasting from KFBK AM 1530 in Sacramento, California. In 1989 he moved to his flagship station, WABC in New York City. Limbaugh became nationally syndicated by 1989.
  • The War on Drugs is instituted by Reagan and the conservatives because of the excesses of drug use in the 1970s. In spite of draconian sentences which are now being imposed by the Reagan administration, drug use continued and new drugs such as "crack" cocaine came into use. abated. The crack epidemic inspired new music; "White Lines" by Grand Master Flash was a hit and yet it still a very meaningful message. It spoke of the effects of drugs and their uselessness and telling kids and adults as well to stay clean and be a good example. Ironically, Grandmaster Flash was using drugs when he wrote the song, which brought the American people to think it was extremely hypocritical to be singing about staying clean.
  • The role of women in the workplace increased greatly. Continuing the 1970s' trend, more and more women in the English-speaking world took to calling themselves "Ms.", rather than "Mrs." or "Miss." A similar change occurred in Germany, with women choosing "Frau" instead of "Fräulein" in an effort to disassociate marital status from title. In most western countries, women began to exercise the option of keeping their maiden names after marriage; in Canada, legislation was enacted to end the practice of automatically changing a woman's last name upon marriage.
  • Child abuse gained public attention as alleged incidents of child molestation were reported, particularly at day care facilities in various parts of the United States. Several court cases were followed by the media, including California (the McMartin Preschool case), South Carolina (the Little Rascals Day Care case) and New Jersey (the Wee Care Nursery School case), spreading hysteria among parents and teachers. Similar large-scale cases were also reported in Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
  • Social welfare for handicapped children improved, and these children were no longer ignored or forced into state mental institutions.
  • National safety campaigns raised awareness of seat belt usage to save lives in automobile accidents, helping to make the measure mandatory in most countries and U.S. states by 1990. Similar efforts arose to push child safety seats and bike helmet use, already mandatory in a number of U.S. states and some countries.
  • Alcohol education and drug education expanded, bringing about movements such as M.A.D.D., Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign, and D.A.R.E.. By 1990, every state in the U.S. mandated the drinking age to be 21, the only country to ever do so.
  • Rejection of smoking, perceived as more unhealthy and deadly than in previous decades, increased among Americans following a 1984 reconfirmation of earlier studies into the risks of smoking by the U.S. Surgeon General. "Smoking" and "non-smoking" sections in American restaurants became common, state efforts to combat underage smoking (such as banning cigarette sales to minors) intensified, and acknowledgment of smoking-related birth defects became more common.
  • Opposition to nuclear power plants grew, especially after the catastrophic 1986 Chernobyl accident.
  • Environmental concerns intensified. In the United Kingdom, environmentally friendly domestic products surged in popularity. Western European countries adopted "greener" policies to cut back on oil use, recycle most of their nations' waste, and increase focus on water and energy conservation efforts. Similar "Eco-activist" trends appeared in the U.S. in the late 1980s.
  • Gay people faced renewed discrimination which started with a backlash against disco music which was derided as "fag" music. In 1980, an anti-homosexual documentary was televised by ABC across the nation. The rise of AIDS led to increased public disdain of homosexuality and homosexuals. The Supreme Court upheld laws which criminalize gay sex in the Bowers v. Hardwick decision. MTV banned Dead or Alive music videos because of their homosexual content.
  • The U.S. support and pressure group Remove Intoxicated Drivers experienced rapid growth.
  • Research on alcohol and weight expanded.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Sports

  • The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow were disrupted by a boycott led by the United States and 64 other countries in protest of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
  • The US Olympic hockey team beat the USSR, 4-3, in the quarterfinal game that would become known as the Miracle on Ice.
  • the Soviet Union responded to the actions taken by the United States and other nations in 1980 by leading Eastern Bloc countries and allies in a boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
  • The Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the gold medal in Seoul for the Olympic 100m sprint but was later stripped of his medal for usage of illegal performance enhancing drugs.
  • Mike Tyson dominated Professional Boxing and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson brought the National Basketball Association to new heights just as Michael Jordan was emerging as the league's marquee player.
  • In Major League Baseball, nine different teams won the World Series - a display of league parity that had not occurred in any previous decade.

[edit] Fashion

Like the fashion of all modern decades (the 1960s dipped into the 1920s and hosted a folk music revival, the 1970s dipped into the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s) 1980s fashion in popular culture incorporated distinct trends from different eras. This helped form a cultivating movement of style. The Punk look of the late 1970s was influential, rather as the late 1960s "hippies are cool" look had been in the 1970s. The most conservative, more masculine fashion look that was most indicative of the 1980s was the wide use of shoulder pads. While in the 1970s the silhouette of fashion tended to be characterized by close fitting clothes on top with wider, looser clothes on the bottom, this trend completely reversed itself in the early 1980s as both men and women began to wear looser shirts and tight, close-fitting pants. Men wore power suits as a result 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. In the United States, Madonna was titled the "Material Girl" and many teenage girls looked to her for fashion statements. The popular movie Flashdance (1983) made ripped sweatshirts well-known in the general public. The television shows Dallas and Dynasty also had a similar impact. Other fashion trends of the 80's consisted of door knocker earring, bamboo earrings, flashy gold chains, bright Adidas suits for girls and kangol hats for guys. These were also great years for tennis shoes in the rural communities. Shoulder pads, popularized perhaps by Linda Evans from the soap opera Dynasty, remained popular throughout the 1980s and even the first three years of the 1990s. The reason behind the sudden popularity of shoulderpads for women in the 1980s may be that women in the workplace were no longer unusual and wanted to "power dress" to show that they were the equals of men at the office. Many women's outfits had velcro on the inside of the shoulder where various sized shoulderpads could be attached.

The Dynasty television show, watched by over 250 million viewers around the world in the 1980s, influenced the fashion styles in mainstream America. The show, targeted towards females, influenced women to wear jewelry often to show one's economic status. Synthetic fabrics went out of style in the 1980s. Wool, cotton, and silk returned to popularity for their perceived quality.

Men's business attire saw a return of pinstripes for the first time since the 1970s. The new pinstripes were narrower and subtler than 1930s and 1940s suits but similar to the 1970s styles. Three piece suits gradually went out of fashion in the early 'eighties and lapels on suits became very narrow (similar to 1950s styles). While vests in the 1970s had commonly been worn high with six or five buttons, those made in the early 1980s often had only four buttons and were made to be worn low. Neckties also became narrower in the 1980s and skinny versions appeared in leather. Button down collars made a return, both for business and casual wear.

Meanwhile women's fashion and business shoes returned to styles that had been popular in the 1950s and early 1960s with pointed toes and spiked heels. Some stores stocked canvas or satin covered fashion shoes in white and dyed them to the customer's preferred color. While the most popular shoes amongst young women were bright colored high heels, a trend started to emerge which saw 'Jellies' - colorful, transparent plastic flats - become popular

New Romanticism was a manufactured scene within London nightclubs in the early 1980s. The posers within the group, often the more creative people who had always been more interested in the sartorial aspects of dressing up than the anarchic statement of punk anti fashion, looked for new ideas to draw attention to themselves.

Adapted factual or fictional themes and Hollywood glamour were chosen by the New Romantics to make a personal look. The flamboyant, colourful dramatic look used frills and luscious fabrics associated with historical periods. In contrast to punks the wearers made an effort to look flamboyant in an attractive, luxuriant, beautiful, narcissistic way. Right - Adam Ant a new romantic pop star who epitomised the more beautiful aspects of New Romantiscm.

Clubs London night clubs started to change their format from Friday and Saturday nights as being the only important music nights. The club 'Gossips' in Soho began to do Bowie nights on Tuesdays and then more one night specials for niche tastes. That set the scene for special one night club evenings throughout London. Narrow tastes could be catered for.

The former punk posers had taken to glamour and romance in clothing and the club venues offered them a chance to show off that glamour at dedicated evenings. Theatrical ensembles were worn to selected clubs in London such as Blitz and St. Moritz. These were the recognised venues where the romantic movement started.

Designers of New Romantic Clothing The early designers of the romantic look were Vivienne Westwood, Colin Swift, Stevie Stewart and David Holah. Westwood began her romantic ideas with adaptations of dandified Regency designs which later she developed into a Pirate look. She designed especially for Adam and The Ants.

Occasion wear included a return of cocktail dresses and evening suits with flared basque jackets, or Chanel line brocade jackets and just above knee short straight skirts.

Dresses in slinky satins and foulard silks or polyesters were often batwing or with set in sleeves. Both styles had shoulder pads and frequently swathes of fabric were gathered and ruched onto hip bands, with falling silk, crepe de chine or chiffon asymmetric draped swirling skirts.

Lace was popular for evening, especially cream lace bound with cream satin collars. Lace collars made an appearance after being worn by the Princess of Wales. Mohair sweaters were oversized, but covered with lavish beading and satin appliqué they could be worn for evening too. Highly styled intarsia knit jumpers became fashionable.

Glamorous occasion wear was a reaction and an alternative to the dressing down that was emerging from the wearing of sport and fitness wear as casual wear. The 1980s in particular produced one of the most naff garments of the century.

The garment that still creates hoots of laughter and is often used by television producers to typify elements of the era, was the sports inspired Shell Suit, the least likely outfit you would ever find in the wardrobe of a New Romantic. However fashion oft repeats itself, bloomers and all. Skip a generation or two and a frilly new romantic inspired shell suit, jump or flying suit might appeal to someone. Already there are collectors of 1980's shell suits.

[edit] Music

[edit] Television

See also: 1980s in television

[edit] Film

Horror movies of the 1980s (which probably begin in 1979 with Alien) exist at the glorious watershed when special visual effects finally caught up with the gory imaginings of horror fans and movie makers. Technical advances in the field of animatronics, and liquid and foam latex meant that the human frame could be distorted to an entirely new dimension, onscreen, in realistic close up. This coincided with the materialistic ethos of the 1980s, when having it all was important, but to be seen to be having it all was paramount. People demanded tangible tokens of material success - they wanted bigger, shinier, faster, with more knobs on - as verification of their own value in society. In the same way, horror films during this decade delivered the full colour close-up, look-no-strings-attached, special effect in a way that previous practitioners of the art could only dream about. Everything that had lurked in the shadows of horror films in the 1950s could now be brought into the light of day. The monsters were finally out of the closet. Once they were exposed to the light, however, these monsters proved to be the same as ever: ghosts (of supernatural origin), werebeings (of human origin), and slimy things (origin unknown). The latter maintained a strong presence; the cuddly aliens represented in Star Wars and ET were counterbalanced by the grotesque extraterrestrials of the Alien Trilogy and The Thing. Werewolves made a strong showing in the early 1980s with the Howling series and An American Werewolf in London - and perhaps, as in the 1940s, reflected a fear of the 'wolves' stalking each other under the aegis of the Cold War. Ghosts were not so numerous but still provided cause for terror, whether they were traditional ones, such as those haunting The Overlook Hotel in The Shining (1980), or of more ambiguous status: Freddy Krueger is technically a ghost.

After establishing a successful track record with Dark Star, Halloween and Big Trouble in Little China, Carpenter decided he wanted to remake a movie that had entranced him as a child, The Thing From Another World. This black-and-white RKO picture revolves around the (largely) unseen threat to an isolated group of scientists working on an ice station. When we finally get to see what has been menacing the men, it looks unfortunately like an overgrown carrot, and the sinister effect is somewhat undermined. Carpenter wanted no such disappointment with his version, and engaged Rob Bottin as special effects designer. Apart from working with Carpenter on The Fog, Bottin had previously created the state-of-the-art special effects in The Howling, producing frightening and convincing man-to-wolf transformation scenes. From the very beginning (ie before Carpenter hired him), he had a very clear concept of how the Thing should look and behave, and the result is some of the most grotesque images ever brought to the cinema screen.

SFX aside, The Thing also contains some fine, understated performances from an interesting selection of character actors. Kurt Russell has worked with Carpenter many times, but for the rest of the cast, Carpenter decided he wanted an 'uncomfortable' feel, and chose an array of unfamiliar faces. The Thing's storyline is conventional enough - monster threatens isolated community and picks off the inhabitants one-by-one - but never predictable, in that it is impossible to judge who will be next. There is deliberate ambiguity about who is taken over by the Thing when, and even repeat viewers of the film share the cast's edgy mistrust of each other.

The ending, as Mac (Kurt Russell) and Childs (Keith David) settle down to a slow suicide by hypothermia has provoked much discussion. One, both or neither of the men being a Thing are all valid possibilities, and the mysterious absence of frozen breath coming from Child's mouth simply fuels the debate. There is no triumphant resolution here, no final destruction of the Thing to prove that humans are the superior race. We are left with a real sense of unease, and cannot acquiesce to MacReady's suggestion that we "just wait here for a little while...see what happens." The credits roll and we never know what happens. Despite having 'what happens' thrust in our faces in full, grotesque detail earlier on in the movie, we are never allowed to see what happens at the end. Thus The Thing is that genuine scary movie, a parade of visual nightmares which keeps you jittery long after the last remnant of gore has faded from your retina.

[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.

[edit] International issues

[edit] In the United States

[edit] In Canada

  • The 1986 World's Fair, Expo '86, opened on May 2, 1986 and lasted until mid-October. It brought huge international attention to Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada. The fair had an attendance of over 22 million and was considered a great success. The fair attracted many celebrities, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Margaret Thatcher, Vincent Price, and George Bush Sr. The fair was also credited as showing that World Expositions were still a viable venture during its times.
  • Political unrest in the province of Quebec, which rooted from the many differences between the dominant francophone population versus the anglophone minority and the francophones rights in the dominantly English-speaking Canada, came to a head in 1980 when the provincial government called a public referendum on partial separation from the rest of Canada. The referendum ended with the "no" side winning majority (59.56% no, 40.44% yes).
  • During The Right Honourable Pierre Elliot Trudeau's term as Prime Minister of Canada (and under his oversight), Queen Elizabeth II signed the New Constitution of Canada on 17 April 1982. This Act severed all Political Dependences of the United Kingdom in Canada.
  • In 1984, Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leader Brian Mulroney became Prime Minister of Canada; he remained Prime Minister until 1993, ending almost 67 years of rule by the Liberal Party of Canada.
  • The Meech Lake Accord, a package of changes and amendments to the constitution of Canada, was created in conference and pushed ahead by Brian Mulroney for ratification from the provinces. The accord gave each province more immigration powers and gave Quebec the status of a "distinct society" and a constitutional veto. It was voted down and followed by another set of amendments, which was also voted down in the 1990s. The creation of and eventual failure of the Meech Lake accords eventually, and the following Charlottetown Accords set the stage for another referendum in Quebec, in 1995.

[edit] In Europe

In 1981 there was a assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square. In 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated.

In the European Community, after the first direct elections for the European Parliament in 1979, its enlargement continued with the accession of Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. At the end of the decade, the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 would be followed in 1990 by the German reunification.

[edit] In the United Kingdom

[edit] In Australia

[edit] Natural disasters

[edit] People

Many people were influential in shaping the 1980s, including entertainers, sports figures and politicians.

[edit] Entertainers

Notable individuals and groups who provided entertainment in the 1980s are divided as follows.

[edit] Musicians and Bands

[edit] Actors

[edit] Sports figures

[edit] Political figures

[edit] See also

[edit] External links