1980

Back to the Eighties We Go!
. Me, Me, Me Generation! __**Music in the 1980's**__

Music was very big in the 80's. New genres were born and some of the artists in this decade made huge impressions on music at this time that helped make music what it is today. When MTV came out on TV, music in the eighties got even more popular. Showing music videos of some of the most memorable artists, MTV boosted the popularity of artist in the 80's that are still around or that we know of today.

__**Genres**__

In the 80's, some genres became more well known, while others were new entirely. Many popular genres were synthpop, hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal, new wave, and punk rock. Punk broke up into several sub-groups, and hip-hop continued to evolve and gradually become more known. Alot of the music included synthesizers, keyboards, and drum machines.

__**Popular Songs**__

"Billie Jean"- Michael Jackson, "Flashdance"- Irene Cara, "Every Breath You Take"- The Police, "Like a Virgin"- Madonna, "Another One Bites the Dust"- Queen, "Sweet Dreams Are Made of These"- Eurythmics, "Dancing in the Dark"- Bruce Springsteen, "Jesse's Girl"- Rick Springfield, "Sweet Child 'O Mine"- Guns 'n' Roses, and "Living on A Prayer"- Bon Jovi.

__**Popular Artists**__

Bruce Springsting, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna, U2, Queen, Peter Gabriel, Guns 'n' Roses, Rush, Judas Priest, The Cure, The Pretenders, Motley Crue, Journey, Ozzy Osborne, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, Sonic Youth, Poison, KISS, Paul McCartney, Metallica, Phil Collins, Bon Jovi, Dire Straights, The Clash, Ramones, The Police, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, Abba

__**Popular Albums**__

//Thriller// - Micheal Jackson //Like a Virgin - Madonna Purple Rain// - Prince //Back in Black// - AC/DC //Born in the USA// - Bruce Springsteen //Master of Puppets// - Metallica //Appetite for Destruction// - Guns 'n' Roses //1984// - Van Halen //Moving Pictures// - Rush //Joshua Tree -// U2 //Synchronicity -// Police 



__**Movies in the 1980's**__

Many movies that were made in the 1980's are still popular and known today. For example, The Star Wars series, Friday the 13th (1980), Halloween series, E.T. Extra Terrestrial (1982), A Christmas Story (1983), Indiana Jones series, Ghostbusters (1984), The Karate Kid (1984), Back to the Future (1985), The Goonies, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Predator (1987) and Batman (1989). These movies all have something to do with isses in the eighties. Many movies had alot to do with drugs, school, sex, crime, and many other issues. These issues were portrayed in artistic ways and in different genres. These movies led to some of the most famous peope and style trends. Blockbusters were also huge in the eighties, this means that the biggest or sequel was better.

__Popular Genres__

The genres that were most popular in the 1980's were, science fiction, horror, comedies, and action films. Sequels were also very popular in the 1980's. Many sequels included Beverly Hills Cop II, Faces of Death II, The Fly II, Friday the 13th II, Ghostbusters II, Grease II, Halloween II, Indiana Jones II, Star Trek II, Star Wars Series, and many more. Also teen comedy movies saw a rise in popularity, so the rating PG-13 was created, to accommodate movies that were standing on the thin line between PG and R.

__Popular Movies__

In the early 1980’s there were a lot of movies made about patriotism. This was a time when the U.S. was in a recession and many people needed inspiration, movies were a way to publicly do that. The //Rocky// films and //Top Gun// are a few examples of movies about patriotism. In //Rocky//, starring Sylvester Stallone, a poor man follows his dreams and beats the odds of him winning when he becomes the Heavy Weight Champion boxer. This movie represented America’s dream of success and in later films he represented the U.S. against countries like Russia and won. //Top Gun// is about the American people being the best they can be at what they want to do.

Another big movie was //Ten//, with Dudley Moore and Beau Derik, about people falling in love and enjoying life. When Tom Cruise was first becoming known he starred in the movie //Risky Business// about a boy who’s living on edge. Saturday Night Fever starring //John Travolta// was a big hit about a man who follows his dream to becoming a professional dancer and accomplishing his goal. In //Ferris Beuller’s Day Off//, Mathew Broderick plays a high school boy who always gets around the system. Phoebe Cates starred in //Fast Times at Ridgemont High// about all the stories happening in a high school.

The Breakfast Club media type="youtube" key="dkX8J-FKndE" width="425" height="350"

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

The Karate Kid media type="youtube" key="FOUGf_s4hy4" width="425" height="350" align="center"

E.T.



The 1980's where filled with many entertaining events. For instence, the 1980's olymipcs when the United states hockey team defeated the Soviet Union hockey team. It was filled with dominate teams and had historic plays and even errors. The 80's where an interesting year in sports.
 * __Sports in The Eighties__**

__Baseball__ Baseball in the 1980's had lots of great and not so great moments. In 1985 Pete Rose broke Ty Cobbs record for most hits in a career. Four years later, Pete Rose was banned from basball for gambaling on baseball games. A great moment happened in the 1988 world series in game one between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics. The Dodgers Kirk Gibson hit a game winning home run in the 9th inning even thow he was injured. In 1981 the baseball strike happened on the players part. The cancalation of over 600 games occured. Another great World Series game tokk place in 1986 between the Ney York Mets and the Boston Red Sox. The best remembered moment of the game was when Bill Buckner missed a ground ball in the 9th inning that cost them the game. The Mets would go on to win the series in the next game which was game 7.

__Football__ The 1980's ha d great teams and great teams. The best team in the league in the NFL in the 1980's where the 49ers. In the 80's under head coach Bill Walsh won four Super Bowls. Their best player was arguably Joe Montana who was Drafted out of Notre Dame. In the four Super Bowls Montana he won 3 of the of the Super Bowl MVPs. The Dominate collage team at the time where the Miami Hurricanes who won 3 National Championships. Other dominate football teams in the 1980's where the Washington Redskins and the St. Louis/ Oakland Raiders who each won two super bowls.

__Basketball__ There where two great basketball teams in the 1980's, the Boston Celtics, and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics where led by Hall of Fame player Lary Bird.The Celtics also added two hall of fame players to their lineup in Robert Parish and Kevin Mchale. The Celtics won htree of the five cmapionship games they played loosing the two games both to the Lakers. The Lakers where lead by Magic Johnson, also a hall of fame player. They also where led by hall of famers Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Elgin Baylor. The Lakers where coached in the 80's by both Phil Jackson and Pat Riley. The Lakers won five of the eight championship games they where in. Another great team in the 80's where the Philidelphia 76ers who played in three championships, only winning one of them though.

__Hockey__ There was one huge hockey event in the 1980's. In 1980, during the winter olympics at Lake Placid, the United States olympic team began playing games. Suprisingly, they were winning them. It was a time when the Cold War was going on the U.S. was a enemy with the Soviet Union. The U.S. had faced the Soviets early in the Olympics and they where crushed. The Soviet Union hockey had been the best team in the world for years. The U.S. made it to the semi finals and faced the Soviet Union. The U.S. beat the Soviets 4-3. This was one of the greatest U.S. victories of all time. The United states went on to beat Sweeden in the championship. This event inspired the movie Miracle on Ice, and inspired U.S. citizens during the Cold War.

__**



Disasters**__

Some disasters during the 1980's made a very big impact on society. One of the biggest events was the drought that America went into in 1988. It became known as the worst drought of the century. A lot more people started to help out with picking up trash and joining enviromental groups.

In 1989 Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker in Prince William, Alaska, spilled oil into the sea. It was the largest and most harmful oil spill in U.S. history. The oil spilled into the water killed many sea creatures and left the area very polluted.

Mt. Saint Helens erupted in Washington in 1980, killing 60 people. There were some floods and tornadoes. The Tornado that did the most damage was in 1985. Its course went through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Ontario, and the number of fatalities was 75 people.

There were 7 hurricanes in the United States during the 1980's: Hurricane Allen, Alicia, Elena, Juan, Kate, Gilbert, and Hugo. The one with the most fatalities was Hurrican Hugo with 504. It had made its way through the Carribean and Southeast U.S. The other hurricanes were mostly in southeastern U.S. or in Texas.

On January 28, 1996, the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger and the death of its seven crew members was shocking news to the American public. Onlookers and people watching the take off on T.V. witnessed its explosion only about a minute into its flight. media type="youtube" key="G1U-iWUPOYA" height="267" width="328"


 * //Politics in the 1980s//**

1980s politics was a volatile affair. The president for much of the era was Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan began his life as an actor, but soon shifted his career into politics, and became President from 1980/1981 to 1988/1989. Economically, Reagan was famous for his introduction of what is called "Reaganomics", which aimed to reduce government spending, lower taxes and reduce government control of the economy in general while controlling the money supply to specifically control the economy and reduce the effects of inflation. According to different sources, Reaganomics strengthened the US economically or increased the federal deficit. Reagan was also famous for his strong position against the Soviet Union and communism.

An important factor in Reagan's election were the "Reagan Democrats." Reagan Democrats - simply put, Democrats who went against their party to vote for Reagan - were in general blue-collar workers dissatisfied with the policies of the Democratic party. This allowed Reagan to defeat incumbent Jimmy Carter, a Democrat - the mood of the country had clearly shifted in the four years since Carter was originally elected.

The United States adopted a policy to ally with any nation who was the enemy of the Soviet Union. The United States provided aid to numerous regimes in any way against Communist or Marxist rule. They directly fought Communist nations as well - Libya was bombed for support of terrorist groups, and the Marines were sent to Grenada to topple Marxist rule. Ironically, relations with //the// Communist nation - the Soviet Union - eased to a certain extent with the ascension of Mikhail Gorbachev. Though Reagan's imploring to Gorbachev to "tear down this wall", referring to the Berlin Wall, ended in failure, the Soviet Union collapsed into thirteen different states in 1989 at the very tail-end of Reagan's presidency and elected governments were formed - while not perfect, it was a step up from the norm.

Possibly the most earthshaking moment in 1980s politics was the breaking of the Iran-Contra Affair. In 1986, it was revealed that the US government had been covertly selling arms to Iran to fund illegal actions in Nicaragua, in a way directly violating the Constitution. While some far-right radicals say that he saved Central America through his actions, many deplored them (as evidenced by a 21 percent drop in approval rating when the scandal broke), most notably the actual citizens of Nicaragua. Ronald Reagan and politics in general were controversial during the 1980s.

Ronald Reagan left a considerable legacy on politics for decades to come. The mounting deficit of the Reagan years had to be overcome and the end of the Cold War meant the United States had to determine their foreign policy beyond war. The conservative right - who in general wanted to strengthen the economy - and the religious right - who in general wanted to focus on social issues, such as abortion and drug use, had to be reconciled by the newcoming Republican, George Bush. The Reagan years can truly be said to have had a massive bearing on American politics, for better or for worse.

__Trends & Fashion__
In the 80's, there were very many trends spread throughout the decade. For example, one of the most popular hair styles was the "Big Hair." Also, short hair was very popular in the 80's either wearing it in side "pony-tails", down, or up or half up. Leg warmers were a huge hit in the 1980 decade and same with fingerless gloves (lace or leather). Big shirts, leggings, and converse was a very popular outfit then too. Neon and splatter paint was also a huge trend. Also, here are some examples of what the popular clothing materials and accessories were:
 * VANS
 * Tube Tops
 * Long sleeve shirts under t-shirts
 * Mini-skirts
 * Charm bracelets and necklaces
 * Colored mascara
 * Woven thread friendship bracelets
 * Ribbons as Belts
 * Big earrings
 * Black leather jewelry with spikes...etc.



The 80's decade is more commonly called "the time that fashion forgot," in the fashion world. It was a time of risky and even outrageous styles. From poodle perms to shell suits, fashion had definitely hit a strange time. Hair was HUGE (literally) in the 80's. Some people embraced the "punk" look that became popular in the mid-70's from the Sex Pistol, with spiked, crazy hair. Their hair was usually either curly,spiked, jelled, colored, teased or bleached. Makeup was also a big accessory, especially eyeliner.

FADS

The Rubik's cube was a very popular past time in the 80's. The game was created by a Hungarian professor named Erno Rubik in 1974. The first world Rubik's cube championship was held in 1982 in Budapest with 19 contestants competing for speed. The cube has frustrated thousands of costumers trying to decode this challenging puzzle. Simon (the game) was also a popular past time in the 80's. It was created in 1977 and it was a memory game that tested your concentration and patience. Other entertaining toys included the following: -slinky -silly putty -Mr. Potato head -smelly markers -hoola hoops -roller skates -yo-yo's

Also jelly shoes were the fad shoes of the 80's. They were rubbery and cheap, not to mention highly uncomfortable. One of the more crazy fads were shell suits. For being a flashy, puff suit worn by men this was pretty popular in the 80's.

media type="youtube" key="dfh5vX_RPzo" height="340" width="560"

Like all decades, the 1980's had many people that were famous or considered celebrities. Many of those celebrities from the 80's are still famous and popular today. Some of the 80's celebrities that are still famous today include Tom Cruise, Hulk Hogan, Madonna, John Travolta, Jay Leno, and many others. Just like today, almost all of these celebrities consisted of movie actors, television actors, athletes, and comedians. In the 1980's there was a massive drug surge that thousands of people fell victim to. Some of those people were famous people such as: songwriter Tim Hardin, comedian/ actor John Belushi, and Cleveland Brown's defensive back Don Rogers. Some of these deaths helped to cause the 1980's anti-drug movement. Some other celebrities such as famous singer/pianist Liberace, and film actor Rock Harden died due to AIDS. The deaths of Liberace and Harden brought the epidemic of AIDS into the eye of the public. __**Television**__ Like today, in the 1980's televison was a popular piece of entertainment. Television stars of the 1980's included Bob Saget, Mario Lopez, Burt Reynolds, Michael J. Fox, and Bill Cosby. Most television stars of the 1980's are still popular and working today. Popular shows were Full House, Family Ties, Saved by the Bell, the Cosby Show, The A-Team, and Cheers.
 * __ Celebrities and Famous Peopl e__**

__**Movies**__ One of the most infamous people in the 1980's was Jim Bakker. Jim Bakker sold 1,000 dollar lifetime memberships to a luxury hotel. The trial later revealed that he had sold 10,000 of these memberships. This is one of the larger frauds that Bakker has been charged for. **
 * __Infamous People__

__**Big Events in the 1980's**__ Several big events that impact our world even today happened in the 1980's. These events include the falling of the Berlin Wall, the discovery of AIDS, the first women to ever get shot into space, and the Cold War. The falling of the Berlin Wall happened in 1989. This wall was the divider of East and West Germany. The breaking of this wall was a huge representation of the union of East and West Germany into just Germany. This happened in 1989. The discovery of AIDS was a big event because this discovery is still effecting people today. The AIDS epidemic has caused many catastrophes all across the world. AIDS was discovered in 1986. The first women getting shot up into space was a very big event because this was a big movement not only for mankind but also for the progress in women rights. This happened in 1983 and the woman was Sally Ride. The Cold War was a very big event it led to many advancements in technology and it scared most of the world. The Cold War caused the Russians to launch the Sputnik into space in but then also caused the Americans to shoot people into space. The Cold War doesn't really affect us today but its accomplishments do.

__Technology__

In the 80's people thought Science and Technology only brought more anxiety to people than relief. For example there was the accident on three mile island with outbreak of harmful gases from the reactors. Even though there was muck anxiety new stuff invoving technology came out every week on the market. Video games such as Pac-Man came out to entertain people.([]) Computers were becoming a popular object to get and in 1983 video game companies almost ceased to exist because of computers. Many cars were imported into the U.S. Chrysler and American Motors were near bankruptcy but recovered in 1983 with economy. In 1884 Apple Macintosh now one of the most successful computer and software developers was invented along with Windows from Microsoft that came out the year after. Fuji introduced the first disposable camera to the world and to stay up in the market they added features like waterproofing, flash, zoom etc.



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