1980s

The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive.

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.

The 1980s is 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 like 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 yuppies bestrode the world's stock exchanges, social consciences were much in evidence: celebrities gathered 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.

In the United States, the decade was most poignantly symbolized by the presidency of Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989 (termed as the "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 with the first George Bush, but the recession of the late '80s and early 1990s caused significant backlash against Bush and the Republican Party.

Though much of the 1980s was characterized by Reaganomics in the USA , following the election of Ronald Reagan as President in 1980, Thatcherism in the UK, and social conservatism throughout the world, the late 1980s played host to several dramatic events, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. The era was characterized by the 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 'the Greed decade', reflecting the economic and social climate.

Technology

IBM PC.

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 Genesis/Megadrive brings about full recovery. Handheld consoles are introduced in the late 1980s.
* The first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1, 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 , is released in 1984.
* Accident at Chernobyl nuclear reactor, April 1986.
* 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

* 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.
* English physicist Tim Berners Lee invents the World Wide Web at CERN.
* 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.
* The Apatosaurus is made the official state dinosaur of Guam.

War and politics

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; Eastern Bloc countries boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
** 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.
** Three Soviet Premiers die in rapid succession: Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, and Konstantin Chernenko.
** 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.
** Fall of the Berlin Wall in East Germany in 1989, preparing the way to German reunification.
** Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia.
** Revolution in Romania, execution of Ceauşescu.
** 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.
** In 1989 students protest on Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China and are eventually suppressed.
** Soviet fighters down 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. This leads to continued civil war, the deposition of several regimes, some democratization, and the Iran-Contra scandal.
** President Tito of Yugoslavia dies.
** Over 120,000 flee Cuba in 1980 during the Mariel Boatlift, during which Fidel Castro released many criminals into American harbors.
* The continued rise of Islamic Fundamentalism following the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
** Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988 causes an estimated 1 million deaths.
** 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 Palestine Liberation Front hijacks the Achille Lauro and shoots the wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer, throwing him overboard.
** Terror groups Abu Nidal and Hezbollah rise to prominence in Western attention.
** Release of Americans held hostage in Iran.
** Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa urging the killing of Salman Rushdie.
** Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland, UK.
*Several military dictatorships fell or faced destabilization attempts
** Large protests in the Philippines topples the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship; military rule ends after protests in Argentina and South Korea.
** Under George H. W. Bush, the U.S. invades 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.
** 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.
** Augusto Pinochet forms a new constitution, holds a referendum on rule and loses. Democracy is restored.
* 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.
* 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.
* Falklands War; 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.
* The Soviet Union ends its disastrous military campaign in Afghanistan.
* Former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim is exposed as a former Nazi
* Vietnam continues its military occupation of Cambodia.
* In Europe, rise of alleged neo-fascist parties (Le Pen in France, Schönhuber/Republikaner in Germany, Haider in Austria), parallel to a rise of Green parties.
* Dark years for Malta and its politics. Violence is culminated by the murder of Raymond Caruana and blocking entry to Nationalist supporters into the southern village of Zejtun.
* The Rainbow Warrior is sunk by French secret service agents.
* Samuel Doe regime in Liberia.df

Economics

*In developing countries the decade was charactized by debt crisis of enormous magnitude that began in 1982 when Mexico declared that it cannot pay back its debts. Another essential feature in development countries was structural adjustment programs driven by World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Dow Jones (19 July 1987 through 19 January 1988).

* Reaganomics, Thatcherism and Rogernomics.
* In the United States the longest bull market in history begins in 1983; Dow Jones Industrial Average passes 2000 point milestone January 8, 1987.
* OPEC controls slip; petroleum prices collapse below $10 per barrel by mid-1986, devastating oil-producing nations such as Mexico.
* U.S. Midwest Farm Crisis 1981–1985.
* East Asian Tigers' share of world trade rises significantly.
* U.S. balance of trade falls into chronic deficit; populists criticize trade relations with Japan.
* 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.ct
* Late 1980s recession

Political correctness and trends

* Political correctness becomes a concern in mainstream politics.
* 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 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"
*No-Fault divorce laws pave the way for increased divorce rate, as depicted in the movie, Irreconcilable Differences.
* Alcohol education expands; examples are M.A.D.D. and Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign.
* Environmental concerns are growing. In Britain, environmentally-friendly domestic products surge in popularity.

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.
*Computer technology culture starts to enter the mainstream and appears in movies such as 1982's Tron and 1983's WarGames.
* The Rubik's Cube, Cabbage Patch Kids, "Baby on Board" signs, Teddy Ruxpin, and Trivial Pursuit fads capture the interest of the American and British public.

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.
* Aerobics are 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.
* Rap music begins to break into the mainstream and a string of breakdancing movies appeared Beat Street, Breakin', and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo; 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.

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

* 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.
* 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, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, Queen, U2, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Beastie Boys, 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.
* 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, and Michael W. Smith.
* 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 takes off beyond America's shores.
* Heavy metal became extremely popular in 1980s, and became one of the most dominating music genres of the 1980s. Artists such as Van Halen, Twisted Sister, Poison, Ratt, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi and Guns 'N Roses got extensive airplay.
* Thrash metal becomes underground sensation originating in the Bay Area, California. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer are popular.
* 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]
* Wane 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.
* 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 and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
*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. Robotech, Star Blazers, and Voltron spearhead the first wave of organized anime fandom outside Japan.
*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.
* The Simpsons debuts on the Fox Network 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 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

Film

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.
*Horror 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. 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 openign 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.
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.
*In Britain ''Batman (1989 film) is the first to recieve a 12 certificate.

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 Megadrive 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.

People

Entertainers

* Run-DMC (musicians)
* AC/DC (music band)
* Brat Pack (actors)
* Journey (music band)
* Bon Jovi (music band)
* Mötley Crüe (music band)
* David Brooks
* Eazy-E
* Garth Brooks (musician)
* Matthew Broderick (actor, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Glory)
* The Cars
* Phoebe Cates (actress, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Gremlins)
* David Cronenberg (director)
* Genesis (music band)
* Guns N' Roses (music band)
* Tom Cruise (actor, Top Gun, Rain Man, Risky Business, The Color of Money)
* Bo Derek (actress)
* Matt Dillon (actor)
* Dalida
* David Bowie (musician)
* Depeche Mode
* Duran Duran (music band, Duran Duran, Rio, Seven And The Ragged Tiger, Notorious, Big Thing)
* Ozzy Osbourne (musician)
* Emilio Estevez (actor, The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, Young Guns)
* 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)
* New Order (music band)
* NWA (rap music group) Straight Outta Compton, Fuck Da 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)
* 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)
* Megadeth (music band)
* George Michael (musician from Wham!)
* Mötley Crüe (music band)
* Molly Ringwald (actress)
* Rick Moranis (actor)
* Eddie Murphy (actor, Saturday Night Live, Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places)
* N.W.A
* Jack Nicholson (actor, Terms of Endearment, The Shining, Batman, Prizzi's Honor, Ironweed, Reds)
* Queen (music band)
* 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)
* 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)
* The Cure (music band)
* U2 (music band, War, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum)
* Van Halen (music band)
* Sigourney Weaver (actress, Working Girl)
* Cyndi Lauper (musician, She's so Unusual, True Colors, A Night to Remember)
* MC Hammer (musician)
* ZZ Top (music band)
* Teena Marie (musician)
* Laura Branigan (pop singer)
* The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sports figures

* Alexis Arguello (Nicaraguan boxer)
* Marco van Basten (Dutch soccer player)
* Wilfred Benitez (Puerto Rican boxer)
* Larry Bird (U.S. basketball player)
* Serge Blanco (French rugby union player)
* Allan Border (Australian cricket captain/batsman)
* Ian Botham (Somerset & England cricket all-rounder)
* Mike Brearley (Middlesex & England cricket captain/batsman)
* George Brett (U.S. baseball player)
* Warwick Capper (Australian football player)
* David Campese (Australian rugby union player
* Julio Cesar Chavez (Mexican boxer)
* Roberto Duran (Panamanian boxer)
* Dale Earnhardt (NASCAR hall of fame driver)
* Paulo Roberto Falcão (Brazilian soccer player)
* Ric Flair (U.S. wrestler)
* Mike Gatting (Middlesex & England cricket captain/batsman)
* Sunil Gavaskar (India cricket opening batsman)
* Wilfredo Gómez (Puerto Rican boxer)
* Gordon Greenidge (West Indies cricket opening batsman)
* Wayne Gretzky (Canadian ice hockey player)
* Florence Griffith Joyner (U.S. track and field athlete)
* Richard Hadlee (New Zealand cricket fast bowler)
* Marvin Hagler (U.S. boxer)
* Alan Hansen (Liverpool & Scotland footballer))
* Thomas Hearns (U.S. boxer)
* Hulk Hogan (U.S. wrestler)
* Larry Holmes (U.S. boxer)
* Bo Jackson (U.S. American football and baseball player)
* Imran Khan (Pakistani cricket player)
* Jahangir Khan (Pakistani squash player)
* Earvin "Magic" Johnson (U.S. basketball player)
* Michael Jordan (U.S. basketball player)
* Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czech track and field athlete)
* Greg LeMond (U.S. cyclist)
* Sugar Ray Leonard (U.S. boxer)
* Carl Lewis (U.S. track and field athlete)
* Wally Lewis (Australian rugby league player}
* Gary Lineker (English footballer)
* Ronnie Lott (U.S. American football player)
* Saleem Malik (Pakistani cricket player)
* Diego Armando Maradona (Argentinesoccer player)
* Malcolm Marshall (West Indies cricket fast bowler)
* John McEnroe (U.S. tennis player)
* Mal Meninga (Australian rugby league player}
* Mark Messier (Canadian ice hockey player)
* Javed Miandad (Pakistani cricket player)
* Joe Montana (U.S. American football player)
* Dale Murphy (U.S. baseball player)
* Martina Navrátilová (Czech/U.S. tennis player)
* Jack Nicklaus (U.S. golfer)
* Nelson Piquet (Brazilian racing driver)
* Michel Platini (French soccer player)
* Kirby Puckett (U.S baseball player)
* Alain Prost (French racing driver)
* Jerry Rice (U.S. football player)
* Vivian Richards (West Indies cricket batsman)
* Ian Rush (Welsh soccer player)
* Nolan Ryan (U.S. baseball player)
* Ayrton Senna (Brazilian racing driver)
* Ozzie Smith (U.S. baseball player)
* Neville Southall (Welsh soccer player)
* Michael Spinks (U.S. boxer)
* Lawrence Taylor (U.S. American football player)
* Isiah Thomas (U.S. basketball player)
* Daley Thompson (English track and field athlete)
* Mike Tyson (U.S. boxer)
* Zico (Brazilian soccer player)
* Don Mattingly (U.S. baseball player)

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)
* Blade Runner (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)
* Fletch (1985)
* The Goonies (1985)
* St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
* Secret Admirer (1985)
* Pretty in Pink (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)
* 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)

Television shows

See Also: 1980s in television
The Jeffersons(USA) (1975-1985)
M*A*S*H (USA) (1972-1983)
Dallas (USA) (1978-1991)
Yes, Minister (UK) (1980-1988)
Dynasty (USA) (1981-1989)
Falcon Crest (USA) (1981-1990)
The Tube (UK) (1982-1987)
Cheers (USA) (1982-1993)
The A-Team (including Mr. T) (USA) (1983-1987)
Press Your Luck (USA) (1983-1986)
Treasure Hunt (UK) (1983-1989)
Miami Vice (USA) (1984-1989)
The Cosby Show (USA) (1984-1992)
Dempsey & Makepeace (UK) (1985-1986)
EastEnders (UK) (1985-present)
MacGyver (USA) (1985-1992)
The Golden Girls (USA) (1985-1992)
21 Jump Street (USA) (1987-1991)
Full House (USA) (1987-1995)
Roseanne (USA) (1988-1997)
Birds of a Feather (UK) (1989-1998)
Seinfeld (USA) (1989-1998)
The Simpsons (USA) (1989)

External links

* Project 80s 1980s music, song lyrics, 80's band bios and discussion forum.
* Only 80s!, All your 1980's favorites from cars to celebrities, to movies, music, and fashion and fads!
* 80s Nostalgia, UK based 80s site with online 80s computer emulators, 80s TV and good humour
* I Was So 80s!, a site dedicated to pictures of real people in the 1980s
* The 80s Server, the biggest site dedicated to the pop culture of the 80s
* 80sXChange, the busiest site dedicated to the pop culture of the 80s
* Pop Culture Madness 1980s Music Charts