What did the 80's mean to you?

[Dufusyte]

For all those old timers who lived through the 80's, what were your impressions of that decade?

Here are mine, to get us started:

Politically, it was a restoration of confidence in government after a decade of scandal (Nixon) or pathetic leadership (Carter). In particular, it was a restoration of faith in the military, as we broke a three decade losing streak (Korea, Vietnam, Shah of Iran hostages, etc.) and finally kicked butt around the world, rolling back the expansion of the Evil Empire (Communism), in the name of freedom and democracy. It was a time of optimism.

Musically, it saw the end of the great 70's groups, and a descent into pop and synthesizers. Music became commercialized, commoditized, and more about targeting profitable demographics than expressing the passion of the artists. No song on the radio could be over 3 minutes. Vacuum tubes were replaced by solid state transistors, and audio quality suffered. It was the beginning of a long decline in music, which continues to hit new lows in our day.

In film it was the continuation of an upward swing which began in the late '70's (Star Wars 1977, Superman I 1978) with Spielberg and Lucas doing their finest work, to exhilarating scores by John Williams. It saw the return of the swashbuckler, and reflected the confident optimism of the age.

In fashion, it was the age of big: big hair, big glasses, big shoulder pads, and big heels. The bigness was part of the expansive optimism of the age.

Sociologically, it saw the abandonment of the radical idealism(s) of the 60's and 70's, and the adoption of a pragmatic, business like approach to life. It was a time of economic prosperity, and people wanted to get in on it, more than go on quixotic quests.

What were your impressions of the 80's?

 

[Willi Berg]

Patty had a point about the extreme nature of the 80s, the "best and the worst".

Even in pop culture, people seemed to be naive, they just went all out. Whether in fashion or ideas.

To me it was a lot about the movies. John Hughes movies, espionage movies, big dumb action flicks.

It was also about the advent of home computers and videogames. Even seeing it in movies like WarGames and Short Circuit, even Electric Dreams(!)...just seeing cinema playing with those ideas. You even see it in a movie like Superman III.

As for politics, it was about Reagan and Gorbachev, Thatcher, the Falklands, Indira Gandhi, terrorism, the Gulf War and on and on.

Interesting that this sign was seen in Washington D.C. for WW84 filming:

 

[Dark Raven]

My childhood. Some good times, and some very bad times. I didn't enjoy school at all then. The 80s was also more racist than now. Or at least people could get away with racism because there was no worry about being PC or any kinds of sanctions.

Some music was good but other stuff was bad. A lot of electronic synth that tried to be futuristic but just sounds dated now. But some good tunes too elsewhere.

There were classic films like Back to the Future or Indiana Jones.

In the early 80s there was Masters of the Universe, Thundercats and Secret Wars.

On TV there was Dynasty, Dallas, Cheers, Knight Rider, the A-Team, Star Trek TNG.

I think on the whole I preferred the 90s. I only started enjoying the 80s more towards the end, around 88 to 89.