1980s
Events and trends
The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. This decade has been somewhat derided since its closing for its perceived "greed" among Yuppies, certain clothes/music/hairstyles which seem outlandish by modern standards, overall high crime rates in many countries, and of course the onset of the AIDS virus in the early part of the decade. While true to some extent, events and trends of the 1980s contributed greatly towards toppling the Soviet Union and European communism in the last months of the decade, and the 1980s saw very rapid developments in numerous sectors of technology which have defined the 20th century as a whole.
Technology
Science
War, peace and politics
- Cold War peaks; fall of the Iron Curtain.
- 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.
- Soviet fighters down Korean Air Flight 7 in 1983, leading to a high point in international tensions.
- Three Soviet Premiers die in rapid succession: Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, and Konstantin Chernenko.
- 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.
- 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; he becomes the longest serving Chancellor so far.
- Falklands War; Argentina invades the Falkland islands in 1982 but defeated by the United Kingdom.
- Israel invades Lebanon in 1982, . A suicide bomber kills 241 U.S. marines stationed there as peacekeepers.
- Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988 causes the deaths of at least hundreds of thousands.
- Over 120,000 flee Cuba in 1980 during the Mariel Boatlift, during which Fidel Castro released many criminals into American harbors.
- P.W. Botha suppresses anti-apartheid activists; international boycotts of South Africa continue.
- King Juan Carlos of Spain prevents a military coup in 1980. Spain joined NATO in 1982; it joined the European Union with Portugal in 1986.
- In 1989 students protest on Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China and are eventually suppressed.
- Large protests in the Philippines topples the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship; military rule ends after protests in Argentina and South Korea.
- Augusto Pinochet forms a new constitution, holds a referendum on rule and loses. Democracy is restored.
- 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.
- Political correctness becomes a concern in mainstream politics.
- Ronald Reagan decides to invade Grenada in 1984 and depose the nascent hardline communist government.
- The Reagan administration bombs Libya in 1986 in response to alleged Libyan support for attacks on U.S. servicemen in Europe.
- Under George H. W. Bush, the U.S. invades Panama in 1989 to overthrow Manuel Noriega.
- 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, but also the Iran-Contra scandal.
- 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 judgement the U.S. administration did not recognize.
- President Tito of Yugoslavia dies.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Economics
Culture
- Television networks are challenged by cable television. In the U.S., Cheers and The Cosby Show top ratings and the Fox network is launched. CNN becomes the first 24-hour news channel.
- The video game console outstrips the arcade game.
- Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial opens in 1982 and shatters records for box office gross receipts.
- Music videos (and MTV) begin to have an effect on record industry in the United States. Pop artists Michael Jackson and Madonna are pioneers; groups such as Duran Duran benefit.
- 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.
- In the United States, hair metal enjoys popularity.
- Andrew Lloyd Webber and Schönberg and Boublil's Les Misérables dominate musical theatre .
- He-Man, 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.
- Hip hop began to achieve mainstream success in the United States, with artists like Kurtis Blow and N.W.A.; hip hop's spread outside of New York City, especially to Los Angeles, accelerates.
- "Gorbymania"
- The Rubik's cube, Cabbage Patch Kids, "Baby on Board" signs, and Trivial Pursuit fads capture the interest of the American public.
- 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.
- Women's Lib movement increases women's role in the workplace, and establishes new precedents for US women including the ability to obtain department store credit cards. 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. The increase in single parent homes leads to the phenomenon of Latch-key children, where children come home to an empty house and watch a lot of television.
- Animation in North America begins a dramatic comeback in production values and mainstream popular appeal both in feature films and on television.
Others
People
World Leaders
Entertainers
- Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Glory)
- Phoebe Cates (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Gremlins)
- Tom Cruise (Top Gun, Rain Man, Risky Business, The Color of Money)
- Emilio Estevez (The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, Young Guns)
- Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series, Blade Runner, Witness)
- Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future series, Teen Wolf)
- Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon series, Mad Max series)
- Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
- Debbie Harry (Blondie)
- Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee)
- Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders)
- Elton John
- Michael Keaton (Batman, Mr. Mom, Night Shift)
- George Lucas (Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series, Captain Eo)
- George Michael (Wham!)
- Eddie Murphy (Saturday Night Live, Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places)
- Jack Nicholson (Terms of Endearment, The Shining, Batman, Prizzi's Honor, Ironweed, Reds)
- Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface, Dangerous Liaisons)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator, Predator, Conan the Barbarian)
- Michael Jackson (Thriller)
- Madonna (Material Girl)
- Prince (Purple Rain, Sign O' the Times)
- U2 (War, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum)
Sports figures
Film
Television
See Also: 1980s in television
Music
Musical genres popular during the 1980s include hip hop, old school rap, heavy metal music, twee pop, hair metal, New Wave music, New Romantic, shoegazing, jangle pop, hardcore punk, alternative rock, dream pop, techno, house, acid house, and two-tone. Country Music also remained popular with hit's from the likes of Kenny Rogers, Ricky Skaggs, George Strait and Randy Travis. 1989 saw one Garth Brooks break onto the scene.
See also: 1980s music groups, List of rock and roll albums in the 1980s
External links
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