The 80s: A Decade to Be Remembered

Staff Writer: Jaiden Palys

The 80s was perhaps the best decade ever. While to say any decade of 1900s was better than the rest could be little more than opinion, the 80s are simply unbeatable. Consider it; film, fashion, music, a booming economy and much more on top of that, they simply had it all.

Film

If you are a film nerd, you would know that there is no denying that when it comes to movies, the 80s had the best of the best. Hollywood had truly struck its golden age and it is almost sad to know film will never be the way it once was. Movies like The Goonies, E.T., Back to the Future, The Princess Bride, The Shining, Top Gun, Ghostbusters, The NeverEnding Story, and Dirty Dancing (the list only goes on), are just some of the more popular movies that are still relevant and rewatched today.

When asked his favorite thing about the 80s, Nick S. replied, “The movies.” His favorite movie is The Thing.

Being an audience of teenagers, many of you love your teen coming-of-age films, and many of the best came straight out of the 80s. They include The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Outsiders, Dead Poets Society (my fellow juniors and seniors know what’s up), 16 Candles, Pretty in Pink, need I go on?

Not to bore you with more lists, but some of my personal favorite movies include Heathers, Labyrinth, An American Werewolf in London, Little Shop of Horrors, Monster Squad, and The Lost Boys. There are many more famous and popular films that I have not listed here, but if you have any interest, you can find lists on google to confirm your thoughts on whether 80s film was the best.

Music

Music defined the 80s more than anything. During this time was the birth of MTV and the popular usage of cassette tapes. If you have parents or know other adults who take every opportunity to remind you how hard or different life was when they were kids, you may already know all you need to know about the significance of these two things. If not, then please, read on.

MTV was the beginning of music videos. A channel that played solely music videos 24/7. People were able to see the artist performing their songs from home. MTV became an especially popular promoter of music and without it, we wouldn’t have some of our more popular artists like Madonna and Guns n’ Roses. And it was a major steppingstone for black artists who were now able to be featured and get popular from MTV thanks to Michael Jackson paving the way with his hit song Thriller and its music video.

If you know anything about cassette tapes, you’ll know that making one with your own choice of music could be a serious pain. People could sit at a radio for hours with their finger on the record button just waiting for the song they desire to start playing. Although it’s appreciated that in today’s age, we can listen to anything we want at any time, there was a certain rewarding feeling that came with cassettes. They are significant too as with this sudden boom in usage, the Walkman was created which meant the beginning of portable music.

The 80s also meant the birth of many new genres of music. Hip-hop was in the making and early rap too. Disco was out and in came new music heavily revolving around electronic sounds and synthesizers. Many have strong feelings against synthesizers, but I absolutely love them. Punk rock was big, and alternative and indie were in the process of creation. New Wave is one of the more notable and definitive genres of the 80s and is also another favorite of mine.

New names popped up and even older artists managed to remain relevant. If you would like to see a list of popular artists and bands; ( http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/80smusic.html ).

Fashion

The fashion of the 80s was wild. Crazy big hair, shoulder pads, bright neon colors, spandex, mullets, leg warmers, and denim. When watching the films, you couldn’t not love their style, but when you look up 80s fashion and the in hairstyles on google, well, it was certainly something. Although crazy, there is a sort of charm to it and the straight up 80s fashion feels somehow nostalgic. If I had to describe it in 2 words, I’d say be young and happy.

When asked what his favorite thing was about the 80s, Ejaaz had replied “the clothing style.” He then elaborated, “The way clothes like jackets made you seem cool and edgy or sweaters made you look warm and comfortable. Of course, you shouldn’t judge people on how they dress but I’ll give it to the 80’s, their clothing felt like their identity.”

Plus some

There is so much more to the 80s than just movies, music, and fashion. For some more pop culture related facts, cartoons and the production of children’s toys was getting big, shopping centers/malls were all the rage, arcades and video games were becoming mainstream. And outside of pop cultural, life in general was much better. It has been statistically proven that people were simply happier in the 80s.

Ronald Reagan, known to have been one of America’s best presidents was president for the entirety of the 80s. Things were cheaper, and the economy was doing especially well. And not to say work and school were not hard, but everything happened at a more chill pace than today. Therefore, the 80s are undoubtedly the best.