History in the 80s

The 1980s culture illustrated both the positives and negatives of American society at that time. From the many movies, to the toys, new technology, fashion, music, and sports, all of these reflected the decade. As a matter of fact, most of these examples listed did have a huge impact on today’s culture. To begin with, the 80s had memorable moments such as the famous movies at that time. Science Fiction or Sci-Fi, an expanding and unique form of movie genre, was incredibly popular.

The music, books, television shows and overall media that were a product of the 90’s had a lasting impact on American culture. From Nirvana’s influence on the creation of the grunge music genre to the acclaimed Harry Potter franchise, entertainment established in the 90’s is still loved and revered by numerous people to date.

The 1980s were the years of big change. Women became more independent and cared more about their careers, music shaped the fashion industry, and computers altered the American lifestyle. The "go-go eighties" caused a substantial revolution in fashion, entertainment, and technology. To fully understand how the 1980s shaped America, one must review the details of fashion, entertainment, and technology of the "go-go eighties."

Changes in music were inspired by social and political issues at the time. It was most definitely a politically charged decade:cold war, unemployment, poverty in homes. Many artists used music as a form of escapism and or to get a point across. In 1981 MTV launched its first music video, ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by the

The 1980s started out like every other decade. There were new trends, music, and culture. But there was something about the 80s that set it apart from any other decade. It was the way its culture weaved it’s way into people’s hearts, and minds. The 80s soon became symbolic in many ways. It showed that women could go into the workforce and get high educations, technology was about to revolutionize the world, and the culture was even bigger and better than before. Pop Culture in the 1980s can be summed up as trend setting and iconic because many things that were relevant during the decade are still around and or cherished today by many people. So let’s take a trip down memory lane and go back to a time to the 1980s.

The 1970s, also known as the “Me Decade”, was a time of diversifying music. The Beatles had broken up, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin had died from drug overdose, Led Zeppelin was Britain’s most popular group, The Rolling Stones weren’t active, and rock & roll was branching out into various popular subgenres such as: Country Rock, Glam Rock, Progressive Rock, Punk Rock, Soft Rock, and Hard Rock/Heavy Metal. Hard rock and Heavy Metal were interchangeable terms during the time because of their similarity; consisting of fast or

Hey guys, Sophie Jeffrey here for Channel [V]. Welcome back to another segment of ‘Songs of My Generation’. This week we’ll take a look back at the totally tubular 80s. The 80s was full of many things: Rubik’s Cubes, Wrestling, Pac Man, Lip Smackers, Nintendo, skateboarding, roller skating, Horror films, the BratPack, connect four, Tupperware parties, pop rocks, Weird Al Yankovic, who’s currently making a comeback FYI… and the list goes on! Horror films made their way onto the scene in the 80s with thousands flocking to movie theatres to see the latest scary flick. The 80’s are to thank for some of the popular fashion trends we still see today: RayBans, Doc Martens, bright colours and denim jackets, but while some of the fashion trends found in the 80s soared, others, like leg warmers, spandex, shoulder pads, parachute pants, mullets, perms, sweaters around the waist, big hair bows, all definitely proved that with the good always comes the bad. This was a decade full of new and advancing technology: out with the old and in with the new! The 80s said goodbye to cassette tapes and boom boxes and hello to compact discs and Sony Walkman’s, taking the first step in redefining the music industry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll, these were the first words uttered on what was to become one of the most iconic and popular TV channels, MTV. It would continue to dominate for the next 33 years following its launch on August 1st 1981. MTV changed the way people viewed music and gave

When one thinks of the 1980s, often the first thing they think about is the big hair. Perhaps they think of the iconic soap opera cliffhangers or the War of Drugs. Or maybe they think of Madonna. Madonna’s career fully embraced the sexual onslaught of the 1980s, and in addition to becoming a pop icon she became a sex icon. Madonna faced much adversity in her life and career from the start.

The 80s was a decade that was loaded with pop culture. Pop culture nowadays exists the way it does because barriers that have been broken back then in the 1980s. Social norms have changed leading several celebrities to have certain styles. People also think differently of what things are today because of the way they were presented back in the 1980s. Today’s generations have been influenced by pop culture from ordinary people to celebrities. Singers that have influenced today were Michael Jackson, with his dancing and fashion, as well as Madonna with her sense of style and having a rebellious attitude. Whitney Houston also influence most contemporary

John Covach, the author of What’s That Sound, distinguishes the cultural elements of pop-culture/music within four distinct categories: social, race, business, and technology. Without a doubt, all four of these traits within pop-culture have been evolving and changing ever since the emergence of any pop-culture. The cultural themes of the always-changing society, business, and technology have indefinitely changed pop-culture and vice-versa. In my essay, I want to discuss how the technology and the evolution of technology affected the growth and modernization of popular music.

When people hear the genre “rock and roll,” they often think of performers like Elvis Presley, AC/DC, and Aerosmith. Those bands have provided the foundation for rock and roll, but the newer bands have to carry over from the bands of the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s to the bands of the 1990’s and the 2000’s. The new generation of bands has just as much, if not more, popularity than the bands of the older generation. Bands do not gain popularity just by showing up to rehearsal, though. Gaining popularity can take years of making music, and sometimes establishing credibility takes more time than other bands. The more popular bands that have many fans are bands like Three Days Grace, Alter Bridge, and Avenged Sevenfold. These three bands have had

1980s: The Decade of Introduction The word “introduction” means to introduce, or present something for the first time. As in life when people are introduced to other people, they are also introduced to other things. Likewise, the 1980s decade can be seen as the Decade of Introduction in which there were an abundance of new and interesting happenings.

The 80s were a great time for movies and music. When the two merged, it was pure magic: Footloose, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, Beverly Hills Cops, Romancing the Stone, etc. Fabulous artists like Phil Collins, Pointers Sisters, Billy Ocean, Irene Cara made the movies even more memorable with their theme songs.

Even though the 80’s are in the past it still has some influence today and can be seen in music fashion and other things. Michael jackson’s famous moonwalk can still be seen emulated by people around the world as well as his musical influence on future musicians like Usher and Justin timberlake. Tv shows like MTV which is still ongoing with the latest trends in music and fashion. Movies still have some 80’s style in them as well to fancy outfits, odd hair styles and special

New wave is a genre of rock music popular from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s with ties to 1970s punk rock. New wave moved away from blues and rock and roll sounds to create pop music that incorporated disco, mod, and electronic music. Although it incorporates much of the original punk rock sound and ethos, new wave exhibits greater complexity in both music and lyrics. Common characteristics of new wave music include the use of synthesizers and electronic productions, the importance of styling and the arts, as well as diversity. New wave has been called one of the definitive genres of the 1980s, after it grew partially fixated on MTV, and the popularity of several new wave artists, attributed to their exposure on the channel. In the mid-1980s, differences between new wave and other music genres began to blur. During the 2000s, a number of acts, such as the Strokes, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand and The Killers explored new wave and post-punk influences. The catch-all nature of new wave music has been a source of much confusion and controversy. The 1985 discography Who's New Wave in Music listed artists in over 130 separate categories. New wave first emerged as a rock genre in the early 1970s, used by critics including Nick Kent and Dave Marsh to classify such New York-based groups as the Velvet Underground and New York Dolls. Like the filmmakers of the French new wave movement, its new artists were anti-corporate and experimental. Part of what attracted Stein and others to new wave was the music's stripped back style and upbeat tempos, which they viewed as a much needed return to the energetic rush of rock and roll and 1960s rock that had dwindled in the 1970s with the ascendance of overblown progressive rock and stadium spectacles. Music historian Vernon Joynson claimed that new wave emerged in the UK in late 1976, when many bands began disassociating themselves from punk. New wave died out in the mid-1980s, knocked out by guitar-driven rock reacting against new wave. Late 1970s new wave acts such as the Pretenders and the Cars were more likely to be found on classic rock playlists than on new wave playlists there. Reflecting its British origins, the 2004 study Popular Music Genres: An Introduction had one