The 1980s was an insanely defining moment in pop culture, packed with movies, music, and revolutionary fashion. This decade is often always associated with classic style and nostalgia, while the memories of this decade continuously live on.

Movies of the 80s: This generation for film possibly could have given the world some of the best trilogies and movies of all time. Although the original star wars movie was released in 1977, in the 1980s the series exploded. The general population was so happily gifted two more movies, making this now a trilogy. The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980 and then quickly followed by Return of the Jedi, which was released a short three years later in 1983. More movies that defined this generation was the “Spielberg Era”. Steven Spielberg, an insanely successful and famous director exploded in popularity in the 1980s. His movies were the highest moneymaker of this decade and included films like E.T., The Goonies, Poltergeist, and Indiana Jones. Spielberg still claimed his insane popularity after the 1980s, going on to direct Jurassic Park and many other famous films. Some other miscellaneous famous films of the 80s include Ghostbusters, Gremlins, The Outsiders, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 16 Candles, Can’t buy me Love, Friday the 13th, Karate Kid, Dead Poets Society, and many other cult classics. 

Music of the 80s: 

This decade of music was extremely unique, seeing the rise of punk, smooth jazz, new wave, electronic, and soft rock. The 80s replaced the uber-popular 70s disco-style music with dance, and continuing their popularity through this decade was pop and metal. Mainly when people hear 80s music it is recognized immediately is because of the use of the snare drum. This instrument rose in popularity in the 1980s and very memorable and distinctive for its unique sound, this type of sound is called the 80s reverb. This decade is also commonly remembered in music for the increased use of digital synthesizers, which continued in popularity after this decade as well. MTV came out in this decade which changed the way music was shared. In the 1980s MTV was only a television show that would play popular music videos of popular artists, however the impacted society by allowing music to become more visual and available to all teens. These are the teenage styles and music become more important and prevalent in society. Some of the top trending songs of the 1980s included Physical by Oliva Newton-John, Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes, Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, Another one Bites the Dust by Queen, Funkytown by Lipps Inc, Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Jump by Van Halen, and Like a Virgin by Madonna. 

Fashion of the 80s: In the 1980s fashion was very interesting, as many teens used this as a creative outlet to find their identities and expressing individuality. As 80s trends are on the rise once again, some of the trends included but were not limited to scrunchies, fanny packs, neon colors, shoulder pads, spandex, miniskirts, parachute pants, animal print, chunky/statement jewelry, and much of this was oversized. Popular brands of the 80s were Nike, Levis, and Polo. For women hair was always poofy, while bangs, perms, and side ponies were popular styles. Men’s styles were ponytails, mullets, and rat tails. 

The 80s was a very nonapologetic generation for pop culture, influencing many generations and decades to come. Almost every aspect of the 80s fashion/trends was big and bold, influencing individuality and creativity.