The Decadent Eighties
1980s
Slang (What We Said)
• DUDE
• Guy: also used as a conversation filler.
The term was widely used in such 1980s
movies as Fast Times at Ridgemont High,
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,
Wayne’s World.
Diss
• To insult someone; this term was one of
many of urban hip-hop culture.
Fresh
• A term from hip-hop culture, used to
express approval, as in “That tune is fresh”
Glass Ceiling
• The term glass ceiling refers to situations where the
advancement of a person within the hierarchy of an
organization is limited. This limitation is normally based
upon some form of discrimination, most commonly being
gender and race.
• This situation is referred to as a "ceiling" as there is a
limitation blocking upward advancement, and "glass"
(transparent) because the limitation is not immediately
apparent and is normally an unwritten and unofficial
policy. The "glass ceiling" is distinguished from formal
barriers to advancement, such as education or
experience requirements.
“Go ahead-make my day”
• "Go ahead, make my day" is a phrase said by the character Harry
Callahan from the 1983 film Sudden Impact.
• Harry's statement in the movie implies a number of meanings, any
one or more of which can be implied in common usage of this
phrase: That the robber's "threat" does not scare Harry, that the
robber's action would be exactly the excuse Harry needs to retaliate,
that whatever harm the man causes to the waitress would not
compare to the harm Harry causes to him, that Harry would enjoy
the revenge/retaliation.
• This phrase is commonly used in the same situations, though
probably not anywhere near as dramatic, as in the film. Person A
would threaten to do something, and Person B would respond, "Go
ahead, make my day."
“Just Say No”
• "Just Say No" was a television advertising
campaign, part of the US "War on Drugs" and
prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to
discourage children from engaging in
recreational drug use by offering various ways of
saying '"NO". Eventually, this also expanded the
realm of '"Just say no'" to violence, premarital
sex, and any other vices that young people
might try. The slogan was created and
championed by former First Lady Nancy
Reagan.
PC
• The abbreviation for politically correct
“Reach Out and Touch Someone”
• AT&T slogan-Catch tune
SUCKS
• Inadequate or undesirable.
“Where’s the Beef?”
• Wendy’s advertisement
Yuppies
• Young Urban professionals
What We Read
• Cosmos-published by Random House, is a book
by Carl Sagan based on his TV series Cosmos:
A Personal Voyage. It is similarly structured to
the TV series and contains most of the
information from the series (though the book
often explores the information more deeply), and
some information not found in it. The book is still
in print as of 2007, and is the best-selling
science book ever published in the English
language. The sequel to Cosmos is Pale Blue
Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
(1994).
The Far Side
• was a popular one-panel syndicated comic created by Gary Larson.
Its surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social
situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the
world, logical fallacies, impending bizarre disasters, or the search for
meaning in life. The strip ran from January 1, 1980, to January 1,
1995, when it was retired (there were a few sabbaticals and
vacations along the way). Reruns are still printed in many
newspapers.
• Around the world, The Far Side is perhaps better known for the
compilation books and merchandise (especially calendars, T-shirts
and mugs) than it is for its original incarnation as a daily newspaper
feature.
A Light in the Attic
• is a book by the American poet and children's writer Shel Silverstein,
published by HarperCollins in 1981. It is a collection of poems for
children, accompanied by illustrations also created by Shel
Silverstein.
• The book has been banned from some libraries for its attitude
towards child behavior (at times encouraging messiness and
disobedience). People claim that it "encourages" children to break
dishes in order to get out of having to dry them. One of the reasons
this book was banned was its mention of pirates. Also, one of the
verses describes the death of a girl after her parents refused to buy
her a pony. She became so sad that she withered away and died,
causing her parents to regret not buying her the pony—some people
thought that it was considering or recommending children to commit
suicide. It is number 51 on the American Library Association's list of
the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.It is also
charged as promoting themes to young children about horror,
violence, suicide, drug use, and cannibalsim
Jane Fonda’s Workout Book
• The book and videos that followed
captured a popular exercise craze at its
very height. Women, mostly, hopped
around the house doing Fonda’s workout
and hoped to sculpt their bodies to look
like the gracefully aging movie star’s.
USA Today
• 1982-The Gannet Company’s bodlycolored paper offered itself as the first
national newspaper. Critics called the
paper superficial and labeled it “McPaper,”
but its innovations were soon copied by
countless newspapers.
Iacocca
• 1984-The best selling nonfiction book of
the decade was the biography of Lee
Iacocca, the auto executive who, with the
help of the federal government, helped
revive the nation’s number three
automaker, Chrysler.
Fatherhood
• 1986-This humorous collection of
anecdotes by America’s favorite
comedian, Bill Cosby, was helped along
by the fact that Cosby played America’s
favorite father on the sitcom, The Cosby
Show.
All I Really Need to Know I Learned
in Kindergarten
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is a book of short essays by Robert Fulghum, first published in 1986.
The title of the book is taken from the first essay in the volume, in which
Fulghum lists lessons normally learned in American kindergarten
classrooms and explains how the world would be improved if adults
adhered to the same basic rules as children, i.e. sharing, being kind to one
another, cleaning up after themselves, and living "a balanced life" of work,
play, and learning.
The book contains fifty short essays, ranging in length from approximately
200 to approximately 1,000 words, which are ruminations on topics ranging
from surprises, holidays, childhood, death, and the lives of interesting
people including Mother Teresa. In his introduction, Fulghum describes
these as having been "written over many years and addressed to friends,
family, a religious community, and myself, with no thought of publication in
book form."
Although amazingly popular, some critics found Fulghum's essays
(especially the title piece) to be trite and saccharine. Fulghum addresses
this in an essay in his subsequent book, It Was On Fire When I Lay Down
On It wherein he mentions "grown-up" subjects such as sexuality.
Clear and Present Danger
• is a novel by Tom Clancy, written in 1989, and is
a story about the government’s war on drugs. In
the novel, Ryan is thrown into the position of CIA
Acting Deputy Director and discovers that he is
being kept in the dark by his colleagues who are
conducting a covert war against the Medellín
Cartel based in Colombia. The title of the book is
based on the legal phrase "clear and present
danger".
• The novel sold 1,625,544 hardcover copies,
making it the #1 bestselling novel of the 1980s.
Anything by Stephen King or
Danielle Steel
• Horror writer King and romance neovelist
Steel were the top two authors of the
decade, as judged by the numer of books
they placed at the top of the New York
Times best-seller list.
King-12
Steel-8
Sports
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NBA
Magic Johnson-LA Lakers
Larry Byrd-Boston Celtics
Michel Jordon-Chicago Bulls
NBA was the first to put a cap on a players
salary-This helped keep teams on a
somewhat even keel.
• 1986 The three point line was established.
NFL
• The San Francisco 49ers dominated the
sport.
• They won four Super Bowl
Championships.
• Largely due to Joe Montana
• Who invidently was # 82 in the draft.
Hockey
• Wayne Gretzky
• 1. Played for the Edmonton Oilers -helped
them gain 4 Stanley Cups. 84, 85, 87, 88
• 2. He won 8MVP awards during the 80s.
Baseball
• There were no dynasties or dominate
teams during the 1980s.
• Scandal-Pete Rose kicked out for
gambling. 1989-He was managing the
Cincinnati Reds.
Olympics
• The Dream Team-1980-USA beats Russia in hockey.
• 1984 Russia boycotts the LA Olympics claiming lacks
security.
• Carl Lewis-1984 4 medals in track
• Florence Griffin Joyner FLOJO-was an American track
and field athlete. She is best known for her media
flamboyance and setting World Records in the 100 m
and 200 m, which still stand as of 2007. However, her
career was also dogged by allegations of drug use,
which was speculated to have caused her premature
death. She was the wife of track star Al Joyner and the
sister-in-law of Jackie Joyner-Kersee. 3 gold in 1988.
Female Fashions
• Donna Karan
• Ralph Lauren
• Wore velour and velvet jogging suits and
matching headbands.
• Spandex shorts
• Lots of Make up
• Bulky sweaters
• Ripped sweatshirts-Flash Dance look
Men’s Fashions
• Tailored Suits
• Izod Polo Shirts
• More Casual dress as well
Movies
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Adventure:
Raider of the Lost Arc
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Groundbreakers
• Tron
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Science Fiction
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Blade Runner
ET
Back To The Future
Aliens II
The Terminator
The Abyss
Saturday Night Live Stars who
Make it in the Movies
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Eddie Murphy
Beverly Hills Cop I and II
Bill Murray
Ghost Busters
Chevy Chase
Steve Martin
Movies that reflect the political
climate of the day
• Reagan’s aggressive foreign policy set the
tone for the following movies:
• Rambo
• Rocky IV
• Die Hard
• Lethal Weapon
• Top Gun
Music
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Video Killed the Radio Star-The Buggles
The 1st video shown on MTV
Pat Benatar had the second video shown
Now the public could see their favorite
artist daily.
Michael Jackson is the King of Pop
• Thriller
• Biggest selling record
in the world.
• It spent two
consecutive years on
Billboard’s top 10.
• Most #1 singles from
an album.
• MTV help launch his
solo career.
Thriller
Madonna
Madonna
• She is the most successful female vocalist
of the 1980s.
Cyndi Lauper
Paula Abdul
Whitney Houston
Bruce Springsteen
• Well known for giving his fans their monies
worth at concerts.
• Represented blue collar America.
• Hit Album-Born in The USA
Springsteen
Billy Joel
Rap
is a style of music which came into existence in the
United States during the mid-1970s, and
became a large part of modern pop culture
during the 1980s. It consists of two main
components: rapping (MCing) and DJing
(production and scratching). Along with hip hop
dance (notably breakdancing) and urban
inspired art, or notably graffiti, these compose
the four elements of hip hop, a cultural
movement that was initiated by inner-city youth,
mostly Blacks and Latinos in New York City, in
the early 1970s.
Rap Artists of the 1980s
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The Sugar Hill Gang
Grand Master Flash and The Furious Five
Run DMC
MC Hammer
MC Hammer
Events in the United States
• Reagan serves two terms as President
1980, 1984.
• Reagan was a hugely popular president
who couldn’t seem to do anything wrong.
• 1. Liked by many Democrats
• 2. Best known for Reagonomics-huge tax
cuts
• 3. We had a huge national debt
• 4. He increased military spending.
NEWS!
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Mark David Chapman kills John Lennon
The Challenger explodes
Mount Saint Helens explodes
Nancy Reagan became famous for her
war on drugs “just say no”
• San Francisco Earthquake
• George Bush elected in 1988
Television
• Companies learn that the right time slot for
commercials on television would pay off.
Sitcoms
• Roseanne-1988-97
• 'Roseanne' is the story of a working class
family struggling with life's essential
problems: Marriage, Children, Money and
Parent's in Law. A classic sitcom, the story
circles around the Connor family - a family
of five (DJ, Darlene, Becky, Roseanne and
Dan). The household's mother, Roseanne,
is being accompanied in her quest to keep
the family together by her sister Jackie
and various friends over the years
Growing Pains 1985-92
• It's hard enough to raise a kid nowadays
but when you have to cope with THESE
kids, things tend to get out of hand! Dr
Seaver, a psychologist and his wife
Maggie Seaver, a journalist, try to do their
best raising their family and although their
kids, Mike, Ben, Carol and Crissie, cause
them endless problems, they manage to
keep the family close together. As long as
they got each other, nothing else matters...
Alf 1986-90
• The Tanner family is an average American
family. One day, they discover that they have a
visitor. He's small, he's furry, he's arrogant, and
he's an alien from the planet Melmac. Unsure
what to do, they name him ALF: Alien Life Form.
Alf soon decides that as much as he misses his
home planet, there's a lot to be said for Earth:
the Tanners are willing to concede anything as
long as he doesn't announce his presence. Oh
yeah, the the Tanners also have a cat, which
looks rather tasty...
The Wonder Years 1988-93
• This 1988-1993 period dramedy takes place during the
turbulent times of the late 1960s and 1970s. The show
focuses on Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage), a young
teenager living in a quiet middle-class suburb, and his
family and friends. Throughout the series' 5-year run,
Kevin deals with middle and high school, encounters
puberty, has ups and downs with childhood sweetheart
Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar), deals with annoying
older brother Wayne, and hangs out with geeky-butlovable Paul (Josh Saviano). The series is told from
Kevin's point-of-view through the narration of
Stern.
Daniel
Night Court 1984-92
• Judge Harold T. Stone presides over
"Night Court", a court which deals with
petty crimes which can be dealt with in a
dime-a-dozen manner. Invariably, the
cases appearing before the court are
bizarre, but that's ok because Judge Stone
is not your regular judge. He's assisted by
a motley crew of clerks and District
Attorneys who often create as much chaos
as the criminals they bring in for trial.
The Cosby Show 1984-92
• Long-running popular comedy television series about the
Huxtable family. Doctor Heathcliff Huxtable and Clair
Huxtable, a happily married couple, are raising their
children (Sondra, Denise, Theodore, Vanessa, and
Rudy). The two oldest daughters eventually live
successful adult lives and get married (Sondra to Elvin
and Denise to Martin). As the children get older, the
family gets larger and, to the chagrin of Cliff, keep on
coming back home when he wants them to move out
and live on their own for good.
The Golden Girls 1985-92
• The Golden Girls is based on the lives and
interactions of four older women whom
have all been divorced/widowed, and are
now roommates. Dorothy's main goal
during the series is to find a companion
she can relate to while her mother Sophia
adds her comical outlook and frequents
"Picture This" stories. Rose's St. Olaf-ness
makes her a little corny but lovable. One
thing that changes nearly every episode is
Murphy Brown 1988-98
• Murphy Brown is a very selfish, stubborn,
extremely hot-tempered but also talented,
resourceful, clever and caring middle-aged
reporter who works for FYI News Network and at
the same time tries to raise her child as an
unmarried, working woman. Her friends and coworkers, Corky, Jim, Frank and Miles, try to
balance between her outbursts of anger and her
family, personality or even financial crises. It's a
difficult life for Murphy but she's got the guts to
live it...
Family Matters 1989-98
• Originally, "Family Matters" a spin-off series of the
successful "Perfect Strangers" was conceived to focus
on the Winslows, a middle-class suburban Chicago black
family. Harriet was the sarcastic elevator operator at the
Chicago Chronicle newspaper while her portly husband,
Carl, was a Chicago police sergeant; they had three
children Eddie (14), Laura (12) and Judy (9). While
somewhat successful in its early months on the air,
"Family Matters" didn't become a true hit until the
appearance of the Winslow's next door neighbor kid,
Steve Urkel.
Full House 1987-1995
• This is a story about a sports broadcaster later turned
morning talk show host Danny Tanner and his three little
girls, D.J. (Donna Jo), Stephanie and Michelle Tanner.
Before the show begins, Danny Tanner's wife is killed by
a drunk driver. So he needs help raising his three little
girls. He asks his rock musician brother-in-law, Jesse
Katsopolis and his comedian best friend, Joey Gladstone
to move in with them. As the show goes on, Jesse gets
married to Rebecca Donaldson, Danny's co host of the
talk show. The two have kids of their own, who are twins,
Alexander and Nicholas Katsopolis. However, the show
is about what happens as the story is going on.
Miami Vice 1984-89
• Detective James "Sonny" Crockett and
detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, of the
Miami-Dade police department's organized
crime bureau vice unit, work deep
undercover as seedy criminals to infiltrate
and bring down the various criminal
enterprises of southern Florida.
Dallas 1978-91
• The saga of the wealthy Ewing family - patriarch
Jock Ewing, who started Ewing Oil, the family
corporation; Miss Ellie, his wife who properly
managed Southfork Ranch, the family home;
and their three sons - J.R., the ruthless CEO of
Ewing Oil, married to former Miss Texas Sue
Ellen Shepard; Bobby, the nice guy, who
married Pamela Barnes, daughter of the Ewing's
chief business rival; and Gary, considered an
outcast by his father, who eventually moved to
California with his wife Valene.
Magnum PI 1980-88
• Thomas Magnum is employed on the
Hawaiian estate of a wealthy absentee
owner name Robin Masters. The estate is
run by Jonathan Higgins who mostly
tolerates Magnum's presence as head of
security on the estate. Magnum is also a
private detective whose cases frequently
have a humorous overtone and always
just enough danger.
Dynasty 1981-89
Dynasty
• The saga of a wealthy Denver family in the
oil business: Blake Carrington, the
patriarch; Krystle his former secretary and
wife; his children: Adam, lost in childhood
after a kidnapping; Fallon, pampered and
spoiled; Steven, openly gay; and Amanda,
hidden from him by his ex-wife, the
conniving Alexis. Most of the show
features the conflict between 2 large
corporations, Blake's Denver Carrington
Simon and Simon 1981-89
Simon and Simon
• A.J. Simon is a polished fellow with a taste
for classic cars and tailored suits. Rick
Simon is his less refined (but still pleasant)
older brother who has a taste for cowboy
boots and four-wheel drive pickups. The
two of them live in San Diego, where they
own a private detective agency. The series
chronicles their exploits.
The Greatest American Hero
1981-83
• A pair of strangers, liberal high-school teacher Ralph
Hinkley and right-wing FBI agent Bill Maxwell, have a
close encounter in the Southern California desert one
night with "little green men", who give our heroes a red
superhero suit. The suit works only for Ralph, and the
two, accompanied by Ralph's cute lawyer girlfriend Pam,
reluctantly team up to battle criminals. Problems ensue
when Ralph loses the suit's instruction book, so he had
to master the suit's powers on his own.
Moonlighting 1985-89
Moonlighting
• The series revolved around cases investigated
by Blue Moon Detective Agency and its two
partners, Madeline "Maddie" Hayes (Cybill
Shepherd) and David Addison (Bruce Willis).
The show, with a mix of mystery, sharp dialogue
and sexual tension between its two leads,
introduced Bruce Willis to the world and brought
Cybill Shepherd back into the spotlight after
nearly a decade-long absence. The characters
were first introduced in a two-hour TV movie
which preceded the show.
Murder She Wrote-1984-1996
Murder She Wrote
• The show revolved around the day-to-day
life of a retired English teacher who, after
being widowed in her early fifties,
becomes a very successful mystery writer.
Despite fame and fortune, Jessica remains
a resident of Cabot Cove, a cozy coastal
town in Maine, and maintains her links
with all of her old friends, never letting her
success go to her head.
Murder She Wrote
• In most episodes, Jessica somehow becomes
entangled in a murder investigation. The police
are almost always willing to arrest the most likely
suspect, but Jessica invariably feels that the socalled guilty party is innocent. Carefully and
methodically piecing the clues together and
asking astute questions, she always manages to
trap the real murderer, who, given the series'
"special guest star" policy, was often played by a
famous film or TV personality.
Knight Rider-1982-1986
Knight Rider
• Self-made billionaire Wilton Knight rescues police
detective Michael Long after a near fatal shot to the face,
giving him a new identity (via plastic surgery) and a new
name: Michael Knight. Wilton selects Michael to be the
muscle in the pilot program of his Knight Foundationfunded public justice organization, the Foundation for
Law and Government (FLAG). The other half of this pilot
program is the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), a
Pontiac Trans Am controlled by a computer with artificial
intelligence. Michael and KITT are brought in during
situations where "direct action might provide the only
feasible solution".
Life in the 1980s:
• Women make huge strides in the workplace.
• Accepted in roles that they had rarely if ever
held in society.
• 1. They headed corporations
• 2. Went into space-Sally Ride
• 3. Supreme Court justice-Sandra Day O’Connor
• 4. Ran as Vice President-Geraldine Ferraro
This led to changes in American
Family:
• In 1989 87% of women were in the American
workforce.
• Women
• 1. Married later in life and had kids later in life.
• 2. Kept their maiden name after marriage or
hyphenated it.
• American jobs go from being largely blue collar
to white collar.
• Factories struggle while corporations thrive.
Computers become smaller and
more affordable:
• 1.There is a huge technology boom in the
1980s.
• Video recorders and games make their
first appearance as do CD players.
Controversial Heart Transplants
• Two men are given artificial hearts.
• A 15 day old baby was given a baboons
heart and dies shortly after.
• Human heart transplants are more
successful than the previous decade.
The Cold War
• 1. Americans still fear attacks from The
Soviet Union.
• U.S and Russia discuss limiting weapons.
• The U.S and Russia talk and communism
collapeses in Eastern Europe.
Buzzwords
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Safe Sex
AIDS
Cutting Edge
Technological progress
Video recorder
Elvis sightings
Oat bran
Cholesterol
Tabloid television
Fax machines
“Hamster-”college students-a flat beer
“Praying to the porcelain gods”
Fads
Rubik’s Cube
Wacky Wall Walkers
Slap Wrap bracelets
Wrestle Mania
Deely Boppers
Strawberry Shortcake
Trivial Pursuit
Teddy Ruckspin
Cabbage Patch Kids
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Flash Dance Look
Michael Jackson’s Glove??!!
• The famous glove
Garbage Pail Kids
Dance Crazes
• Sidestep Dancing (Line Dancing) Country
From the Film URBAN COWBOY
• Slam Dancing
• Break Dancing
• Vouging
• Lambada
• Billboard #1 songs of the year
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
Billboard Top Hit Singles
Billboard Hot 100
• 1980
• CALL ME-BLONDIE
Blondie
1981
• Bette Davis Eyes
• Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes
1982
• Olivia Newton-John
• Physical
Physical
1983
• The Police
• Every Breath You Take
The Police
1984
• WHEN DOVESW CRY-PRINCE
1985
• Wham
• Careless Whisper
Wham
1986
• Stevie Wonder,
Dionne Warwick,
Elton John and
Gladys Knight
• That’s What Friends
Are For
That’s What Friend’s Are For
1987
• The Bangles
• Walk Like an Egyptian
1988
Faith
George Michael
1989
Chicago
Look Away
Other Musical Acts
Bon Jovi
Bonnie Tyler
Men At Work
Christopher Cross
Debby Gibson
The Eurhythmics
Dolly Parton
WHAM
Janet Jackson
Hall and Oates
HEART
Huey Lewis and the News
IRENE CARA
JEFEERSON STARSHIP
Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton
Paul McCartney and Wings
Rick Astley
CHER
DIANA ROSS
U2
Van Halen
Duran Duran
Tina Turner
John Waite
New Kids on the Block
Phil Collins
Queen
R.E.M