I find the era of roughly 1981-early 1984 really interesting...It has very few holdovers from the 70s overall, but is also quite unlike the late 80s (I grew up in a Baby Boomer household and so while I grew up in the 90s, my home was very late 80s). I say roughly 1981-early 1984 as 1984 for me represents the turning point, where the 80s really found itself.

It's not as if culture changed over night, but IMO, 1984-1987 is what we think of when we culturally remember the 80s: The Terminator, The Goonies, Ghostbusters, Cyndi Lauper, The Breakfast Club, Twisted Sister, Gremlins, The Karate Kid, Die Hard, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, Aliens, Three Men and a Baby, Lethal Weapon. We Are The World, Take On Me, Live Aid, Madonna, etc....The teased hair, the mullets, the typical 80s cuts, the muscle shirt trends, Nintendo saving and dominating the video game industry - a lot of things we remember about the 80s comes from roughly this time.

Whereas 1987-1989, you have a special period...Guns N' Roses becomes huge, Metallica breaks through in popularity as well, the Sega Genesis is released and offers up the first real competition to Nintendo's dominance; Pop Music shifts to some younger artists such as Paula Abdul, Rap becomes a mainstream genre and New Jack Swing begins to become popular; TV staples of the core 80s such as The A-Team, Magnum P.I., Miami Vice, The Smurfs, Transformers, Thundercats all come to an end between 1987 and 1989. Most of this era, roughly 1987 onward, blurs with the early 1990s until circa 1991 or 1992 culturally, and is remembered as it's own unique era.

But the early 1980s - 1981-1983/1984 - is largely forgotten. The era of New Wave, the last vestiges of the 70s, the 80s finding itself, the New Romantic era, power Pop, Atari 2600 - this era is largely not remembered in comparison to the other two, yet it's fascinating - if you look at movies or TV from this period, you can see traces of both the 70s and the 80s very clearly, a decade struggling to really find itself. It's not a unique era in the way 1987-1992 was, but a period of transition.

I agree that the early 80s are a pretty underrated period, especially for music in particular.  Many people point to how poor music sales were at the time, as well as a general lack of direction in the industry, but I think 1982 and 1983 are among the greatest years in music history.  The larger than life arena style of songwriting reached its peak during that period, but there was also a healthy mix of sonic experimentation without going overboard; essentially, music tended to strike the perfect balance between classic and modern.

Early 80s cinema should not be overlooked either.  1982, in particular, was a phenomenal year for Hollywood, especially in the science fiction department in particular, though Gandhi and Tootsie are also classics.  If you type "worst year for movies" in the Google search bar, 1983 is the first non-recent year that it suggests, but I think this notion is misguided.  In addition to Return of the Jedi, 1983 produced Scarface, Risky Business, and Terms of Endearment, just to name a few notable films.  It's certainly a better year for the industry than 1970, which has pretty much no classic films aside maybe from the overly long and overrated Patton.

I think the reason so many people forget about the early 80s is due to the fact that an overwhelming amount of its culture had already attained a fair amount of popularity in the late 70s, even if it didn't peak until the early 80s.  New wave bands like Blondie, Gary Numan, and The Cars were already quite popular by then, as were arena rock groups like Toto and Styx.  A lot of people point to excellent punk albums from this time period, like Damaged and Walk Among Us, but yet again, punk already had its main heyday in the late 70s with the Sex Pistols, Ramones, and The Clash's London Calling.  Video games were picking up popularity in 1979 thanks to the success of Space Invaders, as well as the increasing prevalence of the Atari 2600.  The Star Wars movies were clearly still the most popular movies of the time, but since the first movie already came out in 1977, you can't categorize the original trilogy squarely with the early 80s.  Finally, there aren't really a whole lot of tv shows that define the early 80s exclusively; most of the biggest programs at the time were late 70s debuts like Taxi, Mork & Mindy, and The Dukes of Hazzard.  Even fashion wasn't that distinct from the late 70s, with only marginal changes as the early 80s progressed.

Frankly, it's really tempting to call the period from 1977-1983 a distinct era of its own, just like the Bush '41 era between the 80s and 90s, as well as the Y2K period that bridged the 90s with the 2000s.  It really does have its own culture that cannot be clearly categorized with either the 70s, nor the 80s.  The core of this would roughly span from autumn 1979, around which core 70s trends like disco began to fade, through autumn 1982, after which the 80s had developed enough of their own identity to clearly distinguish themselves from the late 70s.

I agree that the early 80s are a pretty underrated period, especially for music in particular.  Many people point to how poor music sales were at the time, as well as a general lack of direction in the industry, but I think 1982 and 1983 are among the greatest years in music history.  The larger than life arena style of songwriting reached its peak during that period, but there was also a healthy mix of sonic experimentation without going overboard; essentially, music tended to strike the perfect balance between classic and modern.

Early 80s cinema should not be overlooked either.  1982, in particular, was a phenomenal year for Hollywood, especially in the science fiction department in particular, though Gandhi and Tootsie are also classics.  If you type "worst year for movies" in the Google search bar, 1983 is the first non-recent year that it suggests, but I think this notion is misguided.  In addition to Return of the Jedi, 1983 produced Scarface, Risky Business, and Terms of Endearment, just to name a few notable films.  It's certainly a better year for the industry than 1970, which has pretty much no classic films aside maybe from the overly long and overrated Patton.

I think the reason so many people forget about the early 80s is due to the fact that an overwhelming amount of its culture had already attained a fair amount of popularity in the late 70s, even if it didn't peak until the early 80s.  New wave bands like Blondie, Gary Numan, and The Cars were already quite popular by then, as were arena rock groups like Toto and Styx.  A lot of people point to excellent punk albums from this time period, like Damaged and Walk Among Us, but yet again, punk already had its main heyday in the late 70s with the Sex Pistols, Ramones, and The Clash's London Calling.  Video games were picking up popularity in 1979 thanks to the success of Space Invaders, as well as the increasing prevalence of the Atari 2600.  The Star Wars movies were clearly still the most popular movies of the time, but since the first movie already came out in 1977, you can't categorize the original trilogy squarely with the early 80s.  Finally, there aren't really a whole lot of tv shows that define the early 80s exclusively; most of the biggest programs at the time were late 70s debuts like Taxi, Mork & Mindy, and The Dukes of Hazzard.  Even fashion wasn't that distinct from the late 70s, with only marginal changes as the early 80s progressed.

Frankly, it's really tempting to call the period from 1977-1983 a distinct era of its own, just like the Bush '41 era between the 80s and 90s, as well as the Y2K period that bridged the 90s with the 2000s.  It really does have its own culture that cannot be clearly categorized with either the 70s, nor the 80s.  The core of this would roughly span from autumn 1979, around which core 70s trends like disco began to fade, through autumn 1982, after which the 80s had developed enough of their own identity to clearly distinguish themselves from the late 70s.


This is a perfect summation :)

In a strange way, yes, I am fascinated with it. To me it was one of the most explosive horror movie eras of all time.

Friday the 13th (1980)
Happy birthday to me (1981)
The Burning (1981)
Prom Night (1980)
The Fog (1980)
Halloween II (1981)
The Shining (1980)
Graduation Day (1981)
Final Exam (1981)
Mother's Day (1980)
The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Early 80's Hardcore Punk is one of the best forms of Punk Rock. Like, Group Sex by the Circle Jerks from 1980. It's one of my favorite albums of all time. So fast, loud, raw and aggressive! Skateboarding in the early 80's also got really rad especially with the arrival of the raddest Skate Rock such as JFA and The Faction. The whole 80's from 1980 to 1989 also had some of the greatest movies ever created.

I think the whole 80's was incredible beginning to end. 1980-1983 is too good and a huge improvement to be considered 70's. I've also noticed that fashion got a lot more casual like the 90's around 1980-1981, as well but I'd say the earliest would be 1977/1978.


A lot of people point to excellent punk albums from this time period, like Damaged and Walk Among Us, but yet again, punk already had its main heyday in the late 70s with the Sex Pistols, Ramones, and The Clash's London Calling. 


The only better Punk from the 70's compared to the 80's is The Ramones. They're the kings. All the other Punk from the 80's destroyed the 70's in each and every way. Hardcore is the rawest, truest and purist form of Punk that isn't The Ramones. :P

Though, Black Flag with Keith and Nervous Breakdown was 20X better than Damaged or anything else with Roid-Rage Rollins. ;D

I find the early-mid 80s to be awesome. Especially when it had so many cool slasher movies, entertainment, TV shows, songs, etc. I also loved of how peaceful it was.

The fashion from 1980 to 1982 was great!

OMG yes! While the late 80s were cool, the early to mid 80s were so terrific. I’ve just discovered Hilly Michaels (Check out his Calling All Girls!), Split Enz (I Got You) and Missing Persons with Words. The early 80s had a great variety, from new wave to last disco hits, rock, A/C, Carly Simon’s Why jam, cooky Toni Basil, sleek Rick Springfield, etc.

Quite some jams in the hits played by early MTV.
And the music videos constantly pushed boundaries. Some were doing the Lady Gaga before she was born (and the lyrics are now truer than ever):

IasCZL072fQ

The only thing I think it seems the early 80s lacked compared to the late 80s are sitcoms - most were short-lived and weren’t exported here in Europe. We grew up on mostly late 80s fare:Alf, MwC, etc.

But the early 1980s - 1981-1983/1984 - is largely forgotten. The era of New Wave, the last vestiges of the 70s, the 80s finding itself, the New Romantic era, power Pop, Atari 2600 - this era is largely not remembered in comparison to the other two, yet it's fascinating - if you look at movies or TV from this period, you can see traces of both the 70s and the 80s very clearly, a decade struggling to really find itself. It's not a unique era in the way 1987-1992 was, but a period of transition.


I'd agree with 80-82 being forgotten, but 1983 was a groundbreaking year. What it lacked in movies, it more than made up for in music and television. Breakdancing was also crossing into the mainstream and going worldwide. I associate none of that and everything I'm about to list even remotely 70s.

For tv you had the birth of A-Team, GI Joe the cartoon, He-Man, sci-fi series "V", Fraggle Rock, Webster, Automan, Manimal, Inspector Gadget, Scarecrow & Mrs King.

And for music - Thriller was everywhere! Michael performed the moonwalk for the first time!
Then you had quintessential 80s hits like:-
Madonna "Holiday"
Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
Irene Cara "Flashdance"
Bonnie Tyler "Total Eclipse"
The Police "Every Breath You Take"
Culture Club "Karma Chameleon"
Billy Joel "Uptown Girl"
Kenny Rogers / Dolly Parton "Islands in the Stream"
Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams"
Michael Sembelllo "Maniac"

Songs released in 82 but gained more popularity in 1983 include everything from Prince's "1999", Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" etc.

The whole Cabbage Patch phenomena was at it's peak in 1983. GI Joe action figures were also just taking off.
Then you had Return of the Jedi the movie and the toyline.

Politically and newsworthy, it was also the most important part of the decade. You had the Iran-Iraq war starting, communism the biggest threat to the West since the 1950s, high inflation and interest rates, the launch of the Space Shuttle program, some assassinations and attempts, and urban decay/white flight at its most severe phase. The technological breakthroughs also seemed larger since many people played their first arcade and/or bought their first video game console, first VHS/Beta movie, cable TV experience, or home computer at that time, even if they didn't own one until later. The second half of the decade seemed more stable, with a few unfortunate events like natural disasters and a nuclear meltdown along with western communism's decline and revolution in China, and even a bit of a truce in Middle East fighting.

1982 is still quite an important year to the '80s overall, given that there was a thread about it being the "novelty year" of the decade. It had a "what is this?" feel compared to the clearly "for the '80s" feel by 1984-85, and find that much of the stuff from this year has aged much better than the "Miami Vice era" stuff. And although '83 is lacking in movies, it followed what some call the best year in modern (post-1965) Hollywood history. ET, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Tootsie, The Wrath Of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, TRON, The Road Warrior, Rocky III, Blade Runner, The Thing, and Poltergeist all came out in 1982, and while many say that 1984 was the best overall year, the quality of these films is on average superior. Video arcades as a fad, launched by Space Invaders and Pac-Man, also peaked in '82. Even when the NES came along and "saved" the gaming industry, video arcades weren't as crowded in the late '80s compared to early on. TV, lead by the start of the NBC Renaissance launched Knight Rider, Remington Steele, Family Ties, Cheers, Silver Spoons, the '80s version of Newhart, St. Elsewhere, and Matt Houston. The last few months of 1982 also showed that stagflation was over with a recovering economy as well, and although a lot of the new wave hits aren't quite as memorable, many critics also hail '82 as the best year of the decade musically. You also had electrofunk groups/artists such as Cameo, Dazz Band, and Rick James peaking.

TV, lead by the start of the NBC Renaissance launched Knight Rider, Remington Steele, Family Ties, Cheers, Silver Spoons, the '80s version of Newhart, St. Elsewhere, and Matt Houston.


Remington Steele is my favourite 1hr show from all the 80s. I re-watch all the seasons on DVD quite often.

Definitely!  I actually love the early part of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, etc. because even though it's a lot like the decade prior to it, you can slowly see/hear through the music, fashion, and television how the influences that will make up the core part of the decade.  The early 80s fascinate me because I think around 1983 particularly things are becoming VERY core 80s, but you can undoubtedly see the 70s are still there.  I think that the 2nd or 3rd year every decade is the point where you can still see the influences of the prior decade, but can also see how the decade is forming its own culture.  You can even see this with our decade - I think 2013 was the year when there were still tons of 2000s influences, but a lot of things that would become important to this decade happened that year. 

1982 is still quite an important year to the '80s overall, given that there was a thread about it being the "novelty year" of the decade. It had a "what is this?" feel compared to the clearly "for the '80s" feel by 1984-85, and find that much of the stuff from this year has aged much better than the "Miami Vice era" stuff.
You know I've always been surprised how some 1982 videos could as well be early 90s ones by indie acts:
SjsnkIP4ddo

In Europe at east we had videos like these made in 1990-1992, not in 1982. Especially the scene where the woman is seen in washed out and her eyes shine bright, could as well be from the 1990-1992 period. And the rest doesn't look much older than say Neneh Cherry's very late 80s (1989-1990) music videos. Weren't those dreadlocks also big in the 90s with white women? In fact it's funny how some things from around 1982, especially the underground ones looked so DIY as to fit well into the early 1990s grunge context. Compared to them, even underground hits from the mid and late 80's seem more dated, somehow of their time. I'd call also the video to Billie Jean somehow both very 80's and timeless, while Toni Basil's Mickey is 80's only due to the white background and melody but again if it used a better camera it could pass as an early 90's Euro video as white backgrounds made a small comeback here in the 90's.

In a hindside it's weird, I gues both the early 80's (especially 1981 and 1982 with the launch of MTV) and early 90's were eras of mass music video experimentation. It's like what was underground in 1982 was popular in the early 90's. ;)

I like all of the 80's but I just prefer the early years a lot more (except for sitcoms but that might be childhood nostalgia). I especially like it that back then you still had women NOT having too exaggerated big hair. It really got huge after 1985. ;D

Simply putting it, I do not find the early 80s fascinating, because I was there!

I'd agree with 80-82 being forgotten, but 1983 was a groundbreaking year. What it lacked in movies, it more than made up for in music and television. Breakdancing was also crossing into the mainstream and going worldwide. I associate none of that and everything I'm about to list even remotely 70s.

For tv you had the birth of A-Team, GI Joe the cartoon, He-Man, sci-fi series "V", Fraggle Rock, Webster, Automan, Manimal, Inspector Gadget, Scarecrow & Mrs King.

And for music - Thriller was everywhere! Michael performed the moonwalk for the first time!
Then you had quintessential 80s hits like:-
Madonna "Holiday"
Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
Irene Cara "Flashdance"
Bonnie Tyler "Total Eclipse"
The Police "Every Breath You Take"
Culture Club "Karma Chameleon"
Billy Joel "Uptown Girl"
Kenny Rogers / Dolly Parton "Islands in the Stream"
Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams"
Michael Sembelllo "Maniac"

Songs released in 82 but gained more popularity in 1983 include everything from Prince's "1999", Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" etc.

The whole Cabbage Patch phenomena was at it's peak in 1983. GI Joe action figures were also just taking off.
Then you had Return of the Jedi the movie and the toyline.


Thanks for including that song, my grandma and I LOVE it!!


Simply putting it, I do not find the early 80s fascinating, because I was there!


Lucky ;-;

Lucky ;-;
O0

Yes I do. I like the type of early/mid 80s cartoons that are often forgotten like Inspector Gadget, Heathcliff and The Littles. Much better than Beverly Hills Teens from 1987. Anything by DiC or Japan really like Bumpety Boo. Button Nose, while 1985/86 was also in the early-mid 80s style.

BBC also had the cool Muzzy cartoon for foreign learners of English and Willo the Wisp.

Hair in 1980-1984 looked less OTT poofy. And cars were also less plastic-looking than in 1986-1989.

In Eastern Europe the 80s had a slowdown as it was still the same shows that started in the 60s or 70s like Reksio, Bolek, Krtek and Nu pogodi, so there the golden eras for TV animation were in the 70s and the 90s, not the 80s. ;)

Zaxx and Benji were also so early 80s! And Olivia's Physical, Kim Wilde's Kids In America, Kim Carnes' Bette Davis Eyes and anything by the Split Enz and Human League. Billie Jean and Madonna's Burning Up were also so 1982/3 (those two share the same music video director!). 1980-1984 and sometimes even 1985 are very underrated years.

Simply putting it, I do not find the early 80s fascinating, because I was there!


Agreed!!!!  I'd put one of those thumbs up icons here if I could figure out where it is.  ;D

Late '70s and early '80s punk music is GOAT.

Simply putting it, I do not find the early 80s fascinating, because I was there!

I was around in 2008-2013, yet I find that time fascinating. Do you not look back in nostalgia or are you like that just for the 80s? :o

For me Late 90s and Early 00s.

All I know is that the 80's was an excellent time for rock and slime on Nickelodeon

I liked the mid to late 80s more. 1984 to 1988.

There was an 80s music show I once listened to, where they took requests but preferred things from 80-83.  Human League "Fascination", Murray Head "One Night In Bangkok"... Definitely synth driven and trying to move forward but still had this hazy 70s feel due to technology.  I think the turning point was largely due to the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer (introduced in 83), where its crisp digital sound pretty much took over pop music for most of the 80s.

During that short period, carmakers largely started switching to downsized front wheel drive platforms and computer control.  Which was the basis of most every vehicle today.

More people I knew started getting new types of things like cable TV, VCRs, microwaves, Ataris, even computers.  I saw my first pushbutton phone in the early 80s.

A couple other good horror flicks were Motel Hell, and Dark Night Of The Scarecrow.

On a personal level, I liked the early 80s because the town of 400 people that I grew up in was complete.  It had every business you could ever need, 3 gas stations, plus a large factory.  When the railroad stopped, the town started to die and today there's not much left but a bar and a feed store.

do do do do do Inspector Gadget

Human League's Don't You Want Me music video was great. Ditto for the song. The same director gave us Billie Jean, Madonna's first polished video Burning Up and many more.

In 1981-1985 music videos were more creative, using lots of split screens and 2D effects while most vids in 1986-1989 were less exciting and creative.

Late '70s and early '80s punk music is GOAT.


My older brothers had some friends who were in the local punk scene around that time, and one of them made a cassette for me with various punk bands from that era (Dead Kennedys, Motorhead, Black Flag, etc).

I don't know if you've ever listened to them, but the Angry Samoans is one of the rudest, funniest bands of all time (although some of their stuff is a tad politically incorrect).

Also the New Wave of British Heavy Metal also had some great stuff from that era as well.

Anyone find this particular cultural era - say from '80 to '83 - really interesting?

It's got a fascinating mix of 60s fashion, 70s fashion, and hints of what's to come in the 80s. Films that came out in this period have their own look to them, mens and women's fashion is totally it's own thing (unlike say the 1989-1992 transitional 80s to 90s era fashion which was basically an extension of the 80s, or the 1998-2001 era fashion which was basically just an extension of the late 90s). It's like it's own, forgotten, little cultural era.

I mean look at the way everyone looks say in a Nightly News segment from 80 or 81 or 82, or the way the cast of Scarface is dressed. Or listen to the music, how it's this weird mix of post-punk, elements of New Wave, elements of dance and disco....but done in such a way that we do not at all associate with either the 70s OR the 80s.

For America, 1980-1982 as well represented the very nadir of our economy since the Great Depression. Inflation in 1980 was off the charts and unemployment was over 10% in October 1982, the highest to this date still since the 1930s. It was an era politically where Ronald Reagan was not inevitable and actually looked to be a one term failed President, with approvals in the 40s, where his conservatism was somewhat repudiated and he had to moderate himself for the rest of the decade - the time in which Al Haig was governing America's foreign policy.

Meanwhile, this is the golden age, or the first golden age, of video gaming, before the 1983 crash. Atari is King. The 2600 system is dominant but soon other systems flood the market. Arcades are king. Donkey Kong is the main mascot of Nintendo, a barrel throwing antagonist. The Space Shuttle takes flight. The Home Computer is the newest seemingly novelty product.

Boys have bowl cuts and the "Stranger Things" look is in across the board.

Star Wars is going strong in this era - Empire comes out in '80, Jedi in '83. Indiana Jones is introduced to the world in between both films in 1981. ET in 1982. John Travolta makes his last hit in 1980 with Urban Cowboy and helps Country Music become mainstream. Roger Moore is still James Bond and you have the "Battle of the Bonds" in 1983 with Sean Connery and Roger Moore putting out rival Bond films that are both massive commercial successes that year. Ozzy is out of Black Sabbath and the short-lived Dio era of the band occurs; a little band called Metallica is starting up in clubs; Hair Metal hasn't really hit yet but is also starting. Star Trek comes roaring back to life with Wrath of Khan in '82. Dungeons & Dragons is the cause of parents' grief and a short-lived national moral panic but is the underground cult delight of teens and youths.

Anyone have anything to add - pictures, discussion, etc of this little odd era of time?

I played Qbert on a Commodore 64

I think sometimes good pop culture can come out of bad economic eras, think about big band music and Tom and Jerry of the 40s, the 70s, the 80s etc. 2008-2013 economy was bad but it was a magical era. Same for the first half of the 80s. Those were the years of the 2nd British invasion and for a good reason.

Along with the USA, I find the 80s in the UK and Germany fascinating. The German cars of the 70s and the 80s were kinda special. Same for the British ones, they could still look great (the Rover SD1 for example, as the one seen here rushing on the country roads of Slough, Berkshire:
The Human League - Don't You Want Me
uPudE8nDog0

I think this is the place from the beginning of the video where the guy picks up Joanne from the Human League. Btw, it's good at least nature changes less. :) https://www.google.bg/maps/@51.4748345,-0.5436889,3a,75y,317.28h,80.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1slyOv75rD-uVZwBW6xyPz5w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Rover and Saab are no more though and the roads would look funny with the modern jelly mould cars. Speaking of them, SAABs were also great in that era.

I played Qbert on a Commodore 64
Commodore, those were the days, I had a Commodore 128.

The fashion from 1980 to 1982 was great!


I completely agree! I loved the Victorian style ruffle blouses that were popular then! I have a few vintage ones, and I remember my mom wearing them back then. SO elegant!

Commodore, those were the days, I had a Commodore 128.
I started learning Basic Programming on it but did not get far.

I completely agree! I loved the Victorian style ruffle blouses that were popular then! I have a few vintage ones, and I remember my mom wearing them back then. SO elegant!


My mom wore them as well!

...I loved the Victorian style ruffle blouses that were popular then! ...


Oh yes, I loved those blouses too - especially if they had a lot of lace trim.  I had several - I wore them to work.  The surprising thing is, at the time many more of them came in polyester than cotton.

(For those who are younger than me, I don't know if you're aware but "stretch" fabrics were way less widespread in the early 80s than they are now, so most blouses like that usually didn't have any spandex or stretch, the way today's blouses often do.)

I find the era of roughly 1981-early 1984 really interesting...It has very few holdovers from the 70s overall, but is also quite unlike the late 80s (I grew up in a Baby Boomer household and so while I grew up in the 90s, my home was very late 80s). I say roughly 1981-early 1984 as 1984 for me represents the turning point, where the 80s really found itself.

It's not as if culture changed over night, but IMO, 1984-1987 is what we think of when we culturally remember the 80s: The Terminator, The Goonies, Ghostbusters, Cyndi Lauper, The Breakfast Club, Twisted Sister, Gremlins, The Karate Kid, Die Hard, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, Aliens, Three Men and a Baby, Lethal Weapon. We Are The World, Take On Me, Live Aid, Madonna, etc....The teased hair, the mullets, the typical 80s cuts, the muscle shirt trends, Nintendo saving and dominating the video game industry - a lot of things we remember about the 80s comes from roughly this time.

Whereas 1987-1989, you have a special period...Guns N' Roses becomes huge, Metallica breaks through in popularity as well, the Sega Genesis is released and offers up the first real competition to Nintendo's dominance; Pop Music shifts to some younger artists such as Paula Abdul, Rap becomes a mainstream genre and New Jack Swing begins to become popular; TV staples of the core 80s such as The A-Team, Magnum P.I., Miami Vice, The Smurfs, Transformers, Thundercats all come to an end between 1987 and 1989. Most of this era, roughly 1987 onward, blurs with the early 1990s until circa 1991 or 1992 culturally, and is remembered as it's own unique era.

But the early 1980s - 1981-1983/1984 - is largely forgotten. The era of New Wave, the last vestiges of the 70s, the 80s finding itself, the New Romantic era, power Pop, Atari 2600 - this era is largely not remembered in comparison to the other two, yet it's fascinating - if you look at movies or TV from this period, you can see traces of both the 70s and the 80s very clearly, a decade struggling to really find itself. It's not a unique era in the way 1987-1992 was, but a period of transition.


i thought 1980-83 was considered to be the early 80s? and yes i do find them fascinating

i think of the era as a blend of late 70s leftovers mixed with the emerging of 80s pop-culture around 81/82 is that right?

its the era of star wars and the rise of heavy metal and classical 80s musicians such as Madonna

Having lived through this period as a very young adult, IMO here are some major factors that differentiated the early 80's from the late 70's:

MTV - Before MTV, music videos were "not a thing", and artists concentrated only on their music and occasional TV appearances.  Once MTV hit, music videos became a vital medium of expression and brought out new artistic creativity for artists and the experts who dreamed up the videos.  Plus how they look now mattered.

Jimmy Carter vs Ronald Reagan - At the time of the 1980 election, large numbers in this country were so ready to move on.  Reagan's election and subsequent presidency was such a sea change, it was as if everything was different.

Disco dump - In the mid/late 70's, Disco was (sorry haters) a major cultural phenomenon the likes of which hadn't been seen for a long time (despite that it wasn't universally loved).  Its descent was so rapid, it sorta created a vacuum for which other music forms were quickly "sucked in" to fill the void.

Life changing conveniences: microwaves, VCRs, and personal portable music - All of these (except perhaps Sony Walkman) were around in the 70's.  But in the 80's they became common, available, cheaper, and widespread, and each was life changing in important ways.

1970's hedonism gives way to 1980's safe sex - Up until the late 70's, it was "anything goes".  After that, due to herpes STD (who remembers that) and subsequently the discovery of AIDS (about the scariest thing ever), the new buzzword became "anything sorta goes - but be darn careful..."

"Toy" quality personal computers - Computers were around in the 70's, but there was nothing "personal" about them.  People didn't own computers; most were frankly intimidated by them.  These new "toy" quality computers made the idea of owning a computer much more palatable and acceptable to large numbers of people.

Having lived through this period as a very young adult, IMO here are some major factors that differentiated the early 80's from the late 70's:

MTV - Before MTV, music videos were "not a thing", and artists concentrated only on their music and occasional TV appearances.  Once MTV hit, music videos became a vital medium of expression and brought out new artistic creativity for artists and the experts who dreamed up the videos.  Plus how they look now mattered.

Jimmy Carter vs Ronald Reagan - At the time of the 1980 election, large numbers in this country were so ready to move on.  Reagan's election and subsequent presidency was such a sea change, it was as if everything was different.

Disco dump - In the mid/late 70's, Disco was (sorry haters) a major cultural phenomenon the likes of which hadn't been seen for a long time (despite that it wasn't universally loved).  Its descent was so rapid, it sorta created a vacuum for which other music forms were quickly "sucked in" to fill the void.

Life changing conveniences: microwaves, VCRs, and personal portable music - All of these (except perhaps Sony Walkman) were around in the 70's.  But in the 80's they became common, available, cheaper, and widespread, and each was life changing in important ways.

1970's hedonism gives way to 1980's safe sex - Up until the late 70's, it was "anything goes".  After that, due to herpes STD (who remembers that) and subsequently the discovery of AIDS (about the scariest thing ever), the new buzzword became "anything sorta goes - but be darn careful..."

"Toy" quality personal computers - Computers were around in the 70's, but there was nothing "personal" about them.  People didn't own computers; most were frankly intimidated by them.  These new "toy" quality computers made the idea of owning a computer much more palatable and acceptable to large numbers of people.


Well documented, especially the 1970's hedonism gives way to 1980's safe sex.

A few more changes I can think of:

The rise in electronic music - There was some synth based music in the 70s, but the price of entry kept most from utilizing the technology. As cheaper synths became available in the early 80s, more and more musicians started using them.

Kids' cartoons became ads designed to sell toys - Prior to the 80s, cartoons were primarily designed to simply be entertaining. Selling merchandise was simply a fringe benefit. However, this changed in the 80s as more and more cartoons became 30 minute toy advertisements.

In the US, the political parties stopped working together - Before Reagan's election, the Republicans and Democrats had ideology disagreements but tended to work together to get things done. Afterwards, it seemed as if both parties actively worked to thwart the other moreso than to run the country.

The rise of videotape - Along with the advent of VCRs came the advent of inexpensive video cameras. Video was much simpler to work with than film, and made it possible to create media on a significantly lower price point.

WWF goes national - Up through the 70s, pro wrestling was a regional thing, where different promotions worked and toured specific areas of the country. In the 80s, the WWF changed all of that and became a national promotion, eventually putting most of the regional promoters out of business.