The 80s: America’s Best Decade
The 1980s reign as America’s best decade, pop culture wise. It was full of great music, style, and movies. But who do we have to thank for making the 80s what we remember them as? Spielberg, Scrunchies, Air Supply, and Stephen King, just to name a few. The pop culture of the 1980s remains unmatched by past and present decades because of them. This decade had everything; cinematic masterpieces, legendary songs, and impeccable styles. Almost every piece of pop culture made in this era was golden, flawless. It was truly a memorable decade for everyone who has read, seen, or listened to anything from that time.
Stephen King. One of the greatest horror authors in the world living his prime time during the 1980s, where he released books such as It, Cujo, Christine, and Pet Sematary, among others. These novels, all eventually turned into movies, shook the world. No one had ever read such gruesome, tragic stories such as those of Stephen King’s. Although he’s released books from the 70’s, up until today, his books during the 80s were some of the most memorable. The world was finally introduced to true horror. We were taught a very important life lesson: sometimes, there are no happy endings, tragedy does happen. This was a wake up call to everyone who has ever read any of his books.
Along with books, there has to be movies, and who is a better producer than the one and only, Stephen Spielburg? During the 80s Spielburg released some incredible classics such as Gremlins, E.T., Indiana Jones, Poltergeist, The Goonies, and Back to the Future. These movies are the ones in which someone can just sit down and watch them over and over and over again (speaking from experience). They’ve got everything, action, comedy, love. Anything you can imagine can be found in a Stephen Speilburg movie. When you watch one of these movies you immediately think, “Oh yea. This was the 80s.” And this is all thanks to Spielburg. Without him, our cinema-loving hearts would be empty. We truly have him to thank for such wonderful movies and for playing such a huge part in the pop culture of the 80s, making it the greatest decade.
Some of Spielburg’s movies, such as Back to the Future, would be nothing without the music involved in it. The song “Earth Angel” by the Crests, plays an important part in the plot of the film. Although this isn’t an 80s song, the film also includes the song “Power of Love”, by Huey Lewis and the news, released in 1985. Music was a huge factor as to why the 80s were the best decade, with artists like Tiffany, Rick Astley, and Billy Joel. There were also incredible groups such as Earth, Wind and Fire, Queen, and Air Supply. Air Supply specifically had a number of 80s hits such as “I’m All Out of Love”, and “The One That You Love”. Hearing any of these songs will immediately transport you into an 80s vibe. 80s music was superior, catchy, up beat, and never failed to put you in a good mood.
Music, movies, and books are great , but there was another huge factor into what made the 80s so great, and that was the style. Big hair, big jeans, and big shoes: the 80s style. Besides the absolutely crazy hair and legwarmers, a few major factors of the 80s style are trending again. These factors include scrunchies, “mom” jeans, patchwork denim, and the unforgettable fanny packs. The styles were so good back then that teenagers and young adults are beginning to adopt the concept again and bring back the fashion. Regardless of what aspect of pop culture it was, the 80s always seemed to completely rule it. There’s no beating this decade. Let’s give our thanks to those who made the decade what it was: epic.