1980s
Millennia : 1st millennium - 2nd millennium 3rd millennium
Events and trends
Technology
Science
War, peace and politics
Cold War peaks; fall of the Iron Curtain
Margaret Thatcher and Thatcherism dominate British politics . The so-called Reagan Revolution introduces neoconservatives to Washington
Falklands War ; Argentina invades the Falkland islands in 1982 but defeated by the United Kingdom
Israel invades Lebanon in 1982 killing 20,000 people. A suicide bomber kills 241 U.S. marines stationed there as peacekeepers.
Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988 kills one million people
Over 120,000 flee Cuba in 1980 during the Mariel Boatlift
P.W. Botha suppresses anti-apartheid activists; international boycotts of South Africa continue
King Juan Carlos of Spain prevents a military coup in 1980 . Spain joined NATO in 1982 ; it joined the European Union with Portugal in 1986 .
In 1989 students protest on Tiananmen Square , Beijing , China and are ruthlessly suppressed
"People Power" in the Philippines topples the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship; military rule ends after protests in Argentina and South Korea
The Soviet Union ends its disastrous military campaign in Afghanistan
Former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim is exposed as a former Nazi
Vietnam continues its military occupation of Cambodia
In Europe, rise of right wing parties (Le Pen in France , Schönhuber /Republikaner in Germany, Haider in Austria), parallel to a rise of Green parties .
Political correctness
U.S. invades Grenada
U.S. invades Panama killing 3,000 civilians according to the Panamanians.
The Reagan Doctrine implements anti-communist insurgencies leading to massive state terror in El Salvador and elsewhere, but leads to the Iran-Contra scandal
The United States launches a covert war against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua and is condemned by the World Court for mining Nicaragua's harbour
Economics
Culture
The "Me Generation" manifests itself in conspicuous consumption among American yuppies , but fashions and dialogue trend conservative
Television networks are challenged by cable television . In the U.S., Cheers The Cosby Show Fox network is launched. CNN becomes the first 24-hour news channel.
The video game console outstrips the arcade game
Steven Spielberg 's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 and shatters records for box office gross receipts
Music videos (and MTV ) begin to have an effect on record industry in the United States . Pop artists Michael Jackson and Madonna are pioneers; groups such as Duran Duran benefit
Massive sales for Ethiopian famine relief records by Band Aid ("Do They Know It's Christmas? ") and USA for Africa ("We Are the World "), followed by Live Aid famine relief concert in London and Philadelphia . Other artists push for nuclear disarmament
In the United States, hair metal enjoys popularity
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Schönberg and Boublil 's Les Misérables musical theatre
He-Man , the first animated children's television program built exclusively around a toyline, starts a new trend of increasing the connection between children's programming and toy advertising , alarming many parents and watchdog organizations; an explosive number of toy tie-in cartoons follow
Hip hop began to achieve mainstream success in the United States , with artists like Kurtis Blow and N.W.A. ; hip hop's spread outside of New York City , especially to Los Angeles , accelerates
"Gorbymania"
The Rubik's cube , Cabbage Patch Kids , "Baby on Board" signs, and Trivial Pursuit fads capture the interest of the American public
Soap operas gain popularity among high-schoolers and college students in the United States , thanks in part to the supercoupling of Luke and Laura on the most popular soap of the day, General Hospital Others
People
World Leaders
Entertainers
Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off Glory Phoebe Cates (Fast Times at Ridgemont High Gremlins Tom Cruise (Top Gun Rain Man Risky Business The Color of Money Emilio Estevez (The Breakfast Club The Outsiders Young Guns Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones Star Wars Blade Runner Witness Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future Teen Wolf Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon Mad Max Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee Michael Keaton (Batman Mr. Mom , Night Shift George Lucas (Indiana Jones Star Wars Captain Eo Eddie Murphy (Saturday Night Live Beverly Hills Cop Trading Places Jack Nicholson (Terms of Endearment The Shining Batman Prizzi's Honor Ironweed Reds Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface Dangerous Liaisons Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator Predator Conan the Barbarian Michael Jackson (Thriller Madonna (Material Girl U2 (War The Joshua Tree Rattle and Hum Sports figures
Film
Television
See Also : 1980s in television
Music
Musical genres popular during the 1980s include hip hop , old school rap , heavy metal music , twee pop , hair metal , New Wave music , New Romantic , shoegazing , jangle pop , hardcore punk , alternative rock , dream pop , techno , house , acid house , two-tone
See also: 1980s music groups , List of rock and roll albums in the 1980s
External links
