80s decade

Catarina Santos | Cátia Mota | Daniela Sousa | Ivo Pinto | Jéssica Pereira
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 Cultural 20th
Century Revisited
» The Eighties
Escola Secundária de Santa Maria da Feira
English – 12th grade
May 2014

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 Index
 Introduction
 Politics/Economy
 Science
 Technology
 Yuppie Culture
 Cinema
 Tv
 Events
 Music
 Sport
 Slang
 Toys / Games
 Fashion
 Architecture
 Dance
 Painting
 Conclusion
 Biblioweb

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 Introduction
The 80s brought about a lot of changes in comparison to the previous decades! There
were different music styles, different slang, fashion, movies, which made the 80s
completely unique while being gnarly. This decade totally deserves this project work
and all the research we did as there were too many little treasures hidden and
forgotten! So, this essay is our way of honoring it!

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 Politics/Economy
 Ronald Reagan
In 1980, Ronald Reagan emerged victorious from a campaign for president of the
United States, something that was thought to be impossible. Reagan advocated cutting
taxes and the size of government and a positive stance against the rival of the United
States in the Cold War, the Soviet Union. With this, most politicians considered
unthinkable that Ronald could win, because he was competing against President
Jimmy Carter, in which the latter
complains incessantly, but Ronald Reagan
with his speech, begins to gain more
supporters, causing that most Americans
began to gain confidence in it. Reagan
never hesitated to come face to face with
the nation's problems and it was thanks
to this that made won, making its victory
into something memorable.
 WAR ON DRUGS
War on Drugs is a term applied to a campaign made in America which prohibited the
drugs, military aid and military intervention with the aim of reducing illegal drug trade.
Cold War
The cold war was a long period of tension
between the democracies of the Western
World and the communist countries of
Eastern Europe. The West was led by US
and Eastern Europe was led by Soviet
Union. There two countries became known
as “superpowers”. Although, these two
superpowers never declared officially war
on each other (that’s the reason of the
term “cold”), they just fought indirectly in proxy wars (Vietnam, Afghanistan, and
Korea), arms race and space race. Proxy wars were the wars that happened in other
countries and those two superpowers supported different sides. The superpowers
tried to fight demonstrating the power they had in technology, for example, who had

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the best weapons and the most nuclear bombs and who could accomplish certain
space missions first.
 Berlin Wall
«The Berlin Wall was a Symbol, a Symbol of
unworkable system economic decline surveillance
and oppression totalitarianism. Its rise and fall
represents an important chapter in the political
history of the world»
The Fall of the Berlin wall
On 13th August in 1961, East German authorities began construction of what they
called the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart". In the West their little construction
project was dubbed "The Berlin Wall". Built in order to keep their citizens from
defecting to West Germany and beyond The Berlin Wall came to symbolize the deep
divide between communist East and capitalist Western Europe and seemed like it
would be there forever.
In the waning days of the 80s however cracks began to emerge in the armor of the
Soviet satellite states in the East. The USSR (The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) no
longer had the financial ability nor the political will to impose itself militarily on
uncooperative Eastern Bloc nations. In August of 1989 Hungary effectively opened its
border with Austria. When East Germans heard of this they fled en masse to Hungary
and from there to freedom in the West via Austria. While some attempts were made
to stop the flow of East Germans the genie was out of the bottle and no amount of
backpedaling was going to put it back in.

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Bowing to increasing pressure from within East Germany's leaders decided on 9th
November to allow its citizens to legally pass through crossing points to the West. This
change was supposed to take effect on 17th November to allow officials time to figure
out how to handle the expected outflow in a controlled manner, but the
announcement was botched by an East German official who stated on the 9th that the
changes were to take effect immediately. Upon hearing this thousands of East
Germans gathered at various checkpoints demanding to be let through. Confused and
overwhelmed border guards had no clue how to handle this human tide and, with no
guidance coming from the top, eventually decided the best thing to do was to just
open the gates, which they did. It signaled the beginning of the end of East Germany
and set in motion events that just two short years later would lead to the collapse of
the Soviet Union itself.
Of all the political events that took place during the 1980s the fall of the Berlin
Wall was the most dramatic. The West had won the cold war and the people of Eastern
Europe were finally free to take back their future.
 Economic Recession
The USA experienced a large economic recession in
late 1981 and 1982. Bankruptcy rate rose 50% compared to
the early 1981 and farmers were hit hard as exports
declined, crop prices fell a lot and interest rate became
higher! The main cause of this recession was the
contractionary monetary policy in order to control inflation.
(Monetary policy is the process of taking control of the money and organizing economic goals
for the year.)
There was an oil crisis in 1973 and an energy crisis in 1979 that definitely contributed to the
length and gravity of this serious economic recession!
Unemployment rate started rising sharply in 1975 but thereafter declined gradually until May
1979. But it rose back achieving 6.9% in April 1980 and 7.5% at May 1980. But the peak of this
economic recession was in November and December of 82 when Unemployment rate hit
10.4%, the highest value since the 30s!

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 Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe was an important
revolutionary and politician of his country,
Zimbabwe. He became one of the main
oppressors of the government of that time,
being elected prime minister, head of
government in 1980, and served in the post
until 1987 when he became the country's first
executive head of state. Mugabe got all this
thanks to the fact that it was considered a
hero for many Africans, at war's end in 1979, and also after calling for reconciliation
between the former belligerents, including white Zimbabweans and rival political
parties. When he was declared executive president by parliament, combining the roles
of head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces,
with powers to dissolve parliament and declare martial law, Mugabe consolidated his
power in December 1987.
 The Olimpic Games boycotts
The Olympics were prevented from performing
in various countries for many reasons during the
80s. In 1980, as a protest against the invasion of
the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, U.S. President
Jimmy Carter issued a boycott of the games and
several nations joined this done, where the
Olympic Games took place in Moscow. Only 80
countries participated in the Moscow games.
In 1984, it was the turn of the Soviet Union
boycotting the Olympic Games that were to be held in Los Angeles in the United
States, citing lack of security for the athletes as their official reason, having considered
this decision as a response to the United States-issued led boycott against the Moscow
Olympics four years earlier.
In 1988, North Korea boycotted the Olympic Summer Games 1988 in Seoul. Albania,
Cuba, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Seychelles also did not attend the games for
several reasons.

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 Science
1980» The hepatitis-B vaccine was created.
1981» Many homosexuals became infected by
AIDS that was suspected to be a strange form of
cancer that was highly contagious and fatal
(AIDS).
Gerd Karl Binning and Heinrich Rohrer
invented the scanning tunneling microscope.
1982» Liposuction Surgery: There were some similar ideas to liposuction in the
previous decades but most of the experiments performed were unsuccessful with
undesirable results.
Artificial Heart Transplant Surgery: Bamey Clark was the first recipient of
artificial heart. After the transplant, Clark lived for more 112 days.
It was genetically engineered the Human growth hormone.
1983» HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) was discovered by Dr. Luc Montagnier , a
French scientist. The first cases were found in homosexuals and AIDS became to be
known as a Gay Syndrome.
1984» At 6 years old, Stormie Jones received an organ transplant performed by an
expert, Dr. Thomas Starlz.
1985» Farman Gardiner and Shanklin, scientists, detected near the
Antarctic region the first hole in the Ozone layer.
Willem J. Kolff invented Artificial kidney dialysis.

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1986» The Pasteur Institute in France developed the AIDS test. Though, the National
Cancer Institute filed for patent rights of the AIDS test kit before the Pasteur Institute.
NCI was accused of breaching contract terms and sharing samples and information
provide by PI.
G. Gregory Gallico III invented synthetic skin.
1987» Prozac, a drug that helps the battle against depression became available as a
prescription drug.
Two occipital craniopagus twins were separated in Germany.
Disposable Contact Lenses: Vistakon invented the contact lens.
Three-way Heart and Lung Transplant: Clinton House needed new lungs as his
had been destroyed by cystic fibrosis, a hereditary condition. He received a heart and
lungs of other person (an accident victim). As his heart was healthy, it was
transplanted to a third person, John Couch.
1988» The abortion pill (RU-486) was invented.
1989» The Human Genome Project was initiated.
The case of PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis) was conducted
successfully.

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 Technology
1980» The first IBM-PC was invented.
1981» MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) was created.
It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of
operating systems and it was the chief operating system for
IBM PC, until it was gradually outdated by operating systems
offering a GUI.
1983» The Apple Lisa was designed. It was the first personal
computer to use a GUI (graphical user interface to a
computer.) It included a drop-down menu bar, windows,
multiple tasking, a hierachal file system, the ability to copy
and paste, icons, folders and a mouse.Steve Jobs invested
$50 million to develop the Lisa and $100 million to write the
software and the crazy fact is that just were sold 10, 000
units.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) technology was made public. The
MIDI allows the connecton and relation of a variety of electronic musical instruments.
1984» The CD-ROM was developed.
The Apple Macintosh was devised.
1985» Windows program was invented by Microsoft, which is used by many
computers nowadays all around the world.
The Clapper was created. The Clapper is an electronic gadget to turn on and off
electronic devices without having to get “out of the couch” . The sign was specific: two
claps. The first Clapper being sold was in September 1st 1986.
1986» Fuji introduced the disposable camera.
The first laptop was built so that people could carry it easier.
1987» The first 3-D video game (Gameboy) was released in Japan, but not in color.
1988» Digital cellular phones were conceived.
1989» High-definition television was created.

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 Yuppie Culture
Yuppies are young professionals who lived in urban or suburban areas. The term
“yuppie” is the result from three words “young, urban and professional”. Studies
have been done since the end of the 60s, even though just in the 80s the word
started to being used. Later there were variations of the word, such as “buppies”
(black urban professionals) and “guppies” (gay urban professionals). Yuppies ages
were usually between 25 and 30 and they were all well-paid professionals’ workers
with positions that may have had benefits. They might not have children so that
they could live with other possibilities, with well-appointed houses or apartments,
nice cars, good food and other luxuries. They worked hard to achieve the top
positions in the class system. In some communities “yuppie” is used in a pejorative
way, like a stereotype.
Ronald Reagan was, in part, the responsible for this ideologically changes between
the young adults. With the diminution of the builds of the government, the
diminution of the taxes and with the great economic growth, people changed their
mentalities and way of living. They started to focus on themselves and in theirs
satisfactions increasing the consumerism. Yuppies are more conservative than the
previous generation, the hippies. They tend to valorize the new trends, material
things, for example new imported cars, new gadgets, etc. Their lifestyle rhythm was
stressful and could give into exhaustion. They changed frequently their residence
most of the times because of their jobs and family issues. According to a stereotype
there is an informality between them even though there were activities they all
tended to do for example playing golf, tenis, eating sushi and drinking cocktails.
Nowadays it’s still possible that the Yuppie lifestyle remains, as some people are still
obsessed with work, money and social position.

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 Cinema
The 70s brought lots of innovations and new trends and in the 80s films were less
experimental and original, but with new special effects techniques, introducing the
“high-concept” films.
The 80s were a decade with significant movies and some of them became what could
be called the “classics”. Those movies covered many genres for example science-
fiction, thriller, fantasy, drama, westerns, horror, comedies, sequels, action, etc
The most popular movies of this decade were:
 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Year: 1980
Genres: action, science-fiction, adventure
Director: Irvin Kershner
Writers: screenplay : Leigh Brackett; Lawrence
Kasdan
story : George Lucas
Stars: Mark Hamill ; Harrison Ford ; Carrie Fisher
 Raiders of the Lost Ark
Year: 1981
Genres: action, adventure
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan
story : George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Stars: Harrison Ford ;Karen Allen ; Paul Freeman
 E.T.
Year: 1982
Genres: adventure, family, fantasy
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Melissa Mathison
Stars: Henry Thomas ; Drew Barrymore ; Peter
Coyote

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 Beverly Hills Cop
Year: 1984
Genres: action, comedy, crime
Director: Martin Brest
Writers: screenplay: Daniel Petrie Jr.
story: Daniel Petrie Jr.; Danilo Bach
Stars: Eddie Murphy ; Judge Reinhold ; John Ashton
 Back to the future
Year: 1985
Genres: adventure; comedy; sci-fi
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Bob Gale; Robert Zemeckis
Stars: Michael J. Fox ; Christopher Lloyd ; Lea Thompson
 Dirty Dancing
Year: 1987
Genres: drama, music, romance
Director: Emile Ardolino
Writer: Eleanor Bergstein
Stars: patrick swayze ; Jennifer Grey ; Jerry Orbach
 The Little Mermaid
Year: 1989
Genres: animation ; fantasy ; family
Director: Ron Clements; John Musker
Writers: John Musker ; Ron Clements
Fairy tail : Hans Christian Anderson
Stars: Jodi Benson ; Samuel E.Wright ; Rene Auberjonois

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Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton are two of the most important contributors to the
eighties movies. They are both directors but they are really different in their films
genres.
 Steven Spielberg
Born in 1946 in America, Steven Spielberg is a film
director, screenwriter, producer and business
magnate. His career has more than four decades
and all of them with lots of success. His early
movies (basically science-fiction and adventure)
were seen as models of modern Hollywood
blockbuster filmmaking. Later his films began
approaching humanitarian issues like the Holocaust,
slave trade, war and terrorism. He is also the
principal partner of DreamWorks movie studio.
Some films with his contribution: Raiders of the lost Ark, E.T., Indiana Jones and
the Temple of the Doom, the Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade, Jurassic Park, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can,
Lincoln, The Sugarland Express, etc.
 Tim Burton
The film director, producer, artist, writer, poet and
stop motionartist born in 1958 in America. Tim Burton
is known for using a dark, gothic, ghoulish and
idiosyncratic horror and fantasy films such as
Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare
Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dark
Shadows and Frankeweenie and for some
blockbusters like Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Batman,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in the
Wonderland. He also uses recurring collaborators on
his films and the most important one is Johnny Depp,
who became a close friend since the beginning.

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 TV
The 80s were a time of revolution in television. Instead of having three basic channels
(ABC, CBS and NBC) to watch now there was cable television that turned possible to
have more than 200 channels. ABC, CBS and NBC lost their monopoly on what
Americans viewed because now there were many other channel possibilities.
There was an explosive growth of the video gaming industry and the television
industry had to caption the attention of TV viewers that were basically young children,
so they started to put more advertisings related with their age. Television began
appealing to our baser instincts. They began to produce shows that would show what
really people would like to see.
These are some of them:
 The Bold and the Beautiful
(Debut: 23/03/1987)
The story takes place in Los Angeles and portrays
a family who runs a fashion company, Forrester
Creations. Listed in the cast are actors as Susan
Flannery, John McCook, Katherine Kelly Lang and
Ronn Moss.
 The Simpsons
(Debut: 17/12/1989)
The Simpsons is an American series of animated
sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox
Broadcasting Company. It is a satirical series about
the lifestyle of the middle class. The series takes
place in the city of Springfield, and lampoons
American culture and society, television and many
aspects of the human condition.

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 The David Letterman Show
(Debut: 23/06/1980)
The David Letterman Show is a live morning NBC talk
show hosted by David Letterman. A precursor to
1982's Late Night with David Letterman, the show was
a critical success but the edgy comedy did not go over
well with morning television watchers, more used
to talk shows, soap operas, game shows… After some
time, the show was renamed to “Late Night with David
Letterman”. Currently, the show is hosted by Jimmy
Fallon, so the show is called “Late Night with Jimmy
Fallon”.
 MTV (Music Television)
MTV was launched on August the first
of 1981 in New York City. Just a few people
saw this happening. And why? First of all, you
had to have cable television. Second, the cable
company you had should have add MTV as a
channel and third, you should live in a
neighborhood that had cable television
available. Those are the reasons why most
people did not have the ability to watch MTV
in the 80s. But just because they couldn’t see it
doesn’t mean they didn’t know it and couldn’t
be influenced by it. The programming that
opened the MTV was “Ladies and Gentlemen,
Rock & Roll” followed by the network’s power-
chord-fueled guitar riff theme that soon became familiar. For almost all 80s decade
MTV was a force to be reckoned with, influencing the pop music in the world for
example “The Police”, “Michael Jackson” and “Bon Jovi” , etc.
MTV important programs of this decade:
120 minutes, Club MTV, Head’banger Ball, MTV Unplugged, Yo! MTV Raps, Remote
Control, Video Music Awards.

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 Events
1980
Assassinations/Deaths:
 John Lennon
John Lennon, lead vocalist from the Beatles, was shot dead
by Mark Chapman on December 8, in New York City. The
murderer later pleaded "not guilty" by stating insanity as the
reason.
Lennon's killer reveals motive
John Lennon's murderer Mark Chapman has told that he
killed the legendary Beatle to "steal" his fame. Chapman
never apologised to the panel for gunning Lennon down, but he said he deserved to be
in jail because of the "pain and suffering" he had caused. Chapman told the parole
board he had planned the killing for three months and considered murdering other
famous people, those he thought were "phonies". But after shooting Lennon he was
disarmed by a doorman and then waited for the police to arrive.
 Bon Scott
On 19 February 1980, Bon Scott passed out after a night of
heavy drinking in a London club. He was left to sleep in a
Renault 5 owned by an acquaintance named Alistair
Kinnear. The following afternoon, Kinnear found Scott
lifeless, and alerted the authorities. Scott was rushed to the
hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. It has
been contended that pulmonary aspiration of vomit was
the cause of Scott's death, but the official cause was listed
on the death certificate as "acute alcohol poisoning" and classified as "death by
misadventure".
 Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat is assassinated
On 6th October, the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was shot to death by Islamic
militants at a military parade celebrating the eighth anniversary of Egypt’s crossing of
the Suez Canal at the start of the Yom Kippur War.

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The assassination occurred when a truck carrying army
Officer Khalid Islambouli stopped in front of the
president’s reviewing stand, Islambouli began hurling
grenades toward Sadat and three other extremists
fired indiscriminately into the crowd, killing Sadat and
11 others. President Sadat was targeted by Islamic
extremists primarily for his dealings with Israel. He had become a national hero in 1973
for launching a surprise attack against Israel in Sinai Peninsula, but his decision to sign
a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 made him a pariah in the Arab world.
Sadat received numerous reports of assassination plots against him and cracked down
on extremists and his opponents in the government, though he did not strongly target
the military. After his death, hundreds of extremists were arrested and his assassins
were executed.
Disasters:
 Two successive earthquakes in Algeria claimed 3,500 lives.
 Over 9,000 were injured and 3,000 were killed by a powerful
earthquake in Italy.
1981
Assasinations/Deaths:
 Bob Marley
Bob Marley died in 1981, officially due to malignant melanoma, a dangerous type of
cancer that was found on his toe.
 Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
The attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan occurred on
March 30, 1981. While leaving a speaking engagement at
the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President
Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John
Hinckley, Jr.

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Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest and in the lower right arm. He suffered a
punctured lung and heavy internal bleeding, but prompt medical attention allowed
him to recover quickly.
 Attempted assassination of the Pope
The first attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II
took place on Wednesday, 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's
Square at Vatican City. The Pope was shot and
wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering
the square. The Pope was struck four times, and
suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended
immediately, and later sentenced to life in prison by
an Italian court. The Pope later forgave Ağca for the
assassination attempt.
Disasters:
 Two successive earthquakes in Iran killed 3,000 and 1,500 people,
respectively
1982
 Grace Kelly
On September 13, 1982, while driving with her
daughter, Stéphanie, to Monaco from their country
home, Roc Agel, on the French side of the border, Kelly
suffered a stroke, which caused her to drive her car off
the serpentine road down a mountainside. Grace was
pulled alive from the wreckage, but had suffered
serious injuries and was unconscious. She died the
following day at the Monaco Hospital, having never
regained consciousness; she was 52 years old. It was
initially reported that Princess Stéphanie suffered only minor bruising, although it later
emerged that she had suffered a serious cervical fracture.
Disasters:
 1,500 people lost their lives as an earthquake hit Yemen

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1983
Disasters:
 An earthquake in Turkey claimed 1,200 lives
1984
 Indira Gandhi
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated
on October 31 by her own bodyguards. On 31 October
1984, two of Gandhi's bodyguards, Satwant Singh and
Beant Singh, shot her with their service weapons in the
garden of the Prime Minister's. The shooting occurred
as she was walking past a wicket gate guarded by
Satwant and Beant.
Disasters:
 Large-scale chemical disaster in Bhopal, India on December 3 claimed
over 2,000 lives overnight. Almost 13,000 others passed away later due
to gas-related diseases. Several thousands are still suffering from
permanent disabilities till date.
1985
Disasters:
 A shocking total of 25,000 people died due to a volcanic eruption in
Columbia.
 10,000 lives were lost due to a cyclone in Bangladesh.
 Mexico City was struck by an earthquake of 8.1 magnitude on the
Richter scale, leaving more than 9,000 dead.

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1986
 Olof Palme
The Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme was shot dead on
the night of February 28, in Stockholm, when he and his
wife were walking back from a cinema. He was famous as
one of the few political figures who would walk freely
without any security or entourage. The case of his
murderer has several theories but remains unsolved till
date.
Disasters:
 The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that
occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in
Ukraine, which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central
authorities of the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire released large
quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread
over much of the western USSR and Europe.
The Chernobyl disaster is the worst nuclear power plant accident in
history in terms of cost and resulting deaths and is one of only two
classified as a level 7 event (the maximum classification) on the
International Nuclear Event Scale. During the accident itself 31 people
died, and long-term effects such as cancers and deformities are still
being accounted for.
 Space Shuttle Challenger explodes after take-off
The Space Shuttle Challenger accident occurred in the 28
th January of 1986. Only after 73 seconds of the take-off
the Challenger exploded and all of the 7 members of the
crew on board died. All of the pieces of the spacecraft
landed in the Atlantic Ocean. The death of the entire
crew wasn´t really the explosion, it was the severe
impact with the ocean. After this disaster, the program
of creation of spacecrafts was stopped for 32 months.

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1987
Disasters:
 Typhoon Nina devastated Philippines, submerging 14 islands and killing
1,000 people.
 In August, a Northwestern Airlines jet crashed before it even took off
from the runway, killing all 156 on board except a four-year-old girl. A
fault with the plane's flaps is believed to have caused the crash.
 193 died as a ferry capsized in Belgium outside Port of Zeebrugge.
Shockingly, only 100-feet away from the shore, the ferry sunk in a
matter of seconds.
1988
 Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari died on August 14, 1988 in Maranello at the age of 90. No cause of death
was given, but Mr. Ferrari was known to have suffered from kidney disease.
Disasters:
 Spitak earthquake in Armenia claimed a staggering 25,000 lives.
 One of the worst heat waves struck US with the death toll ranging
between 5,000 to 10,000.
1989
 Salvador Dali
On January 23, 1989, Salvador Dalí died of heart failure at the
age of 84.
Disasters:
 Hillsborough Disaster: In a shocking turn of events, the semifinal match
of the FA cup between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool turned into a
blood bath as 96 people were crushed to death against a high-wired
fence.


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 Music
Songs that marked the 80s:
» Thriller - Michael Jackson
» Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
» Like A Virgin – Madonna
 Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson born in Gary, Indiana on the 29th
of August 1958. Michael began his musical career at the
age of 5 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 who formed in
1964.
In 1982 Michael Jackson released the world's largest
selling album of all time, 'Thriller'. Michael was keen to use
music video or short films as he called them to promote
his singles from the album. He worked with the best
directors and producers, using the latest technology and
special effects for the hit song 'Billie Jean'.
In 1983 Michael performed the now legendary moonwalk for the first time on the
'Motown 25 years' anniversary show. One year later Michael won a record breaking 8
Grammy awards in one night.
In 1987 Michael released his much awaited third solo album, titled 'Bad', and launched
his record breaking first solo world tour. In 1988, Michael wrote his first
autobiography, Moonwalk, talking for the first time on his childhood and his career. At
the end of the 1980s Michael was named 'Artist Of The Decade' for his success off of
his 'Thriller' and 'Bad' albums.
On June 25th 2009 Michael Jackson died suddenly of a reported cardiac arrest. He was
50 years old.

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 Cynthia Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper was born on June 22,
1953, in Brooklyn, New York. She did not do well in
school, and was reportedly kicked out of several
parochial schools in her youth. Despite her hard times,
she discovered a love of singing at an early age, and was
writing her own songs by the age of 12.
With her eclectic clothes, flamboyantly styled
hair, and contagious pop melodies, Lauper
took the music world by surprise. The 1983
recording sold almost 5 million copies and
featured her first hit, "Girls Just Want to
Have Fun." The song became a female party
anthem, and the video for it went into heavy rotation on MTV. She was further
rewarded for her work when she won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
Her 1986 follow-up album, True Colors, sold nearly 1 million copies. Exploring new
creative avenues, Lauper made her film debut in 1988 starring opposite Jeff Goldblum
in Vibes.
Outside of music, Lauper has been a tireless activist for the gay rights movement. "Civil
rights have to be afforded to every American, no matter what their color, gender or
sexual preference.
 Madonna
Madonna, born Louis Cicconi, in 1958, was brought up in Rochester Hills Michigan.
In 1982 she released her first single 'Everybody' and
in 1983, she launched her first album 'Madonna' It
sold very well, but it was her next album 'Like a
Virgin' which made her into an international
superstar. The album sold over 12 million copies,
helped by the hit single 'Like a Virgin' which stayed
at number one for 6 weeks.
After forming her own company - Madonna,
produced a book titled 'Sex'. It featured nude

25
photography and was quite controversial, especially in US; but it sold over half a
million copies.
She has acted in a couple of films, without much commercial success - though her
appearance in Evita about Eva Peron, the famous Argentinean wife of the President
received good reviews.
She has now produced over 10 albums and remains a very influential artist still capable
of hitting the top of the album charts. According to Billboard magazine, she is second
only to the Beatles in terms of all-time best selling artist. Her early Catholic roots
influenced her music and videos.
 ROCK IN RIO
Rock in Rio is now the most important Brazilian festival in the world and one of the
most significant on the planet. Over nearly 30 years, it became the owner of a
prominent story in the music scene, with 13 editions performed, and more than 6
million people gathered and one of the strongest presence in digital media.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, it not only conquered Brazil, but also Portugal and Spain, always
with the intention of bringing all styles of music for a variety of audiences.
In 1985 Brazil was undergoing major changes. After a long period under a military
dictatorship, the country began to take the first steps towards democracy. In this
scenario, where all South American countries were living in similar conditions, Brazil
would be the first country to host a musical event of this type.
And the event wasn't born small! Conceived by the entrepreneur Roberto Medina, the
first Rock in Rio took place in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighbourhood of Jacarepaguá..
Rock in Rio brought together names such as AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne,
Queen and the Brazilians Gilberto Gil, Paralamas do Sucesso and Barão Vermelho.
Altogether 28 bands – national and international – were the main characters of the
countries' history, creating a new reality: Brazil had its own great festival.

26
 Live Aid
Live Aid was a two-part concert that took place on 13 July 1985. This event was
organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for Ethiopian famine.
Both billed the “global jukebox”. The concert was attended by 72,000 fans at Wembley
Stadium in England, United Kingdom and 100,000 fans at John F.Kennedy Stadium in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These concerts inspired other countries such as Australia
and Germany. The ones that weren’t lucky enough to see one of those two concerts
probably watched it on television or radio (1.9 billion people).
There were innumerous performances by talented singers/bands, for example:
Bob Dylan, Ronnie Wood, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, Hall & Oates, Duran Duran, Phil
Collins, Thompson Twins, Neil Young, Madonna, The Pretenders, Simple Minds, Bryan
Adams, Black Sabbath, Billy Ocean, Band Aid, Paul McCartney, Freddie Mercury, Elton
John, The Who, David Bowie, Queen, U2, Bryan Ferry, Elvis Costello, Adam Ant,
Coldstream Guards, etc
The last song performed in Philadelphia was “We are the
world” and involved the most famous performers of the
decade. This song was absolutely the most important one
and nowadays, there is a new version of it “ We are the
world 25 for Haiti” released in 2010.

27
 Sport
Famous celebrities: Mike Tyson, Ayrton Senna, Martina Navratilova and Muhamed Ali.
 Mike Tyson:
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1966, Mike
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight boxing
champion of the world in 1986, at age 20. He lost the
title in 1990 and later served three years in prison over
rape charges. He subsequently earned further
notoriety by biting Evander Holyfield's ear during a
rematch in 1997. Tyson has gone on to appear in
several films, including a documentary on his life.
 Ayrton Senna:
Ayrton Senna da Silva (Brazilian Portuguese)
was born in 21 March 1960 and die in 1 May
1994. He was a Brazilian racing driver who won
three Formula One world championships. His
career progressed quickly, and in 1982 he
moved to England to pursue his racing. In 1984
he came to the attention of the whole world by
racing in Formula One. Over the next ten years
he won the World Championship three times
and engaged in some controversial racing with France's Alain Prost and England's Nigel
Mansell. Ayrton Senna was killed on 1 May 1994 in a race at the San Marino Grand Prix
when his car, which had been beset with problems the entire season, inexplicably left
the track and crashed into the concrete barrier.
 Martina Navratilova
She born in Czechoslovakia in 1956, Martina Navratilova began
playing tennis at a young age, and was one of the top female tennis
players in the world in the late 1970s and early '80s. Later in life,
she authored a series of fiction books and was active in the gay
rights movement.

28
 Muhammad Ali
In 1979, Ali announces his retirement. But in the next
year, he decided to come back and challenge the
current champion at the time, Larry Holmes.
Unfortunately, Ali is knocked out after being hit 125
times by the champion. Later, in 1981, Ali has one
more match, but he loses against Trevor Berbick. This
was the end of Ali’s career, he finally decided to hang
up the gloves for good. In 1986, he was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease.

29
 Slang
 Totally
 Like... like
 No, duh!
 Eat my Shorts -> Associated with Bart Simpson but it first came up in
the movie “The Breakfast Club”
 Gnarly (Firstly it meant tough but it had its meaning shift over the
years. It now bears the meaning: Cool, Awesome)
 Take a Chill Pill (Calm down!!!)
 Even / Not Even (Used to agree/disagree; Ex.: - She’s pretty. – Not
Even. – Even.
 What’s your damage? (Basically “What’s your problem?”)
 Righteous (Awesome, Tubular, Cool)
 Tubular (Totally Awesome!!! A Hundred Times better than Cool!)
 Bitchin’ (Totally Awesome)

30
 Toys / Games
 Hot Looks Dolls
There were five dolls, each a model from a
different country. Stacey was from the U.S., Elkie
from Sweden, Chelsea from London, Mimi from
France, and Zizi from Africa. Their looks and outfits
resembled their country’s fashion. They were
made of stockinette material while their heads
were vinyl and they had brush-able hair.
 Glo Worm and Friends
Glo Worm was a really huggable worm that glowed in the dark
if you squeezed it. It even had its own nightcap!! It’s not in vain
the name of the toy has “Friends” in its name. His many friends
include: Glo Snugbug, Glo Snail, Glo Doodlebug, Glo Bug, Glo
Grannybug, Glo Clutterbug, Glo Bashfulbug, Glo Butterfly, Glo
Bopbug, Glo Cricket, Glo Skunkbug, Glo Bookbug, Glo
Nuttybug, Glo Sniffle Snail, Glo Firefly, Glo Hopper, Glo Spider,
Glo Bopbug, Glo Flutterbug and Glo Turtle.
It was of great success in 1982 and sold almost immediately during Christmas time.
 Star Wars Toys
They were definitely “hot” figures
during the 80s. They started being
made late 70s, early 80s and soon
there were almost 100 Star Wars
Action Figures including Hans Solo,
Luke Skywalker, Princess Leah. They
have become extremely valuable as
one action figure can cost hundreds of
dollars!!!

31
 My Little Pony
“My Little Pony” toys were very popular during
the 80s. It was almost mandatory for every little
girl to have their ponies and their pony
house!!!! All the ponies come with brush-able
manes and tails! Every pony had its own name
and and cute symbol (“cutie mark”) on their
hips.
 Rubix Cube
It was thought in 1974 by Erno Rubik so it’s technically a 70s toy.
Initially it was nearly impossible to make a cube like this work. Its
mechanics were too complicated for that time. But we still consider it
an 80s toy because its bubble burst was a lot more intense during the
80s!!!
 Pac-Man
Pac-Man is an arcade game which was developed by Namco and it was
first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. This game became immensely
popular right from the second it was released!! It is basically an icon of
the 80s culture and a major landmark in the history of video-games!!
 Super Mario
Mario was first made by Shigeru
Miyamoto and it was franchised by
Nintendo. Mario is an Italian plumber
that lives in Mushroom Kingdom and
repeatedly saves Princess Peach from the
Koopa Bowser. This game influenced
everybody in the 80s because of how
famous this game was. It is definitely another big landmark in the history of video-
games despite being 2D.

32
 Fashion
The 1980s fashion was marked by extravagance and
excessive use of sequins and costume jewelry that
expressed wealth as the use of pearl necklaces and
large faux-gold earrings.
With the arrival of the aerobics craze of the mid 1980s
due to the influence of various series and movies,
began to use the classic leotard, consisting of bright
stripes, polka dots, and even elastic belts, leggings,
plaid skirts, short dresses with sneakers and no socks or
shoes with slouch socks and shortalls, choosing a genre
of casual wear but with style.
Later the use of shoulder pads in women was quite popular and this is due to the fact
that the working women wanted to be recognized as equal to men. At the level of the
footwear trend, bright colored high heels appeared. In young adolescents, especially
girls, the pants were a key part in wardrobe and shorts were not too tight, not too
loose with a length just above the knee.
The underwear has become an important
fashion accessory for both males and for
females. Women's looks tended to be in a wide
array of pastel colors, with lacy trimmings. Men
were also wearing colored underwear and boxer
shorts were "tapered", or styled after the side-
vent running shorts, with a trimmer cut. The
male fashion was characterized by being more
popular than jeans. It was more about athletic
clothing and moderation in color. The most popular colors were black, white, indigo,
forest green, burgundy, and different shades of browns, tans, and oranges. Popular in
the early 80s clothing worn by men included tracksuits, v-neck sweaters, and
polyester velor polo-neck shirts, sports jerseys, jeans, polyester button-ups, beanies,
and hoodies. Around this time it became acceptable for men to wear sports coats
and slacks to places which previously required a suit. In counterpoint to the bright
shirt, jackets were often gray, tan, rust or white, donned casually and in sunny places
doubled even as business attire, in which case they could be seen worn with a tie.
There was a preference for Vogue cowboy boots and these were quite expensive.

33
 Architecture
The architecture reached its peak in the 80s, including post-modern architecture. This
is essentially characterized by the idea of "movement" and also by excessive use of
colors, the exaggerated use of historical references and repetitive uncritical use as part
of the pediment crowning the building and is easily perceptible in many buildings such
as the "Piazza d'Italia by Charles Moore ". If there is something that has marked the
buildings of the 1980s, is a sense of romanticism to the past. This style was also often
adapted into several shopping centers and international companies who wanted a
corporate image. There were several architects involved in this style including Bernard
Tschumi and Peter Eisenman, especially in works like the "Parc de la Villette" in Paris
and "Wexner Center for the Arts" in the United States.
There were several monuments
that were highlighted throughout this
decade. In 1980, Frank Gehry built Santa
Monica Place, in the following year Richard
Serra installed Tilted Arc in the Federal
Plaza in New York City. In 1982, there was
a design competition at the Parc de la
Villette in Paris. Xanadu
House in Kissimmee opened in 1983. Philip
Johnson's AT&T Building opened in New
York City and The HSBC Headquarters Building in Hong Kong, China by Norman Foster,
was completed in 1984 and 1985 respectively. The Lloyd's Building in London, designed
by Richard Rogers, was completed in 1986 and The Riga Radio & TV
Tower in Riga, Latvia was completed in 1987. In 1988 MOMA Exhibition
called Deconstructivist architecture opened and finally, I. M. Pei's pyramid addition to
the Louvre was opened in 1989.

34
 Dance
The eighties spawned Ska and Breakdancing. Many dances were based on Michael
Jackson and Heavy metal music lovers developed slamdancing. Many steps were
marked by originality and provocation, many considered shocking to time. Popular 80s
artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and the Bangles released videos featuring
moves that millions of fans all over the world attempted on the dance floor.
We have different steps that are still recognized as “moon walk”, “the snake”,
“The Electric Slide”, “walk like an egyptian”, “dirty dancing lift”, “ the thriller dance”,
“everybody footloose”, “the running man” and many others. These names were tame
compared to what people actually looked like when they were doing the steps.
Pantomime moves also became increasingly popular at dance clubs and parties, so it
was completely acceptable and hilariously entertaining to watch children of all ages.
“Moon walk” “dirty dancing lift”
“everybody footloose” “the running man”

35
 Painting
“The Curse of the Crying Boy” is a painting made
by an Italian painter (Bruno Amadio), also called
Giovanni Bragolin. This painting has a story
behind. In the decade of 70s, Bruno Amadio was
still painting in Pádua, Italy, but then he was
called to the Italian military forces during the
Second World War. Throughout this experience
he sees the children pain in many villages and
cities. These sad images made turn the
sensibility of the artist even bigger and that
changed significantly is way of painting. After
the war he moved to Sevilha, Spain. Later he
went to Madrid. He became famous for painting
27 paintings with children crying that were sold
in different parts of the world. At this time he
started to paint sad figures that were a vision of
those war children. In the 70s and 80s those paintings were printed in paper and
actually they are still available. There is a legend that says that Bragolin just wanted
fame and he made a pact with the Devil and he inspired him to paint those children
crying that suggested violence. Some people attribute messages related with satain
and the pact that Bragolin made with the Devil in order to became famous and sell
successfully. There are many others visions and rumors about those paintings. The
people who had those paintings reveled that it transmitted bad feelings and they
couldn’t keep the paintings for too long. There is a story that tells that the painting is
about a little orphan boy that Giovani saw and that, a few years later, during a fire that
happened in that orphanage, the spirit of that kid became stuck right there. Later,
many houses fires happened in England. The witnesses and the firemen’s said that all
of those houses had a replica of the painting and that painting was the only thing that
wasn’t destroyed. The polemic and the fear was so big that the newspaper “ the sun “
asked to everyone to burn those paintings so that the curse could be gone. But there is
still numerous rumors about these paintings and the curses behind it.

36
 Conclusion
Many remember the 80s as a happy and lucky decade, full of peace and prosperity.
Others think that the 80s were a decade of excess, disappointment and the end of the
good traditions. The truth is that there were a lot of progresses in many areas, but with
fear and financial unsureness around. The appearance of AIDS installed fear in
everyone’s heart. There wasn’t sufficient information about it until the end of the
decade. The poverty and hunger in Ethiopia and Uganda won a special attention
through the world. The events of this decade brought a long impact in families, the
values and in the economy. Divorced and mixed families, once an impossible thing,
were in that time starting to be normal. Women started to work and sometimes they
earned more than men. Not only the opportunities of career choice turned bigger to
women, but also their salaries were necessary for families’ survival. And the cause of
that were the excess and the consumerism that existed in the 80s and still exists
nowadays. The relation with Russia and China developed as a consequence of
measures taken in the 80s. The evolution of the technology brought an easier
communication in the world.

37
 Biblioweb
 http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000163210/
 http://www.liketotally80s.com/80s-slang.html
 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/1980s-timeline-important-events-of-
the-1980s.html
 http://www.liketotally80s.com/80s-toys.html
 http://www.eightyeightynine.com/games/rubiks-cube.html
 http://www.suapesquisa.com/musicacultura/anos_80.htm
 http://www.anos80.net/
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_aid
 http://www.entertainmentscene360.com/index.php/the-history-and-
evolution-of-television-the-1980s-5-46314/
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg
 http://am2407spark.blogspot.pt/2012/02/yuppie-culture-in-1980s.html
 http://www.liketotally80s.com/patrick-nagel.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_198
0
 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/dec/18/20051218-
125505-3437r/?page=all
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall
 http://history1900s.about.com/od/coldwa1/a/berlinwall.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/malitimeline1.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Sadat#Assassination
 http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_sadat_assassination.ph
p
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_198
0
 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/dec/18/20051218-
125505-3437r/?page=all
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe
 http://www.biography.com/people/robert-mugabe-9417391
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games_scandals_and_controvers
ies
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-burnett/boycott-the-winter-
olympi_b_4439037.html

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