View source for 1980s

{{short description|Decade of the Gregorian calendar (1980–1989)}}
{{Redirect-multi|4|'80s|The 80s|Eighties|1980s (decade)|AD 80–89|80s|other uses of "Eighties"|Eighties (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
<imagemap>
File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG|thumb|335px|From left, clockwise: The first '''[[Space Shuttle]]''', ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'', lifts off in 1981; US president [[Ronald Reagan]] and Soviet [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|leader]] [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the '''[[Cold War (1985–1991)|end of the Cold War]]'''; The '''[[fall of the Berlin Wall]]''' in 1989 is considered to be one of the most momentous events of the 1980s; In 1981, the '''[[IBM Personal Computer]]''' is released; In 1985, the '''[[Live Aid]]''' concert is held in order to fund relief efforts for the [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia|famine in Ethiopia]] during the time [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] ruled the country; [[Pollution]] and ecological problems persisted when the [[Soviet Union]] and much of the world is filled with radioactive debris from the 1986 '''[[Chernobyl disaster]]''', and in 1984, when thousands of people perished in [[Bhopal, India|Bhopal]] during a [[Bhopal disaster|gas leak from a pesticide plant]]; The '''[[Iran–Iraq War]]''' leads to over one million dead and $1 trillion spent, while [[Soviet–Afghan War|another war between the Soviets and Afghans]] leaves over 2 million dead.<br>
rect 2 3 199 169 [[Space Shuttle Columbia]]
rect 201 1 497 171 [[Cold War (1985–1991)|End of the Cold War]]
rect 1 172 118 336 [[Iran–Iraq War]]
rect 120 172 241 336 [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet War in Afghanistan]]
rect 246 173 506 336 [[Fall of the Berlin Wall]]
rect 123 337 223 525 [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia]]
rect 123 337 323 525 [[Live Aid]]
rect 326 338 510 536 [[IBM Personal Computer]]
rect 0 339 121 515 [[Chernobyl disaster]]
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{{Decadebox|198}}
The '''1980s''' (pronounced "nineteen-eighties",  shortened to "'''the '80s'''" or "'''the Eighties'''") was the decade that began on January 1, 1980, and ended on December 31, 1989.

The decade saw a dominance of [[conservatism]] and [[free market]] economics, socioeconomic changes due to advances in technology and a worldwide move away from [[Planned economy|planned economies]] and towards [[Laissez-faire#Capitalism|laissez-faire capitalism]] in comparison to the 1970s. As economic deconstruction increased in the [[developed world]], multiple [[multinational corporations]] associated with the [[manufacturing industry]] relocated into [[Thailand]], Mexico, [[South Korea]], [[Taiwan]], and China. Japan and [[West Germany]] saw large economic growth during this decade. The [[AIDS epidemic]] became recognized in the 1980s and has since killed an estimated 40.4 million people ({{as of|2022|lc=y}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/around-the-world/global-aids-overview/|title=Global HIV/AIDS Overview|work=aids.gov|access-date=16 April 2016}}</ref> The [[global warming]] theory began to spread within the scientific and political community in the 1980s.

The United Kingdom and the United States moved closer to [[Supply-side economics|supply-side economic policies]], beginning a trend towards global instability of international trade that would pick up more steam in the [[1990s|following decade]] as the fall of the USSR made [[right-wing politics|right-wing]] economic policy more powerful.

The [[Cold War (1979–1985)|final decade of the Cold War opened]] with the US–Soviet confrontation continuing largely without any interruption. Superpower tensions escalated rapidly as President Reagan scrapped the policy of détente and adopted a new, much more aggressive stance on the Soviet Union. The world came perilously close to nuclear war for the first time since the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] in 1962, but [[Cold War (1985–1991)|the second half of the decade]] saw a dramatic easing of superpower tensions and ultimately the total collapse of Soviet communism.

Developing countries across the world faced economic and social difficulties as they suffered from multiple debt crises in the 1980s, requiring many of these countries to apply for financial assistance from the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) and the [[World Bank]]. [[Ethiopia]] witnessed [[1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia|widespread famine in the mid-1980s]] during the corrupt rule of [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]], resulting in the country having to depend on foreign aid to provide food to its population and worldwide efforts to address and raise money to help Ethiopians, such as the [[Live Aid]] concert in 1985.

Major civil discontent and violence occurred, including the [[Angolan Civil War]], the [[Ethiopian Civil War]], the [[Moro conflict]], the [[Salvadoran Civil War]], the [[Ugandan Bush War]], the [[insurgency in Laos]], the [[Iran–Iraq War]], the [[Soviet–Afghan War]], the [[1982 Lebanon War]], the [[Falklands War]], the [[Second Sudanese Civil War]], the [[Lord's Resistance Army insurgency]], and the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]]. [[Islamism]] became a powerful political force in the 1980s and many [[jihadist]] organizations, including [[Al Qaeda]], were formed.

By 1986, nationalism was making a comeback in the Eastern Bloc, and the desire for democracy in [[socialist state]]s, combined with economic recession, resulted in [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s [[glasnost]] and [[perestroika]], which reduced Communist Party power, legalized dissent and sanctioned limited forms of capitalism such as [[joint venture]]s with companies from [[capitalist]] countries. After tension for most of the decade, by 1988 relations between the communist and capitalist blocs had improved significantly<ref>{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Flora|title=FOREIGN AFFAIRS; Cold War Recedes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/29/opinion/foreign-affairs-cold-war-recedes.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 29, 1988}}</ref> and the Soviet Union was increasingly unwilling to defend its governments in satellite states.

1989 brought the [[Revolutions of 1989|overthrow and attempted overthrow]] of a number of communist-led governments, such as in [[People's Republic of Hungary|Hungary]], the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]] in China, the [[Velvet Revolution|Czechoslovak "Velvet Revolution"]], [[Erich Honecker]]'s East German regime, Poland's Soviet-backed government, and [[Romanian Revolution|the violent overthrow]] of the [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] regime in [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]]. Destruction of the 155-km [[Berlin Wall]], at the end of the decade, signaled a seismic geopolitical shift. The [[Cold War]] ended in the early 1990s with the successful [[Reunification of Germany]] and the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|USSR's demise]] after the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August Coup]] of 1991.

The 1980s was an era of tremendous population growth around the world, surpassing the 1970s and 1990s, and arguably being the largest in human history. During the 1980s, the world population grew from 4.4 to 5.3 billion people. There were approximately 1.33 billion births and 480 million deaths. Population growth was particularly rapid in a number of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian countries during this decade, with rates of natural increase close to or exceeding 4% annually. The 1980s saw the advent of the ongoing practice of [[sex-selective abortion]] in China and India as [[ultrasound]] technology permitted parents to selectively abort baby girls.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/about/journals/ipsrh/2011/09/sex-selective-abortions-during-past-three-decades-may-explain-absence|title=Sex-Selective Abortions During Past Three Decades May Explain Absence of Millions of Girls in India|date=29 September 2011 |journal=International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health|volume=37 |pages=162–163 |last1=Melhado |first1=Lisa }}</ref>

The 1980s saw great advances in genetic and digital technology. After years of animal experimentation since 1985, the first genetic modification of 10 adult human beings took place in May 1989, a [[gene tagging]] experiment<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAJq3w5K_IUC&pg=PA513 |title=Recent advances in pediatrics-17 |publisher=Jaypee Brothers Publishers |year=1981 |isbn=978-81-8448-103-7 |access-date=16 April 2016}}{{Dead link|date=January 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> which led to the first true gene therapy implementation in September 1990. The first "[[designer babies]]", a pair of female twins, were created in a laboratory in late 1989 and born in July 1990 after being sex-selected via the controversial [[assisted reproductive technology]] procedure [[preimplantation genetic diagnosis]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maugh II |first=Thomas H. |date=31 July 1990 |title=Genetic Defect Screened Out; Healthy Twins Born |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-31-mn-1192-story.html |access-date=16 April 2016 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> [[Gestational surrogacy]] was first performed in 1985 with the first birth in 1986, making it possible for a woman to become a biological mother without experiencing pregnancy for the first time in history.<ref name="people.com">{{cite web |title=And Baby Makes Four: for the First Time a Surrogate Bears a Child Genetically Not Her Own |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096199,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423102316/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096199,00.html |archive-date=23 April 2016 |access-date=16 April 2016 |work=people.com}}</ref>

The global [[internet]] took shape in academia by the second half of the 1980s, as well as many other [[computer network]]s of both academic and commercial use such as [[USENET]], [[Fidonet]], and the [[bulletin board system]]. By 1989, the Internet and the networks linked to it were a global system with extensive transoceanic satellite links and nodes in most [[developed countries]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Ian|last=Brown|title=Research Handbook on Governance of the Internet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgI1_r61JFQC&pg=PA7|year=2013|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1-84980-504-9|page=7}}</ref> Based on earlier work, from 1980 onwards [[Tim Berners-Lee]] formalized the concept of the [[World Wide Web]] by 1989. [[Television]] viewing became commonplace in the [[Third World]], with the number of TV sets in China and India increasing by 15 and 10 times respectively.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://utminers.utep.edu/asinghal/Articles%20and%20Chapters/Singhal-Rogers-Doshi-Rahman-1988-Diffusion%20of%20television.pdf |title=The Diffusion of Television in India |first1=Arvind |last1=Singhal |first2=J.K. |last2=Doshi |first3=Everett M. |last3=Rogers |first4=S. Adnan |last4=Rahman |journal=Media Asia |year=1988 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=222–229 |doi=10.1080/01296612.1988.11726293 |pmid=12342307 |access-date=2015-04-18|issn = 0129-6612 }}</ref>

The [[Atari 2600|Atari Video Computer System]] console became widespread in the first part of the decade, often simply called "Atari". The 1980 Atari VCS port of ''[[Space Invaders]]'' was its first [[Killer application|killer app]]. The [[video game crash of 1983]] ended the system's popularity and decimated the industry until the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] re-established the console market in North America. The hand-held [[Game Boy]] launched in 1989. ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and ''[[Tetris]]'' were the decade's best selling games. ''[[Pac-Man]]'' was the highest grossing arcade game. [[Home computers]] became commonplace. The 1981 [[IBM PC]] led to a large market for [[IBM PC compatible]]s. The 1984 release of the [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]] popularized the [[WIMP (computing)|WIMP]] style of interaction.

==Politics and wars==
{{See also|List of sovereign states in the 1980s}}
[[File:Sesel map of socialist states.PNG|thumb|Cold War Map of Communist & Socialist countries in 1985]]

===Wars===
{{Main|List of wars 1945–89#1980–1989}}
The most prominent [[armed conflict]]s of the decade include:

====International wars====
[[File:US Army Rangers parachute into Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury.jpg|thumb|right|[[Invasion of Grenada]], October 1983]]

The most notable wars of the decade include:
* The [[Cold War]] (1947–1991)
** [[Soviet–Afghan War]] (1979–1989) – a war fought between the Soviet Union and the Islamist Mujahideen Resistance in Afghanistan. The Mujahideen found other support from a variety of sources including the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] of the United States (see [[Operation Cyclone]]), as well as [[Saudi Arabia]], Pakistan and other Muslim nations through the context of the Cold War and the regional India–Pakistan conflict.
** [[Invasion of Grenada]] (1983) – a 1983 US led invasion of [[Grenada]], triggered by a [[military coup]] which ousted a brief [[revolution]]ary government. The successful invasion led to a change of government but was controversial due to charges of [[American imperialism]], [[Cold War]] politics, the involvement of [[Cuba]], the unstable state of the Grenadian government, and Grenada's status as a [[Commonwealth realm]].
** [[Salvadoran Civil War]] (1980–1992) – part of the cold war conflicts, reached its peak in the 1980s, 70,000 Salvadorans died.
** [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]] (1978–1991)
* Argentina [[1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands|invaded]] the [[Falkland Islands]], sparking the [[Falklands War]]. It occurred from 2 April to 14 July 1982, between the United Kingdom and [[Argentina]] as British forces fought to recover the islands. Britain emerged victorious and its stance in international affairs and its long-decaying reputation as a [[Colonialism|colonial power]] received an unexpected boost. The [[military junta]] of Argentina, on the other hand, was left humiliated by the defeat; and its leader [[Leopoldo Galtieri]] was deposed three days after the end of the war. A military investigation known as the Rattenbach Report even recommended his execution.
* [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] (early 20th century – present)
** [[1982 Lebanon War]] – the [[Politics of Israel|Government of Israel]] ordered the invasion as a response to the assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, [[Shlomo Argov]], by the [[Abu Nidal Organization]] and due to the constant terror attacks on northern Israel made by the terrorist organizations which resided in Lebanon. After attacking the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]], as well as [[Syria]]n, leftist and [[Muslim]] [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] forces, Israel occupied southern Lebanon and eventually surrounded the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]] in west [[Beirut]] and subjected to heavy bombardment, they negotiated passage from Lebanon.
** In October 1985 eight Israeli [[F-15 Eagles]] carried out [[Operation Wooden Leg]] intending to bomb the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]]'s new headquarters in [[Tunis]], [[Tunisia]], more than 2,000&nbsp;km from Israel. The attack was later condemned by the [[United Nations Security Council]]. The United States is thought to have assisted or known of the attack.
* The [[Iran–Iraq War]] took place from 1980 to 1988. [[Iraq]] was accused of using illegal [[chemical weapons]] to kill [[Iran]]ian forces and against its own dissident [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] populations. Both sides suffered enormous casualties, but the poorly equipped Iranian armies suffered worse for it, being forced to use soldiers as young as 15 in human-wave attacks. Iran finally agreed to an armistice in 1988.
* The United States launched an [[1986 United States bombing of Libya|aerial bombardment of Libya]] in 1986 in retaliation for Libyan support of terrorism and attacks on US personnel in Germany and Turkey.
* The [[South African Border War]] between South Africa and the alliance of [[Angola]], [[Namibia]] and [[Zambia]] ended in 1989, ending over thirty years of conflict.
* The United States engaged in significant direct and indirect conflict in the decade via alliances with various groups in a number of Central and South American countries claiming that the US was acting to oppose the spread of [[communism]] and end illicit drug trade.
** The US government supported the government of [[Colombian conflict|Colombia's attempts]] to destroy its large illicit [[cocaine]]-trafficking industry and provided support for right-wing military government in the [[Salvadoran civil war]] which became controversial after the [[El Mozote massacre]] on 11 December 1981, in which US trained Salvadoran paramilitaries killed 1000 Salvadoran civilians.
** The United States, along with members of the [[Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States]], [[Invasion of Grenada|invaded]] [[Grenada]] in 1983.
** The [[Iran–Contra affair]] erupted which involved US interventionism supporting the [[Contras]] in [[Nicaragua]], resulting in members of the US government being indicted in 1986.
** US [[United States invasion of Panama|military action]] began against [[Panama]] in December 1989 to overthrow its dictator, [[Manuel Noriega]] resulting in 3,500 civilian casualties and the restoration of democratic rule.
* [[Battle of Cuito Cuanavale]] took place as part of the [[Angolan Civil War]] and [[South African Border War]] from 1987 to 1988. The battle involved the largest fighting in Africa since World War II between military forces from [[Angola]], [[Cuba]] (expeditionary forces) and [[Namibia]] versus military forces from South Africa and the dissident Angolan [[UNITA]] organization.
* The [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]] between [[Azerbaijan]] and the [[Armenia]] started in 1988 and ended in 1994.
* The [[United States invasion of Panama]] in December 1989 led to the deposition of [[Manuel Noriega]].

====Civil wars and guerrilla wars====
The most notable internal conflicts of the decade include:
* The [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]] occurred in the People's Republic of China in 1989, in which pro-democracy protesters demanded political reform. The protests were crushed by the People's Liberation Army.
* The [[First Intifada]] (First Uprising) in the [[Gaza Strip]] and [[West Bank]] began in 1987 when Palestinian Arabs mounted large-scale protests against the Israeli military presence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, largely inhabited by Palestinians. The First Intifada would continue until peace negotiations began between the [[Palestinian Liberation Organization]] (PLO) and the Israeli government in 1993.
* [[Lebanese Civil War]] (1975–1990) – Throughout the decade, Lebanon was engulfed in civil war between Islamic and Christian factions.
* The [[Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front]] began a violent campaign for independence in [[New Caledonia]].
* [[Greenpeace]]'s attempts to monitor [[French nuclear testing]] on [[Mururoa]] were halted by the [[Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior|sinking]] of the ''[[Rainbow Warrior (1978)|Rainbow Warrior]]''.
* The [[Second Sudanese Civil War]] erupts in 1983 between the [[Muslim]] government of [[Sudan]] in the north and non-Muslim rebel secessionists in [[South Sudan|Southern Sudan]]. The conflict continues through the present day [[Darfur genocide (2003–2005)|Darfur genocide]].
* [[1986 Egyptian conscripts riot]]: On 25 February 1986 around 25,000 conscripts of the [[Central Security Forces|Central Security Forces (CSF)]], an Egyptian paramilitary force, staged violent protests in and around Cairo, due to the rumour that their three-year mandatory service would be prolonged by one additional year without any additional benefits or rank promotion. It was suppressed by the [[Egyptian Army|army]].
* [[Internal conflict in Peru]]: The communist [[Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement]] starts its fight against the Peruvian state in 1980, that would continue until the end of the 1990s.
* [[Haiti]]an [[dictator]] [[Jean-Claude Duvalier]] was overthrown by a popular [[Anti-Duvalier protest movement|uprising]] on 6 February 1986.
* [[The Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]] continued.
* [[Ethiopian Civil War]] (1974–1991)
* [[Angolan Civil War]] (1975–2002)
* [[Ugandan Bush War]] (1980–1986)
* [[Sri Lankan Civil War]] (1983–2009)

===Terrorist attacks===
{{Main|List of terrorist incidents#1970–present}}
[[File:Beirutbarr.jpg|thumb|right|[[1983 Beirut barracks bombing]]]]

The most notable terrorist attacks of the decade include:
* [[Bologna massacre]] in Italy on 2 August 1980, three members of the [[neo-fascist]] group [[Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari]] detonate a time bomb at [[Bologna Central Station]], killing 85 people.
* [[El Mozote massacre]] in [[El Salvador]] on 11 December 1981, against civilians, committed by government forces supported by the United States during their anti-guerrilla campaign against Marxist–Leninist rebels.
* The [[1983 Beirut barracks bombing]] – during the [[Lebanese Civil War]] two [[truck bomb]]s struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces killing 299 American and French servicemen. The organization [[Islamic Jihad Organization|Islamic Jihad]] claimed responsibility for the bombing.
* The [[Rome and Vienna airport attacks]] took place on 27 December 1985, against the Israeli [[El Al]] airline. The attack was done by militants loyal to [[Abu Nidal]], backed by the government of [[Libya]].
* [[Air India Flight 182]] was destroyed on 23 June 1985, by Sikh-Canadian militants. It was the biggest mass murder involving Canadians in Canada's history.
* On 21 December 1988, [[Pan Am Flight 103]] was blown up over the village of Lockerbie, Scotland, while en route from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's JFK. The bombing killed all 259 people on board, plus 11 people on the ground. The bombing was and remains the worst terrorist attack on UK soil.

===Coups===
{{Main|List of coups d'état and coup attempts#1980–1989}}
The most prominent [[coups d'état]] of the decade include:
* A [[1980 Surinamese coup d'état|military coup]] is launched in [[Suriname]] on 25 February 1980; the country's politics are dominated by the military until 1991.
* [[Nigeria]] suffered military coups in [[1983 Nigerian coup d'état|1983]] and [[1985 Nigerian coup d'état|1985]].
* [[Sitiveni Rabuka]] staged two [[1987 Fijian coups d'état|military coups in Fiji]] in 1987, and declared the country a [[republic]] the same year.
* The "[[Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution]]" – a series of interconnected coups d'états – take place in [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] from 1988 to 1989 through mass protests organized and committed by supporters of Serbian politician [[Slobodan Milošević]] overthrow the governments of Serbia's autonomous provinces of [[Socialist Autonomous province of Kosovo|Kosovo]] and [[Socialist Autonomous province of Vojvodina|Vojvodina]], and the government of [[Socialist Republic of Montenegro|Montenegro]], and finally the main government of [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serbia]] with Milošević becoming [[President of Serbia]].

===Nuclear threats===
[[File:IAF F-16A Netz 243 CIAF 2004.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Israeli Air Force]] [[F-16A]] Netz '243' that was flown by Colonel [[Ilan Ramon]] during [[Operation Opera]] ]]
* [[Operation Opera]] – a 1981 surprise [[Israel]]i [[air strike]] that destroyed the [[Iraq]]i [[nuclear reactor]] being constructed near [[Baghdad]]. Israeli [[military intelligence]] assumed this was for the purpose of [[plutonium]] production to further an Iraqi [[nuclear weapons]] program. Israeli intelligence also believed that the summer of 1981 would be the last chance to destroy the reactor before it would be loaded with [[nuclear fuel]].
* US President Reagan's decision to station intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Western Europe provoked mass protests involving more than one million people.

===Decolonization and independence===
* Following the decolonization and independence of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth realms]].
** In 1982, Canada gained official independence from the United Kingdom with the [[Canada Act 1982]], authorized by the signature by [[Elizabeth II]]. This Act severed all political dependencies of the United Kingdom in Canada (although the Queen remained the head of state).
** In 1986, Australia gained full independence from the United Kingdom with the [[Australia Act 1986]], which severed the last remaining powers of the British government over the Australian government, including the removal of the privy council as the highest court of appeal. Australia retained the Queen as head of state.
** In 1986, New Zealand and the United Kingdom fully separated New Zealand's governments from the influence of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, resulting in New Zealand's full independence with the [[Constitution Act 1986]] which also reorganized the [[New Zealand Government|New Zealand government]].
** Independence was granted to [[Vanuatu]] from the British/French condominium (1980), [[Kiribati]] from joint US-British government (1981) and [[Palau]] from the United States (1986).
** [[Zimbabwe]] becomes independent from official colonial rule of the United Kingdom in 1980.
** Independence was given to [[Antigua and Barbuda]], [[Belize]] (both 1981), and [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] (1983) in the Caribbean; and [[Brunei]] (1984) in Southeast Asia.

===Politics===

====Americas====
[[File:Reagan and Gorbachev signing.jpg|thumb|right|US President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev signing the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty|INF Treaty]], 1987]]
* [[Ronald Reagan]] was elected US president in 1980. In international affairs, Reagan pursued a hardline policy towards preventing the spread of communism, initiating a considerable buildup of US military power to challenge the Soviet Union. He further directly challenged the [[Iron Curtain]] by demanding that the Soviet Union dismantle the [[Berlin Wall]].
* The [[Reagan Administration]] accelerated the [[war on drugs]], publicized through anti-drug campaigns including the [[Just Say No]] campaign of First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]]. Drugs gained attention in the US as a serious problem in the '80s. Cocaine was relatively popular among celebrities and affluent youth, while crack, a cheaper offshoot of the drug, was linked to high crime rates in inner cities during the [[American crack epidemic]]. {{citation needed|date=January 2016}}
* The [[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)]] (PATCO) declared a strike on 3 August 1981, seeking better working conditions, better pay, and a 32-hour workweek. The strike caused considerable disruption of the US air transportation system. Resolution came when [[Ronald Reagan]] fired over 11,000 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work, banning them from federal service for life. After seeking appeals, many of the controllers were re-hired while the FAA attempted to replace much of their air traffic control staffing. The remainder continued to be banned until President Clinton lifted the final aspects in 1993.
* Political unrest in the province of [[Quebec]], which, due to the many differences between the dominant francophone population and the anglophone minority, and also to francophone rights in the predominantly [[Canadian English|English]]-speaking Canada, came to a head in 1980 when the provincial government called a public [[1980 Quebec referendum|referendum]] on partial separation from the rest of Canada. The referendum ended with the "no" side winning majority (59.56% no, 40.44% yes).
* [[Military dictatorship]]s give way to democracy in [[History of Argentina#New democracy (1983–present)|Argentina]] (1983), [[History of Uruguay#Military dictatorship, 1973–1985|Uruguay]] (1984–85), [[1980s in Brazil|Brazil]] (1985–1988) and [[1988 Chilean national plebiscite|Chile]] (1988–89). This marked the end of the [[Operation Condor]] for 30 years.

====Europe====
[[File:BerlinWall-BrandenburgGate.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the beginning of German reunification]]
[[File:UKK-hautajaissaattue.jpg|thumb|150px|Former [[president of Finland]] from 1956 to 1982. Funeral cortege of [[Urho Kekkonen]] in Helsinki, 1986]]
* The [[European Community]]'s [[Enlargement of the European Union|enlargement]] continued with the accession of Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986.
* In 1983, [[Bettino Craxi]] became the first [[socialist]] to hold the office of [[Prime Minister of Italy]]; he remained in power until 1987, becoming one of the longest-serving Prime Ministers in the history of Italian Republic. At the end of his presidency the [[Mani pulite]] corruption scandal broke up, causing the collapse of the political system.
* Significant political reforms occurred in a number of communist countries in eastern Europe as the populations of these countries grew increasingly hostile and politically active in opposing communist governments. These reforms included attempts to increase individual liberties and market liberalization, and promises of democratic renewal. The collapse of communism in eastern Europe was generally peaceful, the exception being [[Romanian Revolution|Romania]], whose leader [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] tried to keep the people isolated from the events happening outside the country. While making a speech in Bucharest in December 1989, he was booed and shouted down by the crowd, and then tried to flee the city with his wife [[Elena Ceaușescu|Elena]]. Two days later, they were captured, charged with genocide, and [[Execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu|shot]] on Christmas Day.
* In [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], following the death of communist leader [[Josip Broz Tito]] in May 1980, the trend of political reform of the communist system occurred along with a trend towards [[ethnic nationalism]] and inter-ethnic hostility, especially in Serbia, beginning with the 1986 [[Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts]] followed by the agenda of Serbian communist leader [[Slobodan Milošević]] who aggressively pushed for increased political influence of Serbs in the late 1980s, condemning non-Serb Yugoslav politicians who challenged his agenda as being enemies of Serbs.
* There was [[The Troubles|continuing civil strife]] in [[Northern Ireland]], including the adoption of hunger strikes by [[Irish Republican Army]] prisoners seeking the reintroduction of political status.
* [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, and initiated major reforms to the Soviet Union's government through increasing the rights of expressing political dissent and opening elections to opposition candidates (while maintaining legal dominance of the Communist Party). Gorbachev pursued negotiation with the United States to decrease tensions and eventually end the [[Cold War]].
* During the [[Revolutions of 1989]], most of the communist governments in Eastern Europe collapsed. The [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989 would be followed in 1990 by the [[German reunification]].
* The United Kingdom was governed by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] under Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]], the first female leader of a Western country. Under her [[Premiership of Margaret Thatcher|Premiership]], the party introduced widespread economic reforms including the [[privatisation]] of industries and the de-regulation of [[stock market]]s echoing similar reforms of [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Ronald Reagan]]. She was also a staunch opponent of communism, earning her the nickname ''The Iron Lady''.
* Poor industrial relations marked the beginning of the decade; the [[UK miners' strike (1984–85)]] was a major [[industrial action]] affecting the [[Coal mining in the United Kingdom|UK coal industry]]. The strike by the [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers]] (NUM) was led by [[Arthur Scargill]], although some NUM members considered it to be unconstitutional and did not observe it. The [[BBC]] has referred to the strike as "the most bitter industrial dispute in British history."<ref>{{cite news|title=1984: The beginning of the end for British coal |location=London |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/12/newsid_3503000/3503346.stm|access-date=20 December 2014}}</ref> At its height, the strike involved 142,000 mineworkers, making it the biggest since the [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|1926 General Strike]].<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Strikes Around the World, 1968–2005: Case-studies of 15 Countries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZ2ms23ZuVQC|location=Amsterdam |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |page=353 |date=2007 |isbn=978-90-5260-285-1}}</ref>
* In November 1982, [[Leonid Brezhnev]], who had led the Soviet Union since 1964, died. He was followed in quick succession by [[Yuri Andropov]], the former KGB chief, and [[Konstantin Chernenko]], both of whom were in poor health during their short tenures in office.
*Presidents of France were [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] and [[François Mitterrand]]. The Chancellors of West Germany were [[Helmut Schmidt]] and [[Helmut Kohl]].

====Asia====
* The Prime Ministers of Japan were [[Masayoshi Ōhira]], [[Zenkō Suzuki]], [[Yasuhiro Nakasone]], [[Noboru Takeshita]], [[Sōsuke Uno]] and [[Toshiki Kaifu]].
* Following the [[assassination of Park Chung-hee]], South Korean president [[Chun Doo Hwan]] came to power at the end of 1979 and ruled as a dictator until his presidential term expired in 1987. He was responsible for the [[Gwangju Uprising]] in May 1980 when police and soldiers battled armed protesters. Relations with North Korea showed little sign of improvement during the 1980s. In 1983, when Chun was in Burma, [[Rangoon bombing|a bomb apparently planted by North Korean agents]] killed a number of South Korean government officials. The [[June Democratic Struggle]] in 1987, a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea, leads to democratic reforms, an end to authoritarian rule and [[1987 South Korean presidential election|democratic elections]]. After leaving office, Chun was succeeded by [[Roh Tae Woo]], the first democratic ruler of the country, which saw its international prestige greatly rise with hosting the Olympics in [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988]]. Roh pursued a policy of normalizing relations with China and the Soviet Union, but had to face militant left-wing student groups who demanded [[Korean reunification|reunification with North Korea]] and the withdrawal of US troops.
* In the Philippines, after almost 20 years of dictatorship, Philippine president [[Ferdinand Marcos]] left the presidency and was replaced by [[Corazon Aquino]] through the "[[People Power Revolution]]" from 22 to 25 February 1986. This has been considered by some a peaceful revolution despite the fact that the Armed Forces of the Philippines issued an order to disperse the crowds on [[EDSA]] (the main thoroughfare in Metro Manila).
* Democratization in South Korea and Taiwan, having lasted 42 and 27 years under the authoritarian regime since the end of World War II and the [[Korean War]] (including the lifting of [[martial law in Taiwan]] and the [[1987 South Korean presidential election|first direct presidential elections]] in South Korea).
* The [[1988 Summer Olympics]] were held in South Korea, the first time the country hosted them.
'''Africa'''
* A widespread [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia|famine hit Ethiopia]] from 1983 to 1985, affecting 7.75 million people, killing around 300,000 to 1.2 million. 400,000 refugees left the country. Blame for the famine has been attributed to drought, [[Ethiopian Civil War|Ethiopia's civil war]], and policies taken by the [[Derg]] military regime.

==Assassinations and attempts==
[[File:Ronald Reagan 1981 presidential portrait (cropped).jpg|thumb|100px|right|[[Ronald Reagan]]]]
[[File:JohannesPaul2-portrait.jpg|thumb|100px|right|[[Pope John Paul II]]]]
[[File:Anwar Sadat.jpg|thumb|100px|right|[[Anwar Sadat]]]]
[[File:IndiraGandhi.png|thumb|100px|right|[[Indira Gandhi]]]]
[[File:Olof Palme (1984).jpeg|thumb|100px|right|[[Olof Palme]]]]
Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible sortable"
|-
! style="width:120px;"| Date
! Description
|-
|12 April 1980
|[[William R. Tolbert Jr.]], 20th President of [[Liberia]], is killed during a military coup. His death marks the end of [[Americo-Liberian]] rule in Liberia.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Liberian Soldiers Taunt, Shoot 13 Former Leaders |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en-US |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/AR2006072800581_pf.html |access-date=2022-12-01 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
|-
|December 8, 1980
|[[John Lennon]], British musician and political activist, formerly of [[the Beatles]], is [[Murder of John Lennon|assassinated]] by [[Mark David Chapman]] outside [[the Dakota]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Washington Post|last1=Wadler|first1=Joyce|last2=Sager|first2=Mike|title='I Just Shot John Lennon', He Said Coolly|date=10 December 1980|access-date=11 April 2019|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/12/10/i-just-shot-john-lennon-he-said-coolly/41d37bda-f5dd-4133-b9eb-4bf40935ae78/}}</ref>
|-
|30 March 1981
|[[Ronald Reagan]], 40th President of the United States, was [[Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan|shot]] in Washington, D.C. by a mentally disturbed individual. Reagan's press secretary, [[James Brady]], was also shot, along with a police officer and a US Secret Service agent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shooting attempt throws TV industry into disarraywork=Bulletin Journal|via=Google News Archive Search|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5x4qAAAAIBAJ&pg=6961,81527 |access-date=2022-12-01}}</ref>
|-
|13 May 1981
|[[Pope John Paul II]] is [[1981 Pope John Paul II assassination attempt|shot]] and wounded in [[Saint Peter's Square]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Connor |first=Rachael |title=On this day in 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot four times by an assassin |url=https://www.irishpost.com/news/day-1981-pope-john-paul-ii-shot-four-times-assassin-185083 |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=The Irish Post}}</ref>
|-
|30 May 1980
|[[Ziaur Rahman]], the sixth president of [[Bangladesh]], was assassinated by a faction of officers of [[Bangladesh Army]], in the southeastern port city of [[Chittagong]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/30/world/bangladesh-reports-death-of-president-ziaur-rahman.html | title=Bangladesh Reports Death of President Ziaur Rahman | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=30 May 1981 }}</ref>
|-
|30 August 1981
|[[Mohammad-Ali Rajai]], 2nd President of Iran and [[Mohammad-Javad Bahonar]], 48th Prime Minister of Iran, are both [[1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing|killed]] when a bomb explodes in Bahonar's office. Iranian officials alleges the bomb was planted by elements of the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]], though others allege the bombing was orchestrated by political rivals within the [[Islamic Republican Party]].<ref name="Newton">{{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Michael |title=Famous Assassinations in World History |date=17 April 2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781610692861 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&q=1981+Iranian+Prime+Minister%27s+office+bombing+MEK&pg=PA27 |access-date=4 November 2020 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104125911/https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&q=1981+Iranian+Prime+Minister%27s+office+bombing+MEK&pg=PA27 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Katzman |chapter=Iran: The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran |title = Iran: Outlaw, Outcast, Or Normal Country? |publisher = Nova Science Publishers |year=2001 |editor-first = Albert V. |editor-last = Benliot |isbn = 978-1-56072-954-9|page=101}}</ref>
|-
|6 October 1981
|[[Anwar Sadat]], 3rd President of Egypt, is [[Assassination of Anwar Sadat|assassinated]] at a military parade in [[Cairo]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anwar Sadat Killed - 1981 Year in Review - Audio - UPI.com |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1981/Anwar-Sadat-Killed/ |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|21 July 1982
|[[Emmanuel Pelaez]], 6th Vice President of the Philippines, is [[Emmanuel Pelaez#Assassination attempt|shot]] and wounded near his residence in [[Mariana, Quezon City|New Manila]], [[Quezon City]].<ref name="UPI">{{cite news|last=Del Mundo|first=Fernando|title=Unidentified gunmen ambushed a limousine carrying Philippines Minister of...|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/07/21/Unidentified-gunmen-ambushed-a-limousine-carrying-Philippines-Minister-of/1699396072000/|agency=[[United Press International|UPI]]|date=1982-07-21|location=[[Manila]], Philippines}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Navarro|first=Nelson A.|title=What's Happening to Our Country?: The Life and Times of Emmanuel Pelaez|date=2008|publisher=Emmanuel Pelaez Foundation|location=[[Makati|Makati City]]|isbn=978-971-94080-0-0|page=296|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqIMAQAAMAAJ|access-date=2025-03-07}}</ref>
|-
|21 August 1983
|[[Ninoy Aquino|Benigno Aquino Jr.]], a longtime political opponent of Philippine [[President of the Philippines|president]] [[Ferdinand Marcos]], is [[Assassination of Ninoy Aquino|killed]] after landing in the Philippines after three years of self-imposed exile.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1983-08-21 |title=1983: Filipino opposition leader shot dead |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/21/newsid_2534000/2534945.stm |access-date=2023-01-19}}</ref>
|-
|12 October 1984
|[[Margaret Thatcher]], Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, avoids being the target of a [[Brighton Hotel Bombing|bombing]] at a hotel orchestrated by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]]. The blast does kill five including [[Anthony Berry]], an [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] and [[Deputy Chief Whip]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patrick Magee convicted of IRA terrorist attack |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fromthearchive/story/0,,1235581,00.html |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>
|-
|31 October 1984
|[[Indira Gandhi]], 3rd Prime Minister of India, is [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi|assassinated]] by her own [[bodyguard]]s in response to the Indian Army's attack on Golden Temple to destroy [[Sikh]] Militant stronghold in Amritsar earlier in the decade.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1984-10-31 |title=1984: Assassination and revenge |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/31/newsid_3961000/3961851.stm |access-date=2022-12-01}}</ref>
|-
|11 February 1986
|[[Evelio Javier]], 80th Governor of [[Antique (province)|Antique]], Philippines, is [[Evelio Javier#Assassination and legacy|assassinated]] in front of the Antique Provincial Capitol building by masked gunmen after serving as [[Corazon Aquino]]'s provincial campaign director in the [[1986 Philippine presidential election|1986 presidential election]].<ref name="TimeMag1986">{{cite news|last=Russell|first=George|title=Gangland Politics|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,960710,00.html|access-date=2025-09-29|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=1986-02-24|page=33}}</ref>
|-
|28 February 1986
|[[Olof Palme]], Prime Minister of Sweden, is [[Assassination of Olof Palme|assassinated]] while walking home from a cinema in [[Stockholm]].<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Laura |last1=Smith-Spark |first2=Sebastian |last2=Shukla |date=2020-06-10 |title=Sweden closes 30-year murder mystery over killing of PM Olof Palme |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/europe/sweden-olof-palme-murder-intl/index.html |access-date=2022-12-01 |publisher=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|15 October 1987
|[[Thomas Sankara]], 1st President of [[Burkina Faso]], is [[1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état|assassinated]] in a coup organized by his former colleague, [[Blaise Compaoré]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-11 |title=Burkina Faso tries alleged killers of iconic leader Sankara |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|url=https://www.dw.com/en/burkina-faso-tries-alleged-killers-of-iconic-leader-sankara/av-59474289 |access-date=2022-12-01 |archive-date=2021-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011205334/https://www.dw.com/en/burkina-faso-tries-alleged-killers-of-iconic-leader-sankara/av-59474289 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|}

==Disasters==

===Natural disasters===
[[File:MSH80 st helens eruption plume 07-22-80.jpg|thumb|upright|[[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens]]]]
[[File:Surb Amenaprkitch.jpeg|thumb|240px|The [[Holy Saviour's Church, Gyumri|Holy Saviour's Church]] in [[Gyumri]] after the [[Spitak earthquake]]]]
* [[Mount St. Helens]] [[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens|erupted]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington]], US on 18 May 1980, killing 57 people.
* [[HIV/AIDS]], a global pandemic that has killed over 40 million people, was [[History of HIV/AIDS|identified]] in the 1980s, with the first reported cases in 1981.
* On 17 October 1989, the [[Loma Prieta earthquake]] struck the San Francisco Bay Area during Game 3 of the [[1989 World Series]], gaining worldwide attention. Sixty-five people were killed and thousands injured, with major structural damage on freeways and buildings and broken gas-line fires in San Francisco, California. The cost of the damage totaled US$13 billion (1989 US$).
* The [[1988–89 North American drought]] decimated the US with many parts of the country affected. This was the worst drought to hit the United States in many years. The drought caused $60 billion in damage (between $80 billion and $120 billion for 2008 US$). The concurrent [[heat wave]]s killed 5,800 to 17,000 people in the United States.
* [[Hurricane Allen]] (1980), [[Hurricane Alicia]] (1983), [[Hurricane Gilbert]] (1988), [[Hurricane Joan–Miriam|Hurricane Joan]] (1988), and [[Hurricane Hugo]] (1989) were some notably destructive Atlantic hurricanes of the 1980s.
* Other [[natural disaster]]s of the 1980s include the 1982–1983 [[1982–83 El Niño event|El Niño]] which brought destructive weather to most of the world; the [[1985 Mexico City earthquake]], which registered 8.0 on the [[moment magnitude scale]] and devastated Mexico City and other areas throughout central Mexico; the 1985 [[Nevado del Ruiz]] [[lahar]] in [[Colombia]]; the 1986 [[Lake Nyos]] [[limnic eruption]] in [[Cameroon]]; and the [[1988 Armenian earthquake]], which rocked the [[Caucasus]] region of the [[USSR]].

===Non-natural disasters===
[[File:Challenger explosion.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Space Shuttle Challenger|space shuttle ''Challenger'']] disintegrates on January 28, 1986]]
* In 1980, [[Dan-Air Flight 1008]], a [[Boeing 727]], crashed on approach to [[Tenerife]] in the [[Canary Islands]], killing 146 people on board.
* In 1980, [[Saudia Flight 163]], a [[Lockheed L-1011 TriStar]], caught fire moments after takeoff from the [[Saudi Arabia]]n capital of [[Riyadh]]. The flight immediately returned to the airport, but evacuation of the plane was delayed and all 301 people aboard died.
* In 1982, [[Pan Am Flight 759]], a Boeing 727, was forced down by [[microburst]] while on approach to [[New Orleans International Airport]], killing 153 people.
* In 1983, [[Korean Air Lines Flight 007]], a [[Boeing 747]] carrying 269 people between New York City and [[Seoul]] via [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], was shot down by Soviet fighter jets after accidentally straying into Soviet [[prohibited airspace]], killing everyone on board.
* In 1984, the [[Bhopal disaster]] resulted from a toxic [[methyl isocyanate]] (MIC) gas leak at the [[Union Carbide]] plant in [[Bhopal, India]], killing 3,000 immediately and ultimately claiming 15,000–20,000 lives.
* In 1985, the [[Heysel Stadium disaster]] occurred before the [[1985 European Cup final|European Cup final]] in [[Brussels]], Belgium, when a [[Crowd collapses and crushes|crowd crush]] led to 39 deaths and 600 injuries.
* In 1985, [[Air India Flight 182]], a Boeing 747 flying from [[Montreal]] to [[Mumbai|Bombay]] via London and Delhi, is blown up over Irish waters by a bomb planted by [[Khalistan movement|Sikh separatists]], killing all 320 passengers and crew on board. This was the deadliest act of aviation terrorism until the [[September 11 attacks]] of 2001.
* In 1985, [[Delta Air Lines Flight 191]], a [[Lockheed L-1011 TriStar]], crashed on approach to [[Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport]] in [[Texas]] due to a microburst. 137 people were killed while 27 survived.
* [[Japan Air Lines Flight 123]], a Boeing 747 carrying 524 people, crashed in 1985, while on a flight from Tokyo to [[Osaka]], killing 520 of the people on board, leaving four survivors. This was the deadliest single-aircraft crash to date.
* In 1985, [[Arrow Air Flight 1285R]], a [[Douglas DC-8]], [[stall (aerodynamics)|stalled]] and crashed seconds after taking off from [[Gander, Newfoundland]]. All 256 people on board, many of them US servicemen returning home from duty overseas, perished.
* In 1986, the NASA [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']] [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|disintegrated]] 73 seconds after launch, killing all of the crew on board. This was the first disaster involving the destruction of a NASA Space Shuttle. A faulty [[O-ring]] was the cause of the accident.
* On 26 April 1986, the [[Chernobyl disaster]], a large-scale [[nuclear meltdown]] in the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]], Soviet Union, spread a large amount of radioactive material across Europe, killing 47 people, dooming countless others to future radiation-related cancer, and causing the displacement of 300,000 people.
* In 1986, [[Aeroméxico Flight 498]], a [[Douglas DC-9]], crashed after colliding with a private [[Piper Cherokee]] over [[Cerritos, California]], killing 64 on both aircraft and 15 others on the ground. On the same day, the Soviet passenger ship ''[[SS Admiral Nakhimov|Admiral Nakhimov]]'' sank after colliding with the bulk carrier ''Pyotr Vasev'' in the [[Black Sea]], killing 423 people.
* In 1987, [[LOT Flight 5055]], an [[Ilyushin Il-62M]] caught fire due to an [[uncontained engine failure]] and subsequently crashed, killing all 183 passengers and crew.
* In 1987, [[Northwest Airlines Flight 255]], a [[McDonnell Douglas MD-82]], crashed almost immediately after takeoff [[Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport|Detroit Wayne Airport]] in [[Michigan]] due to [[pilot error]], killing 156 on board.
* In 1987, a fire broke out on [[South African Airways Flight 295]], a Boeing 747, eventually causing the aircraft to crash into the Indian Ocean. All 159 aboard were killed.
* On 20 December 1987, the [[Philippines|Philippine]] passenger ferry [[MV Doña Paz|MV ''Doña Paz'']] burned and sank after colliding with the oil tanker [[MT Vector|MT ''Vector'']] off the island of [[Marinduque]]. With an estimated death toll of over 4,000, this was and remains the world's deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.
* In 1988, [[Iran Air Flight 655]], an [[Airbus A300]] en route from Tehran to [[Dubai]] via [[Bandar Abbas]], was shot down by the US missile cruiser {{USS|Vincennes|CG-49|6}} over the [[Strait of Hormuz]], killing all 290 people on the plane. The event is one of the most controversial aviation occurrences of all time, with the true cause disputed between the Americans and the Iranians.
* In 1988, [[Pan Am Flight 103]], a Boeing 747 en route from Frankfurt to Detroit (via London and New York), was destroyed by a bomb while it was flying over [[Lockerbie]], Scotland, killing the 259 passengers and crew members on board and 11 people on the ground. This was the worst terrorist attack to have occurred on British soil.
* On 24 March 1989, the [[oil tanker]] [[Exxon Valdez]] ran aground on [[Bligh Reef]] in [[Alaska]]'s [[Prince William Sound]] [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|spilling]] an estimated equivalent of 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil. Although not among the largest oil spills in history, its remote and sensitive location made it one of the most devastating ecological disasters, with after-effects continuing to be felt present-day.
* In 1989, the [[Hillsborough disaster]] occurs during a [[FA Cup]] semi-final in [[Sheffield]], England, fatally crushing 96 football fans and injuring nearly 1,000 more.
* In 1989, [[United Airlines Flight 232]], a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 carrying 296 people, suffered an in-flight engine failure and was forced to crash-land at [[Sioux City, Iowa]]. 185 survived, while 111 were killed when the plane burst into flames upon touchdown.

==Science and technology==
{{main|1980s in science and technology}}

===Medicine and biology===
The 1980s had many fundamental advances in medicine and biology. The first [[surrogate pregnancy]] of an unrelated child took place on 13 April 1986, in Michigan.<ref name="people.com"/> The first [[genetic engineering|genetically modified]] crops, [[Nicotiana|tobacco]] (''Nicotiana'') plants were grown in China in 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/research/stone/stone-annualreview-2010.pdf |title=The Anthropology of Genetically Modified Crops |access-date=2015-10-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422062254/http://artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/research/stone/stone-annualreview-2010.pdf |archive-date=2014-04-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Gene therapy]] techniques became established by the end of the 1980s, allowing [[gene tagging]] and [[gene therapy]] to become a possibility, both of which were first performed in human beings in May 1989 and September 1990, respectively.

===Electronics and computers===
{{Globalize|section|date=November 2025|the United States|discuss=Talk:1980s#Nintendo/American bias in the "electronics" section}}
[[File:Pac-Man gameplay (1x pixel-perfect recreation).png|thumb|''[[Pac-Man]]'' (1980) quickly became one of the most famous video games of all time.]]
[[Arcade game|Arcade]] and video games had been growing in popularity since the late 1970s, and by 1982 were a major industry. In the United States, a variety of factors, including a glut of low-quality games and the rise of home computers, caused a [[North American video game crash of 1983|tremendous crash]] in late 1983. For the next three years, the video game market practically ceased to exist in the US. But in the second half of the decade, it would be revived by [[Nintendo]], whose Famicom console and mascot [[Mario]] had been enjoying considerable success in Japan, which did not have an equivalent crash, since 1983. Renamed the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (NES), it would claim 90% of the American video game market by 1989. The 1980s are considered to be the decade when video games achieved massive popularity. In 1980, Pac-Man was introduced to arcades, and became one of the most popular video games of all time. Also in 1980, [[Game & Watch]] was created; it was not one of the best known game systems, but it facilitated mini-games and was concurrent with the NES. ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'', released in 1981, was a smash arcade hit and market breakthrough for [[Nintendo]]. ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', ''[[Duck Hunt]]'', ''[[Dragon Quest]]'', ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'', and the ''[[Mega Man]]'' series would become major hits for the console.

<gallery widths="190px" perrow="5">
File:ColecoVision-Console-FL.jpg|The [[ColecoVision]] video game System.
File:NES-Console-Set.jpg|The [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]'s Control Deck.
File:Atari-7800-wControl-Pad-L.jpg|[[Atari 7800]] System (PAL system with joypad controller).
File:Sega-Mega-Drive-JP-Mk1-Console-Set.jpg|[[Sega Genesis|Mega Drive]], known as the Genesis in North America, succeeded the [[Master System]].
</gallery>

The [[personal computer]] experienced explosive growth in the 1980s, transitioning from a hobbyist's toy to a full-fledged consumer product. The IBM PC, launched in 1981, became the dominant computer for professional users. [[Commodore International|Commodore]] created the most popular home computers of both 8-bit and 16-bit generations. [[MSX]] standard was the dominant computer platform in Japan and in most parts of Asia. [[Apple Computer]] superseded its [[Apple II]] and [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]] models by introducing the first [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]] computer in 1984. It was the first commercially successful personal computer to use a [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) and [[Mouse (computing)|mouse]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Polsson |first=Ken |url=http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/applehis/appl1984.htm |title=Chronology of Apple Computer Personal Computers |date=2009-07-29 |access-date=2009-08-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821105822/http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/applehis/appl1984.htm |archive-date=21 August 2009 }} See May 3, 1984.</ref> which started to become general features in computers after the middle of the decade. Electronics and computers were also at the forefront of the advertising industry, with many commercials like "1984" from Apple achieving acclaim and pop-culture relevance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frahmdigital.com/80s-commercials/|title=Best 80s Commercials that are Totally Tubular! (VIDEOS)|date=9 September 2020|website=Frahm Digital}}</ref>

<gallery widths="190" perrow="5">
File:IBM PC 5150.jpg|The [[IBM PC]] (model 5150) was released in 1981. It and compatible systems would become the most widely used computers in the world.
File:Commodore-64-Computer.png|The [[Commodore 64]], with sales estimated at more than 17 million units between 1982 and 1994 became the best-selling computer model of all time.
File:Disk smith vz200 front.jpg|[[VTech Laser 200]], 8-bit home computer from 1983
File:Macintosh 128k transparency.png|The [[Macintosh 128K]], the first commercially successful personal computer to use a graphical user interface, was introduced to the public in 1984.<ref name="appleconfidential2">{{Cite book|last=Linzmayer|first=Owen W.|title=Apple Confidential 2.0|publisher=No Starch Press|year=2004|page=113|url=http://www.owenink.com|isbn=1-59327-010-0}}</ref>
File:Ibm-convertible.jpg|The [[IBM PC Convertible]] (model 5140; 1986), the first [[IBM PC compatible]] [[laptop]] and the first to use to use {{frac|3|1|2}}-inch floppy disks.
File:Amiga500 system.jpg|The [[Amiga 500]], the first "low-end" 16 and 32 bit multimedia home/personal computer, was introduced in October 1987.<ref name="amigaHistory">{{cite web|first=Gareth|last=Knight|url=http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/a500batman.html|title=A500 Batman Bundle|publisher=Amigahistory.co.uk|date=2002-06-17|access-date=2013-07-24}}</ref>
File:US Robotics Courier 2400 telephone modem (mid to end of 1980s) for dial-up internet access, powered on (edited).jpg|[[US Robotics]] Courier 2400 [[telephone modem]]
</gallery>

[[Walkman]] and [[boombox]]es, invented during the late 1970s, became very popular as they were introduced to various countries in the early 1980s, and had a profound impact on the music industry and youth culture. Consumer [[Videocassette recorder|VCR]]s and video rental stores became commonplace as [[VHS]] won out over the competing [[Betamax]] standard. In addition, in the early 1980s various companies began selling compact, modestly priced [[synthesizer]]s to the public. This, along with the development of [[MIDI|Musical Instrument Digital Interface]] (MIDI), made it easier to integrate and synchronize synthesizers and other electronic instruments, like drum machines, for use in musical composition.

[[High definition television]] (HDTV) of both the analog and digital variety were first developed in the 1980s though their use did not become widespread until the mid-2000s.

In 1981, [[Hayes Microcomputer Products]] started selling the Smartmodem. The Smartmodem paved the way for the modern modems that exist today, mainly because it was the first modem to transform what had previously required a two-stage process into a process involving only one stage. The Smartmodem contributed to the rise in popularity of [[Bulletin board system|BBS]] systems in the 1980s and early 1990s, which were the main way to connect to remote computers and perform various social and entertainment activities before the [[Internet]] and the [[World Wide Web]] finally became popular in the mid-1990s.

The 1980s witnessed a rapid expansion in the communications industry. Almost a decade after [[Martin Cooper (inventor)|Martin Cooper]], then an employee of [[Motorola]], made the first mobile phone call in 1973, [[Millicom|Millicom Inc.]], a telecommunications agency, and [[E.F. Johnson Company|E.F. Johnson & Co.]],  introduced the first portable cellular phone commercially available for use on a cellular network, the "Lunch Box" in 1981.<ref name=":0">Dunnewijk, Theo; Hultén, Staffan (2007-08-01). [https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0736585307000226 "A brief history of mobile communication in Europe".] ''Telematics and Informatics''. Mobile Communications: From Cellular to Ad-hoc and Beyond. '''24'''(3): 164–179. [[Doi (identifier)|doi]]:[[doi:10.1016/j.tele.2007.01.013|10.1016/j.tele.2007.01.013.]] [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] [https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0736-5853 0736-5853.]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Agar |first=Jon |title=Constant touch: a global history of the mobile phone |date=2003 |publisher=Icon Books |isbn=978-1-84046-541-9 |edition=Reprint |series=Revolutions in science |location=Cambridge}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2024-12-23 |title=Martin Cooper {{!}} Biography, Inventions, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com:443/biography/Martin-Cooper |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Two years later, Motorola launched the [[Motorola DynaTAC|DynaTAC 8000X]] or the "Brick," the first commercially available handheld mobile phone weighing 3 pounds (1.4&nbsp;kg).<ref name=":1" /> While revolutionary, these early products were bulky and challenging to handle. This led to fierce competition in the market, with companies vying to produce a lighter, more portable phone, setting the stage for the future of mobile technology.

The race for a slimmer version of the portable cell phone was underway, and technology entrepreneur [[Jan Stenbeck]] was determined to lead the charge. Stenbeck founded the tech start-up [[Technophone]] with a singular goal in mind: to create a lightweight, pocket-sized mobile phone. In 1986, under the guidance of [[Excel mobile phones|Technophones]] [[chief executive officer]], Nils Martensson, the company unveiled the first pocket-sized mobile phone, the Excell PCT105.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Becket, Michael. [https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=&sid=bookmark-TGRH&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fi.do%3Fp%3DTGRH%26u%3D%26id%3DGALE%257CIO0702090869%26v%3D2.1%26it%3Dr%26sid%3Dbookmark-TGRH&prodId=TGRH "Excell unveils new portable telephone."] Daily Telegraph, 13 July 1987, p. 20. The Telegraph Historical Archive, Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-11-18 |title=Vintage Mobiles |url=http://www.gsmhistory.com/vintage-mobiles/#technophone_pc105t_1986 |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=GSM History: History of GSM, Mobile Networks, Vintage Mobiles |language=en-US}}</ref>

<gallery widths="190px" perrow="4">
File:Motorola DynaTAC.jpg|In 1983, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X becomes the first commercially available '''[[mobile phone]]''' model
File:Trimline December 1986.jpg|[[Trimline telephone]]
File:PIC_0011_Samsung_SF100.jpg|During the decade the standardization of Group 3 facsimile terminals by the International Telecommunication Union contributed to the significant spread of the '''[[fax]]''' machine.
File:VHS vs Betamax size.jpg|[[VHS]] won out over the competing '''[[Betamax]]''' standard, becoming the leading standard in home video systems
File:Hayes 300 Baud Smartmodem 02.jpg|[[Hayes Microcomputer Products|Hayes]]'s '''Smartmodem'''
</gallery>

=== Information technology ===
* During the decade [[Microsoft]] released the operating systems '''[[MS-DOS]]''' (1981), '''[[Windows 1.0]]''' (1985), and '''[[Windows 2.0]]''' (1987).
* Mathematical Software [[MathLab]], introduced in 1988, by [[Stephen Wolfram]].
* The '''[[CD]]''' – the most basic CD ("Digital Audio Compact Disc") was released in October 1982 for distribution and listening to [[digital audio]], and at the time contained up to 74 minutes of music.
* '''[[TCP/IP]]''': [[ARPANET]] officially changed its main protocol from NCP to [[TCP/IP]] on 1 January 1983, when the new protocols were activated. The TCP/IP protocol will become the dominant communications protocol from then onwards, and would be used as the foundation on which the [[Internet]] would be based.
* The '''[[GNU Project]]''' (1983). The '''[[Free Software Foundation]]''' (1985).
* '''[[FidoNet]]''' – In 1984, FidoNet was launched, enabling [[Bulletin board system|BBS]] users to send private messages (e-mails) and public messages (in the forum) between all BBS systems that were connected to the FidoNet network, in addition to sending files to each other. The rise in popularity and availability of the Internet around the world around the mid-1990s eventually contributed to the irrelevance of FidoNet.
* '''[[World Wide Web]]''' – In 1989, the British computer scientist [[Tim Berners-Lee]] first proposed a project to his employer [[CERN]], based on the concept of [[hypertext]], to facilitate sharing and updating information among researchers. In mid-November 1989 he would develop the first successful communication between a [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP) client and server via the [[internet]]. In the coming years Berners-Lee developed the system which would later become the foundation of the [[World Wide Web]].

<gallery widths="190" perrow="5">
File:MS-Dos screenshot.png|In 1981, Microsoft introduced the [[MS-DOS]] operating system, which would become the world's most widely used [[operating system]] in the 1980s and first half of the 1990s.
File:CD autolev crop new.jpg|The most basic [[CD]] was first introduced in October 1982 for the purpose of distribution and listening to digital audio
File:Tim Berners-Lee.jpg|In 1989, the British computer scientist [[Tim Berners-Lee]] first proposed the [[World Wide Web]], which he would develop in the coming years
</gallery>

===Space exploration===
[[File:Space Shuttle Columbia launching.jpg|thumb|The [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']] seconds after engine ignition, 1981]]
American interplanetary probes continued in the 1980s, the Voyager duo being the most known. After making a flyby of Jupiter in 1979, they went near Saturn in 1980–1981. ''[[Voyager 2]]'' reached Uranus in 1986 (just a few days before the ''Challenger'' disaster), and Neptune in 1989 before the probes exited the Solar System.

No American probes were launched to Mars in the 1980s, and the [[Viking program|Viking]] probes, launched there in 1975, completed their operations by 1982. The Soviets launched two Mars probes in 1988, but they failed.

The arrival of [[Halley's Comet]] in 1986 was met by a series of Soviet, Japanese and [[European Space Agency]] (ESA) probes, namely [[Halley Armada]].

After a six-year hiatus, American space flights with astronauts resumed with the launch of the [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']] in April 1981. The shuttle program progressed smoothly from there, with three more orbiters entering service in 1983–1985. But that all came to an end with the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|tragic loss]] of the [[Space Shuttle Challenger|''Challenger'']] ([[STS-51-L]]) on 28 January 1986, taking with it seven astronauts, including [[Christa McAuliffe]], who was to have been the first teacher in space. In full view of the world, a faulty O-ring on the right solid rocket booster allowed hot gases to burn through the external fuel tank and cause it to explode, destroying the shuttle in the process. Extensive efforts were made to improve [[NASA]]'s increasingly careless management practices, and to make the shuttle safer. Flights resumed with the launch of [[Space Shuttle Discovery|''Discovery'']] in September 1988.

The Soviet program with cosmonauts went well during the decade, experiencing only minor setbacks. The [[Salyut 6]] space station, launched in 1977, was replaced by [[Salyut 7]] in 1982. Then came ''[[Mir]]'' in 1986, which ended up operating for more than a decade, and was destined to be the last in the line of Soviet space stations that had begun in 1971. One of the Soviet Union's last "superprojects" was the [[Buran (spacecraft)|''Buran'' space shuttle]]; it was only used once, in 1988.

===Automobiles===
The American auto industry began in the 1980s in a thoroughly grim situation, faced with poor quality control, rising import competition, and a severe economic downturn.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924408-8,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071130033908/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924408-8,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 30 November 2007 |title=Detroit's Uphill Battle |magazine=Time |date=1980-09-08 |first1=Alexander |last1=Taylor |first2=Christopher |last2=Redman |first3=Barrett |last3=Seaman |access-date=2015-04-18}}</ref> [[Chrysler]] and [[American Motors]] (AMC) were near bankruptcy, and Ford was little better off.<ref>{{cite magazine| first1=Alexander |last1=Taylor |first2=Christopher |last2=Redman |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922223-2,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121105153045/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922223-2,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= November 5, 2012|title=Detroit's Road Is Still Rocky |magazine=Time |date=1980-12-15 |access-date=2015-04-18}}</ref> Only [[General Motors]] (GM) continued with business as usual. But the auto makers recovered with the economy by 1983, and in 1985 auto sales in the United States hit a new record. However, the Japanese were now a major presence, and would begin  manufacturing cars in the US to get around tariffs. In 1986, [[Hyundai Motor Company|Hyundai]] became the first Korean auto maker to enter the American market. In the same year, the Yugoslavian-built [[Zastava Koral|Yugo]] was brought to the US, but the car was so small and cheap, that it became the subject of jokes. It was sold up to 1991, when economic sanctions against Yugoslavia forced its withdrawal from the American market.

As the decade progressed, cars became smaller and more efficient in design. In 1983, [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] design teams began to incorporate aerodynamic styling to decrease drag while in motion. The [[Ford Thunderbird|Thunderbird]] was one of the first cars to receive these design changes. In 1985, Ford released the [[Ford Taurus|Taurus]] with a design that was revolutionary among domestic mass market automobiles.

GM began suffering significant losses in the late 1980s, partially the result of chairman [[Roger Smith (executive)|Roger Smith]]'s restructuring attempts, and partially because of increasingly dated cars. An example were customers who increasingly purchased European luxury cars rather than [[Cadillac]]s. In 1985, GM started [[Saturn Corporation|Saturn]] (the first new American make since the Edsel), with the goal of producing high-quality import fighters. Production would not begin until 1990.

Chrysler introduced its new compact, front-wheel drive [[Chrysler K platform|K-cars]] in 1981. Under the leadership of [[Lee Iacocca]], the company turned a profit again the following year, and by 1983 paid off its government loans. A succession of models using this automobile platform followed. The most significant were the [[minivan]]s in 1984. These proved a to be popular and they would dominate the van market for more than a decade. In 1987, Chrysler purchased the Italian makes of [[Lamborghini]] and [[Maserati]]. In the same year, Chrysler bought [[American Motors Corporation|AMC]] from [[Renault]] laying to rest the last significant independent US automaker, but acquiring the hugely profitable [[Jeep]] line and continuing the [[Eagle (automobile)|Eagle]] brand until the late 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Holusha |first=John |title=Chrysler is Buying American Motors; Cost is $1.5&nbsp;billion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/10/business/chrysler-is-buying-american-motors-cost-is-1.5-billion.html |work=The New York Times |date=1987-03-10 |access-date=2015-04-18}}</ref>

The [[DMC DeLorean]] was the brainchild of [[John DeLorean]], a flamboyant former GM executive. Production of the gull-winged sports car began in Northern Ireland in 1981. John DeLorean was arrested in October 1982 in a sting operation where he was attempting to sell cocaine to save his struggling company. He was acquitted of all charges in 1984, but too late for the [[DeLorean Motor Company]], which closed down in 1983. The DeLorean gained renewed fame afterward as the time machine in the [[Back to the Future (series)|''Back to the Future'' film trilogy]].

The imposition of [[corporate average fuel economy]] (CAFE) fuel-mileage standards in 1979 spelled the end of big-block engines, but [[performance car]]s and [[convertible]]s reemerged in the 1980s. [[Turbocharger]]s were widely used to boost the performance of small cars, and technology from [[fuel injection]] began to take over from the widely used application of [[carburetors]] by the late 1980s. Front-wheel drive also became dominant.

The 1980s marked the decline of European brands in North America by the end of the decade. Renault, [[Citroën]], and [[Peugeot]] ceased importation by the end of the decade. [[Alfa Romeo]] would continue until 1993. [[Fiat Automobiles|Fiat]] also ceased imports to North America in the 1980s.

==Economics==
* The early 1980s was marked by a severe global [[Early 1980s recession|economic recession]] that affected much of the developed world.
* Inflation peaked in the US in April 1980 at 14.76% and subsequently fell to a low of 1.10% in December 1986 but then rebounded to 4.65% at the end of the decade.<ref>{{cite web|title=Inflation and CPI Consumer Price Index 1980–1989|url=http://inflationdata.com/articles/inflation-cpi-consumer-price-index-1980-1989/|website=InflationData.com|access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref>
* Finland's economy grew by almost the fastest pace in the world, which eventually culminated in the [[Early 1990s depression in Finland|recession of the 1990s Finnish economy]]. In Finland, the 1980s were called the "Nousukausi", or "economic upswing".
* In the late 1980s, Japan experienced an [[Japanese asset price bubble|economic bubble]], which would culminate in a stock market crash in 1991 that would begin a [[Lost Decades|period of economic stagnation]].
* Developing countries reliant on loans from the [[International Monetary Fund]] would experience debt crises throughout the 1980s.
* [[Laissez-faire economics|Laissez faire]] and [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] economics have a resurgence in the developed world, led by the UK and US which emphasised reduced government intervention, lower taxes and deregulation of the stock markets, measures that became associated with an economic revival in the mid- to late-1980s.
* Brazil and Mexico suffers from a [[Latin American debt crisis|debt crisis in Latin America]] starting in 1982 under President [[João Figueiredo]] and [[Miguel de la Madrid]]. Economic problems worsened between 1979 and 1985 by firing and resignation of most officials of the Brazilian and Mexican government after the {{Lang|pt|[[Diretas Já]]|italic=no}} movement in 1984, and a failed response of emergency aid in the [[1985 Mexico City earthquake|Mexico City earthquake]] just after the 175th anniversary of independence holiday in 1985. [[Tancredo Neves]] (later succeeded by [[José Sarney]] three months later) won a [[1985 Brazilian presidential election|direct presidential election]] in 1985, marking the end of a [[Brazilian military dictatorship|21-year military dictatorship]], while Mexico's [[Carlos Salinas de Gortari]] won a [[1988 Mexican general election|controversial presidential election]] in 1988 amid charges of voter fraud, bribery, corruption and other abuses of power.
* Enactment of the [[Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement]] in 1989 to further establish a strong economic bond between the two prosperous neighbor countries of North America.
* In the Soviet Union, the [[Eleventh Five-Year Plan (Soviet Union)|eleventh Five-Year Plan]] was initiated in 1981 during a [[Era of Stagnation|period of economic stagnation]] that began in the late 1970s. The Plan was a near failure, as most of the targets were not met. With the ascent of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] as [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]] of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]], the twelfth Five-Year Plan sought to [[Uskoreniye|accelerate]] and [[Perestroika|restructure]] the Soviet economy through reforms to decentralize production and distribution systems.
* Under the leadership of [[Deng Xiaoping]], China embarked on the [[reform and opening up]] in the 1980s, opening the country's economy to the West and allowing capitalist enterprises to operate in a [[Socialism with Chinese characteristics|market socialist system]]. The corruption of [[Communist Party of China|Communist Party]] leadership was met by dissent from students and workers in the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]] which were suppressed by the [[People's Liberation Army]].
* The [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity movement]] began in Poland in 1980, involving workers demanding political liberalization and democracy in Poland. Attempts by the Communist government to prevent the rise of the Solidarity movement failed and negotiations between the movement and the government took place. Solidarity would be instrumental in encouraging people in other communist states to demand political reform.
* The financial world and the stock market were glamorized in a way they had not been since the 1920s, and figures like [[Donald Trump]] and [[Michael Milken]] were widely seen as symbols of the decade. Widespread fear of Japanese economic strength would grip the United States in the 1980s.
* The "Black Monday" [[Black Monday (1987)|stock market crash]] on 19 October 1987, decreased the value of the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] by more than 22%, causing widespread secondary drops in world markets.
* During the 1980s, for the first time in world history, transpacific trade (with [[East Asia]], such as China, and Latin America, primarily with Mexico) equaled that of transatlantic trade (with [[Western Europe]] or with neighboring Canada),<ref>"The Next Hundred Years", George Friedman, 2009, pg 4</ref> solidifying American economic power.<ref>"The Next Hundred Years", George Friedman, 2009, pg 45</ref>
* [[Savings and loan crisis|The Savings and Loan crisis]] and [[Keating Five|Keating five]] scandal.
* The phrase [[Big Bang (financial markets)|Big Bang]], used in reference to the sudden deregulation of financial markets, was coined to describe measures, including abolition of fixed commission charges and of the distinction between stockjobbers and stockbrokers on the London Stock Exchange and change from open-outcry to electronic, screen-based trading, effected by Margaret Thatcher in 1986.

==Popular culture==

<gallery widths="190" perrow="5">
File:NES-Console-Set.jpg|The [[third generation of video game consoles]] like ''[[Nintendo Entertainment System]]'' (pictured), ''[[Master System]],'' and ''[[Atari 7800]]'' were a hit in the 1980s.
File:Full House 1987 TV series logo.png| ''[[Full House]]'', ''[[The Golden Girls]]'', ''[[Family Ties]]'', ''[[Cheers]]'', ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'', ''[[Miami Vice]]'', ''[[The A-Team]]'', ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]], and [[The Cosby Show]]'' were popular TV shows in the 1980s. 
File:Michael Jackson Thriller Jacket.jpg|[[Michael Jackson]]'s ''[[Thriller (album)|Thriller]]'' became the best-selling album of all time, followed by the critically acclaimed album ''[[Bad (album)|Bad]]'' five years later, and a musical film adaptation titled ''[[Moonwalker]]''.
File:MTV Logo.svg|[[MTV]] began in 1981, and greatly influenced the way music is marketed and the rise of many rock stars during the 1980s. The 1985 video for "[[Money for Nothing (song)#Music video|Money for Nothing]]" used early CGI.
File:Commodore 64 (4841984952).jpg|Personal computers like the [[Apple IIe]], [[IBM PC compatible]]s, [[Commodore 64]] (pictured), and [[Macintosh 128K]] were popular in the 1980s.
File:Polaroid Sun 600 LMS instant camera.jpg|[[Polaroid Corporation|Polaroid]]-branded cameras were popular and at their height in the 1980s.
File:He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.jpg|''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'', [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'']], ''[[The Smurfs (1981 TV series)|The Smurfs]]'', ''[[The Transformers (TV series)|The Transformers]]'', ''[[Inspector Gadget (1983 TV series)|Inspector Gadget]]'', ''[[DuckTales (1987 TV series)|DuckTales]]'', ''[[Danger Mouse (1981 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]'', ''[[ThunderCats (1985 TV series)|ThunderCats]]'', and ''[[Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983 TV series)|Alvin and the Chipmunks]]'' were popular cartoons in the 1980s.
File:Side A, TDK D-C60 20041220.jpg|[[Cassette tape]]s used for music listening and operating the Sony [[Walkman]] were popular in the decade.
File:ArcadeGames.jpg|Arcade games like ''[[Pac-Man]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'', ''[[Frogger]]'', [[Defender (1981 video game)|''Defender'']], ''[[Galaga]], [[Centipede (video game)|Centipede]], a''nd [[Joust (video game)|''Joust'']], were popular during the [[golden age of arcade video games]].
File:Olympic Torch Tower of the Los Angeles Coliseum.jpg|Six [[Olympic Games]] were held in the 1980s, [[1980 Winter Olympics|Lake Placid]] and [[1980 Summer Olympics|Moscow in 1980]], [[1984 Winter Olympics|Sarajevo]] and [[1984 Summer Olympics|Los Angeles in 1984]], [[1988 Winter Olympics|Calgary]] and [[1988 Summer Olympics|Seoul in 1988]].
File:Back-to-the-future-logo.svg|Teen-oriented films like ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]'', ''[[Ferris Bueller's Day Off]]'', ''[[Back to the Future]]'', ''[[The Breakfast Club]]'' and ''[[The Outsiders (film)|The Outsiders]]'' were popular in the 1980s.
File:Who Framed Roger Rabbit logo.png|After a turbulent decline in the 1960s and 1970s, animation began to thrive again due to the success and popularity of films such as ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'', ''[[Oliver & Company]]'', ''[[The Land Before Time (film)|The Land Before Time]]'', and ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]].'' 
File:Graffiti in Bayreuth4.jpg|Along with early hip hop culture like 1989's ''[[Straight Outta Compton]]'', graffiti became more mainstream in the 1980s.
File:Data Processing Technician 2nd Class Trice uses a computer terminal to track a user's request in the Navy Regional Data Automatic Center - DPLA - 3eec547d2abaf44072a2a672ef159283.jpg|Before the more mainstream use of the internet in the 1990s, many computer systems had searchable [[database]]s during the decade. These databases could be used to search a students' grades, computerized library and video rental systems to track books and video rentals. 
File:Ronald Reagan on CRT TV (photo illustration).jpg|[[Ronald Reagan]] was [[president of the United States]] for a majority of the 1980s (1981–1989), during what was called the [[Reagan era]]. Ronald Reagan's vice president [[George H. W. Bush]] became president in 1989. 
</gallery>

===Music===
{{Main|1980s in music}}
{{Original research|section|date=April 2016}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = DD1985.png
| width1            = 393
| alt1              = Duran Duran
| caption1          = 
| image2            = Michael Jackson in 1988.jpg
| width2            = 173
| alt2              = Michael
| caption2          = 
| image3            = Madonna - Tampa Bay Times (1985).jpg
| width3            = 169
| alt3              = Madonna
| caption3          = 
| footer_align      = left
| footer            = [[Duran Duran]] (left), [[Michael Jackson]] (center) and [[Madonna]] (right) were three of the best-selling musical talents of the decade, all considered some of the most globally popular and culturally significant [[Pop music|pop]] and [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] talents of the 1980s, pictured here in 1985 and 1988 respectively.
}}

In the United States, [[MTV]] was launched and [[music video]]s began to have a larger effect on the record industry. Pop artists/bands such as [[Duran Duran]], [[Michael Jackson]], [[Whitney Houston]], [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], [[Cyndi Lauper]] and [[Madonna]] mastered the format and helped turn this new product into a profitable business. [[New wave music|New wave]] and [[synthpop]] were developed by many British and American artists, and became popular phenomena throughout the decade, especially in the early and mid-1980s. Music grew fragmented and combined into subgenres such as house, goth, and rap metal.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/21/omigod.80s/index.html |work=The New York Times |title='Like, Omigod!' It's the return of the '80s |date=2002-08-22 |access-date=2013-03-22 |first=Todd |last=Leopold |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104212110/http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/21/omigod.80s/index.html |archive-date=2013-11-04 }}</ref>

The advent of numerous new technologies had a significant impact on 1980s music, and led to a distinct production aesthetic that included [[synthesizer]] sounds, [[drum machine]]s and drum reverb.

[[Duran Duran]], the biggest band of the 1980s, created a teen frenzy similar to that of [[The Beatles]] during the first British Invasion of the 1960s. They were [[Princess Diana]]'s favorite band. In 1982, they released their world famous, omnipresent [[Rio (Duran Duran album)]] which ignited a global craze. Their catchy flagship song from the album, [[Hungry Like the Wolf]], reached number 1 in Canada, number 3 in the United States, number 4 in Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa and number 5 in the United Kingdom and Australia. It won a Grammy Award in 1984. [[Rio (song)]] was another mega hit song that was issued worldwide in October 1982 and became a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart. As of October 2021, "Rio" was the third most streamed Duran Duran song in the UK. By 1985, the musical band stood on top of the world as absolute conquerors of music and music video. They were the darlings of MTV and the center of female teen fan's attention. In that same year, the [[A View to a Kill (song)]] theme song to the same-titled [[James Bond]] movie reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and it remains the only Bond theme to achieve this chart placing. Their massive appeal was widespread on a worldwide scale in music, video and fashion. Their influence was so intense that they helped shape how music was defined throughout the 80s decade. They extensively toured the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, Japan and other parts of Asia. Highly stylized videos showcasing their other mega hit songs like, [[Planet Earth (Duran Duran song)]], [[New Moon on Monday]], [[The Wild Boys (song)]], [[Save a Prayer]] and [[Notorious (Duran Duran song)]] made Duran Duran a popular household name.

[[Michael Jackson]] was one of the icons of the 1980s and his [[leather jacket]], white [[glove]], and [[Moonwalk dance]] were often imitated. Jackson's 1982 album ''[[Thriller (Michael Jackson album)|Thriller]]'' became—and currently remains—the [[List of best-selling albums|best-selling album of all time]], with sales estimated by various sources as somewhere between 65 and 110 million copies worldwide. His 1987 album ''[[Bad (album)|Bad]]'' sold over 45 million copies and became the first album to have five number-one singles chart on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. Jackson had the most number-one singles throughout the decade (9), and spent the most weeks at number one (27 weeks). His 1987 [[Bad (tour)|Bad World Tour]] grossed over $125 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing world tour by a solo artist during the decade. Jackson earned numerous awards and titles during the 1980s, the most notable of which were a record eight [[Grammy Award]]s and eight [[American Music Award]]s in 1984, and the honor of "Artist of the Decade" by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George H. W. Bush|George H.W. Bush.]] Jackson was arguably the biggest star during this time, and would eventually sell more than one billion records around the world.

[[Prince (musician)|Prince]] was a popular star of the 1980s and the most successful chart act of the decade. His breakthrough album [[1999 (Prince album)|''1999'']], released in 1982, produced three top-ten hits and the album itself charted at number nine on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. His sixth studio album [[Purple Rain (album)|''Purple Rain'']] was an international success, boosting Prince to superstardom and selling over 25 million copies worldwide. The album produced the US number-one singles, "[[When Doves Cry]]" and "[[Let's Go Crazy]]" and sold 13 million copies in the U.S. as of 1996. Prince released an album every year for the rest of the decade, all charting within the top ten, with the exception of ''[[Lovesexy]]''. In the [[1990s]], he infamously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in response to a record dispute with [[Warner Brothers]]. He went on to sell over 120 million records worldwide and win seven [[Grammy Award]]s.

{{quote box|quoted=1|quote=The '80s were above all a time of international [[corporatization]]... <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Rock music]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> was reconceived as [[intellectual property]], as a form of [[capital (economics)|capital]] itself... The '80s were when stars replaced artists as bearers of significance... The '80s took rock sexuality and rock sexism over the top... The '80s were a time of renewed racial turmoil after ten-plus years of polite resegregation... Technology changed everything in the '80s. [[Cable television|Cable]] brought us [[MTV]] and the triumph of the image. [[Synthesizer]]s inflected the sounds that remained. [[Sampling (music)|Sampling]] revolutionized rock and roll's proprietary relationship to its own history. [[Audio cassette|Cassettes]] made private music portable—and public. [[Compact disc]]s inflated profitability as they faded into the background of busy lives.|source=—[[Robert Christgau]] in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]'' (1990)<ref name="CG">{{cite web|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg80/in_decade.php|title=CG 80s: Decade|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1990|website=robertchristgau.com|access-date=April 12, 2019}}</ref>|width=22%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}

[[Madonna]] and [[Whitney Houston]] were groundbreaking female artists of the decade.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} The [[keyboard synthesizer]] and [[drum machine]] were among the most popular instruments in music during the 1980s, especially in [[new wave music]]. After the 1980s, electronic instruments continued to be the main component of mainstream pop.

[[Hard rock]], [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], and [[glam metal]] became some of the most dominant music genres of the decade, peaking with the arrival of such bands as [[Mötley Crüe]], [[Guns N' Roses]], [[Metallica]], [[Iron Maiden]], [[Bon Jovi]], [[Def Leppard]], [[Poison (American band)|Poison]], [[Europe (band)|Europe]], [[Megadeth]], [[Slayer]], [[Sepultura]], [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]], [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]], [[Overkill (band)|Overkill]], [[Testament (band)|Testament]], [[Pantera]] (then-a glam metal band) and [[virtuoso]] guitarists such as [[Joe Satriani]] and [[Yngwie Malmsteen]]. The scene also helped 1970s hard rock artists such as [[AC/DC]], [[Heart (band)|Heart]], [[Ozzy Osbourne]], [[Black Sabbath]], [[Aerosmith]], [[Alice Cooper]], [[Blue Öyster Cult]], [[Deep Purple]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]], [[Van Halen]], [[Kiss (band)|KISS]], [[Ronnie James Dio]], [[Rush (band)|Rush]] and [[Judas Priest]] reach a new generation of fans.

The 1980s were also known for song parodies becoming more mainstream, a trend led by parodic musician [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. He was best known for his [[Michael Jackson]] parodies "[[Eat It]]" and "[[Fat (song)|Fat]]" as well as other parodies like "[[Another One Rides The Bus]]" (parody of "[[Another One Bites The Dust]]" by [[Queen (Band)|Queen]]).

By 1989, the [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] scene had evolved, gaining recognition and exhibiting a stronger influence on the music industry. This time period is also considered part of the [[golden age hip hop|golden age]] of hip hop. The [[Beastie Boys]], [[Public Enemy (group)|Public Enemy]], [[Run–D.M.C.|Run-D.M.C.]], [[Grandmaster Flash]], the [[Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five|Furious Five]], [[Boogie Down Productions]], [[N.W.A]], [[LL Cool J]], [[De La Soul]], [[A Tribe Called Quest]], [[EPMD]], [[Eric B. & Rakim]], [[Ice-T]], [[DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince]], [[2 Live Crew]], [[Tone Lōc]], [[Biz Markie]], the [[Jungle Brothers]], [[The Sugar Hill Gang]] and others experienced success in this genre.

[[Country music]] advanced into a new realm of popularity with youth appeal and record-breaking marks. Groundbreaking artists such as [[Alabama (American band)|Alabama]], [[Hank Williams, Jr.]], [[Reba McEntire]], [[George Strait]], [[Ricky Skaggs]], [[Janie Fricke]], [[The Judds]], and [[Randy Travis]] achieved multiple platinum and award status, foreshadowing the genre's popularity explosion in the 1990s. Country legends from past decades, however; such as [[George Jones]], [[Waylon Jennings]], [[Willie Nelson]], [[Conway Twitty]], the [[Oak Ridge Boys]], [[Kenny Rogers]], [[Dolly Parton]], [[Merle Haggard]], [[Don Williams]], [[Crystal Gayle]], [[Ronnie Milsap]], [[Barbara Mandrell]], and the [[Statler Brothers]]; also remained popular and continued to score hits throughout the decade.

The [[techno]] style of electronic dance music emerged in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], during the mid- to late 1980s. The [[house music]] style, another form of electronic dance music, emerged in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino and gay communities, first in Chicago, then in New York City and Detroit. It eventually reached Europe before becoming infused in mainstream pop and dance music worldwide.

[[Punk rock]] continued to make strides in the musical community. With bands leading the significance of this period such as [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]], [[Bad Brains]], [[Minor Threat]], [[Suicidal Tendencies]], [[D.O.A. (band)|D.O.A.]], [[Bad Religion]], [[Minutemen (band)|Minutemen]], [[Social Distortion]], and [[Dead Kennedys]], it gave birth to many subgenres like [[Hardcore punk|hardcore]], which has continued to be moderately successful, giving birth in turn to a few counterculture movements, most notably the [[Straight Edge]] movement which began in the early era of this decade. [[College rock]] caught on in the underground scene of the 1980s in a nationwide movement with a distinct [[DIY ethic|D.I.Y]] approach. Bands like the [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]], [[R.E.M.]], [[The Replacements (band)|The Replacements]], [[Sonic Youth]], [[XTC]], [[The Smiths]], [[Echo & the Bunnymen]], [[Hüsker Dü]], [[The Stone Roses]], [[The Jesus and Mary Chain]] etc. experienced success in this genre. The 1980s also saw the birth of the [[grunge]] genre, with the arrival of such bands as [[Soundgarden]], [[Green River (band)|Green River]], [[Melvins]], [[Screaming Trees]], [[Malfunkshun]], [[Skin Yard]], [[The U-Men]], [[Blood Circus (band)|Blood Circus]], [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Tad (band)|Tad]], [[Mudhoney]], [[Mother Love Bone]] and [[Alice in Chains]] (the latter of whom formed in 1987, but did not release their [[Facelift (album)|first album]] until three years later).

[[File:Live Aid at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA.jpg|thumb|[[Live Aid]] concert at [[Philadelphia]]'s [[JFK Stadium]] in 1985]]

Several notable musical artists died of unnatural causes in the 1980s: [[Bon Scott]], at the time lead singer of rock band [[AC/DC]], died of acute alcohol poisoning on February 19, 1980; English drummer [[John Bonham]] of the rock band [[Led Zeppelin]] also died that year in a similar manner; [[The Beatles]] member [[John Lennon]] was [[Death of John Lennon|fatally shot]] outside his home in [[New York City]] on the night of December 8, 1980; [[Tim Hardin]] died of a heroin overdose on December 29, 1980; Reggae musician [[Bob Marley]] died from a lentiginous skin [[melanoma]] on May 11, 1981; [[Harry Chapin]] died of a car accident on July 16, 1981; Motown singer [[Marvin Gaye]] was [[Death of Marvin Gaye|shot dead]] by his [[Marvin Gay, Sr.|father]] at his home in [[Los Angeles]] on April 1, 1984, one day before what would've been his 45th birthday; Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist [[Randy Rhoads]] died in an airplane crash on March 19, 1982; [[Karen Carpenter]] died from heart failure caused by her [[Anorexia nervosa|anorexia]] condition on February 4, 1983; [[Metallica]] bassist [[Cliff Burton]] was killed in a bus accident in [[Sweden]] on September 27, 1986; and lastly, [[Andy Gibb]] died in 1988 as a result of [[myocarditis]].

In 1984, the British supergroup [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] was formed to raise aid and awareness of the economic plight of [[Ethiopia]]. In 1985's [[Live Aid]] concert, featuring many artists, promoted attention and action to send food aid to [[Ethiopia]] whose people were suffering from a major [[1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia|famine]].

===Film===
{{Main|1980s in film}}

[[File:Ponferrada - graffiti & murals 03 (cropped).JPG|260px|thumb|The highest-grossing film of the decade was ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' (1982)]]
[[File:Puenzo aleandro premio oscar.jpg|thumb|Director [[Luis Puenzo]] and actress [[Norma Aleandro|Norma Leandro]] from [[Argentina]] celebrating the Oscar won by ''[[The Official Story]]'' at the [[58th Academy Awards]]]]
'''Critically acclaimed films and thespians'''
* Oscar winners for Best Picture: ''[[Ordinary People]]'', ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'', ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'', ''[[Terms of Endearment]]'', ''[[Amadeus (film)|Amadeus]]'', ''[[Out of Africa (film)|Out of Africa]]'', ''[[Platoon (film)|Platoon]]'', ''[[The Last Emperor]]'', ''[[Rain Man]]'' and ''[[Driving Miss Daisy]]''.
* ''[[Palme d'Or]]'' recipients at the [[Cannes Film Festival]]: ''[[All That Jazz (film)|All That Jazz]]'', ''[[Kagemusha]]'', ''[[Man of Iron]]'', ''[[Missing (1982 film)|Missing]]'', ''[[Yol (film)|Yol]]'', ''[[The Ballad of Narayama (1983 film)|The Ballad of Narayama]]'', ''[[Paris, Texas (film)|Paris, Texas]]'', ''[[When Father Was Away on Business]]'', ''[[The Mission (1986 film)|The Mission]]'', ''[[Under the Sun of Satan (film)|Under the Sun of Satan]]'', ''[[Pelle the Conqueror]]'', and ''[[Sex, Lies, and Videotape]]''.
* The highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest ''domestic'' grossing): ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'', ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'', ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]'', ''[[Rain Man]]'', ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', ''[[Back to the Future]]'', ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'', ''[[Top Gun]]'', ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'', ''[[Back to the Future Part II]]'', ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]'', ''[[Fatal Attraction]]'' and ''[[Beverly Hills Cop]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross?region=world-wide |title=All-Time Worldwide Box Office |work=IMDb |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125114400/http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross?region=world-wide |archive-date=2011-11-25 }}</ref>
* Oscar winners for Best Foreign Language Film: ''[[Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears]]'', ''[[Mephisto (1981 film)|Mephisto]]'', ''[[Begin the Beguine (film)|Begin the Beguine]]'', ''[[Fanny and Alexander]]'', ''[[Dangerous Moves]]'', ''[[The Official Story]]'', ''[[The Assault (1986 film)|The Assault]]'', ''[[Babette's Feast]]'', ''[[Pelle the Conqueror]]'' and ''[[Cinema Paradiso]]''.
* Oscar winners for Best Actor: [[Robert De Niro]], [[Henry Fonda]], [[Ben Kingsley]], [[Robert Duvall]], [[F. Murray Abraham]], [[William Hurt]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Michael Douglas]], [[Dustin Hoffman]] and [[Daniel Day-Lewis]].
* Oscar winners for Best Actress: [[Sissy Spacek]], [[Katharine Hepburn]], [[Meryl Streep]], [[Shirley MacLaine]], [[Sally Field]], [[Geraldine Page]], [[Marlee Matlin]], [[Cher]], [[Jodie Foster]] and [[Jessica Tandy]].

'''The film industry'''

The 1980s saw the return of studio-driven films, coming from the filmmaker-driven [[New Hollywood]] era of the 1970s.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ebert, Roger|author2=Bordwell, David|title=Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert|date=2008|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago and London|isbn=978-0226182018|page=xvii|edition=Paperback|quote=In his pluralism, [Roger] Ebert proved a more authentic cinephile than many of his contemporaries. They tied their fortunes to the Film Brats and then suffered the inevitable disappointments of the 1980s return to studio-driven pictures.}}</ref> The period was when '[[high concept]]' films gained popularity, where movies were to be easily marketable and understandable, and, therefore, they had short cinematic [[Plot (narrative)|plots]] that could be summarized in one or two sentences. The modern Hollywood [[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]] is the most popular film format from the 1980s. Producer [[Don Simpson]]<ref>{{Cite book |last = Fleming |first = Charles |title = High concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood culture of excess |year = 1998 |publisher = Doubleday |isbn = 978-0-385-48694-1 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/highconceptdonsi00flem_0 }}</ref> is usually credited with the creation of the high-concept picture of the modern Hollywood blockbuster. In the mid-1980s, a wave of British directors, including [[Ridley Scott]], [[Alan Parker]], [[Adrian Lyne]] and [[Tony Scott]] (with the latter directing a number of Don Simpson films) ushered in a new era of blockbusters using the crowd-pleasing skills they had honed in UK television commercials.<ref>{{cite news|first=Delaney|last=Sam|title=Jets, jeans and Hovis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/aug/24/1|work=The Guardian|date=August 24, 2007|access-date=March 13, 2019}}</ref>

A significant development in the home media business is the establishment of [[The Criterion Collection]] in 1984, an American company "dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality". Through their releases, they were able to introduce what is now a standard to home video: [[Letterboxing (filming)|letterboxing]] to retain the original aspect ratio, [[Audio commentary|film commentaries]] and supplements/special features.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Criterion |url=https://www.criterion.com/about_us |access-date=26 February 2016 |website=The Criterion Collection |publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=28 October 2014 |title=Frame by Frame |publisher=Wadham College, University of Oxford |url=https://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/news/2014/october/frame-by-frame |url-status=dead |access-date=27 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009214529/https://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/news/2014/october/frame-by-frame |archive-date=9 October 2016}}</ref>

'''Live-action films'''
[[File:Arnold Schwarzenegger on Capitol Hill (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Action movie]] star [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] rose to international fame this decade with ''[[The Terminator]]'' (1984)]]

The 1980s saw the golden age of [[teen film]]s. ''[[Class (film)|Class]]'', ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]'', ''[[Risky Business]]'', ''[[Mannequin (1987 film)|Mannequin]]'', ''[[Porky's]]'', ''[[Valley Girl (1983 film)|Valley Girl]]'', and [[John Hughes (filmmaker)|John Hughes]] directed or written ''[[Sixteen Candles]]'', ''[[The Breakfast Club]]'', ''[[Weird Science (film)|Weird Science]]'', ''[[Ferris Bueller's Day Off]]'', ''[[Pretty in Pink]]'' and ''[[Some Kind of Wonderful (film)|Some Kind of Wonderful]]'', were popular teen comedies, and their stars include [[Emilio Estevez]], [[Anthony Michael Hall]], [[Jennifer Jason Leigh]], [[Andrew McCarthy]], [[Rob Lowe]], [[Judd Nelson]], [[Molly Ringwald]], [[Ally Sheedy]], [[Matthew Broderick]], [[Tom Cruise]], [[Rebecca De Mornay]], [[Sean Penn]] and [[Nicolas Cage]]. Other youth dramas include ''[[Stand by Me (film)|Stand by Me]]'' and [[Francis Ford Coppola]] directed ''[[The Outsiders (film)|The Outsiders]]'' and ''[[Rumble Fish]]''. Their stars include [[River Phoenix]] and [[Mickey Rourke]]. The [[Brat Pack (actors)|Brat Pack]] films are said to include ''The Breakfast Club'' and ''[[St. Elmo's Fire (film)|St. Elmo's Fire]]''. Musical dance films include ''[[Footloose (1984 film)|Footloose]]'', ''[[Dirty Dancing]]'' and ''[[Flashdance]]'', and their stars include [[Kevin Bacon]] and [[Patrick Swayze]]. Other musicals include ''[[Annie (1982 film)|Annie]]''.

Horror films were a popular genre during the decade. Among the most popular horror franchises of the 1980s were the ''[[Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th]]'', ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)|A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'', ''[[Halloween (franchise)|Halloween]]'', ''[[Child's Play (film series)|Child's Play]]'', ''[[Hellraiser (franchise)|Hellraiser]]'', and ''[[Poltergeist (film series)|Poltergeist]]'' franchises. Their casts include [[Jamie Lee Curtis]], [[Robert Englund]], [[Catherine Hicks]], [[Chris Sarandon]] and [[Brad Dourif]]. ''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]'' was initially met with mixed reviews from critics, and even from the [[Stephen King|author]] of the [[The Shining (novel)|book]], and was moderately financially successful, but later became very popular and critically acclaimed. The concept of the [[B movie|B horror film]] gave rise to many horror films that went on to earn cult status, such as ''[[The Evil Dead]]'', which was directed by [[Sam Raimi]]. Comedy horror films included ''[[Beetlejuice]]'', ''[[Gremlins]]'', ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'' and ''[[The Lost Boys]]''. Their stars include [[Alec Baldwin]], [[Geena Davis]], [[Winona Ryder]], [[Zach Galligan]], [[Phoebe Cates]], [[Corey Feldman]], [[Corey Haim]] and [[Kiefer Sutherland]].

Comedies included ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]'', ''[[Caddyshack]]'', ''[[Stir Crazy (film)|Stir Crazy]]'', ''[[Private Benjamin (1980 film)|Private Benjamin]]'', ''[[9 to 5 (film)|9 to 5]]'', ''[[Trading Places]]'', ''[[Splash (film)|Splash]]'', ''[[Jumpin' Jack Flash (film)|Jumpin' Jack Flash]]'', ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]'', ''[[Harry and the Hendersons]]'', ''[[Throw Momma from the Train]]'', ''[[Planes, Trains and Automobiles]]'', ''[[Twins (1988 film)|Twins]]'', ''[[The 'Burbs]]'' and the original two [[Ghostbusters (franchise)|Ghostbusters]] films, and their stars included [[Dan Aykroyd]], [[Chevy Chase]], [[Gene Wilder]], [[Richard Pryor]], [[Goldie Hawn]], [[Jane Fonda]], [[Tom Hanks]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]], [[Ted Danson]], [[Steve Guttenberg]], [[Tom Selleck]], [[John Lithgow]], [[Danny DeVito]], [[Billy Crystal]], [[Ernie Hudson]], [[Rick Moranis]], [[Steve Martin]] and [[John Candy]]. Parody films include ''[[Airplane!]]'', ''[[Spaceballs]]'', and ''[[The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!]]'', which starred the likes of Moranis, Candy, and [[Leslie Nielsen]]. Romcoms include ''[[Look Who's Talking]]'', starring [[John Travolta]]. ''[[Good Morning, Vietnam]]'' is a war comedy starring [[Robin Williams]] and [[Forest Whitaker]]. Action comedies include ''[[48 Hrs.]]'', ''[[Romancing the Stone]]'' and ''[[The Jewel of the Nile]]''. Their stars include [[Nick Nolte]] and [[Kathleen Turner]].

[[Biopic]] films also saw its golden age in the 1980s, primarily about famous musicians; beginning in 1980 with ''[[Coal Miner's Daughter (film)|Coal Miner's Daughter]]'' (biopic of [[Loretta Lynn]]), ''[[Sweet Dreams (1985 film)|Sweet Dreams]]'' (1985 biopic of [[Patsy Cline]]), ''[[La Bamba (film)|La Bamba]]'', (1987 biopic of [[Ritchie Valens]]), and  ''[[Great Balls of Fire! (film)|Great Balls of Fire!]]'', (1989 biopic of [[Jerry Lee Lewis]]).

The most popular action film franchises introduced during the 1980s were the ''[[Indiana Jones]]'', ''[[Die Hard (franchise)|Die Hard]]'', ''[[Lethal Weapon (film series)|Lethal Weapon]]'', and ''[[Rambo (film series)|Rambo]]'' franchises. Other popular action films from the decade include ''[[The Terminator]]'', ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'', ''[[Mad Max 2]]'', ''[[Escape from New York]]'', ''[[Red Dawn]]'', ''[[Predator (film)|Predator]]'',  ''[[RoboCop]]'', the Dirty Harry film ''[[Sudden Impact]]'' and ''[[Cobra (1986 film)|Cobra]]''. Stars of these films included [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], [[Bruce Willis]], [[Alan Rickman]], [[Sigourney Weaver]], [[Mel Gibson]], [[Danny Glover]], [[Joe Pesci]], [[Charlie Sheen]], [[Linda Hamilton]], [[Michael Biehn]], [[Lance Henriksen]], [[Gary Busey]], [[Harrison Ford]], [[Karen Allen]], [[Peter Weller]], [[Nancy Allen (actress)|Nancy Allen]], [[Kurt Russell]], [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Sylvester Stallone]], [[Brigitte Nielsen]], [[Vernon Wells (actor)|Vernon Wells]] and [[Brian Dennehy]]. [[Hong Kong action cinema]] and [[martial arts film]]s were revolutionized by a new wave of inventive filmmakers that included [[Jackie Chan]], [[Sammo Hung]], [[Tsui Hark]], and [[John Woo]]. American martial arts films had actors such as [[Chuck Norris]], [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]] and [[Steven Seagal]], and included ''[[The Karate Kid]]''. Sports drama included [[The Natural (film)|The Natural]] and the two ''[[Rocky (franchise)|Rocky]]'' films, whose stars included [[Carl Weathers]] and [[Dolph Lundgren]].

Five more [[James bond films|James Bond films]] were released, with [[Roger Moore]] continuing in the role in ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]'', ''[[Octopussy (film)|Octopussy]]'', and ''[[A View to a Kill (film)|A View To A Kill]]'', before handing over the role to [[Timothy Dalton]] who starred in ''[[The Living Daylights (film)|The Living Daylights]]'' and ''[[Licence to Kill (film)|Licence To Kill]]''.

The post-2000 popularity of blockbuster [[superhero film]]s is attributed in part to the start such blockbuster films gained in the 1980s, starting with [[Superman in film#Salkind/Cannon film series (1978–1987)|Salkind's ''Superman'' film series]] 1978–1987 and bookended at the end of the decade with [[Tim Burton]]'s 1989 ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]''.<ref name=Vulture24Oct2016>{{cite web |url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/10/2016-why-are-we-obsessed-with-the-80s.html |title=It's 2016. Why Are We Still Obsessed With the '80s? |last=Chaney |first=Jen |date=2016-10-24 |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |access-date=2024-06-05}}</ref> Their stars include [[Christopher Reeve]], [[Gene Hackman]], [[Michael Keaton]], [[Kim Basinger]] and [[Jack Nicholson]].

The popularity of [[List of science fiction films of the 1980s|science fiction films in the 1980s]] is attributable to the popularity of the [[Star Wars original trilogy|original ''Star Wars'' trilogy]] (1977–1983).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/how-star-wars-revolutionized-entertainment |title=How Star Wars Revolutionized Entertainment |last=Weitekamp |first=Margaret |date=2019-12-19  |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |access-date=2024-06-07 |quote=The success of science fiction and fantasy movies in the 1980s and beyond owes much to ''Star Wars''}}</ref> Science fiction films include ''[[Blade Runner]]'', ''[[Outland (film)|Outland]]'', ''[[The Return of Godzilla]]'', ''[[The Dead Zone (film)|The Dead Zone]]'', ''[[The Fly (1986 film)|The Fly]]'', ''[[The Abyss]]'', ''[[The Running Man (1987 film)|The Running Man]]'', ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]'', ''[[Innerspace]]'', ''[[Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]]'' and ''[[Back to the Future]]''. Their stars include [[Mark Hamill]], [[Carrie Fisher]], [[Alec Guinness]], [[James Earl Jones]], [[Rutger Hauer]], [[Daryl Hannah]], [[Jeff Goldblum]], [[Max von Sydow]], [[Dennis Quaid]], [[Meg Ryan]], [[Michael J. Fox]], [[Christopher Lloyd]], [[Lea Thompson]] and [[Keanu Reeves]]. Sword and sorcery films include ''[[Excalibur (film)|Excalibur]]'' and ''[[Conan the Barbarian (1982 film)|Conan the Barbarian]]''. Other fantasy films include ''[[Time Bandits]]'', ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'', ''[[The NeverEnding Story (film)|The NeverEnding Story]]'' and ''[[The Witches of Eastwick (film)|The Witches of Eastwick]]'', starring [[Michelle Pfeiffer]] and [[Susan Sarandon]].

Westerns include ''[[Urban Cowboy]]'', ''[[The Man from Snowy River (1982 film)|The Man from Snowy River]]'' and ''[[Mother Lode]]''. Period dramas include ''[[The Bostonians (film)|The Bostonians]]''. Historical epics include ''[[The Right Stuff (film)|The Right Stuff]]'', ''[[Kagemusha]]'' and ''[[Ran (film)|Ran]]''. War films include ''Platoon'', ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]'' and ''[[Das Boot]]''. Their stars include [[Tom Berenger]], [[Willem Dafoe]], [[Matthew Modine]] and [[Jürgen Prochnow]]. Romances include ''[[An Officer and a Gentleman]]'', starring [[Richard Gere]], [[Debra Winger]] and [[Louis Gossett Jr.]]

Neo-noir films include ''[[Blow Out]]'' and ''[[Blue Velvet (film)|Blue Velvet]]''. Mob films include ''[[Once Upon a Time in America]]'', ''[[Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface]]'' and ''[[The Untouchables (film)|The Untouchables]]''. Their stars include [[Al Pacino]] and [[Kevin Costner]].

''[[Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (film)|Sailor Suit and Machine Gun]]'' is a satirical yakuza film. Other [[w:ja:1981年の映画#各国ランキング|popular]] Japanese films included ''[[Imperial Navy (film)|Imperial Navy]]'', ''[[Antarctica (1983 film)|Antarctica]]'', ''[[Legend of the Eight Samurai]]'', ''[[The Burmese Harp (1985 film)|The Burmese Harp]]'', ''[[The Adventures of Milo and Otis]]'', ''[[Hachikō Monogatari]]'' and ''[[The Silk Road (film)|The Silk Road]]''.

[[Gérard Depardieu]] starred in the French films ''[[La Chèvre]]'', ''[[The Last Metro]]'', ''[[Danton (1983 film)|Danton]]'', ''[[Police (1985 film)|Police]]'' and ''[[Jean de Florette]]''. [[Luc Besson]] directed ''[[The Big Blue]]''. [[Jean-Jacques Annaud]] directed ''[[Quest for Fire (film)|Quest for Fire]]'' and ''[[The Bear (1988 film)|The Bear]]''.

'''Animated films'''

After leaving [[Disney]] in 1979, [[Don Bluth]] formed [[Don Bluth Productions|his own studio]] and went on direct ''[[The Secret of NIMH]]'', ''[[An American Tail]]'', ''[[The Land Before Time (film)|The Land Before Time]]'' and ''[[All Dogs Go To Heaven]]''. [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|The Disney studio]] was almost bankrupted after ''[[The Black Cauldron (film)|The Black Cauldron]]'' bombed at the box office. They began to recover with the modest success of [[Ron Clements]] and [[John Musker]] directed ''[[The Great Mouse Detective]]''. The live-action animated hybrid [[Robert Zemeckis]] directed ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'' co-produced with Steven Spielberg was successful, and the [[Disney Renaissance]] began with ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'', starring [[Jodi Benson]].

Animated films based on popular works include ''[[Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)]]'',  ''[[Heavy Metal (film)|Heavy Metal]]'', ''[[The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985 film)|The Adventures of Mark Twain]]'', ''[[The Care Bears Movie]]'', ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' and ''[[The Chipmunk Adventure]]''; while original films include ''[[The Last Unicorn (film)|The Last Unicorn]]'', ''[[The Plague Dogs (film)|The Plague Dogs]]'', ''[[Rock & Rule]]'', ''[[Fire and Ice (1983 film)|Fire and Ice]]'', ''[[Abra Cadabra (film)|Abra Cadabra]]'', ''[[The Brave Little Toaster]]'', ''[[The BFG (1989 film)|The BFG]]'', and the first Wallace & Gromit film, ''[[A Grand Day Out]]''.

The 1980s also saw a surge of [[Anime|Japanese anime films]]: [[Hayao Miyazaki]]'s ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro]]'' and ''[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film)|Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]'' were successful and led to the foundation of [[Studio Ghibli]], which produced the successful ''[[Castle in the Sky]]'', ''[[My Neighbor Totoro]]'', ''[[Grave of the Fireflies]]'' and ''[[Kiki's Delivery Service]]'' in the 1980s. Other well-known anime films of that decade include ''[[Golgo 13: The Professional]]'', ''[[Macross: Do You Remember Love?]]'', ''[[Lensman (1984 film)|Lensman]]'', ''[[Vampire Hunter D (1985 film)|Vampire Hunter D]]'', ''[[Akira (1988 film)|Akira]]'', ''[[Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland]]'' and the ''[[Urusei Yatsura (film series)|Urusei Yatsura film series]]''. The first theatrical animated franchise, [[List of Doraemon films|the Doraemon film series]] began in 1980 with the release of ''[[Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur]]''.

===Television===
{{Main|1980s in television}}

Music video channel [[MTV]] was launched in the United States in 1981 and had a profound impact on the [[music industry]] and [[popular culture]], especially in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The 1980s was a decade of transformation in television. [[Cable television]] became more accessible and therefore, more popular. By the middle of the decade, almost 70% of the US population had cable television and over 85% were paying for cable services such as [[HBO]] or [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]].<ref>[http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id13.htm The Politics and Pop Culture of the 1980s] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318100759/http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id13.htm |date=2009-03-18 }} The Eighties Club. Retrieved on 2010-03-08</ref> People who lived in rural areas where cable TV service was not available could still access cable channels through a large (and expensive) [[satellite dish]], which, by the mid-1990s, was phased out in favor of the small rooftop dishes that offer [[DirecTV]] and [[Dish Network]] services.

[[CNN]] and [[Bravo (American TV network)|Bravo]] began in 1980; [[Channel 4]], [[Rete 4]] and [[Italia 1]] in 1982; [[RTL (German TV channel)|RTL]] and [[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal+]] in 1984; [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in 1986; [[M6 (TV channel)|M6]] in 1987; [[Turner Network Television]] in 1988; [[CNBC]] and [[ProSieben]] in 1989.

New [[prime-time television|prime-time]] [[soap opera]]s  included ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'', its spin-off ''[[Knots Landing]]'', ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'', ''[[Falcon Crest]]'', ''[[EastEnders]]'' and ''[[Neighbours]]''. Their stars included [[Larry Hagman]], [[Linda Gray]], [[Patrick Duffy]], [[Victoria Principal]], [[John Forsythe]], [[Joan Collins]], [[Linda Evans]] and [[Heather Locklear]].

During the 1980s, sitcoms were popular, including ''[[Bosom Buddies]]'', ''[[Family Ties]]'', ''[[Newhart]]'', ''[[Too Close for Comfort]]'', ''[[The Cosby Show]]'', ''[[Night Court]]'', ''[[Full House]]'', ''[[The Wonder Years]]'' and ''[[Married... with Children]]''. Sitcom ''[[Cheers]]'' starred [[Kirstie Alley]], [[Woody Harrelson]], [[Shelley Long]], [[Rhea Perlman]], [[John Ratzenberger]], [[George Wendt]]. ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]'' starred [[Marilu Henner]], [[Judd Hirsch]], [[Tony Danza]] and [[Andy Kaufman]]. ''[[Who's the Boss?]]'' starred [[Judith Light]] and [[Alyssa Milano]]. ''[[The Golden Girls]]'', was the first comedy ever to feature four older women in title TV roles. ''[[Designing Women]]'' starred [[Dixie Carter]], [[Annie Potts]] and [[Delta Burke]]. [[Marla Gibbs]] starred in ''[[The Jeffersons]]'' and ''[[227 (TV series)|227]]'', which also starred [[Jackée Harry]]. Other sitcoms included [[Growing Pains]] and the British ''[[Blackadder]]'', ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]'', ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'' and ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]''.

Sketch comedy and variety show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' experienced turbulence for much of the 1980s. Its cast members included [[Jim Belushi]], [[Bill Murray]], [[Eddie Murphy]], [[Martin Short]], and [[Julia Louis-Dreyfus]]. Other comedy sketch shows included ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'', ''[[The Kenny Everett Television Show]]'' and the influential and popular ''{{ill|Oretachi Hyokinzoku|ja|オレたちひょうきん族}}'' (sometimes called "We Are Wild and Crazy Guys").<ref>Janet Ashby, "Oretachi Hyokinzoku" in "Time Out Japanese". [[The Japan Times]]. 10 August 1990. No 32878. p 13.</ref>

[[Legal drama]]s included ''[[Matlock (1986 TV series)|Matlock]]'', which starred [[Andy Griffith]] as Matlock,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stransky |first=Tanner  |date=July 3, 2012 |title=Andy Griffith dies |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/07/03/andy-griffith-dies |access-date=May 7, 2018 |website=EW.com}}</ref> and also starred [[Nancy Stafford]] and [[Clarence Gilyard Jr.]] Cop shows included ''[[Dempsey and Makepeace]]'', ''[[Miami Vice]]'', ''[[Cagney & Lacey]]'', ''[[21 Jump Street]]'', ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'' and ''[[The Bill]]''. Other crime shows included ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''. Their stars included [[Don Johnson]], [[Philip Michael Thomas]], [[Tyne Daly]], [[Sharon Gless]], [[Johnny Depp]] and [[Angela Lansbury]].

Science fiction included ''[[Blake's 7]]'', ''[[V (franchise)|V]]'', ''[[Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series)|Buck Rogers]]'', ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' (starring [[Patrick Stewart]]), ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', [[ALF (TV series)|''ALF'']], ''[[Airwolf]]'', ''[[Knight Rider (1982 TV series)|Knight Rider]]'' and ''[[Quantum Leap (1989 TV series)|Quantum Leap]]''. Adventure series included  ''[[The A-Team]]'', ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]'', ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'' and ''[[Remington Steele]]''.

Musicals included ''[[Fame (1982 TV series)|Fame]]''. Television magicians included [[David Copperfield (illusionist)|David Copperfield]] and [[Paul Daniels]]. Stand-up comedians included [[Steven Wright]], [[Andrew Dice Clay]] and [[Sam Kinison]]. Dancers included [[Gregory Hines]].

TV talk shows expanded in popularity; ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' remained popular into its third decade, and some of the most viewed newer shows were hosted by [[Geraldo Rivera]], [[Arsenio Hall]] and [[David Letterman]].<ref>[http://abc80s.com/sunshine80stv.htm An overview on 80s Television] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316165254/http://abc80s.com/sunshine80stv.htm |date=2010-03-16 }} Retrieved on 2010-03-08</ref>

TV documentary shows of the 1980s that were popular included ''[[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]]'', ''[[Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days]]'', ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]'' with [[Robert Stack]], and ''[[Rescue 911]]'' with [[William Shatner]].

The [[Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer]] was watched by an estimated global television audience of 750 million people in 1981.

Scandal rocked TV evangelism when in 1987 evangelist [[Jim Bakker]], founder of [[The PTL Club|PTL]] and [[Heritage USA]], was defrocked for having an [[affair]] years earlier and later sent to prison for [[fraud]]. One year later, evangelist [[Jimmy Swaggart]] was defrocked for allegedly having sexual relations with a [[prostitute]].

The 1980s was prominent for spawning popular animated shows such as ''[[The Smurfs (1981 TV series)|The Smurfs]]'', ''[[ThunderCats (1985 TV series)|ThunderCats]]'', ''[[The Transformers (TV series)|The Transformers]]'', ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!]]'', ''[[Henry's Cat]]'', ''[[Danger Mouse (1981 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]'', ''[[Count Duckula]]'', ''[[Alias the Jester]]'', ''[[Yakari (1983 TV series)|Yakari]]'', ''[[Lucky Luke (1984 TV series)|Lucky Luke]]'', ''[[Heathcliff (1984 TV series)|Heathcliff]]'' ([[Mel Blanc]]'s final series), ''[[Masters of the Universe]]'', ''[[Inspector Gadget (1983 TV series)|Inspector Gadget]]'', ''[[Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983 TV series)|Alvin and the Chipmunks]]'', ''[[Bananaman (TV series)|Bananaman]]'', ''[[Thomas & Friends]]'', ''[[Muppet Babies (1984 TV series)|Muppet Babies]]'', ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', ''[[Babar (TV series)|Babar]]'', ''[[The Raccoons]]'', ''[[DuckTales (1987 TV series)|DuckTales]]'', ''[[Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (TV series)|Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers]]'', ''[[Dennis the Menace (1986 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]'', ''[[M.A.S.K. (TV series)|M.A.S.K.]]'', ''[[Care Bears (TV series)|Care Bears]]'', ''[[Rainbow Brite (1984 TV series)|Rainbow Brite]]'', ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'', ''[[Pingu]]'', ''[[Postman Pat]]'' and ''[[Fireman Sam]]''.

The earliest ''[[The Simpsons shorts]]'' aired on ''[[The Tracey Ullman Show]]'', and the earliest series of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' appeared. In 1980, ''[[Astro Boy (1980 TV series)|Astro Boy]]'' was remade in color. Other anime series from the 1980s include ''[[Wowser (TV series)|Wowser]]'', ''[[Ulysses 31]]'', ''[[The Mysterious Cities of Gold]]'', ''[[Dominion (manga)|Dominion]]'', ''[[Voltron (1984 TV series)|Voltron]]'', ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'', ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'', ''[[Gundam]]'' and ''[[Star Blazers]]''.

===Sports===
{{multiple image
| align             = 
| image1            = Larry Bird Lipofsky.jpg
| alt1              = Bird
| caption1          = 
| image2            = Magic Johnson Steve Lipofsky.jpg
| alt2              = Magic
| caption2          = 
| total_width       = 300
| footer_align      = center
| footer            = [[Larry Bird]] (left) and [[Magic Johnson]], the two most popular NBA players of the 1980s.<ref>{{YouTube|ahUN2g0WyYo|The 80s: SPORTS – A Pop Culture Special}}</ref>
}}

* The [[1980 Summer Olympics]] in Moscow were [[1980 Summer Olympics boycott|boycotted]] by 65 countries led by the United States in protest of the 1979 [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]].
* A young United States team famously defeated the heavily favored Soviet team in the [[Miracle on Ice]] game, and went on to win the gold medal for ice hockey, at the [[1980 Winter Olympics]].
* The [[New York Islanders]] won the [[Stanley Cup]] for 4 straight years in [[1980 Stanley Cup Finals|1980]], [[1981 Stanley Cup Finals|1981]], [[1982 Stanley Cup Finals|1982]], and [[1983 Stanley Cup Finals|1983]]. The Islanders also became the second [[National Hockey League|NHL]] expansion team after the [[Philadelphia Flyers]] to win the Cup. Since their last Cup win in 1983, they were the third NHL team to win 4 consecutive championships and hold the NHL record for most consecutive playoff series' wins at 19 (stretching from the [[1980 Stanley Cup playoffs|1980 Playoffs]] to the [[1984 Stanley Cup Finals|1984 Playoffs]]).
* The [[Edmonton Eskimos]] of the [[Canadian Football League]] won the first three [[Grey Cup]] championships of the decade (having won the last two of the previous decade), adding one more in 1987.
* India won the [[1983 Cricket World Cup]]. Australia won [[1987 Cricket World Cup]].
* The [[1984 Winter Olympics]] were held in [[Sarajevo]], [[Yugoslavia]] (now Sarajevo, [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]). Yugoslavia became the second communist country to host the [[Olympic Games]], but unlike the Soviet Union in 1980, there were no boycotts of the Games by Western countries.
* The [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in Los Angeles were boycotted by the Soviet Union and most of the Communist world (China, Romania, and Yugoslavia participated in the games) in retaliation for the boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow.
* The [[Jamaica national bobsled team]] received major media attention and stunned the world at the [[1988 Winter Olympics]] in [[Calgary|Calgary, Alberta]], Canada for its unexpected good performance. The events surrounding the Jamaica bobsled team in 1988 would lead to the creation of the [[Disney]] movie ''[[Cool Runnings]]'' five years later.
* The [[1988 Summer Olympics]] were held in [[Seoul]], South Korea. Attempts to include North Korea in the games were unsuccessful and it boycotted along with six other countries, but with 160 nations participating, it had the highest attendance of any Olympics to date.
[[File:Audi Sport Quattro S1-E2 Sachs Franken Classic 2018 P5190483.jpg|thumb|[[Audi Sport Quattro]] S1 E2]]
* [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]] banned [[Group B]] [[rallying]] after a series of deaths and injuries took place in the 1986 season.
* Canadian hockey player [[Wayne Gretzky]]'s rise to fame in the NHL coincided with the [[Edmonton Oilers]]' first four Stanley Cup championships ([[1984 Stanley Cup Finals|1984]], [[1985 Stanley Cup Finals|1985]], [[1987 Stanley Cup Finals|1987]], and [[1988 Stanley Cup Finals|1988]]) and becoming the second NHL [[dynasty (sports)|dynasty]] team of the 1980s.
* On 9 August 1988, in what became the biggest trade in NHL history (also known as "The Trade Of The Century"), Wayne Gretzky was traded along with teammates [[Marty McSorley]] and [[Mike Krushelnyski]] from Edmonton to the [[Los Angeles Kings]] in exchange for [[Martin Gélinas]], [[Jimmy Carson]], three first round [[draft (sports)|draft]] picks, and US$15 million cash (approximately $18 million [[Canadian dollar|CAD]] in 1988).
* American basketball player [[Michael Jordan]] joined the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] during the mid-1980s, raising the sport's popularity. He started his [[professional sports|professional]] career alongside the likes of [[Hakeem Olajuwon]], [[Charles Barkley]], [[Alvin Robertson]], and [[John Stockton]] in what is considered one of the greatest drafts in the league's history, the [[1984 NBA draft]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0903/nba.best.draft.classes/content.1.html|title=1984 - NBA's Best Draft Classes - Photos - SI.com|date=May 28, 2011|access-date=27 September 2023|archive-date=January 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112014425/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0903/nba.best.draft.classes/content.1.html|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/2015/news/hca/06/15/the-list-top-five-draft-classes/|title=The List: Top five draft classes in NBA history|website=NBA|author=Joe Boozell|access-date=2016-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621002834/http://www.nba.com/2015/news/hca/06/15/the-list-top-five-draft-classes|archive-date=2016-06-21|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbssports.com/nba/photos/the-best-nba-draft-picks-ever|title=25 of the best NBA Draft picks ever|website=CBSSports.com|date=18 August 2015 |access-date=2016-06-15}}</ref>
* On 26 November 1986, [[Mike Tyson]] became the youngest boxing Heavyweight Champion in history at age 20.
* The [[1980s professional wrestling boom]] was in full effect.
* In 1985, the [[WWE|WWF]] presented the [[WrestleMania I]] at [[Madison Square Garden]] in New York City with an attendance of 19,121.
* In 1987, [[WrestleMania III]] had a record attendance of 93,173, the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America until 2010. This also remained the WrestleMania attendance record until [[WrestleMania 32]] in 2016
* In 1988, the live broadcast of WWF's ''[[The Main Event I]]'' drew a 15.2 [[Nielsen rating]] and 33 million viewers, both records for American televised wrestling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Wrestlemania20/WrestleMania3.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629102306/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Wrestlemania20/WrestleMania3.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2012|title=Steamboat&nbsp;— Savage rule WrestleMania 3|last=Powell|first=John|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=14 October 2007}}</ref>
* West Germany won the [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980 UEFA championship]].
* Italy won the [[1982 FIFA World Cup]] in Spain.
* France hosted and won the [[UEFA Euro 1984|1984 UEFA championship]].
* [[File:Maradona-Mundial 86 con la copa.JPG|thumb|[[Diego Maradona]] raising the [[FIFA World Cup Trophy|World Cup Trophy]] after [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] won the final in 1986]]Argentina won the [[1986 FIFA World Cup]] in Mexico. [[Diego Maradona]] produces the [[Goal of the Century]] and [[the hand of God]] goal.
* The Netherlands won the [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988 UEFA championship]].
* [[Hawthorn Football Club]] dominated Australian football, reaching seven successive VFL Grand Finals and winning the premiership in 1983, 1986, 1988, and 1989
* [[Liverpool F.C.]] were the most successful club side of the era, becoming English champions on six occasions (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1988) and winning two European Cups (1981, 1984). They also won the FA Cup in 1986, completing the first double in their history, and four consecutive [[League Cup]] titles from 1981 to 1984.
* Other highly successful club sides of the 1980s include [[Juventus]] (7 major honours won), [[Real Madrid]] (ten major honours won), [[Bayern Munich]] (nine titles won) [[PSV Eindhoven]] (four times Dutch champions and European Cup winners in 1988), and [[Clube de Regatas do Flamengo|Flamengo]] (four times Brazilian champions, South American and International Cup winners in 1981).
* In the [[National Football League|NFL]], the [[San Francisco 49ers]] became the dynasty of the decade, winning four Super Bowls under the leadership of [[Joe Montana]]; the [[Chicago Bears]] won [[Super Bowl XX]] in January 1986, in which the team has been widely remembered for their [[1985 Chicago Bears season|defense]]; and the [[Washington Redskins]] also enjoyed success throughout the decade, winning two of their three Super Bowls under the leadership of head coach [[Joe Gibbs]].
* [[Magic Johnson]] and [[Larry Bird]] became the two most popular NBA players during the decade while even facing against each other in three [[NBA Finals]] ([[1984 NBA Finals|1984]], [[1985 NBA Finals|1985]], and [[1987 NBA Finals|1987]]) continuing the storied [[Celtics-Lakers rivalry]].
* [[Major League Baseball]] experienced parity and tense championship moments during the decade. The [[Philadelphia Phillies]] won their first World Series championship in [[1980 World Series|1980]], the [[Kansas City Royals]] won their first World Series championship in a dramatic manner in [[1985 World Series|1985]], the [[New York Mets]] won their second World Series championship in [[1986 World Series|1986]] in a dramatic manner, and the [[Minnesota Twins]] won their first World Series in [[1987 World Series|1987]]. The [[1988 World Series|1988]] and [[1989 World Series]] are remembered for [[Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run|Kirk Gibson's home run]] and the [[Loma Prieta Earthquake]], respectively.
* [[Ultimate (sport)|Disc ultimate]] league play is introduced to Canada in 1980 by [[Ken Westerfield]] starting the first [[Ultimate Canada#History|disc ultimate league (TUC)]], in Toronto.

====Sportspeople====
* Athletes: [[Sergey Bubka]], [[Florence Griffith Joyner]], [[Stefka Kostadinova]], [[Carl Lewis]]
* Association footballers: [[Diego Maradona]], [[Michel Platini]], [[Paolo Rossi]], [[Hugo Sánchez]], [[Marco van Basten]], [[Zico (footballer)|Zico]]
* Baseballers: [[Wade Boggs]], [[George Brett]], [[Rickey Henderson]], [[Don Mattingly]], [[Kirby Puckett]], [[Cal Ripken Jr.]], [[Pete Rose]], [[Nolan Ryan]], [[Mike Schmidt]], [[Ozzie Smith]], [[Darryl Strawberry]], [[Fernando Valenzuela]]
* Basketballers: [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]], [[Michael Cooper]], [[Julius Erving]], [[Nick Galis]], [[A.C. Green]], [[Moses Malone]], [[Kevin McHale (basketball)|Kevin McHale]], [[Dražen Petrović]], [[Oscar Schmidt]], [[Byron Scott]], [[Isiah Thomas]], [[Dominique Wilkins]], [[James Worthy]]
* Bowlers: [[Bong Coo]], [[Paeng Nepomuceno]]
* Boxers: [[Roberto Durán]], [[Marvelous Marvin Hagler]], [[Thomas Hearns]], [[Larry Holmes]], [[Sugar Ray Leonard]], [[Aaron Pryor]], [[Michael Spinks]]
* Chess players: [[Garry Kasparov]], [[Anatoly Karpov]]
* Cricketers: [[Wasim Akram]], [[Waqar Younis]]
* Cyclists: [[Greg LeMond]]
* Gymnasts: [[Vladimir Artemov]], [[Dmitry Bilozerchev]], [[Svetlana Boginskaya]], [[Alexander Dityatin]], [[Yuri Korolyov]], [[Li Ning]], [[Yelena Shushunova]], [[Daniela Silivaş]]
* Ice hockey players: [[Mario Lemieux]], [[Mark Messier]]
* NFL players: [[Eric Dickerson]], [[John Elway]], [[Dan Marino]], [[Walter Payton]], [[Jerry Rice]], [[Mike Singletary]], [[Lawrence Taylor]], [[Joe Theismann|Joe Thiesmann]], [[John Riggins]]
* Racing drivers: [[Derek Bell (racing driver)|Derek Bell]], [[Stefan Bellof]], [[Gerhard Berger]], [[Dale Earnhardt]], [[Richard Petty]], [[Juha Kankkunen]] [[Niki Lauda]], [[Nigel Mansell]], [[Didier Pironi]], [[Riccardo Patrese]], [[Nelson Piquet]], [[Alain Prost]], [[Carlos Reutemann]], [[Walter Röhrl]], [[Ayrton Senna]], [[Ari Vatanen]], [[Gilles Villeneuve]], [[Darrell Waltrip]] 
* Motorcyclists: [[Eddie Lawson]], [[Freddie Spencer]]
* Skaters: [[Katarina Witt]], [[Torvill and Dean]].
* Swimmers and divers: [[Matt Biondi]], [[Greg Louganis]], [[Kristin Otto]]
* Tennis players: [[Boris Becker]], [[Jimmy Connors]], [[Stefan Edberg]], [[Chris Evert]], [[Steffi Graf]], [[Ivan Lendl]], [[John McEnroe]], [[Martina Navratilova]], [[Yannick Noah]], [[Mats Wilander]]
* Volleyballers: [[Hugo Conte]], [[Renan Dal Zotto]], [[Karch Kiraly]], [[Lang Ping]], [[Sinjin Smith]], [[Randy Stoklos]], [[Steve Timmons]]
* Wrestlers: [[Hulk Hogan]]

===Video gaming===
{{See also|1980s in video gaming}}

Popular video games include ''[[Pac-Man]]'', ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy (video game)|Final Fantasy]]'', [[Castlevania (1986 video game)|''Castlevania'']], ''[[Metroid (video game)|Metroid]]'', [[Mega Man (1987 video game)|''Mega Man'']], ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'', ''[[Frogger]]'', and ''[[Tetris]]''.
''Pac-Man'' was the first game to achieve widespread popularity in mainstream culture and the first game character to be popular in his own right.

Handheld [[History of video games#First handheld LED/VFD/LCD games|electronic LCD games]] was introduced into the youth market segment. The primary gaming computers of the 1980s emerged in 1982: the [[Commodore 64]] and [[ZX Spectrum]].
[[Nintendo]] finally decided in 1985 to release its Famicom (released in 1983 in Japan) in the United States under the name [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (NES). It was bundled with ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and it suddenly became a success. The NES dominated the American and Japanese market until the rise of the next generation of consoles in the early 1990s, causing some to call this time the ''[[Nintendo era]]''. [[Sega]] released its 16-bit console, [[Mega Drive|Mega Drive/Genesis]], in 1988 in Japan and in North America in 1989.
In 1989, Nintendo released the [[Game Boy]], a monochrome handheld console.
{{Clear}}

<gallery widths="190" perrow="5">
File:PacmanUserbox.gif|The game ''[[Pac-Man]]'' (1980) became immensely popular and an icon of 1980s popular culture
File:Game & Watch WS- Snoopy Tennis.jpg|[[Game & Watch]] was the popular mobile game during the decade until it was replaced in the early 1990s with more advanced [[Game Boy]].
File:Kingman - micro computer game by Tomy.jpg|Micro computer game by [[Tomy]]
</gallery>

===Fashion===
{{Main|1980s in fashion}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1984-1018-012, Berlin, Modeausblick.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A German couple in 1985]]
The beginning of the decade saw the continuation of the clothing styles of the [[1970s in fashion|late 1970s]] and evolved into [[heavy metal fashion]] by the end. However,  fashion became more extravagant during the 1980s. The 1980s included  teased and colourfully dyed hair, ripped jeans, neon clothing and many colours and different designs which at first were not accepted.

Significant hairstyle trends of the 1980s include the [[Perm (hairstyle)|perm]], the [[Mullet (haircut)|mullet]], the [[Jheri curl]], the [[hi-top fade]], [[big hair]] and the [[Seiko-chan cut]].

Significant clothing trends of the 1980s include [[Shoulder pads (fashion)#1980s|shoulder pads]], [[Denim|jean jackets]], [[leather]] pants, leather [[aviator jacket]]s, [[jumpsuit]]s, [[Members Only (fashion brand)|Members Only jackets]], [[Slim-fit pants#The 1980s|skin-tight acid-washed jeans]], [[Izod Lacoste]] and "preppy" [[polo shirt]]s, [[leggings]] and [[leg warmer]]s (popularized in the film ''[[Flashdance]]''), off-the-shoulder shirts, and cut sweatshirts (popularized in the same film).

[[Miniskirt]]s returned to mainstream fashion in the mid-1980s after a ten-year absence, mostly made of [[denim]] material. From that point on, miniskirts and minidresses have remained in mainstream fashion to this day.

Makeup on the 1980s was aggressive, shining and colourful. Women emphasised their lips, eyebrows and cheeks with makeup. They used much [[Rouge (cosmetics)|blush]] and [[Eye liner|eyeliner]].

Additional trends of the 1980s include athletic [[headband]]s, [[Ray-Ban Aviator]] sunglasses (popularized in the film ''[[Top Gun]]''), [[Ray-Ban Wayfarer|Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses]] (popularized in the films ''[[Risky Business]]'' and ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]'' and the TV series ''[[Miami Vice]]'') and [[Swatch watch]]es. Girls and women also wore jelly shoes, large crucifix necklaces, and brassieres all inspired by Madonna's "[[Like a Virgin (song)|Like a Virgin]]" music video.

The [[New Romantic]] movement was a British style in fashion and music influenced by futurist [[disco]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|title=London Calling: What's Next as the New Romantics Fade Away?|last=Loder|first=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Loder|date=10 November 1983|quote=Midge Ure and Billy Currie, of Ultravox, the seminal New Romantic band, cranked out the cool, new Eurodisco sounds that oiled the scene.|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/london-calling-52852/}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|title=Dress Right!|last=Loder|first=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Loder|date=23 July 1981|quote=Midge, Rusty and Steve weren't discouraged; they had already hatched a plan to recruit some of their favorite musicians from other bands and record a whole album of electro-disco tracks.|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/dress-right-67985/5/}}</ref>

<gallery widths="190px" perrow="5">
File:Thompson-twins-tom2.jpg|[[Tom Bailey (musician, born 1956)|Tom Bailey]] of the [[Thompson Twins]] in 1986 with the trendy [[Big hair]] style achieved with liberal applications of [[Hair mousse|mousse]] and hairspray
File:RayBanAviator.jpg|[[Ray-Ban]] sunglasses
File:1980s fashion - acid-washed jeans.jpeg|Trendy 1980s pleated acid-washed jeans
File:Cher live 1981.jpg|Globally popular musician and actress [[Cher]] was a prominent fashion icon of the era
File:Journalist Lucy Morgan with video camera and phone (7026619371).jpg|Journalist [[Lucy Morgan]] holding one of the first brick mobile phones, as well as a 1980s video camera
File:Vintage Care Bears Character Watch By Bradley Time, Manual Wind, Copyright 1983 By American Greetings (16846118291).jpg|In the 1980s, [[Care Bears]] were popular for children and seen on greeting cards, clothing items, accessories and other merchandise.
File:Mournblade, London Hammersmith odeon 1988.jpg|Heavy metal fashion, like this worn [[Mournblade (band)|Mournblade]], emerged in the 1980s, inspired by bands like [[Metallica]].
</gallery>

===Toys===
The [[Rubik's Cube]] became a popular fad throughout the decade. Toys include [[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]].

<gallery widths="190px" perrow="5">
File:Rubik-Wuerfel.jpg|[[Rubik's Cube]] was a popular toy during the decade
</gallery>

===Cultural start and end of the decade===
Some sources claim the existence of a "long 1980s".<ref>Jelfs. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Uj619QZyMi4C The Argument about Things in the 1980s]. 2018. p 7.</ref><ref>Connell. Black Handsworth. 2019. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nHt8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false p 5].</ref> Dates given include, for example, mid 1970s to early 1990s,<ref>Ezcurra. Touched Bodies. 2019. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5T-DEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false p 5].</ref> 1976 to 1993<ref>[https://www.thetimes.com/magazines/the-sunday-times-magazine/article/photographing-1980s-britain-pictures-from-the-tates-new-show-gb7fbl9lz Photographing 1980s Britain]. The Sunday Times Magazine. 10 November 2024.</ref> or 1994,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/nov/19/the-80s-photographing-britain-review-tate-britain The 80s: Photographing Britain review]. The Guardian. 19 November 2024.</ref> and 1979 to 1990<ref>{{cite web | last=Cowley | first=Jason | title=The 1980s: 'England was convulsed by a social and political revolution' | website=the Guardian | date=2009-04-18 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/19/1980s-cultural-history | access-date=2025-02-26}}</ref> or 1991<ref>Davis. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cnGPDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT9#v=onepage&q&f=false "Introduction"]. The Global 1980s. 2019.</ref> or after 2000.<ref>La Berge. Scandals and Abstraction. 2015.[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HYMjBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false p 5].</ref>

The [[Chicago Sun-Times]] declared the 1977 ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' as the first movie of the eighties.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kramer |first=Peter |editor-last=Tasker |editor-first=Yvonne |date=2004-08-19 |title=The Action and Adventure Cinema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKOBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA366 |publisher=Routledge |page=366 |isbn=9781134564941 |quote=For the Chicago Sun-Times it was immediately clear that Star Wars heralded a new era; it was '[t]he first movie of the 1980s'}}</ref> A shift in television happened in the late 1970s as well: of the top shows considered to be "shows of the 1980s", more began 1978{{ndash}}1979 than began 1980{{ndash}}1981.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/list/80s-shows-ranked |title=The 80 Best TV Shows of the 1980s |last=Jackson |first=Josh |date=2024-04-01 |work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |access-date=2024-07-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cullen |first=Jim |date=2023 |title=1980: America's Pivotal Year |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TuWCEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA113 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |page=113 |quote=[Dallas, begun in 1978,] was at the leading edge of cultural change |isbn=9781978831179}}</ref> 1977 also saw<ref>{{cite AV media |date=2024-08-21 |title=The Great Timeline of Consoles: 25 Years of Retro Gaming (1977-2006) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AirDZX4HIk |access-date=2024-08-21 |quote=1977 marked the beginning of the golden age, not only for computers with the Apple II, but also for consoles}}</ref> the introduction of [[ROM]] cartridge-based [[video game console]]s, with the Atari Video Computer System, the [[Fairchild Channel F]], and the [[Bally Astrocade]], as well as seeing the introduction of the first [[Mass production|mass-produced]] home computers, with the Apple II, the [[TRS-80]], and the [[Commodore PET]].

Some consider the 1980s to have ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989,<ref>Laist. The '80s Resurrected. 2023. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Hy-zEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false p 1].</ref> or with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.<ref>C Jon Delogu. Fascism, Vulnerability, and the Escape from Freedom. 2022. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ObWbEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA228#v=onepage&q&f=false p 228].</ref> Reagan's last day in office 20 January 1989, marked the "end of an era".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/88-facts-summer-1988/ |title=88 Facts About the Summer of 1988 |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=ultimateclassicrock.com |date=15 August 2023 |access-date=2024-06-12 |quote=You could see the end of an era in 1988 – the '90s were visible on the horizon; the Reagan presidency was winding down; retirement was looming for Dirty Harry; Bruce Springsteen's marriage ended; the great Louis L'Amour went to the big second-hand bookstore in the sky. Accepted norms were falling. MTV put a hip-hop show on its regular schedule – unthinkable not so long before}}</ref> Music saw a change, with the premier of ''[[Yo! MTV Raps]]'' on 6 August 1988. On the religious front, 1988 also saw the "unraveling of the decade's conservative dominance" with the release of ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|The Last Temptation of Christ]]'' and the three [[Televangelism|televangelist]] scandals of [[Jim Bakker#PTL|Jim Bakker]], [[Jimmy Swaggart#1988 prostitution scandal|Jimmy Swaggart]], and [[Oral Roberts#Ministry and university|Oral Roberts]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Grist |first=Leighton |date=2013-01-30 |title=The Films of Martin Scorsese, 1978-99: Authorship and Context II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8eNDTy4M9QC&pg=PA182 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |page=182 |isbn=9781137302045}}</ref> The years 1988–1993 were a cultural bridge between the politically conservative 1980s and the [[History of the World Wide Web|Internet boom]] of the 1990s, which was kicked off by the release of [[Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic]] in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://brentellesmith.medium.com/dark-neon-the-neighties-277321460b0f |title=Dark Neon: The Neighties: A Micro-Era Invisible to the Cultural Eye |last=Smith |first=Brent |date=2023-05-18 |publisher=[[Medium (website)|Medium]] |access-date=2024-06-12}}</ref>

==Legacy==
There is [[1980s nostalgia]] in Germany, [[Shōwa nostalgia|Japan]], the UK, the US and elsewhere.

==See also==
{{Portal|1980s|History}}
* [[List of decades, centuries, and millennia]]
* [[1980s in fashion]]
* [[1980s in music]]
* [[1980s in television]]
* [[1980s in video gaming]]
* [[1980s literature]]
* [[Hairstyles in the 1980s]]
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

===Timeline===
The following articles contain timelines for each year of the decade:

[[1980]] • [[1981]] • [[1982]] • [[1983]] • [[1984]] • [[1985]] • [[1986]] • [[1987]] • [[1988]] • [[1989]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category}}
* Batchelor, Bob, and Scott F. Stoddart. ''The 1980s'' (American Popular Culture Through History) (2006)
* Berman, Milton and Tracy Irons-Georges, eds. ''The Eighties in America'' (2008), an encyclopedia
* Ehrman, John. ''The eighties: America in the age of Reagan'' (Yale University Press, 2005).
* Grant, James. ''Money of the Mind: How the 1980s Got That Way'' (1994)
* Grimes, William. ed. ''The New York Times The Times of the Eighties The Culture, Politics, and Personalities that Shaped the Decade'' (2013)
* New York Times. ''New York Times Film Reviews: Best Picture Picks from the 1980s by The New York Times'' (2013)
* Sirota, David. ''Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live in Now—Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything'' (2011) [https://books.google.com/books?id=PBpztbG9EQAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Back+intitle:to+intitle:Our+intitle:Future&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwipuev-vvSJAxXelokEHUw2MD8Q6AF6BAgIEAI online] h
* Stanfill, Sonnet. ''80s Fashion: From Club to Catwalk'' (2013), 160pp
* Stewart, Graham. ''Bang! A History of Britain in the 1980s'' (2013)
* Turner, Alwyn. ''Rejoice, Rejoice!: Britain in the 1980s'' (2010)
{{Events by month links}}
{{20th century}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1980s| ]]
[[Category:20th century]]