What is it that makes the 80s so unique and outstanding?
If you are one of these people that grew up in this decade, you know exactly the answer. Looking at the big picture, it was a glorious time decade for itself. People took advantage of the advantages and enjoyed life. It is obvious that the 80s were moving, thanks to great pop culture including one of the best movies, TV shows, music, video games and clothes. The entertainment industry was booming and especially this decade is associated with nostalgia and memories, which continue to live on.
Let’s have a look at the greatest decade and go back in time…
Movies
Would you consider the 80s as the golden era of movies? It’s hard to tell, compared to other ones, because there are numerous of great movies. One thing for sure is, that the biggest blockbusters and trilogies were released.
Star Wars was released in 1977 but reached its momentum and took shape in the 80s with Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back.
Steven Spielberg was also playing a huge part in it, that’s why the Era is also called the “Spielberg era” in the movie universe. Classics like ET (the highest money maker), Indiana Jones movies, and The Goonies are the most popular ones.
Another all-time favourite is Back to the future and its sequels, which combined the best elements of time travelling with futurism.
We could go on and on about all the glorious movies, but some other epic movies from that decade are Ghostbusters, Batman, and Gremlins.
Music
The 80s brought us a new variety of music along with new genres. Until then, most of the music was more rock-based. Heavy metal was popular in the 70s, pop music used to be always in the mix, but the 1980s brought us new vibes, categories, and variations that haven’t been heard before. One more reason why the 80s are the greatest decade. It’s impossible to sum it up in a paragraph by reason of so many great artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna. It was the era that introduced us to a new genre called “Hip-Hop”. Later, New Wave music and Devo were invented. House music and Punk rock became bigger, as well as Death Metal. Classic bands like Queen and the Rolling Stones still featured and found a new generation of audience.
In 1981 MTV was launched and became a game-changer in the music industry. It was a whole new medium that artists and bands had to get used to. Unlike today, real money was made with album sales. Here are some top-selling albums: Pink Floyd “The Wall” (1980), Michael Jackson “Thriller” (1983), and Bobby Brown “Don’t be cruel” (1989).
The 80s are also a decade where you sit on your bed with your tape deck listening to the radio. This leads us to…
Mixtapes
In the 80s there was no such thing as MP3, Spotify, or Apple Music. The mixtape used to be everybody’s darling. If you wanted to capture a song, you would have to sit by your tape deck and wait for the next song to play. You would call radio stations to request a specific song.
This was also the decade of a dual cassette tape deck, which means that you could copy tapes and create your own playlists. If there was a tape that you wanted, you could just borrow it and make a copy onto a blank one, and it was yours. A collection of cassettes made it possible to create their own compilations, and the mixtape was born. Call it the 80s version of a love letter, which makes it even more unique. The effort of putting meaningful songs together and giving them to a person you like. The effort is the same as for writing letters.
Spotify allows us to do that today, but that doesn’t take that much effort in comparison with a mixtape, which took commitment and work. That’s exactly what made it so special – the effort.
Video Games
In the early 80s, there was a phase where video games died and no one was interested in new productions. Atari ruled at the beginning, but then the video game crashed in 1983. A few video games were released, and Atari was powerless against them. The result was a ton of garbage video games that flooded the market.
These failures turned off gamers from playing them, and they became more interested in new home computers. In a short period of time, the video game industry went from 2 billion dollars down to 100 million. Time went by until the Japanese company Nintendo had moved from trading cards into electronics and video games. In 1986, they finally released the Nintendo Entertainment System, which became a best-selling console, and changed the gaming industry forever. Top-selling video games of the 80s were Super Mario Bros, Tetris, and others. Not to forget the ultimate retro game, Pac-Man, which is one of the longest-running games from the age of arcade. It remains as popular today, and the original games are still available on classic gaming machines and modern consoles.
Since Technology has emerged, online and mobile gaming are mainstream. There is a various selection of games and most of the gamers prefer to stream it. Also, retro games like fruit slots that you can play for free are still popular, that’s why you can find them on diverse online platforms. One breakthrough is that they are not just available on computers, but also on notebooks, tablets, and mobile phones. Most of the slot games can be played for free without any registration, which makes them simple and uncomplicated.
However, the video game industry is booming more than ever, and we wouldn’t get this far without all the inventions from different decades.
All in all, many influences from the 80s are still holding up – especially movies, music, and video games. Today, these things hit differently and give us flashbacks coupled with nostalgic feelings. The 80s are back like they never have left. Old-school mode on!
