What did the 80's mean to you?

Basically just a run down of 80's culture that should spark a good convo for people

As many of us get older we sometimes have a tendency to forget where we came from. In doing so we can lose sight of what's made us who we are. Our childhood experiences mold us into the adults we become on levels we don't always realize or understand.

The 1980's has been dubbed the lost decade. Apparently the 80's was a time with no significant cultural or political contributions to the world. I have to disagree with that claim. So looking back in retrospect let's see just how "lost" the 80's really were.

The 1980's produced some of the most innovative entertainment of all time, helped to define patriotism for Americans during the Cold War, and saw Michael Jackson the king of Pop rewrite how the music industry did business, and the personal computer or PC was born.

How many of you remember when Michael Jackson's Thriller debuted? it was an 18 minute mini movie and music video. I remember watching it with popcorn like it was a horror flick on HBO. Speaking of HBO how many of us used to turn HBO on after 8pm in hopes of getting a boobie shot in some R rated movie without getting caught by our parents?

Have you noticed lately that more and more women and teen girls are wearing leggings? Correct me if I am wrong but leggings were the FAD in the 80's. Girls had over sized bright colored sweatshirts with ridiculously large belts worn over the sweatshirt, leggings, and of course color coordinated scrunchy socks to match the sweatshirt!

What other 80's spawned fashion trends are back with a vengeance? The Polo Shirt. In the 80's the Polo Shirt was worn by Yuppies and Nerds alike. Today we see the Polo Shirt being worn by of course Yuppies, and college Frat Boys with their collars up like Fonzie. The Polo Shirt was an 80's inspired FAD.

For all you metal heads out there this should bring back memories. Guys do you remember that one pair of black or stone washed blue jeans with the huge moth holes in the knees? Yeah I do too and today in 2010 we see the "EMO" kids wearing the exact same type jeans only we made ours and they bought theirs. And how about companies like Affliction Clothing? You see all the MMA, Strikeforce, Tapout, and WWE Superstars wearing their clothes. The T-shirts are modeled after 80's style Rock Concert Shirts with graphics of skulls, Norse mythological character types, and hip sayings. Some of their most popular jeans come weathered and ripped in the knees, and upper leg "quad" area.

The list goes on and on but for the sake of not harping on clothing I'll progress to our next memorable moment.

Movies in the 1980's gave us some of the most beloved of all time. Indiana Jones, Back To The Future, The Goonies, The Monster Squad, The Breakfast Club, Gremlins, A Christmas Story, National Lampoons Vacation, Police Academy and more... list some if you can think them up. Star Wars doesn't make the list ONLY because the original was filmed in 1978, and Star Trek was originally a 1960's TV show, the movies were 1980's films but the series dates back some 20 years earlier. Star Wars would have been in my top 3 as a KID in the 80's though. How many of us dressed like Indiana Jones and had our little adventures in the backyard? Who didn't have Star Wars or Smurfs bed sheets? Everyone owned a Luke Skywalker figure and Boobie Traps became an inside joke that our parents could never figure out... Thank you Data for those hysterical pronunciations. SLOTH LOVE CHUNK!

And how about the good old Cold War? Who remembers Ronald Reagan and Mikel Gorbachev? I certainly do. Grumman, the company the produced the F-14 Tomcat made famous in another 80's flick Top Gun is literally 2 blocks from my house here on Long Island. I remember the Cold War vividly because my friend's parents and neighbors worked for Grumman building the F-14. Saturday mornings we would hear and see the E2-C Hawkeye Early Radar Warning Aircraft fly directly over my house. It was literally 60 feet above the house and everything shook as it passed by overhead. After Saturday Morning Cartoons were over and we'd get our Mongoose BMX bikes out for a ride you could hear Grumman testing the F-14 Engines. It was a time when you felt safe, were proud to be an American, and of course just loved the F-14 Tomcat because it was one Sick Fighter Jet. I cannot tell you how many times I saw that jet being transported in sections out east to Grumman's Calverton Plant on flatbed trucks, on their way to the final assembly lines. What a sight it was. And let me tell ya, when they flew overhead you flew out the door for a glimpse of them.

Do you remember when Reagan and Gorbachev made peace between the USSR "CCCP" and the USA? Do you remember when the BERLIN WALL came down? 1989 baby! The fall of the Berlin Wall was a monumental end to a relic of post World War 2 Germany. That's history in the making for certain and it belongs to the 1980's.

Who remembers the Nuclear Reactor meltdown at Chernobyl? We weren't allowed to go outside for 2 days after school because people were afraid the radioactive contaminants in the air made it across the Atlantic to New York. This was the worst Nuclear disaster in WORLD history.

There is just so much to mention about the 80's that literally made us who we are as people. I wouldn't trade living in the 80's for anything, in fact if Doc Brown ever did make a time machine that's exactly where I'd be going.

But then I think about this statement for a moment and I realize something. At 35 if went back to my beloved 80's would they be as wonderful to me now being an adult OR would I see that in many respects the world hasn't changed all that much? It's interesting to ponder but I have come up with this.....

The 80's are so special to me because I was a kid then, when you still had the imagination and the ability to think anything was possible. As a child we have this innocent ignorance about us, not knowing or caring about the pressures and responsibilities that adult life brings. Who honestly cared about taxes, health care, honest wages for hard work, etc as a kid? I don't think these things took precedence over what He-Man figure I wanted, or when the next episode of the Dukes of Hazzard was on. So in that, the mind of a child, the 80's was and is a wondrous place that we all would love to revisit BUT as adults may see through very different eyes.

God, I love my 80's

Comments

Recently I had a real sit down with some friends from school that I grew up with, I'm talking 1st grade through High School.

The 80's came up and that conversation lasted the entire night. I put 80's on 8 on Sirius Satellite Radio, and we just kept going, memory after memory. Here in Bethpage NY we all lived directly around Grumman, which is the contractor that created and built the F-14 Tomcat featured in none other than Top Gun. I cannot tell you the things that flew around that table in the yard! Amazing stuff to remember.

In conclusion we all came to one unanimous thing we all agreed on... We didn't know just how good we truly had it. We were the LAST generation to NOT be corrupted by technology so to speak. We played OUTSIDE, we GOT DIRTY, we went on adventures on our bikes trying to purposely get LOST to find our ways home. We didn't lock the front door and in the summer stayed out late NOT because we were delinquents BUT because we could because it was SAFE.

Cell phones, Beepers, the Internet simply weren't there to make the world a smaller place and when you left the house and got 1 block away from your house YOU WERE ON YOUR OWN! We learned through real life trial and error and the occasional school of hard knocks, we had a freedom that just isn't there today; an innocent freedom to explore the world by getting out in it.

I watch kids today, my own nephew is a great example. They aren't outside playing they are in the house ON A COMPUTER OR A VIDEO GAME. And when they are outside they're sitting on a rock or a curb ON THEIR CELL PHONES! 12 year olds on cell phones...... that's sick.

Kids need to be allowed to be kids. They grow up MUCH faster now a days.
We were the last generation to simply be kids and do the things kids did until we hit our teens and started changing into adults. We HELD ONTO being a kid for as long as we could, although some of us tried frantically to grow up lol, we still has that kid inside us that came out when adults were not around.

I don't know... call me crazy if need be.... but being a kid meant something for much longer back then. The memories that rush back to me every time I come on this site and begin responding to all of your AWESOME posts floods me like a reservoir behind a dam and begs to overflow into my responses BUT if I did that I would have written an autobiography by the time I was done.

Amazing the 80's were. For me, the absolute best time of my life, those are my golden years. And as a 36, almost 37 year old man writing this I have to take a moment to digress and reflect on what I just said... those were my golden years. You know, that is a HEAVY statement to make and an even more heavy concept to accept to a degree.

BUT as with anything else there is still a BRIGHT FUTURE ahead for all of us so long as we forever stay Toys R Us kids, NEVER allow our memories to fade, act like a child every now and again whenever we get the chance to, and, as Yoda said to Luke... "Pass on what you have learned"

Amazing response. You pretty much nailed exactly how I have been feeling lately. I'm 33 now, so I was pretty young in the 80's. I believe it was my golden age too. I have a 1 year old son, I want him to "get lost" like I used to. I forgot about what it was like to live before cell phones. You really were own your own when you walked a block or two away, and that was exciting. I used to ride my bike all over town and play in the woods behind my house with my friends for hours - I was always to come home before sundown for dinner though. Then, when I would arrive home, Star Trek would be on TV in the den. The freedom we had is what made growing up special. Technology did ruin all of that, and I'm beginning to realize it's a larger price to pay than we realize. We didn't know how good we had it.

Being in my early 30s the 70s were gone and I was getting older..
got divorced and started dating younger women. Looking back at it now things were not as bad as I thought. Me or the times. Heck wish I could go back. I was in the best shape of my life. (I was fighting in the PKA) Dating girls 10-15 years younger, making more money then I had ever made (Firefighter) I had it made. LOL

Galactusgirl:

Now ain't it funny how those games look SO HORRIBLE today but yet we were absolutely hooked on them!? LOL, I still have my Atari 2600 and 7200 and a TON of games. Compared to games I play NOW, these are like Dinosaurs and yet for a good game I am still HOOKED lol.

NowhereMan1966:

Chernobyl..... there was so much fear about where the radioactive "cloud" was traveling. Now to this day they say that some of that "cloud" did reach the US Eastern Seaboard, others state it never made it across the Atlantic.
Oddly enough however, WATER seems to break down the radioactivity somehow. Now if it did make it over the Atlantic there may have been Tropical Storms out there that would have reacted with the cloud, thus nullifying much of the dangerous radioactivity. We'll never really know I suppose.

I remember our TV, the type that looked like a piece of furniture and not like a TV, I think it was called Cabinet TV's. Ours was an RCA, and I just recently stumbled across pics of the remote control our TV had. I was stupefied lol, and was hypnotized seeing it again after all these years. Amazing how one image can spark such wonderful memories!

I was a teen at the beginning of the 1980's. I remember when Thriller came out, we just got our new TV, a 1982 Zenith and I still use it to this very day. A quick note about Chernobyl, I was 19 then, was up on the roof of my house putting on new shingles so if there was radioactive stuff up there, I got it. B-)

The 80s meant alot for me. First of all, the cartoons. We had a variety of action cartoons, classics like He-Man, Thundercats, G.I.Joe, Real Ghostbusters and the Disney cartoons like Ducktales, Tailspin,etc. And there's the music. I love 80s music. Micheal Jackson was at his golden age at that time. And there's the movies as well. Ghostbusters is my favorite 80s film. And of course, all the 8-bit video games. Video games were the best back then.

mikefal:

Mike, the 90's were a tough decade in the sense that it was a rapid transition decade in terms of technology. Technology on all fronts transitioned in the 90's from a past time to becoming THE WAY the world does well.... EVERYTHING. The Internet became mainstream in the 90's, the PC and the Cell Phone became household appliances, cable TV took leaps and bounds in the availability of diversified programming which dedicated channels to genres, EX: Cartoon Network, Food network, History Channel, Nat Geo, we have a channel for pretty much EVERYTHING now, and the Internet and it's ridiculously rapid expansion and popularity has made the world a MUCH MUCH smaller place.

We used to have to actually leave the house to run errands. The 90's saw the transition from physically doing to logging onto the computer and simply ordering it, EVEN food shopping is done online now.

And computers have redefined how Corporate America does business. EVERYTHING is ONLINE now. That transition took place in the 90's.

The expansion of technology ran wild in the 90's. It truly changed human history. It changed how we as a species interact with the world around us. That is a POWERFUL thing, and for many a confusing time. So we have to cut the 90's some slack, it wasn't a horrible decade just a very busy one that holds the burden of MASSIVE change to the Human Condition that ultimately has shaped our culture and society of today.

Jadaqwest:

You just touched on something that I never mentioned and needs to be, AND you deserve the credit for it.

Family time and Childhood Christmas!

Family did seem closer then, I have to fully agree with you there. Now this could be because I am single and never married with no kids to pass down certain traditions OR because the people and family that were there and made childhood so great have slowly over the years passed away and there are less "loved ones" around, OR a combination of the 2.

But CHRISTMAS...... Christmas back then was literally a magical time, and I feel that this was LARGELY because of Saturday Morning Cartoons. I'll tell you why I feel this way....

As I have stated numerous times before in the 80's a kid's whole existence seemed to revolve around 2 things, summer vacation and Saturday Morning Cartoons. An 80's kid's week revolved around Saturday Mornings. That was THE DAY we waited for all week. Our day devoted to us beginning with our beloved cartoons and then the rest of the day was ours to seize because we had no school. Also Saturday morning Cartoons gave us the topics of discussion amongst friends much like popular prime time shows and politics become topics of major discussion with adults.

Saturday was OUR day and the TV Stations and TOY companies knew it. So as we all know TV Commercials geared towards kids in the 80's were monumental marketing events. As a good example look at the old Toys R Us animated commercials. These commercials were BIG BUSINESS! They're what brought the sales after they hooked a kid into wanting that "new" toy, the new "fad". The commercials drove the holiday sales. And I don;t know about any of you BUT I watched those commercials like a HAWK to see what new cool toys were coming out. And also what about those McDonald's commercials!? McDonald's became a household name because their marketing strategy was brilliant concerning kids. McDonald's made some of the BEST commercials, granted I hate their food now BUT as a kid it was THE place to go. HAPPY MEALS ALL AROUND! lol

So Christmas was special. Corporate America took full advantage of Saturday Morning Cartoons and we were all hooked. But this only added to the excitement of Christmas. Now a days kids have dedicated cartoon channels, 24-7, 365. It's an over saturation of a good thing in my opinion. 80's kids and earlier generations didn't have that. We had Saturday mornings, and the before and after school cartoons, THAT WAS IT until the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon came out, and even they were diverse and not 24-7 cartoons.

Christmas holds a special place in any child's heart. The wonderment of Santa coming, the songs, the decorations, etc still captivate children's imaginations. It still has that appeal and always will BUT I don't really know if it is as personal as it was for all children 1980's and earlier. Being that our favorite things were limited to us those things became ritual, they became a fabric of our lives that we wouldn't give up for anything. That more personal connection made it so special in my opinion. Remember it wasn't just us, ALL TV Stations were on board with this, they understood it and realized that Saturday Mornings was the culmination of the child's week which was a VASTLY different world then the adult week. Their programming helped to solidify our childhood habits and culture. That same focus on kids and their lives is not as centralized as it was then.

Sometimes less truly is more. When you are over exposed to something it can lose it's luster quickly BUT when you know that you only this "thing", whatever that "thing" may be, and you know you can only get so much of it, that captures you, draws you in, and makes those experiences that much more memorable.

I feel bad for the kids of today. Sure they have a billion cool gadgets we didn't have. Sure they have the internet and dedicated cartoon channels just for them. But again in the end, they have so much exposure to it do we really think they have the same intimate connections that we have? I think it is safe to say that they are missing out on that side of life.

Some people rip the 80's because they didn't experience it period!! You want to trash the 80's detox what era are you from the douchebag 90's!!

I miss the 80s so so much,mostly cause of family time/childhood xmas it was the best heman 83,transformers,gi joe 84,thundercats 85,nintendo 88,tmnt 87 these kids nowadays dont have a clue it was the last great era to which seems like its been meshed with todays styles just look at how 20 and younger dress not to sound like an old man cause i was born in 79 but i really really miss the 80s badly!!!!!

Detox:

Yeah I agree some of the fashion styles were pretty bad to put it nicely lol

An era with horrible style. Somewhat decent music and I'm glad I never grew up in the 80's.

Chokeslam:

LOL I'm with you man, I don't see how anyone could argue against the contributions of the 1980's. The 80's paved the way for the technology age, both Apple Computers and Microsoft began in the 80's as well as numerous computer and software manufacturers. Activision, one of the largest video game producers also from the 80's. Too much to list.

BUT I will be posting a new article soon... The Foods and Toys of the 80's! AND YES people they'll be more pics then u might want to look at LOL

Yes, many world changing events did occur in the 80's but even at the pop-cultural level the 80's has made it contributions. The 80's saw the birth of The Transformers which inspired several spinoff series throughout the 90's and 00's as well as two successful hollywood movies. And how many 80's bands are featured on modern video game systems via Guitar Hero and Rock Band? Then or course the 80's launched the careers of Madonna and Michael Jackson, two musical icons who's success and impact may just rival that of Elvis Presley and The Beatles. A decade that was a mish mash of fad? I think they are confusing the 80's with the 90's. A decade that is bland and transparent? I think they are confusing the 80's with the 00's.

Thank you to EVERYONE that posted on the article regardless of view. The article was an attempt to get us engaged in taking a moment while sitting at our computers in a technology driven world to take a step back for a second and reminisce about a better time, a simpler time.

At the same time however it was to justify that the 80's contributed plenty which is evident in all of your memories that you've shared with us in this post.

I was born in 1975, so in 1980 I was 5 years old, and had the opportunity to be just old enough to get the full 1980's experience. I fondly remember my late 70's experiences as well but it was the 80's that molded me, just like so many of you.

Too often we forget the things that make us who we are, it's out of sight out of mind. I try not to forget. I embrace the cheesy, corny stuff that made the 80's so great. I have Sirius XM Radio... Hair Nation the 80's rock band channel is one of my favorites, as well as 80's on 8.

This is a part of WHO we are as individuals, and as a generation. The happenings in the 1980's make us unique among other generations because we share this commonality together. that can be said for ALL generations of course BUT it sure is nice to have dialogue with like minded people.

So in closing, THANK YOU all for sharing your memories of the 80's. Thanks for contributing to this post and to the site. You guys are a HUGE part of what makes this site so awesome!

slamdawg9:

When Challenger exploded we were also watching it on TV live in school. I'll never forget it, what a tragedy. The Space Shuttle Missions were a HUGE deal, you are correct. NASA was at an all time high, and Space really is the final frontier.

ZebraDonkey:

SAPCE ACE AND DRAGON'S LIAR! OH MY GOD LOL YES I REMEMBER THAT! 80's Arcades how could I forget, I mean that's what the HQ for Tron was based in.. FLYNN'S ARCADE!

See this si what this article was about, getting people to express their love for the 80's and why.

OK OK I ADMIT I coulda added some pictures, next time will do, this is the 1st article I wrote without pictures.

chokeslam:

Many have argued that the 1980's contributed nothing in terms of style and culture, that it was a mish mosh of "fads". Meanwhile the reality is the 1980's had so many prevalent events take place in it that some of them changed the face of history.... Ronald Reagan ending the Cold War, contributing to the fall of the USSR, and bringing down the Berlin Wall for instance.

In some circles it is argued that the 8's were bland and transparent. I guess it's a matter of perspective.

mysticwryter:

Yes I heard about the Reactor tours. There are areas in and around Chernobyl that do have LIMITED excursions into the "HOT ZONE". Crazy to think people are going to willingly venture into areas with HIGH radiation, but I gotta tell ya the thought is tempting. Just to see this time capsule must be awe inspiring, not to mention it is a part of history.

I was born in 85' so I only enjoyed the 80s from a Sesame Street point of view. My earliest recollections are things that were held-over from the 80's before the 90s had anything notable to contribute.

If I could return, with out a doubt I would go right now. The 80s were the best years of American life. Being a teenager in the early 80s was great. People had hope an promise both young and old. In those days you could actually talk to real people.

BobbieLou2, I totally agree with your comment!! The 80's had an innocence that's lacking in the culture of today. For example, with the commercials of the 80's there was a happy catchy jingle for everything! Today most commercials lack that fun and creativity.

I too remember the premiere of Thriller on MTV! I actually had a big note on my fridge as a reminder not to miss it! Thanks! Oh, and I still dress like Indiana Jones! LOL

I wish I could have seen many of these movies in my childhood but my parents were too poor to witness ana ge gradually passing. While I only witnessed Superman III and Big, others saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Goonies, and Back to the Future. Trust me, I wish I could have realized the fullest 80's experience I could, but I understand what it stated: excess, adventure, daring, the attempt to make the dream real. I watched Punky, I played Nintendo, and I dared to read my ancient forebears. I am a dreamer, man who realized dreams despite a budget. Don't hate me, for I would love to influence games, dreams, movies. An author of two novels, Anti-Christ: A Satirical End of Days and Proxies of Fate, I only wish to re-birth an age of daring. I am a child of Atari 2600, of NES, of the aged arcade. Am I but forgotten?

Trust me, I remember the 80s for the movies, the music, the games. I will forever be beholden to an age that defined me. Being a writer, "Anti-Christ: A Satirical End of Days" and "Proxies of Fate," I can honestly say it was a decade of orginiality. Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, ET, and more. And that is movies. Not Nintendo, Genesis, and more. The 80s were a time of discovery, of chance, of possibility. It fueled my imagination. Trust me, I'll never what period I came from. Have faith for it shall emerge again. I only wish Reagan's successor would appear; we need him now more than ever.

I really liked this article. The 80s were so amazing. And you put the reasons why the 80s were so amazing. Good job.

Excellent subject!! Loved growing up in the 80's. I was born in 72' so I was the perfect age to enjoy a lot of it. Growing up in Milwaukee wasn't as bad then as it is now. Would sure hate to be a kid nowadays.

We all enjoyed Saturday morning cartoons while eating the best cereals invented, Friday Night videos, Black Belt Theater, Shock Theater, making forts, hide-and-go-seek, pom-pom, four square, walking to Northridge mall to play video games at Giggles, drive-in movies, race car sets, Pony shoes, button fly Levi jeans (and jean jacket of course), 7-mile Fair, SelecTV, my rich friends with 10 foot diameter satellite dishes, trick-or-treatin till I had two FULL bags of candy, Toys R Us, all the excellent holiday TV shows, field trips to the zoo, museum, etc., Christmas tree runs to Stein Garden Centers, the ice cream truck, running through the sprinkler, kool-aid stands, county parks, etc., etc., etc.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!!!

I was serving in the Air Force during most of the 80s, so I saw it through the eyes of an adult, naturally. What I remember most vividly was the end of the 'Cold War', and the day of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

I'll never forget it. I was on-duty that day, and a large group of us was gathered around a television watching the takeoff. It may be difficult for some younger people to understand today, but a Space Shuttle mission back then was a very big deal, and of course, it was also a mission that would be a first for space exploration: A civilian in space. A teacher from New Hampshire, if my memory serves me correctly.

Of course we all know what happened. Even now, all these years later, I feel a little queasy when I remember the shock and sadness I felt when we watched the explosion on Tv, live.

Those are my most poignant memories. I have many others, but I guess the forums would be better suited for a detailed list. Good article, btw.

If you find yourself wanting to remember some great 80's toys here is the link to my article: http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/6397/

I was born in late 1983, so my memories of the 80 's are quite sparse. I do though remember watching Saturday morning cartoons with my older brother, going on day trips to Lurray Caverns and other spots in the VA mountains. I was so excited when my family got cable in 1988.

It's funny how almost everyone says the decade they grew up in was the golden age of cartoons, ie.. 60s,70s,80s, etc.. I guess that's just the fondness you have for the cartoons you grew up with. I can say same with me as I have fondness for late 70s,80s toons. Imagine kids watching cartoons now, when it's 2020 they'll be saying man that YuGiOh was great, they sure don't make em' like that anymore!!

I've always pondered the exact same thing! I have to say though, even in my early teens living in the early 90's, I was already missing the 80's. I think the great thing about the 80's was that there was still an innocence there that I just don't feel out kids get to enjoy nowadays. I think with the explosion of technology involving the internet and such, kids are pretty much forced to grow up much quicker. At least from my view. Great article.

Much like some of the other people that posted here, I am also born a decade too late at the least. I pretty much know what the 80's are after boning up on that decade. Boys would be wearing sunglasses, girls would dress like mini-Madonnas, and families live in rather small to average-sized houses in the suburbs.

In fact, the neighborhood I grew up in looks pretty much like the setting of a mid 80's to early 90's movie. The Dairy Queen not too far said neighborhood from looks kind of nostalgic indoors.

The Bellaire, OH/Wheeling, WV radio station Jack FM often plays 80's music on there, and there's also an advertisement that would remind listeners to check out "80's Night" at Buffalo Wild Wings on Fridays. Although, some of you might already know that, but...

@RetroJerk @matt82- Spot on. 1/2 the experience and fun without them. It amazes me so many new articles are sans visuals...fail.

Good read...my only complaint is that it wasnt longer.

I thought it was "booty traps". I still listen to 80s music, and wear the concert-style t-shirts.

I was approaching my teen years when 1980 arrived, and at that time I was kind of moving away from cartoons and watching more crime shows and comedies on tv, but I always had time for "Looney Tunes", "The Flintsones" and "Tom and Jerry" , you always find time for the shows you loved as a kid.
But my younger brothers enjoyed the saturday morning cartoons in the 80's, but I felt bad because they missed out on saturday morning cartoons in the 70's and didnt get to enjoy the golden age of cartoons like I did

Well written. What I remember about the 80's is neon colors, shoulder pads, cut off sweatshirts, and wearing shorts over sweatpants. I also remember being petrified that the US and USSR would engage in nuclear war (which was not helped by the movie "The Day After"

. The 80's was the golden age of Saturday morning cartoons and a great time for before- and after-school 'toons as well. We knew most of the daily cartoons were made essentially to sell toys but no one minded. Also, arcades. Everything was a quarter except Dragon's Lair and Space Ace.

great article. you did not need pictures.

I was never born in the 1980s.

Still, all I can say is that this a rather great read for any kid willing to learn about the 80s.

Things in my opinion really picked up as the 80s progressed if you ask me.

I gotta agree with RetroJerk needs pics and next time try to be more interesting.

I guess the late 80's would be the part of the decade I would have more memories from. I am an 83 baby. So I say '87 and on held some great memories. Though I have vague memories of Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, a host of songs and other early '80's entertainment.

For me, '87 will always remind me of Michael Jackson's Bad as I was (and still am) a huge MJ fan. I can't really remember much from '88 aside from my obsession with Ninja Turtles, Robocop and going down to Alabama and serenading girls much older than me with The Bangles "Eternal Flame. I also had a fascination with cap guns, with my dad buying me this Ooze cap gun that he would never let me use out in public (probably a smart idea)

'89? One word: Batman.

80's > Everything else.
Thank god I can get all of my favorite 80's cartoons on DVD.
Toutube is also amazing for retro commercials hehe. I miss those McDonalds talking MCnuggets and all of those other bat shit amazing colorful imaginitive and highly creative commercials from the 80's. I'm just so glad I was born in that era and I got to experience part of it.

What did the 80's mean to me? BLAZING VISUALS!!!

Oh and while this is a good article, if you want to make it around here you have to add pictures. Just a bit of advice.

So who is calling the 80's "The lot decade"? I've actually never heard that but it certainly is not true. Without the 80's we'd have no songs to play on Guitar Hero. How's that for a cultural contribution?

pics?

Nice article- I am 38 and remember all of that. I was in 4th grade when Reagan was shot and we wrote get-well letter to him and we got a signed letter back to our class. The 80's were also great as it was the last generation to grow up without cell phones and computers were luxury items. I am an old c64 bbs/xchanger myself, but most people didn't use modems etc.. I remember when I upgraded to a 1200 baud from a 300 and I was amazed at how quickly the text was displayed line by line..

pictures? lol please

Did you also hear they were going to open up the reactor area in Cherenobyl for tourist attractions. The radiation is still too high after 25 years and yet the thought of opening it for tourists from all over world was a great idea?

Wow. Just FYI. I was born after what happened but we talked about it in school when I was younger.