September 26, 2025 • 23 mins
Welcome to the very first entry of The Pop Culture Diary! 1980 was a year that simply refused to be boring. A President was elected, volcanoes erupted, and one of the world’s most beloved musicians was taken too soon. Meanwhile, fashion decided bigger was better, shoulder pads were mandatory, and neon was basically a personality trait. Rubik’s Cubes frustrated a generation, Walkmans made us nod to songs no one else could hear, and The Empire Strikes Back proved that sequels could actually be pretty freakin’ awesome. The gossip columns were overflowing, the box office was booming, and yes, the world was as chaotic as it sounds. Open up the diary and join me for headlines, hijinks, and highlights that set the tone for the wild decade ahead. Spoiler alert: it’s messy, dramatic, and oddly fun!
Sources:
Social Media:
Sources:
- https://www.capture.com/blogs/insights/what-was-popular-in-the-80s
- https://www.womanandhome.com/fashion/80s-fashion-trends
- https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/worldwide/all-movies/cumulative/released-in-1980
- https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/1229/122956.html
- https://www.reddit.com/r/trivia/comments/1b27osn/the_80s
- https://www.womanandhome.com/fashion/80s-fashion-trends
- https://www.history.com/articles/1980s-tech-gadgets-obsolete
- https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/inventions-of-the-1980-s-in-computer-history
- https://pop-culture.us/1980-annual-history-facts
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th_(1980_film)
Social Media:
- Twitter / X: https://x.com/popcultdiarypod
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thepopculturediarypodcast
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/thepopculturediary
- ThePopCultureDiary@gmail.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the pop Culture Diary. This is your go
to spot for trends, gossip, and throwbacks. I'm your host
page and each week we're flipping through the pages of
pop culture history. We'll talk about everything from neon soaked
eighties nights to the wild early days of the two
(00:22):
thousands and beyond. You can expect the fashions, the music,
the movies, the biggest news headlines, the scandals, and basically
everything that had us talking, laughing, and obsessing. So grab
some snacks, get cozy and luxury wine the pages of time. Okay,
(00:53):
let's go through the first Diary entry in nineteen eighty
with the big news headlines, because before or we can
get into the fads, fashions and guilty pleasures, we need
to set the scene with what was happening in the world.
First up politics. In nineteen eighty, Ronald Reagan was elected
(01:18):
President of the United States, beating Jimmy Carter. Reagan came
in with charm one liners in Hollywood Polish. Jimmy Carter
left with sky high inflation, an energy crisis, and the
weight of the Iran hostage crisis. Basically, the US was
(01:39):
ready to change the channel and Reagan promised a whole
new era. Whether you loved him or not, the Reagan
era did shape the entire decade. So speaking of the
Iran hostage crisis, that was still headline news throughout nineteen
eighty fifty two Americans were being held captive in Tehran
(02:04):
and the whole country was glued to nightly television to
see the latest updates. Families watched, waited, and hoped while
Jimmy Carter struggled to bring them home. Spoiler, they weren't
released until January of nineteen eighty one, literally the day
(02:25):
Ronald Reagan was sworn in. Talk about timing. Meanwhile, the
economy was well, let's just say nobody was exactly thriving.
Inflation was through the roof, Gas prices were painful, and
paychecks weren't stretching very far. It was called stagflation, which
(02:48):
sounds like a bad disco band but was actually just
an ugly combination of high prices and low growth. People
were worried, frustrated, and pinching, which explains why bargain shopping,
qupines and DIY solutions were extremely big in the eighties.
(03:09):
Now across the globe, Iraq invaded Iran in September of
nineteen eighty, kicking off the brutal Iran Iraq War. This
wasn't just local news. It sent shockwaves through global politics
and oil markets. The Middle East was already a powder keg,
(03:29):
and this war added years of chaos. Over in Poland,
something important was brewing too. Workers at the Gadites shipyard
went on strike, and out of that came the Solidarity Movement.
It was the first independent labor union in the Soviet Bloc.
(03:50):
Imagine being in communist Poland and saying actually, we'd like
a little freedom. That was huge, and it set the
stage for chaines that would eventually help bring down the
Iron Curtain. Back in the US, nature made headlines in
a big way when Mount Saint Helens erupted in Washington
(04:12):
State in May. Ash rained down for miles. Entire landscapes
were destroyed, and the eruption was one of the deadliest
and most destructive in US history. If you lived in
the Pacific Northwest, you probably still remember where you were
that day. Sports were not immune to politics either. The
(04:37):
nineteen eighty Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia, turned into a
showdown when the US and dozens of other countries boycotted
the games and protests of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Imagine training your whole life to be an Olympic athlete
and then your country says, sorry, you're sitting this one out. Brutal.
(05:03):
Of course, the Soviets got their revenge four years later
by boycotting the Los Angeles Olympics. Tip for tat, and
then the scandals, because no diary would be complete without those.
Nineteen eighty gave US Abscam and Brye Lab, two political
(05:23):
corruption scandals involving bribery and FBI sting operations. Basically, it
was a reminder that politicians were just as messy in
the eighties as they are today. But perhaps the most
heartbreaking headline of the year came in December when John
Lennon was murdered on December eighth outside his New York
(05:46):
apartment building. John Lennon was shot and killed. The world
was stunned. Fans gathered by the thousands. Radio stations played
nothing but Beatles music, and it found like the end
of an era. Lennon had just released new music, had
a young son, and was stepping back into the public eye,
(06:09):
and then suddenly he was gone. So nineteen eighties headlines
were a mix of politics, war, corruption, economic struggle, natural disaster,
and tragedy. Not exactly light reading, but they set the
stage for the pop culture that followed because in tough
(06:30):
times people leaned even harder on their music, movies, and
guilty pleasures, and trust me, nineteen eighty delivered on all
of that. Now that we've got the headlines down, let's
check out what was happening in movies, TV and entertainment.
(06:54):
And this is where things get really fun. So in
the Diary of nineteen eighty, pop culture was loud, colorful, dramatic,
and unforgettable. Movies and music were not just entertainment, they
(07:16):
were cultural earthquakes. And honestly, it was just the beginning
because the eighties, oh, they were only warming up. Nineteen
eighty was a blockbuster kind of year. The world was
still reeling from Star Wars from seventy seven, so when
The Empire Strikes Back hit theaters, people lined up around
(07:41):
the block. It wasn't just a sequel, it was the sequel,
and it had the big reveal Luke, I am your father,
which by the way, isn't the actual line, but good
luck telling anyone that at a party. Suddenly Darth Vader
(08:01):
wasn't just the guy with heavy breathing issues. He was
Luke's dad. Mine's blown. Other big movies of nineteen eighty
nine to five was serving up workplace comedy with Dolly Parton,
Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin. They made Sticking It to
the Boss look glamorous, and the soundtrack was a hit too.
(08:26):
The movie Airplane also landed in theaters that year. It
was absurd, hilarious and filled with so many one liners
were still quoting it today Don't call me Shirley. And
then there was the shining Jack Nicholson, A haunted hotel,
(08:46):
creepy twins in the hallway. It cemented itself as one
of the most iconic horror films ever. Fun fact, Here's
Johnny wasn't even in the script. Nicklson improvised it, and
now it's forever stuck in the nightmares of anyone who's
ever had to stay in an old hotel. On the
(09:09):
cult side, Friday the thirteenth was released, introducing Jason Vorhees
Well sort of. If you've seen it, you know Jason's
mom was actually the killer in the first movie talk
about a plot twist, but it was enough to kick
start a franchise that just refuses to die. And yes,
(09:31):
Clint Eastwood was still making tough guy movies like Any
Which Way You Can, which also starred in Orangutan, because
in nineteen eighty, even the animals got screen time. Now,
television shows in nineteen eighty gave us the Dallas cliffhanger.
(09:52):
Who shot Jr? It became one of the biggest water
cooler moments in TV history. People it all summer to
find out, and when the answer finally came, nearly eighty
million Americans tuned in. Let me repeat that, eighty million
(10:12):
people watching the same show at the same time. To
put that in perspective, that's more viewers than the Super
Bowl that year. Forget TikTok trends, this was peak cultural obsession.
People were actually taking bets from March until November on
(10:33):
who really shot JR. And as it turned out, Jr's wife,
Sue Ellen, a former beauty queen will her sister Kristin
Shepherd and Jr's lover, was the one responsible. She managed
to get a hold of Jr's gun by luring Sue
Ellen away with alcohol and later slipped the weapon back
(10:57):
into Sue Ellen's closet. And the drama wasn't just on screen.
Off screen, Hollywood was buzzing with rumors and gossip. Elizabeth
Taylor was on her seventh husband by nineteen eighty. She'd
eventually go for number eight because why stop there. Her
(11:18):
marriages were headline fuel. There were whispers about Richard Burton
Elizabeth Taylor's famous X. Their on again, off again love
story had been tabloid's bread and butter throughout the sixties
and seventies, and people were still fascinated over. On the
(11:39):
comedy side, Saturday Night Live was in transition. The original cast,
the not ready for primetime players had left. Critics were
skeptical about the new faces, and honestly, the show hit
some rough patches, but it was still where edgy comedy lived,
(11:59):
and it gave gave us glimpses of the next wave
of stars. Game shows and sitcoms were still king, but
you could feel celebrity culture shifting. Stars weren't just actors
or singers anymore. They were personalities. They were fashion icons,
tabloid fodder and magazine covers. Now let's talk tunes. The
(12:39):
charts in nineteen eighty were Wild Blondie gave us Call Me,
a disco rock hybrid that screamed the eighties have arrived.
Queen was out here with crazy little thing called Love,
proving they could do rockabilly better than Elvis. Pink Floyd's
Another Brick in the Water All Part two had kids
(13:02):
chanting we don't need no education, which I'm sure made
every teacher in America sigh deeply. And then there was
Funky Town by Lips Incorporated. You couldn't escape it. If
you've ever heard it once, Congratulations, it's already stuck in
(13:22):
your head again. Disco by this point was wheezing its
last breath. New wave punk and scynth heavy pop were
on the rise. Artists were experimenting, pushing boundaries and setting
up the soundtrack for the decades ahead. But again, December
(13:43):
nineteen eighty changed everything in the music world when John
Lennon's life was taken. Fans gathered by the thousands, crying
and singing Beatles songs in the streets. It was one
of those moments where people remember exactly where they they
were when they heard the news. Music lost a revolutionary
(14:05):
that night, and even today, the wound still feels raw.
Celebrity culture was only getting bigger. Movies had soundtracks that
dominated the charts, like Dolly Pardons Nine to five. Stars
weren't just actors or singers anymore. They were brands. And
(14:25):
if you wanted to know what was cool in nineteen eighty,
you didn't look it up on your phone. You looked
at movie stars, musicians, and TV characters. Shoulder pads were
coming in hot, pastels and neons were making their debut.
Everyone wanted to look like they were ready to walk
(14:46):
into a boardroom or a nightclub at any given moment. Okay, fashion,
the nineteen eighties were basically a decade long runway where
subtlety went to die, and the year of nineteen eighty
really set the tone. Like I mentioned, shoulder pads were
(15:23):
coming in hot. The logic for that was simple. The
bigger the shoulder pad, the bigger the power. Whether you
were walking into a boardroom or just the grocery store,
you had to look like you were prepared to tackle
a linebacker. Colors were all over the place. Pastels were
(15:44):
soft and sweet, but neon was creeping in, ready to
blind everyone in its path. By mid decade. People were
wearing oversized prints, bold patterns, and enough denim to outfit
an entire rodeo. Acid washed jeans were bubbling up too,
(16:04):
which meant your pants could now look like they'd survived
a chemical accident. And that was fashion. And let's not
forget the hair. It wasn't sky high yet, but the
volume was coming. By the late eighties, hairspray sales alone
could have funded a small country. Fashion wasn't just about fabric.
(16:28):
It was about attitude. Celebrities set the tone and the
magazines pushed it into households everywhere. If Farah Fawcett wore
her hair a certain way, everyone copied it. If rock
stars strutted around in leather, teenagers raided their closets. Brands
(16:49):
like Calvin Klein were starting to dominate ads, often with
racy campaigns that made parents squirm and teenager's Smirk's controversial
ads with brookshields were everywhere with the tagline nothing comes
between me and my Calvins. Designer jeans became a thing,
(17:11):
and if your jeans had the right labels stitched on
the back pocket, you were winning at life. Meanwhile, sweat
bands and tracksuits were slipping into everyday were not just gems.
You could run errands in a head to toe athletic
look and people would think, Wow, they must be really active,
(17:34):
when really you just wanted something stretchy after too many
slices of pizza. The global athletic wear market exploded in
the eighties, partly thanks to brands like Adidas and Puma
getting wrapped up in celebrity endorsements. Even run DMC got
into the mix later in the decade with My Adidas. Now,
(18:02):
if you were a kid in nineteen eighty, your toy
box was about to become ground zero for some of
the most iconic trends ever. Even toys and gadgets bled
(18:23):
into fashion and identity. Kids who loved Star Wars had
the lunch boxes, the pajamas, and the Halloween costumes. The
rubeks Cube became such a phenomenon that it showed up
on TV shows, cartoons, and even on T shirts. It
wasn't just a puzzle. This thing was a cultural badge.
(18:47):
The rubeks Cube was originally called the Magic Cube, but
it was rebranded in nineteen eighty and suddenly everyone was
twisting their way to frustration. Itcame became a status symbol.
If you could solve it, you are basically a genius,
and if you couldn't, you probably peeled off the stickers
(19:08):
like the rest of us and pretended board games and
action figures were everywhere. But nineteen eighty was also when
the Star Wars toy line became unstoppable. Every kid wanted
Luke Leah Vader, and if you were unlucky, maybe you
got stuck with some random background alien. Nothing stung quite
(19:33):
like opening a gift and seeing oh, it's hammerhead. Technology
was stepping into our living rooms in ways that felt
futuristic at the time. Commodore launched the VIC twenty, one
(19:56):
of the first affordable home computers, for under three three
hundred dollars. You could bring this beige box of wonder
into your home and type in code for hours just
to make the screen flash different colors. These days, that
sounds like torture, but back then it was like holding
the future in your hands. And let's talk about the
(20:19):
Sony Walkman. It technically launched in Japan in nineteen seventy nine,
but by nineteen eighty it was hitting the US and
becoming the must have gadget. Suddenly, music was not chained
to your living room stereo or car radio. You could
take it on the bus, on a jog, or blast
(20:42):
it in your room while ignoring your parents. It was
the first taste of private, portable music, which is hilarious
when you think about how huge those foam headphones looked.
The walkmen didn't just change music, it changed culture. For
the first time, teenagers could curate their own soundtracks. No
(21:06):
more of Dad's jazz records or moms Berry Maniload dominating
the speakers. Now you could drown out the world with
Blondie or Pink Floyd and nobody could stop you. Gadgets
weren't just about practicality. They were about status. Having a
walkman said I'm modern, I'm cool, I'm in control of
(21:30):
my jams. Owning a VIC twenty said I might be
the first person on my block who could eventually hack
into the Pentagon or at least play pong, and even
the silly stuff felt futuristic. Digital watches with calculators started appearing,
(21:50):
and if you wore one to school, you were basically
iron man. Just don't get caught trying to sneak math
answers during a test. Teachers knew and That's what nineteen
eighty was all about. Whether it was shoulder pads, neon
walkman's or a brightly colored cube, everything was bigger, louder,
(22:14):
and unapologetically look at me. So The Diary of nineteen
eighty closes this entry with a pretty clear note. Style
wasn't about blending in at all. It was about standing out,
whether through a puzzle cube, a denim jacket, or a
pair of headphones the size of small satellites. And honestly
(22:39):
it worked. The eighties didn't just walk into the cultural spotlight.
They strutted in neon first. That's it for today's trip
through the pop Culture Diary. Thanks for tuning in and
taking a trip back in time for a head of
nostalgia with me. Don't forget to follow the podcast wherever
(23:03):
you get your shows, rate review, and keep an eye
out for the podcast on social media over on Instagram
at the pop Culture Diary Podcast, Twitter at pop cult
Diary Pod, Tumblr at the pop Culture Diary podcast, and
(23:23):
the Facebook page the pop Culture Diary for more pop
culture fun, extras and behind the scenes madness. Until next time, everyone,
take care of yourselves and I'll see you in the
next episode.
Welcome to the pop Culture Diary. This is your go
to spot for trends, gossip, and throwbacks. I'm your host
page and each week we're flipping through the pages of
pop culture history. We'll talk about everything from neon soaked
eighties nights to the wild early days of the two
(00:22):
thousands and beyond. You can expect the fashions, the music,
the movies, the biggest news headlines, the scandals, and basically
everything that had us talking, laughing, and obsessing. So grab
some snacks, get cozy and luxury wine the pages of time. Okay,
(00:53):
let's go through the first Diary entry in nineteen eighty
with the big news headlines, because before or we can
get into the fads, fashions and guilty pleasures, we need
to set the scene with what was happening in the world.
First up politics. In nineteen eighty, Ronald Reagan was elected
(01:18):
President of the United States, beating Jimmy Carter. Reagan came
in with charm one liners in Hollywood Polish. Jimmy Carter
left with sky high inflation, an energy crisis, and the
weight of the Iran hostage crisis. Basically, the US was
(01:39):
ready to change the channel and Reagan promised a whole
new era. Whether you loved him or not, the Reagan
era did shape the entire decade. So speaking of the
Iran hostage crisis, that was still headline news throughout nineteen
eighty fifty two Americans were being held captive in Tehran
(02:04):
and the whole country was glued to nightly television to
see the latest updates. Families watched, waited, and hoped while
Jimmy Carter struggled to bring them home. Spoiler, they weren't
released until January of nineteen eighty one, literally the day
(02:25):
Ronald Reagan was sworn in. Talk about timing. Meanwhile, the
economy was well, let's just say nobody was exactly thriving.
Inflation was through the roof, Gas prices were painful, and
paychecks weren't stretching very far. It was called stagflation, which
(02:48):
sounds like a bad disco band but was actually just
an ugly combination of high prices and low growth. People
were worried, frustrated, and pinching, which explains why bargain shopping,
qupines and DIY solutions were extremely big in the eighties.
(03:09):
Now across the globe, Iraq invaded Iran in September of
nineteen eighty, kicking off the brutal Iran Iraq War. This
wasn't just local news. It sent shockwaves through global politics
and oil markets. The Middle East was already a powder keg,
(03:29):
and this war added years of chaos. Over in Poland,
something important was brewing too. Workers at the Gadites shipyard
went on strike, and out of that came the Solidarity Movement.
It was the first independent labor union in the Soviet Bloc.
(03:50):
Imagine being in communist Poland and saying actually, we'd like
a little freedom. That was huge, and it set the
stage for chaines that would eventually help bring down the
Iron Curtain. Back in the US, nature made headlines in
a big way when Mount Saint Helens erupted in Washington
(04:12):
State in May. Ash rained down for miles. Entire landscapes
were destroyed, and the eruption was one of the deadliest
and most destructive in US history. If you lived in
the Pacific Northwest, you probably still remember where you were
that day. Sports were not immune to politics either. The
(04:37):
nineteen eighty Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia, turned into a
showdown when the US and dozens of other countries boycotted
the games and protests of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Imagine training your whole life to be an Olympic athlete
and then your country says, sorry, you're sitting this one out. Brutal.
(05:03):
Of course, the Soviets got their revenge four years later
by boycotting the Los Angeles Olympics. Tip for tat, and
then the scandals, because no diary would be complete without those.
Nineteen eighty gave US Abscam and Brye Lab, two political
(05:23):
corruption scandals involving bribery and FBI sting operations. Basically, it
was a reminder that politicians were just as messy in
the eighties as they are today. But perhaps the most
heartbreaking headline of the year came in December when John
Lennon was murdered on December eighth outside his New York
(05:46):
apartment building. John Lennon was shot and killed. The world
was stunned. Fans gathered by the thousands. Radio stations played
nothing but Beatles music, and it found like the end
of an era. Lennon had just released new music, had
a young son, and was stepping back into the public eye,
(06:09):
and then suddenly he was gone. So nineteen eighties headlines
were a mix of politics, war, corruption, economic struggle, natural disaster,
and tragedy. Not exactly light reading, but they set the
stage for the pop culture that followed because in tough
(06:30):
times people leaned even harder on their music, movies, and
guilty pleasures, and trust me, nineteen eighty delivered on all
of that. Now that we've got the headlines down, let's
check out what was happening in movies, TV and entertainment.
(06:54):
And this is where things get really fun. So in
the Diary of nineteen eighty, pop culture was loud, colorful, dramatic,
and unforgettable. Movies and music were not just entertainment, they
(07:16):
were cultural earthquakes. And honestly, it was just the beginning
because the eighties, oh, they were only warming up. Nineteen
eighty was a blockbuster kind of year. The world was
still reeling from Star Wars from seventy seven, so when
The Empire Strikes Back hit theaters, people lined up around
(07:41):
the block. It wasn't just a sequel, it was the sequel,
and it had the big reveal Luke, I am your father,
which by the way, isn't the actual line, but good
luck telling anyone that at a party. Suddenly Darth Vader
(08:01):
wasn't just the guy with heavy breathing issues. He was
Luke's dad. Mine's blown. Other big movies of nineteen eighty
nine to five was serving up workplace comedy with Dolly Parton,
Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin. They made Sticking It to
the Boss look glamorous, and the soundtrack was a hit too.
(08:26):
The movie Airplane also landed in theaters that year. It
was absurd, hilarious and filled with so many one liners
were still quoting it today Don't call me Shirley. And
then there was the shining Jack Nicholson, A haunted hotel,
(08:46):
creepy twins in the hallway. It cemented itself as one
of the most iconic horror films ever. Fun fact, Here's
Johnny wasn't even in the script. Nicklson improvised it, and
now it's forever stuck in the nightmares of anyone who's
ever had to stay in an old hotel. On the
(09:09):
cult side, Friday the thirteenth was released, introducing Jason Vorhees
Well sort of. If you've seen it, you know Jason's
mom was actually the killer in the first movie talk
about a plot twist, but it was enough to kick
start a franchise that just refuses to die. And yes,
(09:31):
Clint Eastwood was still making tough guy movies like Any
Which Way You Can, which also starred in Orangutan, because
in nineteen eighty, even the animals got screen time. Now,
television shows in nineteen eighty gave us the Dallas cliffhanger.
(09:52):
Who shot Jr? It became one of the biggest water
cooler moments in TV history. People it all summer to
find out, and when the answer finally came, nearly eighty
million Americans tuned in. Let me repeat that, eighty million
(10:12):
people watching the same show at the same time. To
put that in perspective, that's more viewers than the Super
Bowl that year. Forget TikTok trends, this was peak cultural obsession.
People were actually taking bets from March until November on
(10:33):
who really shot JR. And as it turned out, Jr's wife,
Sue Ellen, a former beauty queen will her sister Kristin
Shepherd and Jr's lover, was the one responsible. She managed
to get a hold of Jr's gun by luring Sue
Ellen away with alcohol and later slipped the weapon back
(10:57):
into Sue Ellen's closet. And the drama wasn't just on screen.
Off screen, Hollywood was buzzing with rumors and gossip. Elizabeth
Taylor was on her seventh husband by nineteen eighty. She'd
eventually go for number eight because why stop there. Her
(11:18):
marriages were headline fuel. There were whispers about Richard Burton
Elizabeth Taylor's famous X. Their on again, off again love
story had been tabloid's bread and butter throughout the sixties
and seventies, and people were still fascinated over. On the
(11:39):
comedy side, Saturday Night Live was in transition. The original cast,
the not ready for primetime players had left. Critics were
skeptical about the new faces, and honestly, the show hit
some rough patches, but it was still where edgy comedy lived,
(11:59):
and it gave gave us glimpses of the next wave
of stars. Game shows and sitcoms were still king, but
you could feel celebrity culture shifting. Stars weren't just actors
or singers anymore. They were personalities. They were fashion icons,
tabloid fodder and magazine covers. Now let's talk tunes. The
(12:39):
charts in nineteen eighty were Wild Blondie gave us Call Me,
a disco rock hybrid that screamed the eighties have arrived.
Queen was out here with crazy little thing called Love,
proving they could do rockabilly better than Elvis. Pink Floyd's
Another Brick in the Water All Part two had kids
(13:02):
chanting we don't need no education, which I'm sure made
every teacher in America sigh deeply. And then there was
Funky Town by Lips Incorporated. You couldn't escape it. If
you've ever heard it once, Congratulations, it's already stuck in
(13:22):
your head again. Disco by this point was wheezing its
last breath. New wave punk and scynth heavy pop were
on the rise. Artists were experimenting, pushing boundaries and setting
up the soundtrack for the decades ahead. But again, December
(13:43):
nineteen eighty changed everything in the music world when John
Lennon's life was taken. Fans gathered by the thousands, crying
and singing Beatles songs in the streets. It was one
of those moments where people remember exactly where they they
were when they heard the news. Music lost a revolutionary
(14:05):
that night, and even today, the wound still feels raw.
Celebrity culture was only getting bigger. Movies had soundtracks that
dominated the charts, like Dolly Pardons Nine to five. Stars
weren't just actors or singers anymore. They were brands. And
(14:25):
if you wanted to know what was cool in nineteen eighty,
you didn't look it up on your phone. You looked
at movie stars, musicians, and TV characters. Shoulder pads were
coming in hot, pastels and neons were making their debut.
Everyone wanted to look like they were ready to walk
(14:46):
into a boardroom or a nightclub at any given moment. Okay, fashion,
the nineteen eighties were basically a decade long runway where
subtlety went to die, and the year of nineteen eighty
really set the tone. Like I mentioned, shoulder pads were
(15:23):
coming in hot. The logic for that was simple. The
bigger the shoulder pad, the bigger the power. Whether you
were walking into a boardroom or just the grocery store,
you had to look like you were prepared to tackle
a linebacker. Colors were all over the place. Pastels were
(15:44):
soft and sweet, but neon was creeping in, ready to
blind everyone in its path. By mid decade. People were
wearing oversized prints, bold patterns, and enough denim to outfit
an entire rodeo. Acid washed jeans were bubbling up too,
(16:04):
which meant your pants could now look like they'd survived
a chemical accident. And that was fashion. And let's not
forget the hair. It wasn't sky high yet, but the
volume was coming. By the late eighties, hairspray sales alone
could have funded a small country. Fashion wasn't just about fabric.
(16:28):
It was about attitude. Celebrities set the tone and the
magazines pushed it into households everywhere. If Farah Fawcett wore
her hair a certain way, everyone copied it. If rock
stars strutted around in leather, teenagers raided their closets. Brands
(16:49):
like Calvin Klein were starting to dominate ads, often with
racy campaigns that made parents squirm and teenager's Smirk's controversial
ads with brookshields were everywhere with the tagline nothing comes
between me and my Calvins. Designer jeans became a thing,
(17:11):
and if your jeans had the right labels stitched on
the back pocket, you were winning at life. Meanwhile, sweat
bands and tracksuits were slipping into everyday were not just gems.
You could run errands in a head to toe athletic
look and people would think, Wow, they must be really active,
(17:34):
when really you just wanted something stretchy after too many
slices of pizza. The global athletic wear market exploded in
the eighties, partly thanks to brands like Adidas and Puma
getting wrapped up in celebrity endorsements. Even run DMC got
into the mix later in the decade with My Adidas. Now,
(18:02):
if you were a kid in nineteen eighty, your toy
box was about to become ground zero for some of
the most iconic trends ever. Even toys and gadgets bled
(18:23):
into fashion and identity. Kids who loved Star Wars had
the lunch boxes, the pajamas, and the Halloween costumes. The
rubeks Cube became such a phenomenon that it showed up
on TV shows, cartoons, and even on T shirts. It
wasn't just a puzzle. This thing was a cultural badge.
(18:47):
The rubeks Cube was originally called the Magic Cube, but
it was rebranded in nineteen eighty and suddenly everyone was
twisting their way to frustration. Itcame became a status symbol.
If you could solve it, you are basically a genius,
and if you couldn't, you probably peeled off the stickers
(19:08):
like the rest of us and pretended board games and
action figures were everywhere. But nineteen eighty was also when
the Star Wars toy line became unstoppable. Every kid wanted
Luke Leah Vader, and if you were unlucky, maybe you
got stuck with some random background alien. Nothing stung quite
(19:33):
like opening a gift and seeing oh, it's hammerhead. Technology
was stepping into our living rooms in ways that felt
futuristic at the time. Commodore launched the VIC twenty, one
(19:56):
of the first affordable home computers, for under three three
hundred dollars. You could bring this beige box of wonder
into your home and type in code for hours just
to make the screen flash different colors. These days, that
sounds like torture, but back then it was like holding
the future in your hands. And let's talk about the
(20:19):
Sony Walkman. It technically launched in Japan in nineteen seventy nine,
but by nineteen eighty it was hitting the US and
becoming the must have gadget. Suddenly, music was not chained
to your living room stereo or car radio. You could
take it on the bus, on a jog, or blast
(20:42):
it in your room while ignoring your parents. It was
the first taste of private, portable music, which is hilarious
when you think about how huge those foam headphones looked.
The walkmen didn't just change music, it changed culture. For
the first time, teenagers could curate their own soundtracks. No
(21:06):
more of Dad's jazz records or moms Berry Maniload dominating
the speakers. Now you could drown out the world with
Blondie or Pink Floyd and nobody could stop you. Gadgets
weren't just about practicality. They were about status. Having a
walkman said I'm modern, I'm cool, I'm in control of
(21:30):
my jams. Owning a VIC twenty said I might be
the first person on my block who could eventually hack
into the Pentagon or at least play pong, and even
the silly stuff felt futuristic. Digital watches with calculators started appearing,
(21:50):
and if you wore one to school, you were basically
iron man. Just don't get caught trying to sneak math
answers during a test. Teachers knew and That's what nineteen
eighty was all about. Whether it was shoulder pads, neon
walkman's or a brightly colored cube, everything was bigger, louder,
(22:14):
and unapologetically look at me. So The Diary of nineteen
eighty closes this entry with a pretty clear note. Style
wasn't about blending in at all. It was about standing out,
whether through a puzzle cube, a denim jacket, or a
pair of headphones the size of small satellites. And honestly
(22:39):
it worked. The eighties didn't just walk into the cultural spotlight.
They strutted in neon first. That's it for today's trip
through the pop Culture Diary. Thanks for tuning in and
taking a trip back in time for a head of
nostalgia with me. Don't forget to follow the podcast wherever
(23:03):
you get your shows, rate review, and keep an eye
out for the podcast on social media over on Instagram
at the pop Culture Diary Podcast, Twitter at pop cult
Diary Pod, Tumblr at the pop Culture Diary podcast, and
(23:23):
the Facebook page the pop Culture Diary for more pop
culture fun, extras and behind the scenes madness. Until next time, everyone,
take care of yourselves and I'll see you in the
next episode.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.