1980s: At a Glance

What We Said:

Dude: Guy; also used as a conversational filler. The term was widely used in such 1980s teen movies as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and on the "Wayne's World" segments of TV's Saturday Night Live.

Diss: To insult someone; this term was one of many to come out of urban hip-hop culture.

Fresh: A term from hip-hop culture, used to express approval, as in "That tune is fresh."

Glass ceiling: An invisible obstacle that blocks the advancement of women or minorities in an organization. Though most legal forms of job discrimination were removed in the 1980s, many groups still felt that a glass ceiling limited their access to better jobs.

"Go ahead—make my day!": These words uttered by Detective Harry Callahan (played by Clint Eastwood) in the 1983 film Sudden Impact were later used by President Ronald Reagan daring lawmakers to pass a law that he wanted to veto.

"Just Say No": This anti-drug slogan launched by first lady Nancy Reagan's drug war program soon became a popular response to anything that should be avoided.

"PC": The abbreviation for "politically correct," a term used to describe someone who used language that was careful not to offend anyone, especially a member of an ethnic or other subgroup.

"Reach out and touch someone": Accompanied by a catchy song, this advertising jingle urged Americans to use AT&T's long distance telephone service.

Sucks: Is inadequate or undesirable.

"Where's the Beef?": This question was barked out by an elderly lady who could not find the beef in the skimpy hamburger she bought at the leading hamburger chain. Wendy's used this humorous pitch to try to gain some ground against hamburger giant McDonald's; presidential candidate Walter Mondale also used it to question opponent Gary Hart's programs in the 1984 presidential race.

Yuppies: Literally "young urban professionals" (or "young upwardly-mobile professionals"); this somewhat derisive term referred to a class of people who got rich quick in the 1980s and flaunted their wealth.

What We Read:

Cosmos (1980): Astronomer Carl Sagan's clear explanations about the evolution of the universe, and a close tie-in with a PBS-TV series of the same name, helped make his book a favorite.

The Far Side (1980–95): Gary Larson's off-the-wall, single-panel comic strip was one of the most popular comic strips in America.

A Light in the Attic (1981): Shel Silverstein's collection of humorous poems and drawings is one of the best selling children's works of all time.

Jane Fonda's Workout Book (1982): This book and the videos that followed captured a popular exercise craze at its very height. Women, mostly, hopped around the house doing Fonda's workout and hoped to sculpt their bodies to look like the gracefully aging movie star's.

USA Today (1982–): The Gannett Company's boldly-colored paper offered itself as the first national newspaper. Critics called the paper superficial and labeled it "McPaper," but its innovations were soon copied by countless newspapers.

Iacocca (1984): The best selling nonfiction book of the decade was the biography of Lee Iacocca, the auto executive who, with the help of the federal government, helped revive the nation's number three automaker, Chrysler.

Fatherhood (1986): This humorous collection of anecdotes by America's favorite comedian, Bill Cosby, was helped along by the fact that Cosby played America's favorite father on the sitcom The Cosby Show.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (1988): Offering such truisms as "play fair" and "don't hit people," self-titled philosopher Robert Fulghum offered common-sense wisdom.

Clear and Present Danger (1989): The best selling fiction book of the 1980s, this novel about the CIA's involvement in the war on drugs was one of many of Tom Clancy's books to sell over a million copies.

Anything by Stephen King or Danielle Steel: Horror writer King and romance novelist Steel were the top two authors of the decade, as judged by the number of books they placed at the top of the New York Times best-seller list (King, twelve titles; Steel, eight).

What We Watched:

60 Minutes (1968–): This hour-long, hard-hitting newsmagazine was consistently near the top in TV ratings throughout the 1980s.

Dallas (1978–91): Fifty-three percent of TV viewers learned who shot evil oil baron J. R. Ewing on November 21, 1980, making the episode the most-watched in TV history.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983): These two sequels to Star Wars (1977) continued the space saga, brought new innovations in special effects, and were accompanied by a blizzard of marketing and merchandise tie-ins.

Dynasty (1981–89): This prime-time soap opera centered on the lives of the oil-rich Carrington family.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): This joint effort by filmmaking giants Steven Spielberg and George Lucas featured the adventures of Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford) and reestablished the adventure movie as an important genre.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982): This charming film about an alien who is stranded on Earth and wants to return home helped make director Steven Spielberg famous.

MTV (1982–): This cable TV channel offered a range of programming related to pop, rock, and rap music, including a heavy dose of music videos. The channel became a favorite of American youth and changed the way performers made music by making it vital to produce a video to support any major single.

The Cosby Show (1984–92): The most popular show of the late 1980s, this sitcom focused on the daily life of the Huxtables, an African American family led by father Bill Cosby.

The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire (1985): These movies about high-schoolers and twenty-somethings, respectively, made stars of a group of actors known as the "Brat Pack," including Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, and Molly Ringwald.

Wall Street (1987): No film better captured the spirit of corporate greed than this Oliver Stone–directed drama about the morally corrupt practices of a corporate raider played by Michael Douglas. This movie included the famous line, "Greed is good."

What We Listened To:

The Police: This rock group and its lead singer Sting mixed reggae with rock to come up with some of the decade's greatest hit songs, including "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (1980) and "Every Breath You Take" (1983).

Madonna (1958–): With her albums Madonna (1983), Like a Virgin (1985), True Blue (1986), You Can Dance (1988), and Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna established herself as a dance pop diva and shocked people with her bold sexuality.

1999 (1983): This album by Prince was the dance hit of the decade, featuring the title cut and "Little Red Corvette."

She's So Unusual (1984): Orange-haired Cyndi Lauper was the first female vocalist to produce four Top Five hits from her debut album. The perky artist's hits were "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Time After Time," "She Bop," and "All Through the Night."

Run-DMC: The rap group earned the first rap gold record in 1984 and continued rising through the music charts until hitting the top in 1986 with its album, Raising Hell.

Thriller (1984): This 1984 album by pop superstar Michael Jackson took marketing to new levels by packaging the music with a special effects–laden video that received heavy play on MTV, a barrage of advertising, and a movie about making the video.

"I Can't Live Without My Radio": LL Cool J's hit single was featured in the first rap movie, Krush Grove, in 1985. The charismatic LL Cool J led rappers' discouragement of the violence highlighted in so called "gangsta" rap.

"We Are the World" (1985): Featuring some of the biggest pop and rock stars of the decade, this single helped raise money for the starving in Africa and was featured at the Live Aid benefit concerts in 1985.

Trio (1987): Leading country singer Emmylou Harris paired with Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton to create a million-selling album that revived old-time country sounds.

Milli Vanilli: This pop group received the 1989 Grammy Award for Best New Artist—then had to return the award when it was found that someone else had done the singing on their record. They are remembered now as a symbol of the triumph of style over substance in the 1980s.

Who We Knew:

Jim Bakker (1940–) and his wife, Tammy Faye Bakker (1942–): This husband-and-wife team of televangelists came to national attention in 1987 when it was learned that Jim had paid off a church secretary to conceal their sexual liaison. The episode revealed what many felt was the hypocrisy of preachers who were getting rich off their ministries.

Jerry Falwell (1933): This religious leader founded the Moral Majority in 1979, a group that pursued the political agenda of the Religious Right. Falwell used television sermons to raise millions of dollars for conservative causes throughout the 1980s.

Rock Hudson (1925–1985): When this popular sex-symbol and film star of the 1950s and 1960s died of AIDS in 1985, it helped raise the nation's consciousness about the deadly disease.

Willie Nelson (1933–): This country star released more than twenty albums in the 1980s, starred in movies, and helped organize the Farm Aid concerts to raise money for struggling American farmers.

Ronald Reagan (1911–): More than a president, this former Hollywood actor was a symbol of America in the 1980s. Strongly pro-business, he urged Americans to consume their way to a better life, which led to a booming economy.

Princess Diana (1961–1997) and Prince Charles (1948–): Almost one billion people around the world watched this royal British couple wed in an elaborate ceremony on July 29, 1981. Two sons (often referred to as "an heir and a spare"), a divorce, and Diana's death in a car crash in 1997 followed during the subsequent sixteen years.

Dr. Ruth Westheimer (1928—): The jolly, thrice-married "Dr. Ruth" hosted a cable talk show on which the German-accented psychologist doled out sexual advice to callers.