The 1980s: A Flashback to 1980s Trends and Pop Culture Part IV

1983 saw a number of significant news events unfold and pop culture continued to evolve. 1983 was a landmark year as far as worldwide terrorism goes; in Beirut, 237 American marines die in a terrorist explosion. Meanwhile, “modern” technology expanded further as people begin taking to the digital sound quality that compact discs (CDs) offer, and cellphone service begins in Chicago and Baltimore/Washington D.C.

In the News

NASA’s space shuttle program continued to make headlines, as Challenger was launched for the first time. Aboard Challenger in 1983 was Sally Ride who, at 32, became the United States’ first female astronaut to enter space. The United States and Caribbean militaries entered into the Grenada conflict, and a major El Nino event played a major role in affecting the weather around the world.

Movies, Music, and Television–Oh My!

Terms of Endearment was a major box office hit in 1983, The Return of the Jedi completed the original Star Wars trilogy, and Flashdance, Scarface, The Big Chill, and The Right Stuff also played in theaters. Michael Jackson continues to receive much airtime on the radio with hits like “Beat It” and “Billie Jean,” and other 1983 top hits include “Come On Eileen” (Dexy’s Midnight Runners), “Islands in the Stream” (Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton), “Every Breath You Take (The Police), “Maniac” (Michael Sembello), and “All Night Long” (Lionel Richie). On television Newhart, Falcon Crest, One Day at a Time, Kate & Alley, and Knots Landing all performed well, but several more popular series signed off, including M*A*S*H, whose last episode attracted some 125 million viewers.

Play Ball!

The Washington Redskins defeated the Miami Dolphins 27-17 in Super Bowl XVII, and the Baltimore Orioles won against the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series (4-1). The Philadelphia 76ers held off the Los Angeles Lakers to sweep the NBA Championships (4-0), and the New York Islanders were able to topple the Edmonton Oilers in four straight games.

Other Interesting Tidbits

While the economy still was on shaky ground, it seemed that America may have finally been turning a corner. Incomes continued to rise, the median household income now at $20,885, and the average unemployment rate ticked downward a bit, to 9.6%. Crack cocaine, a notorious drug that would soon become a scourge throughout American cities, is first concocted in the Bahamas.

The End of the Year

CDs and cellphones–along with the release of the personal computer a couple years earlier, it seems now that the technological scene of the 1980s was really starting to take shape. A couple indications that the entertainment and pop culture of the 1980s was forming its own decade-unique identity is that (A): Nielsen Top 20 prime time ratings for the 1983-84 season now included only four television shows (not including movie slots) that originated in the 1970s: Dallas (1), 60 minutes (2), The Love Boat (17), and The Jeffersons (19); and (B): of the 15 different groups (or collaborative soloist efforts) who had a top song in 1983 on the pop charts, nearly half (seven) had Top 40 pop chart careers (solo or otherwise) that had begun in the 1980s. Without a doubt, by 1983, the decade was truly beginning to accrue an image all its own. Find out more about this decade by reading the rest of The 1980s.

Resources:

Information Please. “1983.” 21 August 2007.

McNeil, Alex. Total Television. 4^th ed. New York: Penguin, 1996.

Timeline of Cellphones and Wireless Communication. 21 August 2007.

Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7^th ed. New York: Watson-Guptill, 2000. 21 August 2007.