The '80s

aka: The Eighties

'Twas a good decade for pop culture.^note The '80s Strike Back by Ryan Dunlavey.

"Legend has it that man once washed his jeans in pure acid!"

— Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report

The Excessive Eighties: a time where you wake up before you go-go when you want to kick off your Sunday shoes as you walk the dinosaur for 500 miles, hear doves cry or feel the Punky power while you moonwalk the Thriller.

All the women had big curly hair and wore suits with shoulder pads. All the men were preppies who wore pastel suits with narrow ties, drove sports cars that Lee Iacocca personally stood behind and traded stocks on Wall Street — after all, as Oscar Wilde said, nothing says success like excess. (Unless they happened to be teenagers, in which case they were Totally Radical or studied Karate and learnt the meaning of "Wax On, Wax Off".) Everyone had huge hairdos, enough make-up to sink a ship and power suits with shoulderpads big enough to knock the giant mirrored sunglasses off anyone who walked within a three foot radius of them. And those without them had flat-tops and wore gym clothes and break-danced on top of cardboard. Millennials (then known as "Echo Boomers" and later "Generation Y") started being born, one day to become the young adults of The Turn of the Millennium.

Computing technology first became a true cultural force in this decade, starting a trend that would keep on snowballing to this very day. The Eighties was the decade of cell phones literally sized and shaped like bricks, jokes about being unable to program VCRs, the death of Betamax, and the beginnings of personal computers and gaming consoles beginning to proliferate inside homes, perhaps one of the trends from this decade with the largest of cultural implications. Cable television also took off big time, with MTV, TBS, HBO, and CNN becoming household acronyms, though the video itself was all grainy, low-definition analog. However, this still looked better than the often-fuzzy antenna-based picture before cable.

Conversely, the eighties were also the high water mark of analog culture. CD players were a new and exotic technology. Heck, digital watches were still a (relatively) new and exotic technology. Most people still got their music on LP or cassettes (though the CD format would begin to overtake both late into the decade) and their news from newspapers delivered in the predawn darkness by Free-Range Children. The Commodore 64 was the most common personal computer and an actual PC cost as much as a used car, especially if it was equipped with one of those new and exotic five or ten megabyte hard drives. The internet was still confined to academia, the World Wide Web was still just a pipe dream, and what little connectivity existed was through Electronic bulletin board services (BBS) accessed over analog phone lines using screeching 1200 or 2400 baud modems.

In the US, it was also the second^note The first wave was Astro Boy up through Speed Racer wave of The Japanese Invasion, the inklings of which started in '78 with the dub of Battle of the Planets, continuing on with Space Battleship Yamato ('79), Voltron ('84), getting even more hardcore with Robotech in '85, and hitting its apex with the nationwide release of AKIRA ('88). Japan additionally managed to break through in the US via the gaming industry, with the success of Nintendo's Donkey Kong and wider success of the Nintendo Entertainment System leading Japan to become the leading theater of the video game industry in the US following the North American video game industry crash in 1983. Names like Capcom and Konami became major players in the software side of the industry with loads of smash titles that would eventually grow into major franchises, and while western developers were still around and making games for Nintendo's system, it was the Japanese industry that served as the key focal point.

While other hardware developers would fail to adequately crack Nintendo's dominance for most of the decade, that all changed in 1987, when a joint venture between NEC and Hudson Soft resulted in the creation of the TurboGrafx-16, which became a surprise success in its native Japan and outsold the NES, spurring Nintendo into action in creating a competing system to keep their place in the industry intact. The following year, Sega would introduce its own TurboGrafx rival, the Sega Genesis, with its 1989 debut in the US managing to both successfully stamp out the TurboGrafx's presence in the west and present the first real challenge to Nintendo as a hardware manufacturer. This battle, however, wouldn't truly take hold until the first years of the next decade, in part because it took Nintendo until 1990 (in Japan) and 1991 (in the US) to release their own new system.

Despite major successes in animation and video games, though, the Japanese Invasion never quite managed to crack any other fields of popular media in the same way. The closest anyone got was in music, via both the flash-in-the-pan success of Pink Lady (which promptly collapsed after NBC tried to capitalize on them via a disastrous variety show in the spring of 1980) and the longer-lasting but ultimately forgotten success of Yellow Magic Orchestra. While YMO's legacy would persist through their huge influence on later Synth-Pop musicians, they themselves would be reduced to a cult favorite at best decades later; such was the fate of most other Japanese media, in large part due to the wider difficulties in attempting to localize them for western audiences compared to video games and anime.

On the homefront, the 1980s produced a rash of pop-cultural icons that today are looked upon, at worst, with Affectionate Parody, and at best, as the national ideal. The conservative political culture of the era meant two rather contradictory things for the production of pop-culture; on the one hand, the surge of private enterprise together with new media technologies allowed corporations such as Hasbro an unprecedented ability to build massive franchises around their products, typically with a TV show and accompanying toys, but on the other hand, Moral Guardian complaints would challenge the ethics of making a show that was "essentially one large commercial" in addition to railing against any work of media that didn't meet their rigid standards. The result was the rather spoof-worthy And Knowing Is Half the Battle segment common to many mass franchise shows, shoving an Anvilicious moral into the action. Fortunately, these were conveniently located after the actual plot, so kids could just turn it off at that point and run down to buy the toys. Besides, the segments make great joke fodder. The prominence of moral guardians during this decade would have considerable ramifications in later decades, with "mature" content being galvanized as the artistic ideal from the 1990s onward^note the idea already started to take form with the New Hollywood era of 1965-1983, but solidified in the '90s as a result of the heavy amount of moral guardianship in this decade and companies who appealed to the idea of "family-friendliness" (most notably Nintendo) facing nothing short of ridicule once the conservative culture of the '80s gave way to '90s and 2000s cynicism.

Ironically, given its modern reputation as a breeding ground for nostalgia bait, the '80s were probably one of the most nostalgia-heavy decades in modern history, at least prior to the 2010s. Specifically, the '80s were extremely kind to The '60s, owed to the fact that this marked the point where the Baby Boomer generation (who, as the name implies, consisted of far more people than previous generations) reached adulthood and entered areas of the workforce where they could make their longing for their childhoods known, aided by the conservative culture of the time that emphasized the supposed glory of "the Good Old Days." Ronald Reagan, for instance, ran on the promise to "Make America Great Again," perfectly encapsulating the public sentiment at the time that society had strayed from a supposed Golden Age from decades prior that historians will be quick to argue didn't actually exist^note ironically, Bill Clinton would reuse the MAGA slogan during his own presidential campaign in 1992, characterizing the Republican party under George H. W. Bush as the deviants from a nonexistent golden age; it would, however, return to its original right-wing association with its later co-opting by Donald Trump in the 2010s. Of course, the phenomenon wasn't a right-wing-exclusive one: even left-wingers held a considerable sense of longing for two decades prior, though often for different reasons than the other side of the aisle (e.g. an emphasis on the sociopolitical progress made during that time).

Nowhere could this '60s nostalgia be more vividly found than in music: every veteran '60s act who achieved considerable levels of popularity during that decade were either still going strong in this decade or made a high-profile comeback, and production values throughout the decade were rife with '60s callbacks, from the heavy emphasis on reverb to the prominence of sax and horn parts (now achievable through synthesizers and samplers) to the amount of acts who flat-out covered old '60s hits. Even the Alternative Rock crowd, famous for their rejection of mainstream music standards, took heavy inspiration from '60s rock, albeit with none of the emphasis on synths and horns that mainstream musicians had and with some modifications to get rid of the more poorly-aged aspects (no weird stereo mixing here, for one). This was perhaps most apparent with The Smiths, who not only harked back to '60s rock and Baroque Pop in their songs, but also featured cropped and color-altered stills from '60s movies on their album covers; in fact, the band broke up in part because frontman Morrissey's huge emphasis on '60s throwbacks was getting on everyone else's nerves.

Most significantly, Beatlemania reemerged among the general public following the high-profile assassination of John Lennon and how the consequent shock of it resulted in his surviving bandmates taking the time to tie up loose ends and rebuild burned bridges between each other before it was too late. The second wave truly galvanized with a series of highly important business decisions in the waning years of this decade: in 1987, the band's entire UK back-catalog was released on CD for the first time (consequently cementing those albums as the "canon" ones, much to the confusion of Americans who only had the butchered Capitol Records albums to go off of), in 1988, the band was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and oversaw the release of Past Masters, a two-CD compilation of all their non-album singles, and in 1989, Paul McCartney finally fully embraced his Beatles heritage and cleared up the last few legal entanglements that had forced Apple Records into dormancy, enabling them to resume activity for the first time in ages. While the second wave of Beatlemania would continue into following decades (hell, it's still going on to some extent), it was most prominent during the 1980s, acting as a vivid microcosm of the sheer weight '60s nostalgia held during that time, with record companies going back into the vaults to reissue other '60s acts on CD as fast as possible to sell to affluent Baby Boomers.

Politically, in the first part of the decade, Cold War tensions continued to escalate. The US did things like invading Grenada and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Some accuse this of being an intentional move by the West to render the economically inept Soviet Union infeasible by drawing its resources away from things like infrastructure and feeding its people, which market economies could accomplish easily. While this is, essentially, what ended up happening (though more complicated than that in real life; in Eastern Europe the decade's real deathblow to communism was considered to have been all the new media technology), the fact that the other possible outcome of such a strategy was global thermonuclear annihilation had a profound impact on Western media tropes.

The second part of the decade, however, couldn't be more different. Mikhail Gorbachev, spry for a CPSU leader at age 54 (this was the only time in the Cold War that the Soviet leader was substantially younger than the American), shook up the by-then sclerotic Soviet leadership upon taking power in 1985. Gorbachev restructured the economy (perestroika) for "accelerated" development (uskoreniye), encouraged openness (glasnost), made tentative moves towards democracy (demokratizatsiya), and went Karting with Reagan. For a hot second in 1988-89, it seemed like the USSR had reached a final rapprochement with the West. And then came its fall.

What is now being called "Geek Culture"^note Despite Revenge of the Nerds, the terms "nerd" and "geek" were interchangeable and were chiefly derogatory terms, not yet appropriated by the mainstream. was, at the time, just a very loose assortment of non-mainstream fragmented interests and esoterica; not yet the monolithic commercial label that has become more corporatized in recent years. The conclusion of the original Star Wars trilogy was immediately followed by an explosion of a diverse amount of subgenres, cult shows, films and other media as different from each other as could be. The "Star Wars fatigue" of the early 80s saw audiences receptive to many new and completely different offerings. There was literally something for everyone without one thing trying desperately to be too many things for too many people. This decade also saw the official introduction of Doctor Who outside of Britain through its memorable run on public television. Comic book fans discovered the diverse world of Independent Comics and Manga as refreshing alternatives to the Big Two (Marvel and DC). The cartoon shows of this decade were memorable for being well drawn and purely escapist, adventure driven and moving away from the Illustrated Radio format of the previous decades. Literary science fiction returned to being fun after the overall style of New Wave Science Fiction began to grate on readers and age into irrelevancy with its authors. Douglas Adams is one of the most significant authors to launch off the post New Wave era in written science fiction with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Most obviously, dystopian Speculative Fiction, particularly set After the End 20 Minutes into the Future, enjoyed a surge; enter Cyberpunk. On the other hand, Star Trek became a defiantly optimistic mainstream Sci-Fi mainstay with the feature film series and its return to live action TV with Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Throughout this era, there came new problems like the spread of AIDS, which created a public health panic that dealt first a body blow to the gay community, with anti-gay people treating them as modern lepers (even though that community took the danger seriously far sooner than others), as well as ending the sexual liberation movement of the previous two decades by presenting an STI that couldn't be easily swept away with antibiotics (not that antibiotics would last forever, given later findings on drug-resistant strains of pathogens). However, the epidemic paradoxically later proved a partial blessing in disguise for gay rights as stricken people like Rock Hudson were shoved out of the closet, forcing the public to realize that LGBTI people were all around them, much like themselves. The Eighties also had the highest murder rate in U.S. history, almost twice what it is today. As for society as a whole, well, the left and right weren't quite the sodium-and-water combination that dominated the bulk of the '70s, though the dominance of conservatism with the Reagan and Thatcher administrations and the continuing fallout from the political blunders of the preceding decade (i.e. Watergate & Vietnam in the US and a severe economic recession in the UK) still kept them at odds with one another.

Politically speaking, the decade lasted roughly from January 20, 1981 with both Ronald Reagan's Presidential inauguration and the end of the Iran Hostage Crisis 20 minutes later to the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolving on December 26, 1991, amounting to almost 11 years. Sometimes Margaret Thatcher being elected Prime Minister in 1979 is considered the start, especially in the UK. Culturally, the decade lasted roughly from Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, the murder of John Lennon on December 8, 1980, and the launch of MTV on August 1, 1981 to the release of Nirvana's album Nevermind on September 24, 1991 and in 1992 with both the rise of Grunge and the emergence of the heroin chic fad. It's worth nothing that Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and/or Tom Cruise were involved in 9 of the 10 highest grossing films of the decade.

It's currently the Eighties in much of Fictionland, making for an impressive forty-year nostalgia lag, though nostalgia for the early Nineties has been rapidly picking up steam since the beginning of the new Twenties.

See Also: The Roaring '20s, The Great Depression, The '40s, The '50s, The '60s, The '70s, The '90s, Turn of the Millennium, The New '10s, and The New '20s.

---

Popular tropes from this time period include:

• The Aggressive Drug Dealer: Crack cocaine and heroin caught on big during this decade, along with their pushers, hence the establishment of this trope as part of the larger "Just Say No" movement.
• The Alleged Car: the "Malaise Era" of cars continued apace, with a mass changeover to front-wheel-drive adding a lot of new, untested driveline components to the existing stew of cost-cutting/"take this job and shove it" quality control and analog emissions controls whose prime directive seemed to be getting a few more years out of existing carburetor tooling (the switch to EFI really gathered steam at mid-decade). Japanese cars had none of these problems, but protectionist "voluntary" import quotas in America and throughout Western Europe constrained supply of those and meant that list price was a starting point for dealer markup, not bargaining down from.
• Amazonian Beauty: The beauty standard of the decade, owing to the consciousness of health and fitness during that era, with royalty like Princess Diana, actors like Brooke Shields, and models like Cindy Crawford showing their athletic, healthy tone.
• Animated Adaptation: Of practically everything, including films, TV shows, comic books, video games, action figures, dolls, plush toys, music videos, and real-life celebrities!
• Anime: Called "Japanimation" at the time, the medium started becoming somewhat popular in the US in the '80s (although it would take until the second half of the '90s until it truly exploded in mainstream popularity).
• Audience-Alienating Era: The decade was considered this back in the 1990s and most of the 2000s. Even today it often competes with the 50s and the 70s for this crown.
• Awesomeness Withdrawal:
  • In terms of pop culture, the end of the original Star Wars trilogy exited on a high note, and everyone assumed that the Star Wars Saga had said all it had to say (in film anyway; the expanded universe of comics and novels was a completely different story). There was a "Star Wars fatigue" at the time which made audiences well receptive to all that was new and different. This is why the 80s was the most diverse period for creators of multimedia.
  • On a geopolitical perspective, the 1980s would be the last decade of the Cold War. The second half of the decade would see the gradual collapse of the Warsaw Pact nations in favor of democracy and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union a couple of years later would lead to a series of withdrawals, including a readjustment for Spy Fiction, yet would pave way for a plethora of memoirs and declassifications about the Cold War and both world wars, which would spawn new forms of fiction for the succeeding decades.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: What could make a character be more badass than the concept of powerdressing emerging from this decade?
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Thanks to Brooke Shields, bushy, natural eyebrows were stylish for women. One rare notable exception was Cyndi Lauper, who had flapper-esque pencil-thin brows. This would be followed by extreme plucking and tweezing and penciling to the skinniest brows in '90s and early 2000s. Then in The New '10s, glamorous thick eyebrows came back with a vengeance, though much more groomed than the unkempt brows of the '80s (which were often the only part of '80s makeup kept "natural.")
• Boyish Short Hair: Even though massive manes were definitely the mainstream, a lot more women and girls were sporting short (though still just as poofy and ridiculous) haircuts, especially compared to the early '70s and its love of long hair and feminine bobs. Businesswomen wore Power Hair to match their power suits, and female New Wave and punk musicians often had the same spiky, dramatic haircuts as the men.
• Canada Does Not Exist: A wave of low-budget cop and action-adventure dramas start being produced in Canada, but primarily for U.S. consumption. This leads to the weird phenomenon of shows which take place in a "nowhereland" that is neither fully the US nor completely Canada.
• Conspicuous Consumption: This was the decade where it was cool to spend big, with malls taking off and making shopping a recreational activity. Credit card usage also took off here.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Thanks to the movie Wall Street, an enduring image of this time. Part of the economic climate of the time were Ronald Reagan's reforms and the Black Monday crash of 1987.
• Cyberpunk: Kicked off by Blade Runner and Neuromancer.
• Dance Sensation: Michael Jackson, anyone? Or Flash Dance? And Foot Loose? Dirty Dancing? Jazzcercise? Aerobics? Hip-Hop? Breakdancing?
• Darker and Edgier: Even though this was a fun decade for many people, it also had many negative sides:
  • Crack cocaine was created and many people became destructively addicted to it; to make matters worse, the turf wars between dealers and gangs decimated many black neighborhoods in big cities.
  • The sexually transmitted disease AIDS became an epidemic. The first two cases of patients dying from AIDS had taken place in 1959, but there are only a handful of known cases dating to the 1960s and 1970s. At least 121 AIDS-related deaths took place between 1980 and 1981. By the end of the 1980s, the disease had spread worldwide and there were over a million known patients. And in the U.S., the initial stigma of AIDS as a "gay disease" contributed to unfair ostracization of its victims and LGBT people in general.
  • The beginning of the (currently ongoing) "war on drugs" resulted in skyrocketing incarceration rates, hundreds of thousands of people ending up behind bars for nonviolent offenses.
    • By contrast, everyone could get behind the big crackdown on the deadly Drunk Driver traffic menace, which finally got taken seriously in a Dude, Not Funny! way.
    • Likewise, smoking found itself marginalized still more with the health menace of second-hand smoke becoming common knowledge, causing a groundswell of efforts to discourage the habit and isolate smokers.
  • An enormous crime wave hit America at this time: this is where NYC got its image as a crime-ridden Hellhole of apathy and darkness, and why so many action movies starring Cowboy Cops were popular.
  • More generally, the 1980s were the time when the American middle class began losing ground in terms of GDP share as more people became part of the upper class. Socio-economic inequalities more or less kept in check for a half-century started growing again, creating an increasing polarization between economic classes.
  • The arrival of MTV had a downside as well. Music videos became so dominant that any artists who played instruments were now expected to create a music video for every hit single they released, because otherwise it would not receive airplay. For some serious artists this was a huge setback, because they were now expected to "act" and "look good" on camera to appeal to the record buying public. By the end of the 1980s many music fans couldn't imagine a music record existing without some kind of video attached to it. Thus several pop stars who looked attractive but couldn't sing or play a note on their instrument were launched to make quick bucks.
  • In the first half of the 1980s, many people across the world felt frightened because President Reagan ordered more nuclear missiles to be placed in Europe to defend the US against the Soviet Union. He also endorsed a brilliant plan, "Star Wars", to protect the USA in space against a possible Soviet attack...the actual intention was to force the Soviet Union to spend more than it could afford. Fear for a Third World War and nuclear testing lead to numerous protests and protest singles. Only when Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985 did tensions between the USA and USSR start to diminish.
  • The Chernobyl disaster (1986) also lead to a universal fear for nuclear power disasters, especially when a huge radioactive cloud flew over Europe, having disastrous effects on the local farming industry. Since then the place has become a Ghost Town and a place where plants and animals have won back ground on humans.
• Denser and Wackier: Especially compared to the 70s: the fashion and the big, big '80s Hair is just the icing on the cake. Music becoming more expressive than ever before, cartoons being Merchandise-Driven toy commercials, and the general aesthetic also being more expressive is what many remember from this era.
• Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: A common way of introducing romance subplots in '80s movies.
• Drugs Are Bad: A growing awareness of the dangers of recreational drugs (especially the above-mentioned crack cocaine) led to government-sponsored programs designed to teach kids to "Just Say No", which led to this message becoming near-ubiquitous via the Very Special Episode and Public Service Announcement.
• Dystopia: Dark, crime-ridden 20 Minutes into the Future or oppressive alternate universes were big in '80s films/TV shows.
• '80s Hair: If you were in a (popular) metal band or were a female country singer, you wore it one way and one way only: big. This was also the decade in which the mullet really went mainstream (though the actual name "mullet" was only coined and applied retroactively in The '90s).
• Erotic Film: As porn theaters started to close and moral guardians fought pornography, erotic movies went underground again. They did manage to make back their profit thanks to the success of video rentals and sales.
• Foreign Culture Fetish:
  • Despite the fears of Japan overtaking the world economy, everything made in Japan, like gadgets, cars, anime, video games, AND NINJAS!!!, was like a gift from the gods. It's no coincidence that the trope's alternative name is Turning Japanese.
  • Also in the decade, Australophilia came into the scene and spread like bushfire. Musicians like Olivia Newton-John and Kylie Minogue, bands like AC/DC, INXS, Men at Work, and Air Supply, and other stuff like Mad Max, "Crocodile" Dundee, Uluru, boomerangs and didgeridoos, and kangaroos and koalas.
  • In America, all eyes turned to Los Angeles and Miami for their sunny beaches, neon lights, good vibes, and the thrill for action and adventure like the guys of Beverly Hills Cop and Miami Vice.
  • On PBS, Doctor Who and Monty Python introduced Americans to British sci-fi and humor respectively. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a bestseller along with its sequels of varying quality. These opened the door for more offerings such as such as Blake's 7, Black Adder, 'Allo 'Allo!, and Red Dwarf.
  • After experiencing a decade of sociopolitical turmoil, second-wave Italophilia became prominent in this decade, with Milan as the cultural hotspot, and eventually a center for fashion. The decade's aesthetics through the Memphis Group and much of the music through Italo Disco came from here.
  • MTV playing New Wave Music bands like Duran Duran and Culture Club on heavy rotation led to a revival of Anglophilia, which continued as new wave morphed into Alternative Rock with bands like Depeche Mode, New Order, and The Cure.
  • While some Westerners were somewhat already familiar with Hong Kong Dub Chop Socky martial arts films through occasional showings in grindhouse movie theaters, these films eventually migrated to television and became even more ubiquitous. In North America, they often ran in dedicated weekend time slots known as Kung Fu Theater or Black Belt Theater.
• Football Hooligans: For the UK at least. It became such a problem that Margaret Thatcher put together a cabinet just to tackle them. Measures put in place then led to Hillsborough. These days the problem has been virtually eradicated, although the trope appears quite often in foreign films set in the UK where football is involved, and Hooligans continue to cause problems in places not the UK (mostly South America).
• Freeze-Frame Ending: Extremely popular during the decade, especially with sitcoms. This would go on to be parodied in later decades.
• Fur and Loathing: The notion that it was bad to wear fur gained traction in this decade.
• The Generation Gap: A new kind of generation gap was created, with left-wing hippie parents trying to understand their right-wing, materialistic yuppie children.
• Hollywood Action Hero: The 1980s made iconic stars out of muscled Manly Man actors like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The Indiana Jones franchise could be counted too, though less testosterone heavy. For a black example, Mr. T comes to mind.
• Hotter and Sexier: Madonna's very sexualized imagery set a trend for many female pop singers in her wake.
• I Was Quite a Fashion Victim: Applying to works looking at this decade in hindsight, a survivor of the so-called "decade fashion disaster" might confess to this. The fashion statements were so overly radical, more extravagant and less flamboyant than the decade before, it had to be toned down and grunged up a lot a decade later.
• Japan Takes Over the World: A staple of the decade, particularly in Cyberpunk works. Often seems a little silly now.
• Lighter and Softer: Compared to the more revolutionary and sociologically progressive 1960s and 1970s, the eighties were pretty tame. Virtually all products (film, music, toys, TV shows, etc.) were heavily Merchandise-Driven and not subtle about it. As a result, most of it is very clean, safe, family friendly and didn't take many artistic risks.
• Limited Animation: Cartoons still suffered from being shoddily animated, though a slight improvement from Hanna-Barbera or Filmation Domestic Only Cartoons that dominated the 70s as animation began being outsourced to Japan and South Korea. Most 80s cartoons were also notoriously thinly veiled toy commercials or extremely saccharine schlock to appease Moral Guardians. However, the situation began to change midway through the decade with Disney finally entering the TV animation market with big budgeted and well-written productions like Adventures of the Gummi Bears and DuckTales (1987) and setting off The Renaissance Age of Animation as the competition realized they had to raise their own standards.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Despite being an age of mass conservative hysteria, the decade still gave rise lots of androgyny in the fashion and entertainment industry. Many fashion trends were unisex, and it was becoming accepted for women to wear suits, leather jackets, hairstyles like mullets and undercuts and of course, shoulder pads. Musician/model Grace Jones is a good reference. Meanwhile, among the most influential male musicians of the 80s were David Bowie, Prince, Boy George and Pete Burns of Dead or Alive, all of whom put on flamboyant and effeminate clothes and acts, especially by the standards then.
• Merchandise-Driven: Virtually every original cartoon made in the eighties seems to be this way — Thunder Cats, M.A.S.K., Centurions, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, The Real Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, The Transformers, Care Bears, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983), Jem and the Holograms, My Little Pony...
• Montage Ends the VHS: It's when a commercial VHS tape has trailers, intros or just a compilation montage promoting a line of tapes at the end, after a movie or episode it contains is over.
• Mood Whiplash: See Lighter and Softer and Darker and Edgier. The perils of Conspicuous Consumption in a nutshell, for one.
• Moral Guardians: The Moral Majority was very strong in the USA and backed by the Reagan government. They attacked Heavy Metal, Goth Rock, pornography, video games and gay culture as threats to the youth. In the UK, the Thatcher government also forbade a series of gory horror movies called the Video Nasties for the same reasons. By the end of the decade, many moral guardians started to lose their power, as many televangelists in the US got caught up in sex and tax fraud scandals.
• Music of the 1980s: With the introduction of electronic instruments, the death of Disco, and the rise of MTV, music got more expressive, and more excessive, in this decade, especially with Hip-Hop coming to the scene. Genres include:
  • Alternative Rock: A College Radio staple that began a rise to prominence in the latter part of the decade and gained the favor of critics and listeners looking for an, ahem, alternative to Hair Metal and the standard fare on album-oriented-rock stations. R.E.M., The Cure, Depeche Mode and New Order were at the forefront, scoring major hit singles, and the former was the first of many notable major label transitions that heralded the genre's big breakout shortly into the next decade.
  • Battle Rapping: Became famous during this decade.
  • Black Metal: Got its start during this era.
  • Charity Motivation Song: From late 1984 and 1985 on, when "Do They Know Its Christmas?" and "We Are the World" came out respectively.
  • Concept Video: Though music videos already existed in the 1970s many were just a concert performance. The success of Michael Jackson's Thriller popularized music videos with interesting visuals and an actual storyline. All other music artists made music videos and by the end of the decade most young people couldn't even imagine a song existing without a cool video attached to it.
  • Conscious Hip Hop: Popularized by Grand Master Flash And The Furious Five.
  • Death Metal: Got its start during this decade.
  • Dirty Rap: Popularized by Schoolly D.
  • Funk: Still popular in the early 1980s, with Prince and Michael Jackson as prime stars.
  • The Golden Age of Hip Hop: From the late 1970s, blossoming throughout the 1980s until the early 1990s.
  • Goth Rock: Joy Division, Bauhaus, and The Cure popularized gloomy music.
  • Hair Metal: The most popular metal genre in the 1980s, one that dominated rock until the arrival of Grunge in the 1990s made it the ‘90s equivalent of disco.
  • Heavy Metal: Became targeted as the new dangerous threat to the youth of America, with supposed satanic messages hidden in the lyrics.
  • Hip-Hop: Broke to the mainstream during this decade, with Grand Master Flash And The Furious Five, Run–D.M.C. and Beastie Boys as the frontrunners.
  • House Music: Near the late 1980s, club house music became more prominent, resulting in styles like Techno in the 1990s.
  • Idol Singer: Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Janet Jackson, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Kylie Minogue, Seiko Matsuda just to name a few...
  • Music Video: For better or for worse, we have to credit MTV for bringing this. MuchMusic introduced them to Canadian audiences.
    • Fan Vid: These also started, often by manually syncing a song to crude edits on a pair of VCRs.
  • New Romantic: Popular, and very controversial in Britain during the early half of the decade. Bands like Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and A Flock of Seagulls wearing outrageous Pirate-influenced costumes and donning heavy makeup.
  • New Wave Music: With MTV, the genre got an even bigger wave of popularity.
  • Protest Song: Made a return with charity singles like "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and "We Are The World" trying to bring in money to help poor people in Africa. The Artists Against Apartheid and the Free Nelson Mandela movement fought against South Africa's apartheid system. Farm Aid helped farmers in the USA to overcome financial troubles. And many protest songs were written against the Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher administrations.
  • Synth-Pop: The dominant music genre throughout the decade, making every track instantly recognizable as having an "80s sound".
    • Electronic Music, while not debuting in this decade did break out of the ghetto of obscure European music. Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Vangelis became especially prolific. Jarre, especially helped popularize this form of music from his scoring of the TV series Miami Vice. What set this apart from mainstream Top 40 offerings is that this form of music, lacking vocal or lyrical elements, focused solely on instrumentals and not the persona of the musician. It also eschewed reliance on roots in older traditional styles, thus being culturally neutral and very futurist. Synthesizers opened the door to artist experimenting with new sounds and no longer needing an orchestra to compose complex works.
  • Thrash Metal: Debuted during this era.
  • A Wild Rapper Appears!: Rappers appearing during songs outside their genre became more popular, with "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith and Run–D.M.C. as perhaps the oldest and most famous example.
• Narm Charm: The decade ran on this. From excessive fashions, ridiculously catchy songs (Synth-Pop in particular) and much more.
• Neon City: Bright neon lights (or more modern equivalents) experienced a burst of popularity at about this time. Signs in colours other than the golden-orange of real neon had been possible for a while, but in this decade, they became a deliberate aesthetic for clubs and New Wave Music, particularly in places like Miami.
• New Media Are Evil: The new Tabletop Role-Playing Game pastime, especially Dungeons & Dragons found itself targetted by Moral Guardians who hysterically made up ridiculous stories that exploited tragedies like the suicide of Irving Pulling blaming it for driving kids insane and to suicide and of course Satanism. Ultimately, it backfired with the classic Streisand Effect, quadrupuling sales for the D&D's publisher, TSR, from people who wanted to see what the fuss was about. Eventually by the end of the decade, knowledgable writers like Michael Stackpole who exposed the Moral Guardians' falsehoods and medical associations like the American Association of Suicidology, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and Health and Welfare Canada producing studies that the games not only do not contribute to suicide, but gamers are often mentally healthier with the pastime.
• Nostalgia Filter:
  • This decade had a lot of nostalgic getups during The '30s, The '40s (pulpy adventures, dieselpunky aesthetics, economic ups-and-downs, and exaggerated shoulder pads), The '50s and The '60s (emergence of early teen culture; big hair in the case of the 1960s).
    • The 80s itself is the nostalgic decade of the Turn of the Millennium and, alongside The '90s, for The New '10s.
  • Many 1980s kids and teens remember their parents saying things like "If you remember the '60s, you weren't there."
• Pimped-Out Dress: As suits and power-dressing were standard by day, glamour and expression was reserved for evening wear. It was the decade where high-contrast satin, lycra, and a generous helping of sequins and glitter came to prominence with world-renowned fashion designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Calvin Klein, Thierry Mugler, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gautier, Vivienne Westwood, Christian Lacroix, Oscar De La Renta, Gianni Versace, Prada, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, and Issey Miyake playing their part in the catwalk.
• Pretty in Mink: Works that weren't afraid to show fur tended to show even more than they would in The '70s.
• Real Is Brown: The color palette for the first half of the decade was a subdued continuation of the '70s, with cool beiges, creams, tans, sands, burnt oranges, and natural wood fixtures dominating interior decorating as if the colors were pulled out from Indiana Jones. It wouldn't be until the middle part of the decade where, alongside the premiere of Miami Vice, that the Memphis style palette of neons and pastels really took off.
• Rich Bitch: Featured in all sorts of soap operas like Dynasty, Falcon Crest, et. al.
• Satanic Panic: The primary time period for this panic, especially revolving around the possibility of Satanic cults in small-town America, and usually encouraged by metal or other "counterculture" movements.
• '70s Hair: Still pretty common until 1982/83.
• Shoulders of Doom: The huge shoulder pads, bigger than the ones forty years earlier. For women wearing them, it was a status that they had broke down the metaphorical glass ceiling, as more women entered the corporate ladder, and not as secretaries or clerks, but as full-fledged businesspeople.
• Slasher Movie: Very popular during this decade, with Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street as the front runners.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: Ripped off sleeves (with a mandatory matching mullet) was your standard rockstar or tough guy look.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Though this decade is seen as rather idealistic, especially compared to the 1970s, there are many moments of conflict in this decade, particularly in the earlier half.
• Stalking is Love: The Last American Virgin, Major League, Say Anything... and 'The Seduction, just name a few.
• Training Montage: Many 1980s martial arts or sports film had one of these, with inspirational music from Survivor, John Farnham or some other classic rocker.
• Trope Maker: And Trope Codifier. With blockbuster films coming on full force, the wide introduction of computers and Video Games, and with the rise of cable television with channels like MTV, HBO, CNN, Nickelodeon, et al., giving time and interest to watching more of it in a single channel than in a programming block, the tropes and the Stock Parodies that came to the scene in this decade are:
  • The Ahnold: After Arnold Schwarzenegger became an icon with his roles in Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator, imitating Arnie became a Stock Parody.
  • And Knowing Is Half the Battle: G. I. Joe, et. al., in order to counteract accusations of being no more than "30-minute toy commercials".
  • Autobots, Rock Out!: Thanks to the Transformers franchise.
  • "Die Hard" on an X: This now standard action movie plot got its start by the eponymous Die Hard.
  • My Name Is Inigo Montoya. You Killed My Father. Prepare to Die: Thanks to The Princess Bride.
  • I'm Going to Disney World!: An advertisement that was very popular from the 1980s on.
  • Jenny's Number: A Stock Shout-Out to "867-5309/Jenny" by Tommy Tutone.
  • Michael Jackson's Thriller Parody: Spoofing Michael Jackson's music video for "Thriller" started in this decade.
  • Moon Walk Dance: Michael Jackson popularized the moonwalk in 1983.
  • Pac Man Fever: "Pac-Man" became a global phenomenon.
  • Parodies of Fire: A Stock Parody popularized by Chariots of Fire.
  • Raiders of the Lost Parody: A Stock Parody popularized by Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  • "Risky Business" Dance: A Stock Parody popularized by Risky Business.
  • Roger Rabbit Effect: While nothing revolutionary, given that the animation technique was used during The Golden Age of Animation, it was given a name, and this was done in works like A Ha's "Take on Me" and, of course, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
  • Rubik's Cube: International Genius Symbol: Although the cube was created in 1974 and patented 3 years later, it only became a worldwide sensation in 1980, and became a icon for the entire decade, to the point of having its own animated show. And this cube has puzzled minds ever since.
  • We Didn't Start the Billy Joel Parodies: Created by the success of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire".
• Uncanny Valley Makeup: That bronzed, au naturale glow of the '70s was out. Heavy pale foundation, rainbow eyeshadow up to the brows, rims and rims of eyeliner, severe blush on the hollows of the cheeks up to the ears, and glossy red lipstick was in. Like in the '20s, mass consumerism encouraged women to pack it on.
• Valley Girl: This trope was, like, totally codified in this decade, with Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl" being released in 1982 and the rise of shopping malls and heavier marketing to teens helping fuel this kind of lifestyle/persona.
• Vapor Wear: Common in the first part of the decade, as the braless fashion of the 70s lived on and bras didn't become fashionable until a few years into the 80s. Backless tops were very popular in the early eighties and off-the-shoulder tops were common through the entire decade. There were also daring women who wore sports bras, regular bras and other lacy lingerie items as outerwear (with Madonna as a trend kickstarter; wearing bustiers and corsets on stage), paving the way for the modern "underwear as outerwear" trend of the following decades.
• Very Special Episode: Just about every show had one or more of these, often due to Executive Meddling but sometimes just plain Author Tracts. Drugs Are Bad and Too Smart for Strangers were especially popular.
• VHS Game: The idea to combine VCR tapes with board games began in the mid-1980s, with Clue VCR Mystery Game, and spawned dozens of imitators, each combining different gaming elements with a live-action cast.
• Video Games of the 1980s: Despite the technological limitations and a great fiasco early on in the decade, video games as a whole was a promising media platform. And it all started in 1985. In this decade it made, named and codified:
  • Action-Adventure: While the genre originated with Adventure in 1979, it took of the world by storm with The Legend of Zelda in 1986.
  • Adventure Game: Although born in the latter part of the 1970s, in the 80s the Adventure Game (distinct from Action-Adventure by its focus on exploration, dialogue, and puzzle-solving) genre became the dominant genre in PC gaming, particularly the works of Sierra and LucasArts.
  • Beat 'em Up: Popularized by Double Dragon. And what could be a better excuse than two bad dudes saving the president from ninjas?
  • Falling Blocks: What more than Tetris in 1985?
  • Light Gun Game: While experiments on light guns had been around as early as the 1930s, Duck Hunt always comes in mind when it comes to common knowledge.
  • Platform Game: The genre all started with an Italian plumber.
  • Role-Playing Game: While RPG's had been around since the 1970s, it's video game format was kickstarted in 1981 by Wizardry.
    • Eastern RPG: Started with Dragon Quest, and soon had followers like Phantasy Star and the hair-raisingly radical Final Fantasy.
    • Roguelike: Started by the eponymous Rogue in 1980.
    • Western RPG: The non-linear games came to be in 1985 with Ultima IV.
• Video Nasties: In 1984, certain gory horror movies were blacklisted by the British government and forbidden to be imported. Many of them were very forgettable, some not even that bloody violent, but they remained in the public consciousness just by the fact that they were put on that list.
• White Bread and Black Brotha: A staple of 1980s action films, especially in Buddy Cop Shows.
• Yuppie: Young urban professionals. Power-dressed and trend-obsessed members of the Baby Boomer generation who invaded the corporate, financial, legal, and other professional ranks during the decade.

---

Many things were created or existed in the 1980s:

• Anime and Manga of the 1980s
• Comic Books of the 1980s
• Fanfics Pre-2000
• Films of the 1980s
• Literature of the 1980s
• Music of the 1980s
• Radio of the 1980s
• Series of the 1980s
• Theatre of the 1980s
• Video Games of the 1980s
• Early Visual Novels
• Western Animation of the 1980s

---

Works that are set/were made in this time period include:
(Note: many were also a part of the Nineties; usually those made in the later part of the decade, and are marked with a '*').

Anime & Manga

• Hikari no Densetsu: Written in the 80s and takes place there; the final arc is in 1988, at the time of the Seoul Summer Olympics. Hikari competes there, representing Japan.
• Shenmue: Like the game, set in 1986.

Advertising

• The Burger King Kids Club Gang
• Cadbury's Caramel Bunny
• The Chase (Pepsi)
• Computer Critters
• The Crash Dummies
• Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives
• Energizer Bunny
• Freddie Freaker
• Front Row Joe
• Intimacies
• Nineteen Eighty-Four
• The Noid
• One To Grow On
• Partnership to End Addiction
• Seattle Mariners commercials begain airing in 1980
• Superman vs. Nick O'Teen
• Transport Accident Commission
• Wacky Zany Video
• Where's the Beef?

Asian Animation

• Black Cat Detective
• Calabash Brothers

Comedy

• Jim Davidson
• Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (1980)

Comic Books

For comic books released in this time period, see Comic Books of the 1980s.

• Fantastic Four: Life Story: The third part of the 2021 mini-series is set in 1984, 1986, and 1989.
• The Mall (2018): Set in 1984, released in 2018.
• Marvel 1985. Published in 2008, set in 1985.
• Paper Girls: Began in 2015, set in 1988.
• The third part of Spider-Man: Life Story (published in 2019) is set in 1984.

Comic Strips

• Alex: First appeared in 1987.
• Arnold: Ran from 1982–88.
• Betty Boop and Felix: First appeared around 1984.
• Bizarro: First appeared in January, 1985.
• Bloom County: First appeared in December, 1980.
• Calvin and Hobbes: First appeared in November, 1985.
• Crabgrass: First published in 2019, but is set in the early 1980s.
• Crankshaft: First appeared in June, 1987.
• Curtis: First appeared in October, 1988.
• Dilbert: First appeared in April, 1989. (see Dilbert)
• FoxTrot: First appeared in April, 1988.
• Luann: First appeared in March, 1985.
• On the Fastrack: First appeared in March, 1984.
• Safe Havens: First appeared in October, 1988.
• Sally Forth: First appeared in January, 1982.

Eastern European Animation

• About Sidorov Vova
• The Adventures of Vasia Kurolesov
• Armen Film Animated Shorts
• Cat City
• David and the Magic Pearl
• Fantadroms
• I'll Return as the Rain
• Investigation Held by Kolobki
• Last Year's Snow Was Falling
• Leopold the Cat
• Little Fox
• The Little Witch
• Misi Mókus kalandjai
• Mother For Little Mammoth
• The Mystery of the Third Planet
• Once Upon a Dog
• Plasticine Crow
• Podróże Kapitana Klipera
• Suur Toll
• Treasure of Swamp Castle
• The Vanished World of Gloves
• Vízipók-Csodapók
• Vuk the Little Fox
• Willy the Sparrow

Fanfics

• Dance with the Demons. Written in the '00s, set in the mid '80s.
• The Day After You Saved the Multiverse. Written in 2002, set in 1985.
• A Force of Four: Written in 2004, set in the late 1980s.
• The Golden Boys Last Temptation: Written in 2001, set in the late 1980s.
• Hellsister Trilogy: Started in the '00s, set in 1986.
• Kara of Rokyn: Written in the early '00s, set in 1986.
• Kitsune: Written in 2015, Prologue is on "Christmas Eve, 1987".
• My Immortal: Tara randomly decides that Voldemort attended Hogwarts in the 1980s (canonically, it's the 1940s) — maybe she just couldn't imagine a time before there were "goffs". She also throws the Marauders, who canonically attended Hogwarts in the 1970s, into the same time period. And she keeps up only the barest pretense of the '80s, filling the '80s scenes with blatant pop-culture anachronisms. At least twice her author's notes point out details which aren't accurate to the '80s in order to ask us to ignore them.

Films — Animation

• Song of the Sea: Made in 2014, set in 1987.
• Wreck-It Ralph: Made in 2012, prologue set in 1982 plus flashbacks to some of the preceding years.

Films — Live-Action

For films released in this time period, see Films of the 1980s

• 8-Bit Christmas: Made in 2021, set in 1988.
• 13 Going on 30: Made in 2004, film kicks-off in 1987 before the protagonist's Mental Time Travel into The Present Day.
• 17 Again (2009): Made and set in 2009, prologue takes place in 1989.
• 54: Made in 1998, the second half of the film set during disco's loss of popularity once the decade entered.
• Adventureland: Made in 2009, set in 1987.
• Adrift (2018): 2018 film set during the events of Hurricane Raymond in 1983.
• Air: 2023 film set in 1984.
• All Eyez on Me: 2017 Biopic about Tupac Shakur, flashbacks to his teenage years set in this decade.
• American Psycho: Made in 2000, set in sort-of-1989, based on musical information from the protagonist.
• American Sniper: Made in 2014, prologue set in this decade during The Hero's childhood.
• A Most Violent Year: Made in 2014, set in 1981.
• Argentina, 1985: Made in 2021, set in 1985.
• Argo: Made in 2012, climax set in 1981.
• Atomic Blonde: 2017 film set in 1989.
• Azor: 2021 film set in 1980.
• Behind the Candelabra: Made in 2013, second half of the story takes place from 1982-1987.
• Beyond the Black Rainbow: Made in 2010, set in 1983.
• Billionaire Boys Club: Made in 2018, set during this decade.
• Billy Elliot: Made in 2000, set in 1984.
• Birdshot: It is never stated exactly when this 2016 film is set, but the police service is called the "Integrated National Police" rather than "Philippine National Police" like it is since 1991, its uniforms are the old khaki issue from before said era, there are no computers or cellphones anywhere, the cars are also old boxy models, old battery-operated transistor radios are still in use, as are monochrome film photographs. Put together, these roughly put the film most likely in its transitional phase from the Martial Law-era Philippine Constabulary.
• Black Christmas (2006): Made in 2006, part of the prologue set in 1982.
• Black Mirror: Bandersnatch: Made in 2018, set in 1984.
• Blow: Made in 2001, parts of the story takes place in 1980 and 1987.
• Blue Jean: Made in 2023, it's set in 1988, with the homophobia of the decade the focus as the protagonist is a closeted lesbian. Common eighties styles also are prevalent.
• Bob Marley: One Love: 2024 Bob Marley Bio Pic, set from 1976 to 1981.
• Bohemian Rhapsody: Made in 2018, the latter part of the film is set from 1980 leading up to Queen's legendary performance at Live Aid in 1985.
• Boogie Nights: Made in 1997, mostly set in the middle of the decade and concludes in 1984.
• Brokeback Mountain: Made in 2006, final part of the film set in 1983.
• Bumblebee: Made in 2018, set in 1987.
• The Butler: Made in 2013, the eponymous protagonist resigns from his job during Ronald Reagan's second term as U.S. President.
• Call Me by Your Name: Made in 2017, set in 1983.
• Casino: Made in 1995, most of the film takes place from 1980-1983.
• Censor: Made in 2021, takes place in 1985.
• Challenger: Made in 1990, takes place in 1986.
• Chopper: Made in 2000, mostly set after the protagonist's release from prison in 1986.
• Citizen X: Made in 1995, story begins in 1982.
• City of God: Made in 2002, final part set in the early parts of this decade.
• Click: Made and set in 2006, the protagonist travels back to his college years set in this decade.
• A Clockwork Orange: Made in 1971, set in 1980.
• Cocaine Bear: Made in 2021, set in 1985.
• Cold in July: Made in 2014, set in 1989.
• Computer Chess: Made in 2013, set in 1983.
• Control: 2007 Biopic of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis, the story ends with his suicide in 1980.
• Dallas Buyers Club: Made in 2013, first half of the film set in the middle to latter part of the decade.
• Daredevil (2003): Made in 2003, flashbacks to the eponymous protagonist's childhood and Super Hero Origin happened during the earlier parts of the decade.
• DC Extended Universe:
  • Man of Steel: Made in 2013, prologue set in 1980 plus a few flashbacks to 1989.
  • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Made in 2016, prologue set in 1981.
  • Aquaman (2018): Made in 2018, prologue set in 1985.
  • Wonder Woman 1984: Made in 2020, set in 1984. Unlike most works of fiction set in this period, the film doesn't play up the glamour of the '80s or how so many great things came from that era. Instead, it shows the '80s as a time where people were senselessly greedy and resentful of one another. Given that the Big Bad has the ability to gain everyone's wishes, this doesn't work out well.
• The Dirt: 2019 Biopic of Mötley Crüe.
• District 9: Made in 2009, set in 1982.
• Donnie Darko: Made in 2001, set in 1988.
• Eddie the Eagle: 2016 Michael Edwards Bio Pic set from 1973 to 1988.
• Elektra: Flashbacks to Elektra's childhood is frequently shown. Judging from the clothing, it happened during the first half of the decade.
• Elvis (2022): 2022 Elvis Presley Bio Pic set in 1997 with a Framing Device that tackles vents from 1947-1977.
• The Eyes of Tammy Faye: 2021 Tammy Faye Messner Bio Pic.
• Fargo: Made in 1996, set in 1987.
• Forrest Gump: Made in 1995, set in 1981.
• Foxcatcher: Made in 2014, set from 1986 onwards.
• Friday the 13th (2009): Made in 2009, prologue set in 1980.
• The Frozen Ground: Set in 1983.
• A Futile and Stupid Gesture: Made in 2018, set from 1964 to 1980.
• Get On Up: Made in 2014, part of the film takes place in 1988.
• Ghost Rider: Made and set in 2007, prologue set in 1986.
• Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: Made and set in 2009, much of the flashbacks to the protagonist's childhood is set from 1982 onwards.
• Gia: Made in 1998, mostly set in the early to middle parts of the decade culminating with the protagonist's death in 1986.
• GoldenEye: Made in 1995, the prologue is set in 1986.
• Gold Through the Fire: The setting, as the film was released in 1987, and it shows. Not only with the fashions, but the very Cold War politics.
• Goodfellas: Made in 1990, film set from 1955-1980.
• Gotti: 2018 John Gotti Bio Pic.
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: The prologue is set in 1981.
• Hot Tub Time Machine (made in 2010, the protagonists travel back to 1986.
• The House of the Devil: 2009 film set somewhere in this decade.
• Hulk: Made in 2003, flashback to Bruce Banner's teenaged years takes place in 1984.
• In America: Made in 2003, set in 1982.
• In the Shadow of the Moon: 2019 film, the story starts off in 1988.
• The Iron Claw: 2023 Von Erich Family Bio Pic mainly set from 1979-1993, with the epilogue set sometime after Kevin Von Erich's retirement in 1995.
• The Iron Lady: Made in 2011. Biopic about Margaret Thatcher
• I, Tonya: Made in 2017, majority of the film's first half set in various parts of the decade.
• The Infiltrator: Made in 2016, set in this decade.
• It (2017): Made in 2017, set in 1989.
• Jobs: Made in 2013, partially set in this decade.
• Joker (2019): Made in 2019, set in 1981.
• Killer Elite: Made in 2011, set in 1980.
• Killing Bono: Made in 2011, set mainly between 1982 and 1986.
• Labor Day: 2013 film set in 1987.
• The Last Bus Home: 1997 film that begins in 1979.
• The Last Days of Disco: Made in 1998, set in the early 1980s.
• Lebanon: Made in 2009, set in 1982.
• The Life and Death of Peter Sellers: 2004 Peter Sellers Bio Pic.
• Lion: Made in 2016, story starts off in 1986.
• Lords of Chaos: Mayhem Biopic set from their formation in 1987 to their downfall in 1993.
• Love & Basketball: Made in 2000, follows the protagonists from 1981-2000.
• Lovelace: Made in 2013 and set mostly in The '70s, but the final scenes are set during 1980.
• Magic Beyond Words: The J. K. Rowling Story: 2011 J. K. Rowling Bio Pic detailing her childhood up to the release of the first Harry Potter movie in 2001.
• Malevolent (2018): Made in 2018, set in 1986.
• Man on the Moon: Made in 1999, set mostly in the early to mid parts of the decade.
• Mandy (2018): 2018 film set in 1983.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: Made in 2014, prologue set in 1988.
  • Ant-Man: Made in 2015, prologue set in 1989 plus a brief but important flashback to 1987.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Made in 2017, prologue set in 1980.
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Made in 2018, a handful of flashbacks are set before and after the disappearance of Janet van Dyne in 1987.
  • Captain Marvel (2019): Made in 2019 and set in 1995, but flashback to the eponymous protagonist's Super Hero Origin set in 1989.
• MaXXXine: Made in 2024, set in 1985.
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: Made in 1997, set in the early 1980s.
• Minari: Made in 2020, set in this decade.
• Miracle: Herb Brooks Bio Pic set during the buildup to the actual eponymous game from 1979 to the 1980 Winter Olympics.
• Miss Congeniality: Made in 2000, prologue set in 1982.
• Monster: Made in 2003, story begins in the late 1980s.
• My Animal: Made in 2023, set sometime during the 1980s.
• No: Made in 2012, set in 1988.
• The Normal Heart: Made in 2014, set in the early 1980s.
• Notorious (2009)
• No Country for Old Men: Made in 2007, set in 1980.
• The Old Man & the Gun: 2018 Forrest Tucker Bio Pic.
• Only You: Made and set in 1994, prologue set in 1980.
• Paris Is Burning: 80s Ball culture documentary.
• The People vs. Larry Flynt: Made in 1996, second half of the film takes place from 1983-1988.
• Pete's Dragon (2016): Made in 2016, set in 1983.
• Pixels: Made in 2015, prologue set in 1982.
• Pride (2014): Made in 2014, set in 1984-85.
• Precious: Made in 2009, set in 1987.
• The Pursuit of Happyness: Made in 2006, set in 1981.
• Red Dragon: Made in 2002, set during the early to middle parts of the decade.
• Remember the Titans: Made in 2000 and set in 1981, though the main story takes place in 1971 through flashbacks.
• Riding in Cars with Boys: Made in 2001, story's final arc set from 1985-1986.
• A River Runs Through It: Made in 1992, the film concludes in 1980.
• Rock of Ages: Made in 2012, set in 1987.
• Rock Star: Made in 2001, set in the middle of the decade.
• Rocketman (2019): A 2019 Elton John biopic.
• Romy and Michele's High School Reunion: Made in 1997, the film occasionally flashbacks to 1987.
• The Runaways: Made in 2010 and set mostly in the mid to late '70s, but the epilogue is set in 1982.
• Safe: Made in 1995, set in 1987.
• Selena: Made in 1997, a good chunk of the film takes place from 1981-1989.
• Sing Street: Released in 2016, set in 1985.
• Sleepers: Made in 1996, the second half of the film takes place in 1981.
• Son of Rambow: Made in 2008, set in 1982.
• Spud: 2009 film set in 1988.
• Starter for 10: Made in 2006, set in 1985 and 1986.
• Steve Jobs: Made in 2015, the film's first two acts take place in 1984 and 1988.
• Straight Outta Compton: Made in 2015, story kicks-off in 1986.
• Submarine: Made in 2010, set in 1986.
• Summer of '84: Made in 2018, set in 1984.
• Sunny: Made in 2011, has several flashbacks set somewhere in the 80s.
• Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl: Made in 2016, set during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.
• Take Me Home Tonight: Made in 2011, set in the late 1980s.
• A Taxi Driver: 2017 film set in 1980.
• Ted: Made and set in 2012, prologue takes place in 1985.
• Terminator Genisys (made in 2015, most of the first half of the film is set in 1984.
• Tetris: Made in 2022, set in the mid-80s.
• That's My Boy: Made in 2012, prologue set in 1984.
• The Theory of Everything: Made in 2014, the last quarter of the film is set mostly in this decade and concludes in 1989.
• tick, tick... BOOM!: 2021 film set in 1990, with extensive flashbacks between 1982-1988.
• Tour de Pharmacy: Made in 2017, set in an alternate 1982.
• Tyson: 1995 Mike Tyson Bio Pic.
• Umrika: 2015 film set in 1980s India.
• Unbreakable: An integral flashback concerning The Hero is set somewhere in this decade.
• Under the Shadow: Made in 2016, set during the Iran-Iraq War, which lasted from 1980 to 1988.
• Vice (2018): Made in 2018 and set from 2001-2009, part of the story flashes back during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
• Watchmen: Made in 2009, set in an alternate 1985.
• The Wedding Singer: Made in 1998, set in 1985.
• We Summon the Darkness: Made in 2019, set in July 1988.
• Wet Hot American Summer: Made in 2001, set in 1981.
• WNUF Halloween Special: Made in 2013, set in 1987.
• Wonderland: 2003 film about the 1981 Wonderland murders.
• The Wood: Made in 1999, with lots of flashbacks to 1986-89.
• X-Men Film Series:
  • X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Made in 2009, the bulk of the movie takes place in 1985 or the very least 1986, but given the nature of what happened to Logan's memories, it is unsure when it took place. The Other Wiki states Stryker met Logan and Victor in 1975 placing the majority of the movie in 1981. Regardless, it certainly doesn't capture the look or the feel of the time.
  • X-Men: Apocalypse: Made in 2016, mostly set in 1983.
  • Deadpool 2: Made in 2018, the eponymous protagonist time travels to the aforementioned X-Men Origins in The Stinger.

Han-guk Manhwa Aenimeisyeon

• Dooly the Little Dinosaur
• Space Transformers

Literature

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (published in 2013, set in 1987)
• Beloved
• Bimbos of the Death Sun
• The Broom of the System
• The Choir
• Dark Places
• Discworld (series began in 1986)
• Eleanor & Park (made in 2013, set between the fall of 1986 to the spring of 1987)
• Gorky Park
• Hamish Macbeth
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: The prologue is set in 1981.
• The Hotel New Hampshire
• Hilary Tamar
• The Hunt for Red October
• The Joy Luck Club
• Kinsey Millhone
• Less Than Zero
• Let the Right One In (made in 2004, set in 1983.)
• The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
• The Man Who Brought the Dodgers Back to Brooklyn
• Nineteen Eighty-Four (made in 1949, set in the eponymous year.)
• One Day (made in 2009, story begins in 1988.)
• Planet Earth Is Blue
• A Prayer for Owen Meany (The present day scenes at least.)
• The Quorum (set in the Eighties and early Nineties)
• The Silence of the Lambs
• Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town: The story's Framing Device is set in December 26th, 1984.
• Vineland
• Whateley Universe: Multiple stories have events in this time:
  • The Island of Dr. DNA: Part Two starts in "April 24th, 1980".
  • "Rises the Sun (Part 1)" has scenes in "Summer 1983", and "June 1985".

Live-Action TV

For series released in this time period, see Series of the 1980s

• Los 80: Made in 2008, set in the whole decade.
• American Horror Story: 1984: Made in 2019, set in Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
• The Americans: Made in 2013, the story is set from 1981-1987.
• Ashes to Ashes (2008): Made and initially set in 2008, then The Hero mental time travels to 1981.
• Candy (2022): 2022 Candy Montgomery Bio Pic set from 1978-1980.
• The Carrie Diaries: Made in 2013, set in 1984.
• Charmed (1998): Made in 1998, flashbacks to the eponymous Charmed Ones' childhood are either set in this decade or the previous one.
• Charmed (2018): The decade is briefly seen in a Time Travel spell, when two of the protagonists see Hilltowne University during this period. Besides the general bright, spandex clad and patterned aesthetic, there's also a protest against apartheid going on in the background.
• Chernobyl: Made in 2019, set during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
• Cobra Kai: Occasional flashbacks to the events of the first three films.
• The Crown: The fourth season was made in 2020 and set during 1979-1990 during the Thatcher Administration and the wedding of Princes Charles and Princess Diana.
• Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was made in 2022, but it was set between the 1960s and the 1990s. A large section of the story is devoted to Dahmer's murders throughout the 1980s.
• Dead of Summer: Made in 2016, set in 1989.
• The Deuce: Made in 2017, its final season set from 1984-1985.
• Deutschland 83
• Dirty Lines: Released in 2022, set almost entirely in the 1980s, apart from the last minute or two.
• Doom Patrol (2019): Flashback to Cliff Steele's Super Hero Origin happened during the 1988 NASCAR.
• Encantadia: Made in 2005, the Four-Girl Ensemble gets A Minor Kidroduction sometime during this decade.
• Everybody Hates Chris: Made in 2005, the show is set between 1982 to 1987.
• Forever (2014): Contains flashbacks set in 1982 and 1985.
• Fellow Travelers: Released in 2023, the present scenes take place in 1986.
• The First Lady: 2022 Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama Bio Pic.
• Freaks and Geeks: Made in 2000, set in 1980.
• Girls on Top
• GLOW: Made in 2017, story starts off in 1985.
• The Goldbergs: Takes place in the decade, but the timeline doesn't follow the real life order.
• Ghosts (UK)
  • The opening of "Happy Death Day" shows Pat's death in 1984.
  • The VHS footage of Pat celebrating Christmas with his family was filmed in 1983 and 1988.
• Ghosts (US): The flashbacks of "Pete’s Death", "Attic Girl" and one in "Dumb Deaths" are set in this decade.
• Gordita Chronicles: Premiered in 2022 but is set in 1985 Miami.
• Halt and Catch Fire: Made in 2014, story starts off in 1983.
• Hap and Leonard
• How I Met Your Mother: Made in 2005, the show occasionally flashes back to the main characters' childhood set in various points in this decade.
• Hometown (2021): The drama has partial flashbacks to 1989. The first part of the first episode, "Missing Girl", has a prologue that starts in the same year.
• Ikaw Lamang: Made in 2014, Grand Finale of the series' first chapter which began in The '50s is set in 1984.
• Itsa Sin . Made in 2021. Set during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
• Land of the Giants
• Legends of Tomorrow: Made in 2016, the titular group frequently travels to the middle and latter parts of the decade.
• love & death (2023): 2023 Candy Montgomery Bio Pic set from 1978-1980.
• mixed•ish: Made in 2019, takes place in 1985.
• Mrs. America: Made in 2020, the story ends in 1980 after the election of Ronald Reagan.
• The Naked Director: First season aired in 2019. The story begins at the very beginning of the decade.
• Narcos
• The Newsreader: Season 1 aired in 2021 and is set in January 24 - April 28, 1986. Season 2 covers July 8, 1987 - January 27, 1988.
• Our Friends in the North: A nine episode miniseries that chronicles thirty years in the life of four friends. The antepenultimate and penultimate episodes are respectively set in 1984 and 1987.
• Paper Girls (2022): Made in 2022, part of the story is set in 1988, where it starts out and the titular girls are from.
• Physical: Ran 2021-23 and set in 1980s San Diego.
• Psych: Made in 2006, every episode in the first 5 seasons begins with a flashback, usually to Shawn's childhood during the 1980s.
• Pose: Made in 2018, story kicks off in 1987.
• Red Oaks: Made in 2014, series begins in the summer of 1985.
• Red Riding: Made in 2009, last two parts set in 1980 and 1983.
• Revenge: Made and set in 2012 onwards, flashback to the protagonist's early childhood set in 1989.
• Sandglass: 1995 series set in the mid-1970s to early 1980s.
• Show Me a Hero: Made in 2015, story starts off in 1987.
• Smallville: Made in 2001, prologue set in 1989.
• Snowfall: Made in 2017, story kicks off in 1983.
• Squid Game: Made in 2021, prologue set somewhere in the decade.
• Stranger Things: Made in 2016, story kicks off in 1983.
• That '80s Show: Made in 2002, set in 1984.
• This Is Us: Made in 2016 and is set in The Present Day, but frequently flashes back to the three protagonists' birth in 1980 as well as their early childhood.
• True Detective Season 3: One third of its story takes place in 1980.
• Twin Peaks: The original two seasons were made in 1990, takes place in February and March 1989.
• UFO (1970): Filmed in 1969-70, but set in a 20 Minutes into the Future/Zeerust version of 1980.
• Under the Banner of Heaven: 2022 miniseries set in 1984.
• Winning Time: 2022 Bio Pic about the Los Angeles Lakers during Magic Johnson's tenure from 1979-1991.
• Why Women Kill: Made in 2019, 1/3 of the story takes place in 1984.
• The Young Ones
• Young Rock: Dwayne Johnson autobiographical Sitcom than begins airing in 2021.
• Young Sheldon: Made in 2017, the story begins in 1989.

Music

• Backstreet Boys: Their music video for their 2005 single "Just Want You to Know" depicts the group as Heavy Metal fans in 1985.
• COMMUNICATIONS: Case Two takes place in 1987.
• I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME is a concept band based around the idea of an 80s band that never made it big and was forgotten about. All of their music and music videos are presented as if they were found on cassette tapes in an old box, and are now being re-discovered and shared.

Pinball

• Ali (1980)
• The Amazing Spider-Man (1980)
• Asteroid Annie and the Aliens (1980)
• Baby Pac-Man (1982)
• Banzai Run (1988)
• Barracora (1982)
• Big Guns (1987)
• Black Hole (1981)
• Black Knight (1980)
  • Black Knight 2000 (1989)
• Bone Busters (1989)
• Caveman (1982)
• Centaur (1981)
• Comet (1986)
  • Cyclone (1988)
• Defender (1982)
• Devil's Dare (1982)
• Dungeons & Dragons (1987) (1987) (see Dungeons & Dragons (2000))
• Earthshaker! (1989)
• Eight Ball Deluxe (1981)
  • Eight Ball Champ (1985)
• Elvira and the Party Monsters (1989)
• Embryon (1981)
• The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• F-14 Tomcat (1987)
• Farfalla (1983)
• Fathom (1980)
• Fire! (1987)
• Firepower (1980)
  • Firepower II (1983)
• Flash Dragon (1986)
• Flight 2000 (1980)
• Haunted House (1982)
• High Speed (1986)
• Hollywood Heat (1986)
• Hyperball (1981)
• Iron Maiden (1981)
• James Bond 007 (Gottlieb) (1980)
• Joust (1983)
• Krull (1981, unreleased)
• Laser War (1987)
• Lights... Camera... Action! (1989)
• Mac Attack (1989)
• Mousin' Around! (1989)
• Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball (1982)
• Orbitor 1 (1982)
• Pin Bot (1986)
• Pink Panther (1981)
• Playboy 35th Anniversary (1989)
• Police Force (1989)
• Q*Bert's Quest (1983)
• Raven (1986)
• RoboCop (1989)
• Robot (1985)
• Rocky (1982)
• Seawitch (1980)
• Secret Service (1988)
• Silverball Mania (1980)
• Sorcerer (1985)
• Space Shuttle (1984)
• Space Station (1987)
• Spectrum (1982)
• Spy Hunter (1984) (see Spy Hunter)
• Star Gazer (1980)
• Strange Science (1986)
• Taxi (1988)
• Time Fantasy (1983)
• Time Machine (Data East) (1988)
• Time Machine (Zaccaria) (1983)
• Truck Stop (1988)
• TX-Sector (1988)
• Varkon (1982)
• Victory (1987)
• Viper (1982)
• Xenon (1980)

Podcasts

• The "Rememorex" system used for the Cool Kids Table game Bloody Mooney is described as the one you use if you want to play Stranger Things, and as such pays a lot of homage to the adventure and horror movies of the eighties just like the show does.
  • In fact, the developers have expanded Rememorex into an expanded universe, Radical Shadows. A version of the 80s that is secretly closer to pop culture than anyone realises. Commandroids is the latest, a mix of Transformers and Voltron; its focus is on a secret war between two factions of alien robots who form a symbiotic bond with a human pilot and disguise themselves as normal earth vehicles.
• The Sequinox team lands in an 80s prom world at the end of episode 15, with gaudy fashions to match.

Pro Wrestling

Wrestlers

• 2 Cold Scorpio: Debuted in the mid-1980s.
• Abdullah the Butcher
• Brian Adams/Crush: Debuted in 1986.
• Chris Adams: Debuted in England in 1978, debuted in the U.S. in Los Angeles in 1981.
• Adrian Adonis: Debuted in 1974, died in 1988.
• Akira Hokuto Debuted in 1985
• General Skandor Akbar
• Captain Lou Albano
• Gary Albright. Debuted in 1988.
• Bill Alfonso. Debuted in 1979, but didn't become a full-time referee until 1981.
• Arn Anderson: Debuted in 1982.
• André the Giant: Became one of the, well, biggest icons in wrestling in the 1980s.
• Brad Armstrong: Debuted in 1980.
• Lioness Asuka: Debuted in 1980.
• Dump Matsumoto: Debuted in 1980.
• "Stone Cold" Steve Austin: Debuted in 1989.
• Giant Baba
• The Barbarian: Debuted in 1980.
• "Outlaw" Ron Bass
• Paul Bearer: Was a very successful manager in Texas and Florida as Percival Pringle III
• Brutus Beefcake
• Chris Benoit: Debuted in 1986.
• Big Bossman: Debuted in 1985.
• Bam Bam Bigelow: Debuted in 1985.
• Eric Bischoff: Debuted as an announcer in the AWA in 1987.
• Steve Blackman: Debuted in 1986.
• Jerry Blackwell. Debuted in 1974, retired in 1989.
• Freddie Blassie
• Booker T: Debuted in 1989.
• Tom Brandi/Johnny Gunn/Salvatore Sincere. Debuted in 1985.
• Bobo Brazil
• Bruiser Brody
• King Kong Bundy: Debuted in 1981.
• Don "The Jackyl"/"Cyrus" Callis: Debuted in 1989 as Don Casablancas.
• Masahiro Chono
• Bryan Clarke: Debuted in 1989.
• Allen Coage/Bad News Allen/Bad News Brown
• Jim Cornette. Debuted in 1982.
• The Crusher
• Barry Darsow. Debuted in 1983.
• Bill DeMott: Debuted in 1988.
• Ted DiBiase: Debuted in the 70s, made his career with the "Million-Dollar Man" gimmick.
• Dick the Bruiser
• James J Dillon
• Shane Douglas: Debuted in 1982.
• "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan: Debuted in 1977, competed in various territories before arriving in WWE in 1987.
• Dynamite Kid
• Paul Ellering
• Sid Eudy/Sid Vicious/Sycho Sid: Debuted in 1987.
• The Fabulous Moolah: It was during this decade that she got involved in the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection, and was marketed by the WWF as holding the record for being Women's Champion for 28 years.
• Jackie Fargo: Retired in 1984.
• Ed "The Sheik" Farhat: Continued competing into this decade.
• Howard Finkel
• Pampero Firpo: Retired in 1986.
• Ric Flair: Debuted in the 70s, but really made his legacy in the 1980s.
• Mick Foley: Debuted as Cactus Jack in 1986.
• Yoshiaki Fujiwara: Gained mainstream fame in 1984
• Dory Funk Jr.
• Terry Funk
• Giant Haystacks/Loch Ness
• Eddie Gilbert: Debuted in 1979, became a big name in Memphis and other territories in the 1980s.
• Glacier: Debuted in 1987.
• Goldust: Debuted in 1988 as Dustin Rhodes.
• "Superstar" Billy Graham
• Eddie Graham. Died in 1985.
• The Grand Wizard. Died in 1983.
• Eddie Guerrero. Debuted in 1987.
• Billy Gunn. Debuted in 1989.
• Scott Hall: Debuted in 1984.
• Stan Hansen
• Bret Hart: Debuted in 1978, found his first major success in the 1980s.
• Jimmy Hart
• Owen Hart: Debuted in 1983.
• Shinya Hashimoto: Debuted in 1984.
• David "Vampire Warrior"/"Gangrel" Heath. Debuted in 1988.
• Bobby Heenan
• Curt Hennig: Debuted in 1980.
• Hercules Hernandez
• Paul Heyman: Debuted in the 1980s as a manager.
• Brian Hildebrand. Debuted in 1984.
• Hillbilly Jim: Earliest confirmed matches in Memphis in 1983.
• Hulk Hogan: Though he debuted in the late '70s, he became the face of wrestling in the '80s.
• Bob Holly: Debuted in 1987.
• Crash Holly: Debuted in 1989 as Johnny Pearson
• Honky Tonk Man
• Barry Horowitz: Debuted in 1979, competed in many different territories before establishing himself in WWE in 1987.
• Sir Oliver Humperdink
• King Curtis Iaukea: His most prominent work was as the Chairman of the Board of Kevin Sullivan's Army of Darkness in Florida, and briefly as the Wizard in WWE in 1986-1987.
• Antonio Inoki
• The Iron Sheik: Debuted in the 70s, became THE Foreign Wrestling Heel in the 1980s.
• Ivory: Debuted in 1986.
• Jacqueline: Debuted in 1988.
• Marty Jannetty: Debuted in 1984.
• Jeff Jarrett: Debuted in 1986.
• Jason The Terrible. Gimmick debuted in the late 1980s.
• Ahmed Johnson. Debuted in 1989.
• Rocky Johnson
• Paul Jones
• Junkyard Dog
• Leilani Kai
• Kamala: Made his name in Memphis and Dallas in the 1980s.
• Toshiaki Kawada: Debuted in 1982.
• Killer Khan
• Kenta Kobashi: Debuted in 1988.
• Ivan Koloff
• Nikita Koloff: Debuted in 1984.
• Aja Kong: Debuted in 1986.
• Konnan: Debuted in 1988.
• Kurrgan: Debuted in 1989.
• La Parka: Debuted in the 1980s.
• John Laurinaitis: Debuted in 1986.
• Jerry Lawler
• Mark Lewin
• Jushin Thunder Liger: Debuted in 1984.
• Tiny Lister: Debuted in 1989.
• Steve Lombardi: Debuted in 1983.
• Lex Luger: Debuted in 1985.
• Jerry Lynn: Debuted in 1988.
• Madusa: Debuted in 1988.
• MagnumTA. Debuted in 1978, forced to retire in 1986.
• Dean Malenko: Debuted in 1979, competed throughout Florida and Japan during the 1980s.
• Rick Martel
• Sherri Martel
• Chief Wahoo McDaniel
• Akira Maeda: Turned a superstar in the 1980s.
• Vince McMahon: Started in the 1970s, took WWE national and worldwide in the 1980s.
• Meng: Started in 1978, competed around the world before arriving in WWE in 1986.
• Shawn Michaels: Debuted in 1985.
• Mitsuharu Misawa: Debuted in 1981.
• Miss Elizabeth: Debuted in WWE in 1985.
• The Missing Link: Debuted in the 1960s, started the gimmick in 1983.
• Mr. Fuji
• Gorilla Monsoon: Became the Voice of the then-WWF during this decade.
• Pedro Morales
• Don Muraco
• Chigusa Nagayo: Debuted in 1980.
• Bull Nakano: Debuted in 1983.
• Jim Neidhart
• John Nord: Debuted in 1984.
• Scott Norton: Debuted in 1989.
• "Mean" Gene Okerlund: WWF's top announcer from 1984 to 1993.
• The One Man Gang
• Paul Orndorff
• Bob Orton Jr.
• Fred Ottman: Debuted in 1985.
• Diamond Dallas Page: Debuted as a manager in 1987.
• Iceman King Parsons
• Ken Patera
• Maxx Payne: Debuted in 1987.
• Brian Pillman: Debuted in 1986.
• Roddy Piper: Very remembered and loved for his work in WWE in the 1980s.
• Terri Poch: Debuted as a valet in 1988.
• Lanny Poffo
• Mad Man Pondo: Debuted in 1989.
• Bruce Prichard: Debuted in 1986.
• Harley Race
• Raven: Debuted in 1988 as Scotty the Body.
• William Regal: Debuted in 1983.
• Brad Rheingans: Debuted in 1980.
• Dusty Rhodes: Debuted in the 70s, became a major star in the 1980s.
• Wendi Richter: Debuted in 1979, best remembered for her work in WWE in 1983-85.
• Rikishi: Debuted in Montreal in 1985 as Alofa the Polynesian Prince.
• Road Dogg: Debuted in 1986.
• Jake Roberts
• Johnny Rodz
• "Playboy" Buddy Rose
• Jim Ross
• Mike Rotunda/Irwin R. Schyster: Debuted in 1981.
• Jacques Rougeau
• Rick Rude: Debuted in 1982.
• Sabu: Debuted in the mid-1980s.
• Naoki Sano: Debuted in 1984.
• Tito Santana: Debuted in 1977, best remembered as a top babyface of the 1980s.
• Kensuke Sasaki: Debuted in 1986.
• Randy Savage: Debuted in 1973, best known for his work in WWE in the 1980s.
• Buzz Sawyer: Debuted in 1978, competed in several territories throughout the 1980s.
• Satoru Sayama: Started in the 1980s as Tiger Mask.
• Tony Schiavone. Debuted in 1985
• Ken Shamrock: Debuted in 1989.
• Larry Sharpe
• Iron Mike Sharpe: Debuted in 1977, arrived in WWE in 1983.
• Mike Shaw/Norman The Lunatic/Bastion Booger: Debuted in 1981.
• Silver King. Debuted in 1985.
• Ron Simmons: Debuted in 1986.
• Sgt. Slaughter: Debuted in the 70s, the G.I. Joe image really took off in the 1980s.
• Slick. Debuted in 1986.
• Norman Smiley: Debuted in 1986.
• Davey Boy Smith: Debuted in 1978, made his name in the 1980s.
• Al Snow: Debuted in 1982.
• Jimmy Snuka: The decade where he really made his name.
• Gordon Solie
• Dan Spivey: Debuted in 1984.
• Stan Stasiak. Retired in 1984.
• Ricky Steamboat: Debuted in the 70s, but best remembered as a top babyface of the 1980s.
• George Steele
• Scott Steiner: Debuted in 1986, VERY different from what he is today.
• Sting: Debuted in 1985.
• "Exotic" Adrian Street
• Big John Studd
• Kevin Sullivan: The decade where he really made his name.
• Super Crazy. Debuted in 1988.
• Robert Swenson: Debuted in 1987.
• Tazz: Debuted in 1987.
• Genichiro Tenryu: Debuted in 1976, became a major figure in Japan during the 1980s.
• John Tenta: Best known as Earthquake, made his pro debut for All Japan Pro Wrestling on May 1, 1987.
• Bruce Tharpe: Debuted in the early 1980s as a referee and ring announcer.
• The Tonga Kid/Islander Tama/The Samoan Savage. Debuted in 1983.
• Manami Toyota: Debuted in 1987.
• Jumbo Tsuruta
• Ultimate Warrior: Debuted in 1985.
• Último Dragón: Debuted in 1987.
• Uncle Elmer
• The Undertaker: Started in Dallas and Memphis in 1988.
• Luna Vachon: Debuted in 1985.
• Vader: Debuted in 1985.
• Greg Valentine
• Jesse Ventura: Retired from competition due to health issues and became a top heel commentator for WWE.
• Virgil: Debuted in 1985.
• Nikolai Volkoff
• Koko B. Ware
• Del "The Trooper"/"The Patriot" Wilkes: Debuted in 1988.
• "Dr. Death" Steve Williams: Debuted in 1982.
• Barry Windham: Debuted in 1979.
• Harvey Wippleman: Debuted in the 1980s as Downtown Bruno.
• Charles Wright: Debuted in 1989 as The Soultaker.
• Yokozuna: Started in the 1980s as Kokina.
• Tom Zenk: Debuted in 1984.
• Boris Zhukov

Tag Teams and Stables

• The Blackjacks
• The Bushwhackers
• * Crush Gals: Team debuted in 1983
• Demolition: Team debuted in 1987.
• The Fabulous Kangaroos
• The Fabulous Ones: Team debuted in 1982.
• The Four Horsemen: Debuted in 1985.
• The Headshrinkers: Debuted in 1985.
• Jadō & Gedō: Formed in 1987.
• Jumping Bomb Angels: Debuted in 1981.
• The Mega Powers: Team formed in 1987, disbanded in 1989.
• The Midnight Express: Team formed in 1980.
• The Moondogs: Debuted in 1981.
• The Nasty Boys: Debuted in 1986.
• The Powers of Pain: Debuted in 1987.
• The Road Warriors: Debuted in 1983.
• The Rock 'n' Roll Express: Debuted in 1983.
• The Varsity Club: Debuted in 1987.
• Von Erich Family: Mike debuted in 1983, and, for a short time, they experienced their greatest success.
• The Wild Samoans

Promotions

• FMW: Atsushi Onita's pioneering hardcore promotion debuted in 1989.
• GLOW: Debuted in 1986.
• Universal Wrestling Federation: Debuted in 1984.
• WCW: The name debuted in 1989.

Events

• WWE Golden Age Era: Pretty much the entire decade, really.
• WrestleMania: The first one was on March 31, 1985.
• The Great American Bash: The first was on July 6, 1985.
• King of the Ring: The first one was on July 8, 1985.
• Survivor Series: The first was on Thanksgiving Night, 1987.
• Royal Rumble: The first was on January 24, 1988.
• SummerSlam: The first was on August 29, 1988.

Miscellaneous

• Big Gold Belt: Original iteration first appeared in 1986.
• Triple Crown Champion: Pedro Morales became the first ever wrestler to achieve this feat in 1980, and the only one to do so until the following decade.

Radio

• Phoenix (1954)
• Sherlock Holmes (BBC Radio): Began in 1989.
• Star Wars Radio Dramas: A New Hope (1981) and The Empire Strikes Back (1983)

Tabletop Games

• 2300 AD
• Albedo: The Role-Playing Game
• BattleTech (see BattleTech)
• Car Wars
• Clue VCR Mystery Game
• Dragonlance
• Dungeons & Dragons
  • Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition (Launched in 1989)
• Forgotten Realms (see Forgotten Realms)
• Mafia (see Werewolf (1997))
• Lords of Creation
• Merchant of Venus
• Renegade Legion
• Shadowrun (see Shadowrun)
• Talisman
• Unmasked: Published in 2017, set in 1986.
• Warhammer
• Warhammer 40,000
• As mentioned in Podcasts, the Rememorex expanded universe has different games that all use the same system but focus on different types of '80s movies and television, and all implied to be set in the same universe (Radical Shadows). Basic Rememorex is about normal kids or teens encountering a strange mystery in their suburban town, a la Stranger Things. RPG Nasty is about playing doomed characters in a video nasty, with main focus being to descibe your own character's death in gory detail. Commandroids is about alien robots who form a symbiotic bond with a human pilot while disguising themselves as earth vehicles to protect the Earth from their evil counterparts.

Theater

• Road: Debuted in 1986, set in the 1980s.
• Sunday in the Park with George: Debuted in 1984, set in the 1880s and the 1980s.
• Tell Me on a Sunday: Debuted in 1980, set in the 1980s.
• Heathers: The Musical: Made in 2014, but based on the 1988 movie Heathers and set in 1989.

Theme Parks

• This was Action Park's first full decade.
• Captain EO: Opened in 1986.
• Cranium Command: Opened in 1989.
• Disney Theme Parks:
  • Disneyland]]'s Tomorrowland, specifically an ideal futuristic 1986, until the revamp in 1996.
  • Disney-MGM Studios (later renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios) opened on May 1st, 1989.
  • EPCOT Center (later renamed Epcot) opened on October 1st, 1982.
  • Tokyo Disneyland opened on April 15th, 1983.
  • Typhoon Lagoon opened on June 1st, 1989.

• The Great Movie Ride: Opened in 1989.
• Horizons: Opened in 1983.
• Journey into Imagination: Opened in 1983.
• Spaceship Earth: Opened in 1982.
• Splash Mountain: Opened in 1989.
• Star Tours: Opened in 1987.

Toys

• Micro Machines
• Purr-Tenders
• Starriors
• Sylvanian Families: Launched in 1985.
• American Girls Collection: Launched with the first three characters in 1986. Went full circle with the release of Courtney Moore whose stories were set in the very same year the toy line started.

Video Games

• ''198x'' takes place in, well...
• Antarctica 88 is set in October of 1988.
• Beat Cop: Set in 1986.
• Bio Lab Wars: Set in 1985,
• Boku no Natsuyasumi 4: Set in August of 1985 (as opposed to the previous installments in the series which were all set in August of 1975).
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II : Half of the game takes place in 1986-1989, the other half during 2025.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War : Single Player takes place in 1981, while the Multiplayer takes place 1983 and onwards.
• Crossing Souls is set in 1984 and is a homage to 80s pop culture in general.
• Diacrisis: Set in 1985.
• Duck Season: Set in 1988.
• Firewatch: Set in 1989.
• The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa: Unclear when, but story/promotional material has it set in the 1980s.
• Five Nights at Freddy's 2: The paycheck in the ending reveals it's set in 1987.
• Five Nights at Freddy's 4: Hinted to be set in 1983 in one of the cutscenes and confirmed by the Word of God.
• Flashpoint Campaigns: Set in 1989.
• Flippin Kaktus: The game begins by stating that it's set in 1984 (on a Sunday).
• GoldenEye (1997): Much like the film, its prologue is set in 1986.
• GoldenEye (Wii): Much like the film, its prologue is set in 1986.
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: Set in 1986.
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories: Set in 1984.
• Haunted Halloween 85: Released in 2016, set in 1985.
  • Haunted Halloween '86: The Curse Of Possum Hollow: Released in 2017, set in 1986.
• Hotline Miami: Set in 1989.
• Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number: Set in an alternate 1985-1991.
• Ian's Eyes: Set in 1987.
• Lake: Set in 1986.
• Loop 8 Summer Of Gods: Set in 1983.
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: Set in 1984.
• Mother Russia Bleeds: Set in USSR in an alternative version of 1986.
• Mythforce has a '80s cartoon aesthetic similar to He-Man.
• Narita Boy has an strong 80s aesthetic.
• Not for Broadcast takes place in an alternate timeline. The first part of Episode 1 is set in 1984, the second part and Episode 2 in 1985, and the first 1/3 of Episode 3 is set in 1987, but one with alternate history and fictional countries (the setting of the game itself may not even be called Britain, though it's at least a facsimile of it). The bonus episodes are set during an international lockdown between episode 1 and 2 in a coma dream, and the Telethon episode is set between the second and third gameplay days when you just got the job and management tests your suitability to keep it by working on an archive tape from decades earlier, featuring the Prime Minister's break into public fame.
• Operation Flashpoint: Most of the games are set in this decade during the Cold War.
• Papers, Please: Set in late 1982.
• Power Drill Massacre: Set in 1987.
• The Samaritan Paradox: Set in 1984.
• Scarface: The World Is Yours (set in 1983).
• Shadow of Destiny: The player can Time Travel to 1980.
• Shenmue: The game starts in 1986.
• This Is the Police: Set in 1985.
• The Wolf Among Us: Set in 1986.
• World in Conflict: Set in 1989.
• World of Horror: Set in 1984.^note The in-game screen specifically mention the year.
• Yakuza 0: Set in December 1988, at the height of Japan's "Bubble Economy".

Visual Novels

• Digital: A Love Story: Made in 2010, set in 1988.
• When They Cry:
  • Higurashi: When They Cry (franchise started in 2002, but set in 1983)
  • Umineko: When They Cry (franchise started in 2007, but set in 1986)
• A Summer's End — Hong Kong, 1986: Made in 2020, set in 1986.
• White Album: Made in 1998, remade in 2010, set somewhere in the 80s.

Webcomics

• The Maddie series begins and takes place during mid to late 1985, and features various locations, technology and other products endemic to the time such as cars, phones and events such as Live AID.
  • Outsiders follows on from Maddie In America; starting in January 1986 and proceeding through the latter half of the decade.
• Malibu By Sunset: Although the year was never briefed. The computer, tv, cellphone, furnitures, hairstyle etc., gave it away.

Web Videos

• Southpaw Regional Wrestling: Made in 2017, set in 1986-1987.
• Wonders Of The World Wide Web: Started in 2012, set in various parts of the '80s (and sometimes the '90s), focusing on the technology of that era.
• As the title suggests, Winter of '83 takes place during the winter of 1983, more precisely, January, though some parts do take place the month before (December 1982).

Western Animation

• Jorel's Brother: The series was originally meant to take place during the 1980s, right after the end of the in-universe version of Brazilian Military Regime, led by literal clowns. Many episodes feature a huge 80s aesthetic, such as arcade machines, VHS tapes, parodies of the MasterSystem and Game Boy, and on-screen dates usually pointing to this decade, with a character's test briefly being shown dated of May 22, 1983. In the first season, no computers or smartphones were seen whatsoever, besides a brief offhand mention of a character saying they researched something on the internet. Anachronism Stew and Ambiguous Time Period are in full force throughout the entire show, as other episodes also show on-screen dates pertaining to different years throughout the 90's and 2000's, and technology of every time period is seen. However, the plot point of taking place after the equivalent of the Brazilian Military Regime is consistent and essential during the whole series, even though several adult main characters are shown to have lived through The '60s when it begun, even though it would mean that they would either be very old or outright deceased in the present day.
• Book 4 of Infinity Train takes place in the mid-1980s, based on the bumper sticker on Ryan's van denoting him and Min-Gi as being the "Class of 1985" and the latter noting at one point that the former had been gone on his road trip for almost a year.

Other

• Dinosaurs Attack!, a collectible card series by Topps laden with Ludicrous Gibs.
• Commodore 64: The most widely sold inexpensive multipurpose home computer of this decade.
• The art of Patrick Nagel.
• The Apple Macintosh was launched on January 24th, 1984.
• The American Girls Collection began in 1986. (see Kit Kittredge: An American Girl)
• Garbage Pail Kids began in 1985.

---

Random Kid: 'Cause now we know!
Random Joe: And knowing is half the battle!
Chorus: G.I. JOOOOOOEEEEEEE!

---