80's: The Best Of Times

PAC MAN

Pac-Man is an arcade game developed by Namco and first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games, and an icon of 1980s popular culture. Upon its release, the gameand, subsequently, Pac-Man derivativesbecame a social phenomenon that sold a bevy of merchandise and also inspired, among other things, an animated television series and a top-ten hit single.

FRIDAY THE 13TH

Friday the 13th is a 1980 American slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller. The film concerns a group of teenagers who are murdered one by one while attempting to re-open an abandoned campground, and stars Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram and Kevin Bacon in one of his earliest roles. It is considered one of the first "true" slasher movies.

“It’s not bad enough to have Friday the 13th. We’ve gotta have a full moon, too”.-Sgt. Tierney in “Friday the 13th”

MIXTAPES

A mixtape or mixed-tape is the generic name given to any compilation of songs recorded onto any audio format. It usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler and can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a theme or mood, to a highly personal statement tailored to the tape's intended recipient. Essayist Geoffrey O'Brien has called the personal mix tape "the most widely practiced American art form", and many mix tape enthusiasts believe that by carefully selecting and ordering the tracks in a mix, an artistic statement can be created that is greater than the sum of its individual songs.

DALLAS

The prime-time TV drama "Dallas" showcased the lives of the Ewings, a Texas family who had made their fortune in the oil and cattle industries. Forget the Waltons. These people were wealthy, greedy and excessive. The embodiment of these qualities was character J.R., who (spoiler alert) was shot in the 1980 season finale. The cliffhanger had everyone wondering, "Who shot J.R.?" And when the show returned the following fall, the episode revealing the shooter became one of the highest-rated shows in television history.

“Dallas represented wealth and arrogance… People wanted some of that”.-Larry Hagman

SIMON

Simon is an electronic game of memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, with software programming by Lenny Cope, and manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley. Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and was an immediate success, becoming a pop culture symbol of the 1980s.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (also known as The Empire Strikes Back) is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, with George Lucas writing the film's story and serving as executive producer.

Following a difficult production, The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21, 1980, and initially received mixed reviews from critics, although it has since grown in esteem, becoming the most critically acclaimed chapter in the Star Wars saga and one of the most highly-rated films in history. It earned more than $538 million worldwide over the original run and several re-releases, making it 1980's highest-grossing film. When adjusted for inflation, it is the twelfth-highest-grossing film in the U.S. and Canada as of 2012.

In 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."

“If only you knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.”-Darth Vader

INTELLIVISION

The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Over 3 million Intellivision units were sold and a total of 125 games were released for the console.

In 2009, video game website IGN named the Intellivision the No. 14 greatest video game console of all time.

KEVIN BACON

Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American film and theater actor and musician whose notable roles include National Lampoon's Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, The River Wild, Murder in the First, Apollo 13, Hollow Man, Stir of Echoes, Trapped, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Friday the 13th, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, X-Men: First Class and Tremors.

“I think of myself more as a workhorse actor. It will be hot and cold and up and down, but no one will kick me out of the business.”-Kevin Bacon

BOOMBOX

Boombox is a common word for a portable cassette or CD player with two or more loudspeakers. Other terms known are ghetto blaster, jambox, Brixton briefcase or radio-cassette. The first Boombox was developed by the inventor of the C-Cassette, Philips of the Netherlands.

The boombox quickly became associated with urban society, particularly African American and Hispanic youth. The wide use of boomboxes in urban communities led to the boombox being coined a "ghetto blaster", a nickname which was soon used as part of a backlash against the boombox and hip hop culture. Cities began banning boomboxes from public places and they became less and less acceptable on city streets.

The boombox became intrinsically linked to hip hop culture and, as Fab Five Freddy puts it, was "instrumental" in the rise of hip hop.

HIP-HOP

Hip-hop was in its infancy as the 1980s took hold. Rooted in South Bronx block parties, the new musical movement began stemming into other parts of New York. But it wouldn't be long before hip-hop would hit the mainstream with full force, with much credit due to rap group Run-DMC.

VHS

Before the 1980s, people watched movies mostly in theaters or on broadcast television. But all that was about to change. The 1980s saw a revolution in the entertainment industry, and it came in the form of VHS (Video Home System). In 1981 only 2% of American households owned VCRs, the devices used to play VHS tapes. But that number would soon skyrocket, giving birth to the home video industry.

"Hollywood thought it would hurt movie ticket sales, but it didn't deter people from going to movies; in fact, it only increased their appetite for entertainment:"

-Leonard Maltin

RICHARD PRYOR

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor (December 1, 1940 December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer, and MC.

Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of his era: Jerry Seinfeld called Pryor "The Picasso of our profession"

WALKMAN

Walkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette players, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of former Sony Ericsson mobile phones. The original Walkman introduced a change in music listening habits by allowing people to carry music with them and listen to music through lightweight headphones.

DYNASTY

In 1985, "Dynasty" was the #1 show in the United States, beating out "Dallas" which ranked at #2. For her portrayal of Alexis, Collins was nominated six times for a Golden Globe Award (every year from 1982 to 1987), winning once in 1983. Upon accepting the award, Collins thanked Sophia Loren for turning down the part of Alexis.

"When people think of the 1980s, they think of ‘Dynasty', and when they think of ‘Dynasty', I think, with all due modesty, they think of me."

-Joan Collins

SKATEBOARDING

Skateboarding wasn't born in the 1980s, but it sure did a lot of growing up during that time. It was the perfect sport for the era. Skaters who had spent their teenage years sneaking into backyard swimming pools had grown up and started their own skateboard companies. One of them was Stacy Peralta, who would become father of the modern skateboarding video. His first video featured a young Tony Hawk. Together, Peralta and Hawk would propel skateboarding across the nation and into the world at large.

BRAT PACK

The Brat Pack is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. First mentioned in a 1985 New York magazine article, it is now usually described as the cast members of two specific films released in 1985 The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire although sometimes other actors are included. The "core" members are Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy.

“What distinguishes these young actors from generations past is that most of them have skipped the one step toward success that was required of the generation of Marlon Brando and James Dean, and even that of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino: years of acting study.”-Writer David Blum, New York Magazine, 1985

ARCADE GAME

An arcade game (or coin-op) is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses, such as restaurants, bars, and particularly amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers (such as claw cranes).

The golden age of arcade video games lasted from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. While arcade games were still relatively popular during the late 1990s, the entertainment medium saw a continuous decline in popularity in the Western hemisphere when home-based video game consoles made the transition from 2D graphics to 3D graphics. Despite this, arcades remain popular in many parts of Asia as late as the early 2010s.

Arcade classics have also been reappearing as mobile games, with Pac-Man in particular selling over 30 million downloads in the United States by 2010

WRESTLEMANIA

WrestleMania's widespread success helped transform the professional wrestling industry and make WWE the most successful wrestling promotion in the world. The event has facilitated the rise to stardom of wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Bret Hart, The Ultimate Warrior, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, Batista, Triple H, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Edge and CM Punk. Celebrities such as Aretha Franklin, Cyndi Lauper, Muhammad Ali, Mr. T, Alice Cooper, Lawrence Taylor, Pamela Anderson, Mike Tyson, Donald Trump, Floyd Mayweather, Snoop Dogg and others have participated or made special appearances within the events.

RUBIK'S CUBE

Ernő Rubik is perhaps the last person you'd expect to invent the world's best-selling toy. Born in Budapest during World War II, he studied sculpture and architecture, becoming fascinated with three-dimensional design. As a Communist state, Hungary hardly encouraged capitalist entrepreneurship, and Rubik wasn't working on toys to make money. He just had an idea, a love of spatial thinking, and a room in his mother's two-bedroom apartment. He didn't even realize he had created a puzzle until he scrambled the colors of his prototype and attempted to reset them.

His invention was a game-changer for Rubik, for Hungary, and beyond. The Rubik's Cube took the world by storm, selling millions, spawning a TV show and a support group, Cubaholics Anonymous. At the height of the mid-80s craze, it was estimated that one-fifth of the world's population had taken a crack at solving the Cube.

MTV

MTV, originally an initialism of Music Television, is an American cable television channel based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs. In its early years MTV's main target demographic were young adults but today, MTV primarily broadcasts are targeted at adolescents and teenage girls.

MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the U.S. and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have gone independent. MTV's influence on its audience, including issues related to censorship and social activism, has been a subject of debate for years.

The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star", and the second music video shown was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run".

"Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll"-The first words heard on MTV, spoken by John Lack, 1981

CARE BEARS

The Care Bears are characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears. The Care Bears appeared in their own TV specials called The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984). They also had their own television series from 1985 to 1988, in addition to three feature films: The Care Bears Movie (1985), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).

Each Care Bear comes in a different color and has a specialized insignia on its belly that represents its duty and personality. This insignia was known as their "tummy symbol." However, the movie Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! renamed them "belly badges". Adding to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins", which feature a lion, rabbit, penguin, raccoon, and other such animals created in the same style as the teddy bears.

E.T.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote. It tells the story of Elliott (played by Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

The concept for E.T. was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents' divorce in 1960. In 1980, Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the stalled science fiction/horror film project Night Skies. The film was shot from September to December 1981 in California on a budget of US$10.5 million. Unlike most motion pictures, the film was shot in roughly chronological order, to facilitate convincing emotional performances from the young cast.

“E.T. phone home!”Elliot (Henry Thomas)

BACK TO THE FUTURE

The 1980s are well known for being wild and excessive. The squeaky clean postwar prosperity of the 1950s, although only 30 years prior, seemed eons away. In 1985 an iconic movie would bring nostalgia to the forefront. It was "Back to the Future."

"Back to the Future" was a box office hit, one that almost didn't happen. Writers Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis were initially turned down by most studios. Most thought it was too clean for a teen comedy, especially in comparison to successful films like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Porky's." With this in mind, they pitched the script to Disney, only to be told that some of the film's plot was a little too risqué. Ultimately, Gale and Zemeckis were able to land a deal with Universal Studios. The rest is history.

MAX HEADROOM

Max Headroom is a fictional British artificial intelligence, known for his wit and stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled voice. It was introduced in early 1984. The character was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton in the mid-1980s, and portrayed by Matt Frewer as "The World's first computer-generated TV host" although the computer-generated appearance was achieved with prosthetic make up as the computer technology of the time was not sufficiently advanced to achieve the desired effect. Preparing the look for filming involved a four-and-a-half hour session in make-up which Matt Frewer described as "a very painful, torturous and disgusting enterprise."

"I see myself as witty! Urbane! Highly talented!"

-Max Headroom

THE GOLDEN GIRLS

The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 13, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older, single women (three widows and one divorcée) sharing a house in Miami, Florida.

"Please! The last time I was a virgin, the Louisiana Purchase was in escrow!

-Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty)

80s FASHION

1980's fashion was big, it was bright, and it was loud! If you were around in the 1980's then you would no doubt have worn some very large tops, perhaps some huge earrings (Even if you're a man) and chances are you would have felt good about wearing them too.

When we look back at 1980's fashion, it's clear to see it's all about making a statement with the biggest pair of shoulder pads you can find, to fit on your huge oversized shirt, to be worn over your stirrup pants. This is what 80's fashion was, and it was a decade that still influences how we dress decades later.

“Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” -Brooke Shields

80s MUSIC

Not only did 80s pop music define who we were, but the music held the anthems of our daily lives. We woke up to "Manic Mondays" with the Bangles just to find ourselves "hangin tough" with the New Kids On The Block by the time Wednesday or Thursday rolled around. By the end of the week, it was "Friday, I'm in Love." When the weekend came, Kylie had us doing the "Locomotive" and Debbie Gibson taught us that youth was electric.

As with any decade of pop music, the 80s had its share of both pop icons and one hit wonders. The king and queen of the 80s pop music prom would certainly be Michael Jackson and Madonna.

With the overall comeback of the 80s, the music of the 80s is now being appreciated even by today's teens. It just goes to show, you are never too old or too young to "Rock the Casbah."

“Michael has connected with every soul in the world.”-Quincy Jones

Everybody loves the 80's

The ‘80s is not about nostalgia; it is about a decade of people, decisions and inventions that changed our future, told from the perspective of unknowing history makers who lived these iconic moments. It was 10 years of nonstop glamour, unchecked excess, ruthless ambition and explosive technological innovation that combined to produce the historic changes and global events that made us who and what we are today.