Friday 1 July 2011

10 Things I like about the 1980s

This post is part of Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup   
and I'm grateful to V of Grit and Glamour for including me.

I got an email from a friend who asked if I'm continuing my series of 'Ten things I like..' As you may have noticed, I have been distracted with other things. But it’s time to continue.

Before the vintage purists among you flinch and wail "Oooo no. Eighties!", this is my take on this decade of madness. I'm proud to say I grew up in the '80s and I have many fond memories of them. The words 'tacky', 'bad music', 'bad hair', and 'bad clothes' are usually associated with the 1980s, and with perfect justification. But it was a decade of tumultuous change, and the world would be a big, boring place had we not had it.

So I hope you'll give me a chance.

Image from sburke.eu
1. Rubik's Cube
Hands up those who grew up in the '80s without handling one? I didn't think so.

Originally created by Ernő Rubik in the early '70s to teach his students in Budapest the concept of 3D objects, it was finally introduced in February 1980 at toy fairs in London, Paris, Nuremberg, and New York.
I never completed the puzzle, but always gave it a good go. One day I peeled off the stickers, interchanged them and convinced my older brothers that I've done it. I felt a little guilty, later.

This has got to be my favourite '80s icon. It's also the best-selling toy in the world according to some reports. The good news is, you can now watch online tutorials showing how to solve the puzzle. Yay!

Image from Omis.m
2. MTV
August 1, 1981 was a phenomenal day. MTV aired its first show and the era of musical videography began. The idea that you could watch your favourite artists sing for you all day long was mind-blowing. It also created a new media role – that of the VJ, who linked the videos with dialogue.
I particularly liked Thriller by Michael Jackson. To me it was kinda like a horror film, but one in which the characters were singing and dancing. Hey, nothing's cheesy when you're a child.
I come from a musical family. We used to have MTV playing in the front room and soaking up the bands' visual aesthetic and of course fashion trends, blissfully unaware of their powerful influence on young people.

Image from Lovesceneonline.com

3. Colour Blocking
It's been around since the 1930s. From Piet Mondrian's 'Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow', to YSL's 1960s 'Mondrian Day Dress'. In the 1980s it was present in many of the clothes we wore. But back then nobody pointed it out as a particular fashion trend. It was simply how bright clothes were put together.

Image from Liketotally80s.com
4. Madonna
The reigning Queen of Pop
Whatever your take on Madonna, nobody can deny her iconic status. She burst onto the pop music scene in the early ’80s, and pretty much shaped its future.

Before becoming a megastar she was an A student and was in a scholarship program. Did you know that? I didn't. Her voice might not be spectacular but she has a perfect pitch and can play the guitar and drums, apart from being flexible and all that. To me she’s a heroine for constantly embracing new knowledge and techniques, and surviving in the world of business. Talk about going with the flow.

Image from Profilebrand.com
5. Boombox
Simply known as radio cassette player, it was great for taking around your friend's place to hang out, listen to FM radio stations, make and play cassette tapes, and even record vocal inputs. Remember the band sessions you had in your parents' garage or spare room, trying to record your own music, i.e. playing covers?

The boombox, which also went by several names which simply couldn’t be used nowadays, appeared in the '70s but was popularised in the '80s. Breakdancing and hip-hop wouldn't be the same without it.

Image from My Retrospace
6. Jane Fonda Workout
Leotards, check. Leg warmers, check. VCR, check.
Jane Fonda and her aerobics videos pioneered the fitness craze for the baby boomers of the '80s. Nothing wrong with a bit of exercise, I say.


Image from Wikipedia
7. IBM PC
As a vintage collector, I've come across some later models and I can't contain the 'geek within'. I'd run my fingers on its monitor, CPU, floppy disk portal, down to its clunky keyboard. With a prominent industrial look, I am in awe as always, as without this first 'home/office computer', there won't be advancement in the Internet, worldwide web, gaming, software development, facebook, twitter, eBay, and, let’s face it, blogging.

Image from Collider.com
8. '80s TV
Primetime soaps became ever more popular and detective series such as Magnum PI, Miami Vice, 21 Jump Street, and action adventure series like The A-Team shaped the imaginations of my friends and I.
Whatever tickled your fancy, you were bound to be following a series.

Image from Flashingblade.net
9. Pacman
C'mon. You've got to like this little yellow, open-mouthed button trying to gobble up dots, whilst avoiding the jelly ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. When Google used it as an interactive doodle to commemorate its 30th anniversary last year, I tried playing it for hours and still could never win.

Pacman became the marker in the history of arcade gaming. Its success is due to brand awareness. The creation of Pacman merchandise helped a lot. For me, I guess it's because it was played by both boys and girls. Also, everybody likes the concept of a maze, getting rewarded a lot of points, gaining life back, and being able to run away as fast as you can from the enemy. What great fun!

Image from Quotednews
10. Bloodless Revolution of 1986
With all the political unrest in the news lately, I am reminded of my first-hand experience of the first-ever peaceful revolution in human history - the 1986 Philippine revolution that saw the end of Ferdinand Marcos' regime and the creation of democracy. I wish the current troubled countries could pull off what my fellow countrymen did.

In February 1986, two to three million people came out to call for Marcos' resignation and install the people's elected president, Corazon Aquino, who was also the country's first female president. (Time magazine awarded her the title 'Icon of Democracy').

It's been said that this event inspired the Fall of Berlin Wall in 1989. Something like this isn't easily done and perhaps we were lucky as a nation. But there's nothing stopping anyone to emulate this little miracle.

So, there you are my friends.
I hope this justifies my fondness for the '80s.
What was it like growing up in the '80s for you? Do you subscribe to the notion that the '80s was the worst decade ever? Or are you loving the cheese, bright colours and seismic changes?





 


Source:
Wikipedia.com
Eightiesclubtripod.com
              

27 comments:

  1. I am a child of the '80s, your post is amazing, thanks so much for sharing this with us..
    Jonny in 21 Jump Street was my hero!!
    Thanks for those great reminder alex..
    ♥ ... milla

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Milla! How are you? Glad you like the post. Yes, everybody loves Johnny. Hope all's well you side.
    Cheers,
    Joy x

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG, I was just saying how I miss when MTV used to actually play music videos! And Madonna...will always love her.

    This was such a fun post!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi V! Thanks so much for dropping by. Glad you like the post. Yes, them were the days when MTV did play music :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love!love!lovin' this post! You're awesome! I had a great time in the 80s too.
    Viv xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Viv! Thanks so much. Please do come back soon :)
    Joy x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Music is the real thing that I love and "miss" from 80's!!! Best thing those years left us. Thank you for this little shrine to 80'S!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Haha nice list.

    I will always be grateful to the '80s for Dirty Dancing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @ Vivian My husband always says my "musical inclinations are dubious" but I don't care :)
    Thanks for visiting my blog.
    Have a good one :)
    Cheers,
    Joy x

    ReplyDelete
  10. @ Lisa: Of course! How can I forget Dirty Dancing? We all miss Patrick Swayze.
    Thanks for popping by.
    Cheers,
    Joy x

    ReplyDelete
  11. I grew up in the 80s and remember playing with a Rubik's cube when I was a kid. I could never figure it out! I also remember my dad bringing home an IBM PC. My brothers and I crowded around it with squeals of excitement and thought it was so high-tech and fancy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. @ Angela Sounds like you had fun too, just like me:)
    Thanks for stopping by.

    Joy xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. I used to do math on that IBM PC at school! Oh...memories! I love your list.

    -shannon

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks Shannon. I must say I love technology advancement. Look at what we've got now. Yes, having an IBM PC was like buying a car for us. I remember playing some spelling games on it. Also remember the green dot matrix font?? :)
    J x

    ReplyDelete
  15. aaah, this just took me back to my childhood (I'm an 80s baby)!

    Madonna was EVERYTHING to me. And I could never master the Rubik's Cube but I played many games of pac man lol. OMG & Thriller?? We had the "making of" VHS & used to watch it constantly. I was fascinated yet terrified of zombies at the time (remember the cheesy night of the living dead movies?), so I'd always hide under a blanket when it got to the scene were the zombie states RIGHT in the camera lol.

    This was such a cool list.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Kimmie, Thanks for visiting! Keep that VHS. Future collectable, perhaps?
    Zombie films! Aaaha!ha! We could've been great mates :)

    Joy xx

    ReplyDelete
  17. I always have loved the fredom, creativity and colours and bariquism of the 80s. As a matter of fact the 80s are slowly back.
    yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    ReplyDelete
  18. Absolutely true. They're back indeed - with a vengeance! :)
    Joy x

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh man, that computer is so awesome I'm dying. I remember having this old computer that ran on cassette tapes! Haha. It was called an Adam computer..

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wonderful! Will have to keep an eye on those then on my hunting days. Ha!ha!
    J xx

    ReplyDelete
  21. LOVE the color blocks!!
    http://blog.plankdesigns.com/

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks Maria Alejandra.
    Have a great week :)
    Joy x

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks DG!
    Glad you like the post :)
    Joy x

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great post! The 80s was great fun. Color-blocking? Oh yes! No one said it was the trend. ha!ha!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Minnie, glad you noticed too. Isn't it just?
    Joy x

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love the 80 no matter who says what! not a big fan of 80 fashion BUT I just love the music!!thanks for taking me back in time with this post! I used to LOVE Mtv...so sad when it became a reality TV channel!
    Farah
    www.2-gitanas.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

❤I write because you read. Thanks for the love❤