Our formative years are the time period when we start growing into the person we will be as adults. Everything around us is an influence, good or bad, and we usually think of our teenage years as such. Not only are our bodies nearing the end of growth spurts, but our minds are forming rapidly.
Wherever your formative years fall, you likely have fond memories of the things that influenced you. Songs, movies, clothing, etc. are all part of what you think about in a good way. I turned 7 in 1980 and was 16 as the decade flipped to 1990, so the 1980s was the decade where so much of who I am was formed.
And now I’ll explain to you why the 1980s were the bomb, the very best decade of them all!
Let’s start with movies. As the decade began, The Empire Strikes Back arrived in theaters. If you didn’t know the answer to which Star Wars movie is the best, ESB is the correct answer. Add in other movies from this decade and tell me these aren’t great films that have lasted the test of time: Indiana Jones, ET, The Goonies, The Breakfast Club, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Three Men and a Baby, Beverly Hills Cops, Crocodile Dundee, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Gremlins.
If you’re old enough to have seen these movies, there were probably a variety of scenes and lines that rolled through your head as you read that list. “That’s not a knife. THAT’S a knife.” A bicycle flying and casting a shadow on the moon. “I’ve been slimed.” 1.21 gigawatts. “Never feed him after midnight.” All of these are iconic items that most people will remember, and that’s one reason the 80s were awesome!
Making a mixtape was the epitome of living in the 80s and loving the music that came from that decade. Your tape might include Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson, The Cure, Duran Duran, Madonna, Guns ‘n Roses, Prince, Run DMC, Queen, Bon Jovi, and Wham! You likely listened to a Top 40 countdown on the radio and begged your parents to change the station in the car so you could listen to “cool” music instead of news, farm reports, polka music, and the rosary.
When I looked up lists of the best music of each decade, it was clear to me that music was one of the best reasons to list the 80s as supreme. Sure, a group like Queen also performed in the 70s, just like Michael Jackson was still cooking in the 90s, but many of their best songs were in my favorite group of ten years.
Cabbage Patch Kids, anyone? Is there a girl who grew up at that time who didn’t want one of those dolls?
A sign of the amazing toys from the 80s is that many of them are popular again today. My Little Pony, Care Bears, Transformers, Master of the Universe, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are all still alive and kicking, if not thriving. Part of that is the nostalgia market, people like me who now have some disposable income. And part is people like me passing on the love of these items to our children.
Who shot JR? You simply must remember that cliffhanger from the TV show Dallas. Think about the great shows from the 80s. The Dukes of Hazzard was right up there, and the internet tells me that in 1980, those were the top-two rated shows, back when you had to tune in to watch an episode or wait for reruns in the summer.
Think about this. VCRs became a staple throughout the 80s. This allowed you to record a show and watch it later. You could get a VCR tape and watch a movie you didn’t get to see in the theater. Television has progressed in technology so much that it’s hard to remember trying to train my grandma into programming her VCR to record her soap opera every day!
Other great shows that were part of the 80s included Cheers, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Murder She Wrote, The Golden Girls, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, The A-Team, and Full House. Some of those might not hold up as well today, but you could watch a few episodes and immerse yourself in the past, a simpler time with canned laughter.
Shoulder pads in women’s tops? Okay, maybe not everything was a hit. Some of the other styles, including poofy hair, mullets, and giant rims on glasses might be best left in the past.
But some things last. T-shirts with graphics on them became more widespread and popular. Now they’re basically ubiquitous. Leather jackets were in vogue and still are around. But styles of clothes and hair tend to change more quickly than other items, which is why every one of us hates how we looked in 7th grade. We liked it at the time. Now? Not so much.
Some of you are reading this and nodding your heads, agreeing with everything I’ve written. Others are shaking their heads, thinking why your particular decade is even better. And we’ll never agree, which is okay. Our formative years belong to us, and we’ll forever defend them as the best.
Except for the 90s. But that’s a column for next week!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is ubiquitous, which means seemingly present everywhere, as in, “Peanut butter sandwiches used to be ubiquitous in school lunch lines until concerns about allergies pushed them off menus.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!