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The 1980s portal
The 1980s (pronounced "nineteen-eighties", shortened to "the '80s" or "the Eighties") was the decade that began on 1 January 1980, and ended on 31 December 1989.
The United Kingdom and the United States moved closer to supply-side economic policies, beginning a trend towards global instability of international trade that would pick up more steam in the following decade as the fall of the USSR made right-wing economic policy more powerful.
The final decade of the Cold War opened with the US–Soviet confrontation continuing largely without any interruption. Superpower tensions escalated rapidly as President Reagan scrapped the policy of détente and adopted a new, much more aggressive stance on the Soviet Union. The world came perilously close to nuclear war for the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, but the second half of the decade saw a dramatic easing of superpower tensions and ultimately the total collapse of Soviet communism.
Developing countries across the world faced economic and social difficulties as they suffered from multiple debt crises in the 1980s, requiring many of these countries to apply for financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Ethiopia witnessed widespread famine in the mid-1980s during the corrupt rule of Mengistu Haile Mariam, resulting in the country having to depend on foreign aid to provide food to its population and worldwide efforts to address and raise money to help Ethiopians, such as the Live Aid concert in 1985.
By 1986, nationalism was making a comeback in the Eastern Bloc, and the desire for democracy in socialist states, combined with economic recession, resulted in Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika, which reduced Communist Party power, legalized dissent and sanctioned limited forms of capitalism such as joint ventures with companies from capitalist countries. After tension for most of the decade, by 1988 relations between the communist and capitalist blocs had improved significantly and the Soviet Union was increasingly unwilling to defend its governments in satellite states.
The 1980s was an era of tremendous population growth around the world, surpassing the 1970s and 1990s, and arguably being the largest in human history. During the 1980s, the world population grew from 4.4 to 5.3 billion people. There were approximately 1.33 billion births and 480 million deaths. Population growth was particularly rapid in a number of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian countries during this decade, with rates of natural increase close to or exceeding 4% annually. The 1980s saw the advent of the ongoing practice of sex-selective abortion in China and India as ultrasound technology permitted parents to selectively abort baby girls.
The 1980s saw great advances in genetic and digital technology. After years of animal experimentation since 1985, the first genetic modification of 10 adult human beings took place in May 1989, a gene tagging experiment which led to the first true gene therapy implementation in September 1990. The first "designer babies", a pair of female twins, were created in a laboratory in late 1989 and born in July 1990 after being sex-selected via the controversial assisted reproductive technology procedure preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Gestational surrogacy was first performed in 1985 with the first birth in 1986, making it possible for a woman to become a biological mother without experiencing pregnancy for the first time in history.
The global internet took shape in academia by the second half of the 1980s, as well as many other computer networks of both academic and commercial use such as USENET, Fidonet, and the bulletin board system. By 1989, the Internet and the networks linked to it were a global system with extensive transoceanic satellite links and nodes in most developed countries. Based on earlier work, from 1980 onwards Tim Berners-Lee formalized the concept of the World Wide Web by 1989. Television viewing became commonplace in the Third World, with the number of TV sets in China and India increasing by 15 and 10 times respectively.
... that Anne Bayley's clinical research in Zambia showed that, contrary to widespread opinion in the early 1980s, HIV could be spread through heterosexual sex?
... that Madonna's new film features Debi Mazar, with whom she used to party in the 1980s before either of them was famous?
... that the 1980s Beechcraft BQM-126 target drone could be launched from aircraft based on aircraft carriers?
... that the Waahine Toa paintings were criticised as unfashionable when first exhibited in the 1980s, but are now considered iconic in New Zealand art?
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor (/ʃɪˈneɪd/ⓘshin-AYD; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023), also known as Shuhada' Sadaqat, was an Irish singer, songwriter, and activist. During her musical career, which encompassed several hit records and artist collaborations, O'Connor drew attention to issues such as child abuse, human rights, racism, and women's rights. She was also known for her outspoken public image, openly discussing her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political viewpoints, and struggles with mental health.
Image 3The world map of military alliances in 1980: NATO & Western allies, Warsaw Pact & other Soviet allies, Non-aligned countries, China and Albania (communist countries, but not aligned with USSR), ××× Armed resistance (from Portal:1980s/General images)
Image 5Stage view of the Live Aid concert at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium in the United States in 1985. The concert was a major global international effort by musicians and activists to sponsor action to send aid to the people of Ethiopia who were suffering from a major famine. (from Portal:1980s/General images)
Image 10The Grateful Dead in 1980. Left to right: Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh. Not pictured: Brent Mydland. (from Portal:1980s/General images)
Image 11The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the beginning of German reunification (from Portal:1980s/General images)
These are Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
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The Killer (Chinese:喋血雙雄) is a 1989 Hong Kong action film directed by John Woo, and produced by Tsui Hark. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee, and Sally Yeh. Chow plays Ah Jong, a professional assassin for the Triads who wants to retire, but accidentally damages the eyes of singer Jennie (Yeh) during a shootout and sets out to perform one last hit to pay for her treatment.
After the financial backing from Hark became problematic following the release of Woo's film A Better Tomorrow 2, Woo had to find backing through Chow Yun-fat's and Danny Lee's financing companies. Woo went into filming The Killer with a rough draft whose plot was influenced by the films Le Samouraï, Mean Streets and Narazumono. Woo wanted to make a film about honour, friendship and the relationship of two seemingly opposite people. After finishing filming, Woo referred to The Killer as a tribute to directors Jean-Pierre Melville and Martin Scorsese. (Full article...)
The plot revolves around Adam and Barbara Maitland, a recently deceased couple. As ghosts, they are not allowed to leave their house. They contact Betelgeuse, a sleazy "bio-exorcist", to scare the house's new inhabitants away. The film prominently features music from Harry Belafonte's albums Calypso and Jump Up Calypso. (Full article...)
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Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film directed by Irvin Kershner. The film is based on the 1961 James Bond novel Thunderball by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Fleming. The novel had been previously adapted as the 1965 film Thunderball. Never Say Never Again is the second and most recent James Bond film not to be produced by Eon Productions (the usual producer of the Bond series) but instead by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm. The film was executive produced by Kevin McClory, one of the original writers of the Thunderball storyline. McClory had retained the filming rights of the novel following a long legal battle dating from the 1960s.
Sean Connery played the role of Bond for the seventh and final time, marking his return to the character twelve years after Diamonds Are Forever (1971). The film's title is a reference to Connery's reported declaration in 1971 that he would "never again" play that role. As Connery was 52 at the time of filming, the script makes frequent reference to Bond as aging and past his prime – although Connery was three years younger than his Eon Productions replacement, Roger Moore. The storyline features Bond being reluctantly brought back into action to investigate the theft of two nuclear weapons by SPECTRE. Filming locations included France, Spain, the Bahamas, and Elstree Studios in the United Kingdom. (Full article...)
Inchon's plot includes both military action and human drama. The film concludes with the United Nations victory over North Korean forces in the Battle of Inchon, which is considered to have saved South Korea. (Full article...)
Labyrinth started as a collaboration between Henson and Brian Froud following their previous collaboration The Dark Crystal (1982). Jones of Monty Python wrote the first draft of the film's script early in 1984, drawing on Froud's sketches for inspiration. The screenplay underwent several revisions by Laura Phillips, Lucas, Lee, and Elaine May—although Jones received the film's sole screenwriting credit. It was shot from April to September 1985 on location in Upper Nyack, Piermont, and Haverstraw, New York, and at Elstree Studios and West Wycombe Park in the United Kingdom. The film's fantastical creatures were designed by Froud and created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. (Full article...)
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The Daicon III and IV Opening Animations are two 8mm film anime short films that were produced for the 1981 Daicon III and 1983 Daicon IV Nihon SF Taikai conventions. They were produced by a group of amateur animators known as Daicon Film, who would later go on to form the animation studio Gainax. The films are known for their unusually high production values for amateur works and for including numerous references to otaku culture, as well as its unauthorized appropriations of the Playboy Bunny costume. Usage of the songs "Runaway" by Bill Conti (from the soundtrack to the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only) as well as "Twilight" and "Hold On Tight" by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra were also unauthorized.
Daicon III was made by Hideaki Anno, Hiroyuki Yamaga and Takami Akai and Daicon IV credits twelve people, including Yamaga as the director and Anno and Akai as animation supervisors. Despite the questionable legal status of the works, the production of Daicon III resulted in debts that were repaid by selling video tapes and 8mm reels of the production, the profits of which went to the production of Daicon IV, which later received the "Local Works" award in the Minor Anime Grand Prix section of the 1983 Anime Grand Prix, organized by the anime magazine Animage. In 2001, Animage ranked the Daicon animations as the 35th of the "Top 100" anime of all time. (Full article...)
Ideas for the film began when Reiner and Penny Marshall divorced. An interview Ephron conducted with Reiner provided the basis for Harry; Sally was based on Ephron and some of her friends. Crystal came on board and made his own contributions to the screenplay. Ephron supplied the structure of the film with much of the dialogue based on the real-life friendship between Reiner and Crystal. The soundtrack consists of standards from Harry Connick Jr., with a big band and orchestra arranged by Marc Shaiman. For his work on the soundtrack, Connick won his first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance. (Full article...)
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Who's That Girl is a 1987 American screwball comedy film directed by James Foley, and written by Andrew Smith and Ken Finkleman. It stars Madonna and Griffin Dunne, and depicts the story of Nikki Finn, a street-smart girl who is falsely accused of murdering her boyfriend Johnny and is sent to jail. After release, she meets Loudon Trott, who is supposed to make sure she gets on her bus back to Philadelphia, and convinces him to help her catch those responsible for her confinement. While searching for an embezzler, they fall in love with each other.
After her 1986 film Shanghai Surprise failed, Madonna decided to sign on to another comedy, titled Slammer, later renamed Who's That Girl. However, she had to convince both Warner Bros. and the film's producers that she was ready. Madonna enlisted her friend Foley to direct. Shooting began in New York in October 1986, and continued until March 1987. Production was halted during December due to snowfall. Madonna utilized the time to work on her next tour and the film's soundtrack. (Full article...)
Exploring themes of homecoming, memory of war, time, and man's relationship with nature; it relies on visual storytelling and the portrayal of nature rather than a conventional narrative. Dialogue is minimal, without subtitles, and spoken in an imaginary Mediterranean language (inspired by ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and Latin). (Full article...)
Gerolmo began writing the script in 1986 after researching the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. He and producer Frederick Zollo presented it to Orion Pictures, and the studio hired Parker to direct. The writer and director had disputes over the script, and Orion allowed Parker to make uncredited rewrites. The film was shot in locations in Mississippi and Alabama, with principal photography from March to May 1988. (Full article...)
Walt Disney Studios purchased the film rights to the novel shortly after its publication in 1981. Price and Seaman wrote two drafts of the script before Disney brought in executive producer Steven Spielberg and his production company, Amblin Entertainment. Zemeckis was brought on to direct and Canadian-British animator Richard Williams was hired to supervise the animation sequences. Production was moved from Los Angeles to Elstree Studios in England to accommodate Williams and his group of animators. While filming, the production budget rapidly expanded and the shooting schedule ran longer than expected. (Full article...)
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Le Dernier Combat (French:[lədɛʁnjekɔ̃ba]; English: The Last Battle) is a 1983 French post-apocalyptic film. It was the first feature film to be directed by Luc Besson, and also features Jean Reno's first prominent role. Music for the film was composed by Éric Serra. The film was the first of many collaborations between Besson, Reno and Serra. A dark vision of post-apocalyptic survival, the film was shot in black and white and contains only two words of dialogue. It depicts a world where people have been rendered mute by some unknown incident. (Full article...)
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