1980s American Culture

The Unique Culture of the 1980s
The massive amount of consumerism and materalistic ideology came from the decade of the 1980s and proved to be the time of wanting to have luxrious items throughout the daily routine of being an American citizen. The American culture of massive consumerism of the 1980s was influenced by the elements of the American Dream, the iconic pop stars and events, the deep recession troubling the lives of many, and the nationalistic pride that was shown through the actions of recreations and sports. Not only was the 1980s influenced by the culture of consumerism, but it impacted the future generations to only want to become a bigger and better version of the 1980s.
The American Dream has and more than likely will be

for many more generations to want to have a house to live in, a car, a stable job with a high income, and family to care for. But the dream during the 80s has shifted slighty to become very similar to the modern day American Dream of having fun and living life freely. The consumeric decade that caused many Americans to only care about themselves was only further fueled when President Reagan cut taxes in order to promote self interests and was probuisness (Baughman par. 1). The want and need to attend a college became a daily thought in many American highschooler for both male and female and due the wage gap between those who recieved a masters and those who just has a high school diploma doubled, more citizens considered attending school (Hanford par. 3). This created a generation of hard working young adults who had to work for what they wanted in life, and for many that was to graduate college and get a job.
Not only did the American Dream effect the culture, but so did the people and events who influenced the fashion, music, political, and social trends of the decade.

Michael Jackson was the king of Pop music and has changed the music industry forever. He provided the people with music that would impact there daily lives chanllenging them to want to move around while at work. Michael Jackson himself created a part of American culture that was known to be always full of energy dancing the day away (“Michael Jackson” par. 3). With the sudden outbreak of the Aids epidemic in June 1981 (Lutes par. 3) pop star Michael and Madonna and many other famous artists of the time got together to create a music video to support those in Africa that were most directly affected by the rapidly spreading diease by using their vocal strenghts reflecting a side of Americans that they truly do care about those around them especially when in pain; “In 1985 Jackson cowrote the international famine-relief single "We Are the World," one of the biggest-selling singles of all time. It seemed that everything Jackson touched turned to gold--or platinum” (“Michael Jackson” par. 13). The outbreak of Aids did however scare many and made many feel uncomfortable especially since it was found mainly in those who considered themselves to be apart of the LGBT community and therefore affected “identity, politics, social life, sexual practices, and cultural expression [...] denied medical coverage by insurance

companies, harassed in the workplace, and not given adequate treatment by medical practitioners” (Lutes par. 9). The people who typically were awkward about the situation were the conservatives of the country and lead many to feel a widening gap between the two parties.
With the election of the 40th president, many American showed that they were moving on from the democratic views from the 1930s-1970s and wanted a change by electing Ronald Reagan and the commander in chief two terms in a row.

The republican president not only represented the United States, but also represented the key idea of American culture that was found during the 1980s. His views conservative views has shifted away from the culture of religious ideals and more towards equalitiy for all giving an image of American acceptance in the American culture; “He celebrated religious faith in general but gave scant support to New Christian Right efforts to ban abortion or restore prayer to public schools” (Ribuffo par. 16). The Cold War was also in play during the 1980s and was at its height before ending in 1991, however the famous Berlin Wall that seperated many familes from each other for many decades was taken down on November 9th 1989 representing a relief across all of America showing not only a nationalistic pride, but also the sympathy for others rather than the constant known idea of consumerism in the American culture (“Berlin Wall” par.12).
Although the 1980s appeared to be a great time, it was actually mainly in a recession causing many to be jobless. The consumerism culture impacted the lives of many Americans and they were influenced by the people around them to continue to go out and buy the wants and ignore the needs in life; “there was a huge assortment of goods

and services to buy; and, as the president reminded Americans, the only limits they had were those they imposed on themselves. "We are living in a material world, and I am a material girl," Madonna sang” ("American Consumerism." par. 2).
Sports of the 1980s reflected a culture of nationalism through the major sports events that occurred. The United States and the Soviet Union had rough relations due to the ongoing Cold War, so when the 1980 winter olympic games were held in the Soviet Union, the U.S. questioned if their attendance would be a good idea. Because of its strong, nationalistic pride, the U.S. entered. The U.S hockey team unexpectedly won the semi-final round against the Soviets, shocking not only American citizens, but also the whole world. This became known as “The Miracle on Ice” and represented a symbol of triumph, connecting sports fanatics and everyone across the country (“Miracle on Ice” par. 10). “The Miracle on Ice” was one of many sports events that occurred that shaped a culture of people with nationalistic pride in being an American.
The culture of the 1980s can be looked back at and seen as a consumerism and materalistic time that consisted mainly of self-centered people and had a dream that was no different than those from previous decades, however was challenged when events and sports events such as the sudden outbreak of Aids and the “Miracle on Ice” event occured bringing the American society together as one. The 1980s did leave a legacy on the future generation of kids of creating a culture that is still big on being self-centered, consumerism, and materializing everything all while being exposed the social problems of the world.