We will stick with the same theme for this week's blog. Research both important political and cultural events from the 1980s. Choose one from each category and write 100 words on their significance (200 words total).
Please remember, you will not get credit for writing about a political and/or cultural event that another classmate has already posted about in the blog. So, the sooner you "claim" yours, the better.
An estimated 750 million people tuned in to watch Britain's Prince Charles marry Lady Diana Spencer on July 29, 1981. The couple, Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer had their wedding on Wednesday 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom. The United Kingdom since created a national holiday on July 29 to mark the day of their wedding. 3,500 guests made up the guests at the wedding and even the First Lady, nancy raegan was there to represent the United States at their wedding. Princess Diana also accidentally changed the order of Charles's names during her vows which is understandable considering how many he has, saying "Philip Charles Arthur George" instead of the correct "Charles Philip Arthur George". She did not promise to "obey" him as part of the traditional vows because they both requested that it be removed. (146)
ReplyDeleteOn March 30, 1981, Someone tried to kill president Ronald Reagan at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C., When he was leaving a speaking engagement at the Hotel, president Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by a mister John Hinckley Jr.. Supposedly Hinckley's reason for the attack was to impress the actress Jodie Foster, because he had developed an obsession for after seeing her in a film it's obvious he was suffering from some sort of mental issue. however Reagan didn't die, he was shot in the chest, and Had a punctured lung and heavy internal bleeding, but he soon recovered fully. (106)
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In 1985, as Coke saw some of its sales flip to the Pepsi camp, the company "reinvented" the original formula. They marketed it as the "New taste of Coke," and people hated it.
ReplyDeleteWithin months, Coke reversed back to the now-"Classic" formula and actually saw a rise in sales. It's kind of like when an actor says they're retiring or a celebrity says they're quitting Twitter, and their publicity skyrockets before they all of a sudden change their minds.
The switcheroo may have given Coke a little bit of a boost, but it's historically seen as a cheap move.
In 1985, as Coke saw some of its sales flip to the Pepsi camp, the company "reinvented" the original formula. They marketed it as the "New taste of Coke," and people hated it. For months, Coke reversed back to the now Classic formula and actually saw a rise in sales. It's kind of like when an actor says they're retiring or a celebrity says they're quitting Twitter, and their publicity skyrockets before they all of a sudden change their minds.
The switcheroo may have given Coke a little bit of a boost, but it's historically seen as a cheap move.
In the age of viral advertising, a professional sports team recording a corny rap song about themselves is a fairly precise formula for Internet gold. How prescient, then, that the Chicago Bears did exactly this in 1985, when they released the "Super Bowl Shuffle," the greatest recording in the history of sound. Not since Orpheus plucked his lyre before Hades has there been a purer musical embodiment of the human experience. And since this was the 80s they also recorded a stunning music video.
The song became a hit and was even nominated for a Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a duo or group. Please, relive it here
During and after the 1980 presidential election, these disaffected liberals came to known as regan democrats. They provided millions of crucial votes for the Republican candidate the personal and and engaging governor in his victory over carter. Regans camping cast a wide net appealing to conservatives of all stripes with promises of big tax cuts and smaller government. Rewarding success and allowing people with money to keep more of it. It was supposed to encourage to buy more goods and invest in business. The resulting economic growth would try to trickle down to eventually everyone that would participate in it.
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In some respects, the popular culture of the 1980s reflected the era’s political conservatism. For many people, the symbol of the decade was the “yuppie”: a baby boomer with a college education, a well-paying job and expensive taste.However, in some ways yuppiedom was less shallow and superficial than it appeared. Popular television shows like “thirtysomething” and movies like “The Big Chill” and “Bright Lights, Big City” depicted a generation of young men and women who were plagued with anxiety and self-doubt. As the decade wore on, MTV also became a forum for those who went against the grain or were left out of the yuppie ideal. Rap artists such as Public Enemy channeled the frustration of urban African Americans into their powerful album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.”Even as Reagan maintained his popularity, popular culture continued to be an arena for dissatisfaction and debate throughout the 1980s.
100 words
Bob Marley's death- After a four-year battle with skin cancer that started on his toe and spread to his vital organs, legendary Jamaican musician Bob Marley died on May 11, 1981. He was 36 years old. Bob Marley was yet another revolutionary musician that passed away in the 80s. Beatles singer John Lennon also died in this decade. Bob Marley was an ambassador for peace and civil rights. He was a major role model and influence among those who want change. He was a legend during and after his time. He has a son who is following in his footsteps as a musician but he does not do raegae.
ReplyDelete'Pac-Man' fever takes hold- The video game "Pac-Man" featuring a hungry protagonist that must evade ghosts on his quest to eat tiny, white dots hit American arcades in October 1980 and became almost an instant success. Parent company Bandai Namco Entertainment sold more than 100,000 arcade units within 15 months. Its first name, "Puck-man," came from the Japanese "paku," or "to chomp." PAC Man was a revolutionary game from the 80s and is and will be one of the most classic games in video game history.
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The 1984 Louisiana World Exposition was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States. It was held 100 years after the city's earlier World's Fair, the World Cotton Centennial in 1884. It opened on Saturday, May 12, 1984, and ended on Sunday, November 11, 1984.[1] Its theme was "The World of Rivers—Fresh Waters as a Source of Life".
ReplyDeletePlagued with attendance problems, the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition has the distinction of being the only exposition to declare bankruptcy during its run.[2] Many blamed the low attendance on the fact that it was staged just two years and two states from Knoxville's 1982 World's Fair,[2] and because it coincided with the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Others may believe that the 1982 opening of Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center may have also drawn more people to Orlando, Florida. 145 British runner Sebastian Coe crosses the finish line to win the 1,500-meter final at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. This was considered a huge upset and one of the most memorable moments of that year's Games. Coe later entered politics and led London's winning bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. 53
dira Gandhi, the prime minister of India, is assassinated in New Delhi by two of her own bodyguards. Beant Singh and Satwant Singh. They shot and emptied their guns into Gandhi as she walked to her office from an adjoining bungalow.Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, attempted to forge a unified nation out of the many religious, ethnic, and cultural factions that existed under British rule until 1949. His daughter took over in 1966 .Although many criticized her for being authoritarian, the majority of the population supported her because of her extensive social programs. 101
ReplyDeleteBo Jackson won the heisman trophy in football in 1985. But ended up first playing baseball in the MLB Going professional in 1986, he played for the Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox and the California Angels. During his time in baseball, he was the 1989 All-Star Game MVP, achieved four 20-home-run seasons, and tied the record for most consecutive at-bat home runs with four home runs. He later turned to football Jackson signed on with the L.A. Raiders in 1987. In his first season he ran a record-breaking 221-yard rushing performance on Monday Night Football. He spent four seasons in the game before an injury sidelined Jackson in 1991. He never returned to the game. He was an All-star in both sports and became a public eye con and is now considered the most athletic professional of all time 120
One cultural event from the 1980s was the fact that you could smoke on an airplane. If you were to smoke or attempt to smoke i should say on an airplane you would get in so much trouble. At that present time people didn't know what a cigarette could do to you let alone to the people you are in a plane with for multiple hours. Also in order to light the cigarette you need a fire which a fire can lead to multiple bad things on airplane. So to solve this it is now illegal to smoke or have any flames on an airplane. (105)
ReplyDeleteDuring the 1980s was the cold war and our president at this time was Ronald Regan. He, like most united states presidents would be, was against communism. You see the domino effect was when a country would fall to communism and then countries around it would also fall to communism. So what Reagan did as president was offer any countries that were possibly going to be affected by communism financial and military aid. Him basically saying if you try and mess with this country the United States have its back. This summed up in a basic term is called the Reagan Doctrine. (102) (207)
On October 4 in the year 1987, the United States of America reached an agreement with Canada on a free trade agreement between the two large North American nations. The agreement phased out a wide range of trade restrictions making trade between the two nations easier and allowing cross border trade to be very very successful between the two countries. This deal's impact has still been huge on the US and Canada as both nations relations have been top notch since. Trade between us has just grown since that date and both countries have thrived off each other as they still continue to work together. (105)
ReplyDeleteIn 1984, the shoe industry would never be the same as ever again as basketball superstar, Michael Jordan, released his first ever shoe, the Air Jordan 1. It was made in part with the company Nike and has now grown into one of the world's most popular shoe brands in the world today. After Michael's partnership with his first shoe with nike, it would jumpstart his sales career as he would start on a shoe line of his own, the Jordan brand, Jumpman23. This huge cultural event still effects the world today as millions still buy shoes from his ever growing shoe empire. (103)
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On a cultural side of things in the 1980s, to be specific in 1981 the AIDS virus was discovered in America. The CDC said it seemed like a rare lung infection in five young, previously healthy, gay men in Los Angeles. All the men have other unusual infections as well, showing that their immune systems are not working. Two have already died by the time the report is published. By the end of 1981 hundreds have this virus. And the term gay cancer enters society and most likely pushed people away from activity like this. (100)
ReplyDeleteIn 1984 India's prime minister, Indira Gandhi is assassinated. She was killed at her home and two of her bodyguards. Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, fired 33 bullets at her from a Sten gun and a revolver. Out of the 33, 23 bullets passed through her body and 7 were trapped inside. After she was killed, anti-Sikh riots took place on November 1, 1984 and killed more than 3,000 Sikhs. This was obviously a huge event for the political side of things and caused havoc in India. I think its crazy to think how the body guards weren't clearly as trustworthy as they thought. This likely put huge negative setbacks for India. (100)
Operation El Dorado Canyon took place in 1986. The United States bombed Libya on April 14 in retaliation for terrorism against American troops. The raid began after 7 p.m. their time, and involved over 100 Air Force and Navy aircrafts. After an hour, the raid was over, and five terrorist centers were hit by the bombing. The most significant of these was the headquarters of the well known Libyan leader, Muammar al-Quaddafi. His government helped finance many anti-American, anti-British, and Muslim terrorist groups. After firing at a U.S. aircraft, we had enough and finally stood up for us as well as other nations such as England. America has never not taken terrorism seriously, as shown in this operation. (120)
ReplyDeleteOn September 1, 1985, the remains of the hidden Titanic were found. After sinking on April 15, 1912, an unmanned submarine called Argo found what was left of the famous ship. The mission to find the ship was one of both Americans and French. Dr. Robert Ballard headed the mission, and it changed the way we looked in the oceans, and finally answered the long remembered question of where the titanic sank. The ship was found over two miles below the surface of the ocean about 400 miles south of Canada. Since its discovery in 1985, multiple expositions have taken place, which have helped age and distress the condition of the ship since. The initial images also made people think that it is possible that the ship sunk all in one piece. (132)
John Lennon was an English musician who gained worldwide fame as one of the members of the Beatles, for his subsequent solo career, and for his political activism and pacifism. On Monday, December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman in the archway of the Dakota, his residence in New York City. Lennon had just returned from Record Plant Studio with his wife, Yoko Ono.After sustaining four major gunshot wounds, Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at Roosevelt Hospital. At the hospital, it was stated that nobody could have lived longer than a few minutes after sustaining such injuries. (104)
ReplyDeleteThe first attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II took place on Wednesday, 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's Square at Vatican City. The Pope was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square. The Pope was struck four times, and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately, and later sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court. The Pope later forgave Ağca for the assassination attempt.He was pardoned by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi at the Pope's request and was deported to Turkey in June 2000.(100)
During the end of the 1970s and into the 1980s, a group of dissatisfied conservatives came together to form a political movement known as the New Right. This 'New Right was a mix of: Christian religious leaders, business bigwigs, who claimed that environmental and labor regulations were undermining the competitiveness of American firms in the global market, and other fringe political groups. Ironically, there was nothing terribly new about the movement; conservative thinking had been around for years before they came along. The cause of this conservative backlash had its roots in the decades before. Things like Roe vs Wade, anti feminist movements, the eroding of the family unit, and the sextual pervastivness all gave rise to the New Right movement.
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The ninteen eighties were an especially bad time for American natural disasters, from Mount St, Helens erupting, killing fifty-seven people and destroying entire city, to a not as famous, but several magnnatudes more deadly volcano erution, Nevado del Ruiz, which killed twenty-three thousand people. Six hurricanes that hit the mainland U.S, and numerous major floods all over the country. Not to mention eleven massive tornados that ripped through the country. These major disasters, along with T.V. and telephones, alowong them to be broadcast throughout the country, had a profound effect on the culture of that time. Media, songs, stories and all kinds of religious significance was placed on these natural events.
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The first woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court was Sandra Day O' Connor. She was appointed in 1981 by Ronald Reagan and she served as a Justice of the Supreme Court. She served from 1981 until 2006. Connor was considered to be moderate conservative who tended to vote in line with the Republican platform. She focused on the letter of the law and voted for what she believed best fit the intentions of the United States Constitution. During 1982, she wrote the majority opinion in Mississippi University for Woman v. Hogan, in which the court ruled 5-4 that a state nursing school had to admit men after traditionally having been a women's-only institution. (114)
ReplyDeleteAlthough the Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974, it was not released onto the market until 1980. It quickly became an obsession for many people and was a cultural part of the 1980's. Rubik's Cubes were a simple design, but seemed very difficult to solve. By 1982, more than 100 million Rubik's Cubes were sold, but not many of them had been solved yet. Many rumors were spread about how many ways there were to solve a Rubik's Cube and it was around 43 quintillion. Several dozen books were also published during the 1980's that each had different ways and techniques to help people solve their own cube. In 1982, the first annual International Rubik's Championships were held in Budapest, where people competed to see who could solve the Rubik's Cube the fastest. (134)
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