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

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

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