The 1980’s was known as a decade of consumerism.
Yuppies (young upwardly mobile professionals or
young urban professionals) enjoyed high disposable
incomes and had a propensity to spend them. Re-
acting to the perceived selfishness driving this con-
spicuous consumption, novelist Tom Wolfe, author
ofThe Bonfire of the Vanities(1987), labeled the baby-
boom generation the “Me generation.” The self-
focus of the Me generation gave rise not only to self-
indulgence but also to a desire for self-improvement
and increased health consciousness. All three fac-
tors created significant marketing opportunities, and
mass-marketed fad products proliferated through-
out the decade.
Toys and Games New technology led to advances
in video games and to a surge in the popularity of
both video arcades and home video-game systems
such as those manufactured by Atari and Nintendo.
One of the most popular and well-known of the
video games that sparked 1980’s fads featured the lit-
tle, round, yellow, dot-gobbling character known
as Pac-Man. Pac-Man achieved worldwide fame in
the early 1980’s as an arcade game by the Japanese
company Namco. Ms. Pac-Man would follow shortly
thereafter. Even the briefly popular television char-
acter Max Headroom was representative of the grow-
ing emphasis on video technology.
Children throughout the United States sought
out Cabbage Patch Kids, dolls that came with their
own names, personalities, and birthdays. The im-
mense popularity of Cabbage Patch Kids spawned ri-
vals, as well as collectible trading cards that featured
the Garbage Pail Kids. Other popular toys included
Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, and the Care
Bears, who came in a variety of pastel colors and a va-
riety of names. Children in the 1980’s were also en-
amored of little blue creatures called Smurfs and
four crime fighters known as the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles. Many of these characters spawned
mass merchandizing campaigns, which often in-
cluded movies, television shows, accessory lines, and
video and board games.
Adolescents and adults purchased the hand-held
mechanical puzzle known as Rubik’s Cube, released
worldwide at the beginning of the decade. The sur-
face of the cube was covered with fifty-four variously
colored squares, and the puzzle was to manipulate
them so that each of the cube’s six faces contained
nine squares of the same color. Popular games in-
cluded hacky sack and tetherball. The board game
Trivial Pursuit, in which players answered trivia ques-
tions in a variety of categories, also enjoyed a brief
period of immense popularity. While all these games
remained on the market after the end of the 1980’s,
they achieved the height of their popularity in that
decade.
Entertainment During the 1980’s, horror movies
were staples at the box office. Many original horror
films spawned franchises during the decade, as mul-
tiple sequels were produced to such movies asPolter-
geist(1982),Halloween(1978),Friday the 13th(1980),
A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984),Hellraiser(1987),
andChild’s Play(1988). Teen movies were also popu-
lar, especially those starring members of the so-
called Brat Pack—including Emilio Estevez, An-
thony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy,
Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally
Sheedy—and directed or written by John Hughes.
Well-known movies of this type includedThe Break-
fast Club(1985),Fast Times at Ridgemont High(1982),
Pretty in Pink(1986),Sixteen Candles(1984),St. Elmo’s
Fire(1985), andWeird Science(1985). Later in the de-
cade, films such asHeathers(1989) andLess than Zero
(1987) attempted to reach the same audience in a
different fashion.
Recorded music became portable entertainment
as people carried large radios known as “boom
boxes” or small personal radios with headphones,
such as the popular Sony Walkman. Popular music
such as New Wave, punk, hip-hop, and hair metal
gave rise to new fad fashions and new popular
dances, such as break dancing. Comedian Gallagher
achieved fame by entertaining plastic-draped audi-
ences with his sledge-o-matic, which smashed water-
melons and other objects.
Fashion and Language Successful yuppies wore
power suits and shoulder pads to the office, while
“preppies” favored Izod clothing. The hit television
seriesMiami Vicesparked a brief surge in the popu-
larity of pastel suits, worn with T-shirts rather than
dress shirts and ties, as well as white shoes. The
1980’s health craze made workout clothes popular
attire, both inside and outside the gym. Popular
1980’s hairstyles included so-called big hair, main-
tained by can after can of hairspray, and the mullet, a
style in which hair was worn shorter on the sides and
longer in the back.
Adolescents, influenced by fashionable music su-The Eighties in America Fads 351