of individualism, and the action genre mimicked
this ideology with the production of heroes whose
actions were not in service of their country or who
took matters into their own hands. Notably, it was
in the 1980’s that Americans finally rediscovered
the female action star: When Sigourney Weaver re-
turned to her role as Ripley inAliens(1986), she was
every bit as lethal as her male science-fiction coun-
terparts. This role was another reflection of individ-
ualism in a decade of change for the movie industry.
The extreme violence and unrealistic action that
characterized 1980’s action films made them the top
draw at the box office for the decade.
Impact The action-film genre became extremely
profitable in the 1980’s. Its increased popularity was
due to better stunts, explosions, and special effects.
Hollywood’s filmmakers and mass audiences alike
seemed to abandon the plot-driven films of the mid-
twentieth century and to embrace instead movies
whose primary pleasures were to be found in the
spectacles displayed on the screen. Part of the ap-
peal of spectacle-driven films was their ability to
showcase exciting new technologies, and part lay in
a rejection of classical realism, as audiences discov-
ered the new types of hyperrealism made available
by computer animation and special effects. Film’s
ability to create realities on screen that were alien to
the reality outside the theater defined the appeal of
many of the decade’s most successful motion pic-
tures.
Further Reading
Gallagher, Mark.Action Figures: Men, Action Films,
and Contemporar y Adventure Narratives. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Study of the represen-
tation of masculinity and heroism in action films.
Bibliographic references and index.
Julius, Marshall.Action! A-Z of Action Movies. London:
Chrysalis Books, 1996. A listing of action movies,
including all of those made in the 1980’s. In-
cludes short descriptions and production infor-
mation about each film.
King, Neal.Heroes in Hard Times: Cop Movies in the U.S.
Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press, 1999.
Examines trends of police-related action movies
from 1980 to 1997. Analyzes common themes and
stories and looks at the genre as a whole.
Ross, Steven J.Movies and American Society. Oxford,
England: Blackwell, 2002. Details trends of mov-
ies and their impact on American society.
Tasker, Yvonne, ed.Action and Adventure Cinema.
New York: Routledge, 2004. Compilation of es-
says discussing the history of action films, from
before 1910 through the early twenty-first cen-
tury. Places the distinctive features of 1980’s ac-
tion films in historical perspective.
Daniel R. VogelSee also Aliens;Blade Runner;Empire Strikes Back,
The; Film in the United States; Ford, Harrison; Gib-
son, Mel; Martial arts;Raiders of the Lost Ark;Robo-
Cop; Schwarzenegger, Arnold; Sequels; Special ef-
fects; Spielberg, Steven;Terminator, The; Weaver,
Sigourney.Adams, Bryan
Identification Canadian pop rock singer
Born November 5, 1959; Kingston, Ontario
Starting with his third album in 1983, Adams gathered
a large fan base for his fast-paced melodies, as well as his
ballads.
Bryan Adams dropped out of school at the age of fif-
teen to pursue a career in rock music. He spent the
latter half of the 1970’s developing his style, and he
started to send out demo tapes to labels like A&M
Records in 1978. At that time, the Canadian music
industry was on the verge of a change in direction
that would benefit Adams’s career enormously. Can-
ada had already produced some compelling rock
stars, and their success made it easier for others to
succeed, as the nation more fully supported its own
musicians. Thus, Adams’s debut was well timed, as
he released his first, eponymous, album in 1980.
Though the album was not particularly successful,
Adams gained a valuable professional connection
with collaborator Jim Vallance, who headed the
band Prism. Indeed, as the 1980’s progressed, Ad-
ams would find himself working with Vallance fre-
quently, both on his solo material and on songs for
Prism. (One Vallance-Adams collaboration, 1982’s
“Don’t Let Him Know,” became Prism’s only and Ad-
ams’s first solo foray into theBillboardTop 40 list.)
Adams’s second album,You Want It You Got It,ap-
peared in 1981, and his third,Cuts Like a Knife, came
in 1983.Cuts Like a Kniferepresented Adams’s real
breakthrough, reaching number sixty-seven on the
BillboardHot 200 chart. The following year, he built14 Adams, Bryan The Eighties in America