80s People
by Molly Duke
In the 80s, people embraced over-the-top style and the culture catapulted into what would be the biggest, boldest, and most bodacious decade in history.
A new breed of celebrity took advantage of MTV and the video star was born. 80s celebrities were in high demand and kept teen magazines afloat with Hollywood gossip.
The 80s people we adored most weren’t people at all. Films like Short Circuit gave us robots. E.T. gave us a lovable alien, and the Star Wars trilogy gave us plenty of both. Human or not, we loved the 80s people then and we still love them today.
80s People and Fashion
If anything set the 80s apart from all other decades, it was the fashion, and throughout the 80s, people embraced big hair, big shoulder pads, and big accessories. Everything had to be big, from oversized shirts to the fat belts we cinched them with. The 80s celebrities rocked big fads and fashion, and the rest of us followed suit, flocking to the malls with big bangs and mullets looking for the latest greatest fashion and accessories.
80s Celebrities
The 80s brought us a whole new generation of stars, and we have MTV to thank for that. Before the 80s, image mattered. During the 80s, image became critical. These days, image is everything. But back in the 80s, people still demanded a little function with their style. You couldn’t make it if you didn’t have at least a lick of talent. 80s celebrities rocked the airwaves and dominated television, they kept movie theaters packed, and they had us hanging onto every dance move, every song lyric, and every outrageous (and big) trend that swept the world.
80s Characters
They were metallic, furry, and scaly. In the 80s, people we adored couldn’t always be called people. Many of them were non-humans. Thanks to new growth in computers and technology, filmmakers were able to manifest beings that previously only existed in our wildest imaginings. We loved Gizmo and hated his Gremlin brethren. We cooed along with R2-D2 and shrank back from the half-human Darth Vader. Alf kept us in stitches and E.T. jerked our tears. 80s characters were incredibly human in spirit, if not in mind and body.
It was the 80s People
If you were alive in the 80s, you WERE 80s people. Maybe you still are. Even if you missed that totally rad decade, you’ve probably heard about how awesome it was – from the fads and fashions to the movies and music. And you surely have come across celebrities who were made in the 80s and still enjoy successful careers today. Even some 80s characters are still getting airtime (has anyone else noticed how much Wall-E resembles Johnny Number 5?).
Long live the 80s, and long love the 80s people.
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