1980s's Influence On American Culture

The 1980s was and interesting decade in the history of the United States. Many thinks of the events of the 60s and 70s when asked about fascinating times in the US, the 1980s, however, was no exception. It the time of Ronald Reagan, a president who’s ideals and presence in many ways became the backbone of the Republican Party going forward. Along with this, the social elements of the 1980s took a turn from their 60s and 70s roots. The two former decades laid the groundwork for the 1980s with massive social changes, scandals, and war. The national geographic writer Samantha Zuhlke defines the 1980s as a a decadent, disastrous, and innovative time in United States history (Samantha Zuhlke). Queen, while certainly shaping American culture in the

Queen, while certainly a rock band, had huge disco undertones with “Another One Bites the Dust” being one of their more popular songs of the sort. It is not so much what is said in this song that influenced America, but how this song re-popularized disco. The National Public Radio (NPR) explains a catastrophic disco event that occured in 1979. In short, this event was a protest of disco that involved an explosion of disco records at a baseball game. NPR’s Derek John explains how this protest connected to culture at the time, saying that “Over the years, Disco Demolition came to be seen as a not-so-subtle attack against disco's early adopters: blacks, Latinos and gay people” (John). Queen’s 1980 album, The Game, featured many disco rock tracks with “Another One Bites the Dust” reaching number one in America and winning multiple awards. The popularity of this song shows a shift in American attitudes regarding disco. Songs like this by Queen and other bands assisted in altering American culture and almost rebranding disco. Without this song and others of the sort, many may have continued to avoid the genre simply because of the ‘bad’ things they thought it represented: the queer and racially diverse communities. By getting people back into disco, Queen also helped normalize these things that should not have been abnormal to begin with. They, in turn, helped the gay and black