Pop Culture In The 1980's

Pop culture represents the overall trends, lifestyles and issues specific to the era. Fashion, television, movies and music are all unique to their time period and demonstrate the social, political and economic situations at the time. In the 1980’s, television shows like Punky Brewster and Family Ties, and movies like Pretty In Pink, feature materialism, class division, breaking stereotypes and the war on drugs in the 1980’s society.

Punky Brewster captures the social challenges of the 1980’s. The war on drugs began during Reagan’s presidency with the “Just Say Know” campaign. This campaign, started by Ronald and Nancy Reagan, taught children across America to just say no to drugs and peer pressure. Punky Brewster, a television show geared

Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) faces economic struggles due to living in a single parent and only part time income home. She wants a man with money so she can have a chance of upward mobility. Blane McDonough, Andie’s love interest, comes from a wealthy family but goes outside of his preppy clique to date Andie. After their date Andie refuses to let Blane see her home because she is embarrassed. Here the viewer sees the clash in economic standing between the rich and poor. This relates to the downside of Reaganomics where the rich got richer and the poor could never move up in economic class. The fashion of the 1980’s is also present in Pretty In Pink, for example: Andie and Duckie’s new wave style, Blane’s preppy attire and Iona’s transformation from punk to power dressing. Andie’s family shows the progressive nature of the 1980’s. Mr. Walsh is a single father who only works part time. This shows that during this era women were not always quintessential stay at home mothers. Andie’s father is left to raise a teenage daughter all on his own. Pretty In Pink offers a view of the economic discrepancies, fashion and progressive family