ENTERTAINMENT

The 1980s saw the continued rise of the blockbuster, an increased amount of nudity in film and the increasing emphasis in the American industry on film franchises, especially in the science fiction, horror, and action genres. Much of the reliance on these effect-driven blockbusters was due in part to the Star Wars films at the advent of this decade and the new cinematic effects it helped to pioneer. The decade started by continuing the blockbuster boom of the mid-1970s. The sequel to 1977's Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, opened in May, 1980 becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. The film is considered among the best of films of the decade

The films of the 1980s covered many genres, with hybrids crossing between multiple genres. The trend strengthened towards creating ever-larger blockbuster films, which earned more in their opening weeks than any previous film, due in part to staging releases when audiences had little else to choose. Even today you can still see people wearing tee shirts that were featured in popular 1980s movies.

1980s Entertainment: The BLOCKBUSTER1980s Entertainment: The BLOCKBUSTER

The following are the 10 top-grossing films of the decade

1.E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), $435 million2.Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), $309 million3.Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), $290 million4.Batman (1989), $251 million5.Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), $245 million6.Ghostbusters (1984), $238 million7.Beverly Hills Cop (1984), $234 million8.Back to the Future (1985), $210 million9.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), $197 million10.Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), $179 million

1980s Entertainment: The BLOCKBUSTER1980s Entertainment: The BLOCKBUSTER

The 1980s saw the emergence of pop, dance music and new wave. Rock music continued to enjoy a wide audience. Sub-genres such as new wave, soft rock, glam metal, and heavy metal became popular. The 1980s are commonly using digital recording, associated with the usage of synthesizers, with synthpop music and other electronic genres featuring non-traditional instruments increasing in popularity. Also during this decade, several major electronic genres were developed, including electro, techno, house, freestyle and Eurodance, rising in prominence during the 1990s and beyond. Throughout the decade, R&B, hip hop and urban genres were becoming commonplace, particularly in the inner-city areas of large, metropolitan cities; rap was especially successful in the latter part of the decade, with the advent of the golden age of hip hop. These urban genres—particularly rap and hip hop—would continue their rise in popularity through the 1990s and 2000s.

1980s Entertainment: The Music 1980s Entertainment: The Music

1980’s Music: Top Acts By Genre

POP- Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston

Glam Rock- Poison, Motle Crue, Whitesnake

Arena Rock- Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, Areosmith,

Heavy Metal- Metallica, Motorhead, Ozzy Osborne, Iron Maiden

Hip Hop- Run- DMC, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, NWA, LL Cool J

Country Music- Kenny Rogers, Conway Twitty, Hank Jr., Charlie Daniels

Punk- Ramones, Misfits, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Black Flag

New Wave- Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran, Dire Straights, Boy George

1980s Entertainment: The Music 1980s Entertainment: The Music

At home, people watched family sitcoms like “ALF,” “Family Ties,” “Roseanne” and “CHEERS.” They also rented movies to watch on their new VCRs. By the end of the 1980s, 60 percent of American television owners got cable service–and the most revolutionary cable network of all was MTV, which made its debut on August 1, 1981. The music videos the network played made stars out of bands like Duran Duran and Culture Club and made megastars out of artists like Michael Jackson (1958-2009), whose elaborate “Thriller” video helped sell 600,000 albums in the five days after its first broadcast. MTV also influenced fashion: People across the country (and around the world) did their best to copy the hairstyles and fashions they saw in music videos. In this way, artists like Madonna (1958-) became (and remain) fashion icons.

Of all the sitcoms, the champion had to be the The Cosby Show. From its first airing in 1984, the Cosby Show was always at the top of the 80s television charts. Not only was it the most popular sitcom of the 80s, but it almost single handedly revived the fortunes of its network, NBC, which previously had languished at the bottom of the ratings. The Cosby show featured the Huxtable family, with Bill Cosby playing the role of Dr. Cliff Huxtable. The Cosby Show was such a ground breaking show because for the first time in depicted a finically successful African American family.

1980s Entertainment: Television 1980s Entertainment: Television

• It was described as 'The Day Rock and Roll Changed the World' but how did that unforgettable day on 13 July 1985 come about.

•Band Aid...It all started when Bob Geldof, who had seen Michael Buerk's news reports in 1984 about the appalling famine in Africa, felt he had to do something to stop the suffering. He and Midge Ure of Ultravox got together and wrote the song 'Do They Know It's Christmas' to raise money for the crisis. They then enlisted a host of other stars to record the song under the name of Band Aid. Released on 7 December 1984, the single became the UK's biggest selling single of the time and raised £8m.

• An idea of a concert...Following the success of Band Aid, Bob Geldof visited Ethiopia to oversee the distribution of aid and realized that if the Band Aid organization owned its own fleet of trucks to transport much-needed supplies, they would be in a better position to have a more direct impact on the famine. So the idea of a concert was born, and in just 10 weeks the project of Live Aid was put together - and that was in the days before E-mail and mobile phones!

• The greatest live show ever...Billed as 'The Global Jukebox' and hosted by Britain and the USA, Live Aid became the biggest live rock event ever, featuring an amazing line-up of rock stars. Spanning two continents, the concerts were broadcast direct from Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. There were also contributions from countries including Japan, Australia, Holland, Yugoslavia, Russia and Germany . The whole event featured 16 hours of live music and was watched by over 1.5 billion people worldwide. The final amount raised exceeded all hopes and totaled over £110m.

1980s Entertainment: Live Aid1980s Entertainment: Live Aid