Listening to my Ipod while Cindy Lauper’s, “Girls Just ...



Life in the 1980's by Kelly-Lynn Chasse

Listening to my Ipod while Cindy Lauper’s, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” plays, along with the many 80’s songs in my play list, I sit and contemplate what to write about high school life during the 1980’s. The Somerset High School was well established, annual traditions were observed, and continued to be celebrated by the students of the 80’s. Some of those traditions included The Musictown Festival, Case Rally, Varsity Show, sporting events, theater productions, school dances, junior and senior prom, and senior breakfast. Other non-school sanctioned events included Senior Ditch Day and Patty Murphy Day, celebrated at Horseneck Beach. No one knew Patty Murphy, and each year the story changed, but when the warm weather came around it was the day to skip school.

Most students of the 80’s were cast into four social groups. We roamed the halls labeled as “Preppies and Jocks”, “Band Kids”, “Court Yard Kids”, and the “Nerds”. Movies Such as the Breakfast Club mirrored these social boundaries between cliques, yet in the end, celebrating each individual compromising a collective whole. The spectrum of our different personalities created the sociology which composed our student body. During the 80’s, students from Berkley began attending Somerset High School and assimilated into the student body immediately.

We went to school during the dawning of the Yuppie Era (Young Urban Professionals) when Americans enjoyed many fundamental changes in their standard of living. The 1970’s were some of the worst post war years with a recession and staggering inflation. When the 80’s began, Americans wanted more. The ideology shifted from believing in attaining the “American Dream”, to attaining a “Personal Dream”. The 80’s became an increasingly materialist decade, and this ideology affected students. We were told we could be whatever we wanted to be and emphasis was placed on going to college to attain this goal. The standard lesson plans in the classroom were based for college prep and teachers were tasked with getting their student ready for college. There was still cooperative education (modern work-study) offered during the 80’s, but students were guided into the direction of college. Female students were turning toward the possibility of a career instead of the more traditionally limited choices of becoming a wife and mother. I witnessed classes in Home Economics begin to get smaller in the late 80's. Movies like 9 to 5 summed up the frustration of women in the workplace. Margaret Thatcher was the first female leader of a western country, and served as a role model for young women everywhere. All students during the 80’s were influenced by these ideas, and the newly expanded role of cable television. Local news stations could not compete as cable television soon became a staple in American Households.

The 80’s were noted as a materialistic decade, and people enjoyed flaunting newly acquired goods. We were not in short supply of popular labels in school. The more labels you acquired the more popular you became. Some of the popular labels were; Polo, Izod, Calvin Klein, Ray-Ban, Swatch, United Colors of Benneton, ADIDAS, Nike, Members Only, Guess, etc. Everyone wanted to own these products to stay in the norm during high school life.

Public agencies developed programs such as MADD at the high school. The federal drinking age increased from 18 to 21 in 1986 and there was an immediate need to show students the affects of under-age drinking. MADD sponsored the play Eddie and placed the first wrecked vehicle from a drunk-driving accident on the front lawn of the high school during prom season. In 1997, Somerset’s first under twenty-one dance club, “The Car Palace”, opened at Indian Springs Plaza on Route 138. Members of the Athletic Boosters Club, Friends of Music, and Parent Teacher Organization developed the all night after prom party hosted there. Parents were relieved that their teenagers were checked in after the prom until the next morning instead of being out drinking at a hotel.

With the development of MTV, music in the 80’s changed. MTV also influenced fashion, where students did their best to copy the hairstyles and fashions that were seen in videos. Girls committed all kinds of fashion faux pas such as lace fingerless gloves, leg warmers, huge mismatched earrings, and parachute pants, clothing with large shoulder pads, stirrup pants, penny loafers, acid wash jeans, and much more, all with complete and total abandon. I can’t say the 1980’s had the best styles ever worn. The mullet, the most popular hair style on male students, along with the huge “Cock-a-Doodle Doo” hair female students wore, were sprayed within an inch of its life with Aquanet hairspray.

The 80’s experience was a good one. The world was changing politically, economically, socially, and playing out on our TV screens. Students were happy, our futures were promising, college was the academic track du jour for more students than ever before, activities were attended, and music was enjoyable and influential. Somerset High School 1980’s students saw advances in technology including the first personal computer, compact discs, video game systems, and cable television that shaped the future. As I continue to listen to my music, I am reminded of how much the things I learned during the 1980’s continue to influence life today. I watch cable TV, type on a computer so much smaller than I could have ever anticipated, enjoyed college, gender equality, play video games, and still to this day enjoy my labels and so much more.

1980

Iran/Iraq War began

Ronald Reagan was elected president

Mt. St. Helens in Washington erupted killing 34 people

CNN founded by Ted Turner was broadcast worldwide

Summer Olympics in Moscow was Boycotted by the USA and 60 other countries

Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid USA

World Health Organization declared small pox eradicated

Production of the first Rubik’s Cube

Introduction to post-it notes

1981

US Embassy hostages in Tehran were released

Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan by Mark Hinckley

Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married televised worldwide

MTV was broadcast for the first time

First case of AIDS was reported

Pac-Man was released in the US

1982

Prince William was born to Prince Charles and Princess Diana

Canada gained complete independence from Great Britain

First artificial heart recipient was Barney Clark

Compact Disc were developed

First issue of USA Today was on sale

1983

US Embassy bombed in Beirut Lebanon

Vanessa Williams became the first African American to win Miss America

HIV was discovered by French scientist Dr. Luc Montagnier

Crack Cocaine was made the first time in the Bahamas and made its way to the US

First mobile phone introduced by Motorola

Sony developed the first camcorder

1984

The Vatican and US reinstated diplomatic ties after more than a century

Death Toll in the Ethiopian famine was over 1 million

Michael Jackson suffered from serious burn injuries while shooting a Pepsi commercial

The Supreme Court made videotaping movies for personal use legal

Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia

Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, the Soviet Union boycotted the games

First ever recipient of a heart/liver transplant was Stormie Jones

1985

Soviet leader Gorbachev and President Reagan met for the first time at the Geneva Summit

First hole in the Ozone Layer was detected near the Antarctic Region

Titanic wreckage was discovered and filmed

Rock Hudson was the first celebrity who passed away from AIDS

Artificial kidney dialysis machine was invented by William J. Kolff

1986

7 million Americans participated in a fundraiser to help the poor and homeless during Hands Across America

The US Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after launch killing all astronauts and teacher Christa McAuliffe

Iran Contra Affair was found

Oprah Winfrey show was developed

A laptop computer was developed was developed and distributed by IBM

First AIDS test was developed

Computer virus named the Brain infected MS-DOS

1987

The global stock market crashed on Black Monday

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear (INF) Treaty was signed between the US and USSR

Margaret Thatcher was elected British Prime Minister for the 3rd consecutive time

Fox TV began regular broadcasting

Televangelist Jim Baker scandal broke out

Three way heart and lung transplant was performed

US aired the first major condom commercial by Trojan

1988

Iran/Iraq War ended with a death toll of over one million

George H.W. Bush was elected President

One of the worst heat waves struck the US with a death toll ranging between 5,000-10,000

Nike developed its famous tag line “Just Do It”

Crack Cocaine was easily available and used in the US

Doppler Radar was invented

First liver/small bowel transplant took place

First Plutonium pace maker was fitted in a 47 year old man

Transatlantic fiber optic cable connected France, England, and the US

1989

The Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall

Tiananamen Square Massacre of student protesters protesting for democracy in Beijing, China occurred

Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses novel was published “www” was the initial proposal for the World Wide Web

The Human Genome project was initiated

First Simpsons episode aired

First Game Boy was released developed by Nintendo

Top 100 Artist of the 1980’s

Prince, The Smiths, U2, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Pixies, Public Enemy, New Order, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Tom Waits, Husker Du, Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C., Guns N’ Roses, The Stone Roses, Metallica, The Replacements, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Peter Gabriel, The Police, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, N.W.A., AC/DC, Eric B. & Rakim, Kate Bush, Dexys Midnight Runners, De La Soul, Echo and the Bunnymen, Pretenders, Nick Cave, The Clash, The Pogues, The Jam, Motorhead, Paul Simon, David Bowie, X, The Human League, Pet Shop Boys, The Specials, XTC, Depeche Mode, Violent Femmes, Dinosaur Jr., Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Talk Talk, Iron Maiden, ABC, Slayer, The Fall, Soul II Soul, Boogie Down Productions, Soft Cell, Prefab Sprout, Def Leppard, Black Flag, Eurythmics, Tracy Chapman, Big Black, Lou Reed, Dead Kennedys, Billy Bragg, Cyndi Lauper, The Waterboys, Van Halen, Minutemen, The Go-Betweens, Laurie Anderson, My Bloody Valentine, Jane’s Addiction, The Gun Club, The The, Brian Eno, Marvin Gaye, Leonard Cohen, Bad Brains, LL Cool J, Donald Fagen, Janet Jackson, Dire Straights, Nine Inch Nails, Simple Minds, Richard and Linda Thompson, Roxy Music, Morrissey, Neil Young, Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, George Michael, The Feelies, The Beat, Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, King Sunny Ade, Bon Jovi

Top 50 songs of the 1980’s

Livin on a Prayer, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Hungry Like the Wolf, Billie Jean, When Doves Cry, I Can't Go For That, Sweet Child O' Mine, Like a Virgin, Walk This Way, You Shook Me All Night Long, Don't Stop Believing, How Will I Know, With Or Without You, Walk Like an Egyptian, Jump, Need You Tonight, Here I Go Again, Come On Eileen, Time After Time, Jessie's Girl, Beat It, Just Like Heaven, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Take On Me, Our Lips Are Sealed, Welcome to the Jungle, Too Shy, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Burning Down the House, Love is a Battlefield, Under Pressure, Sister Christian, Tainted Love, Every Rose Has It's Thorn, In the Air Tonight, 867-5309/Jenny, Janie's Got a Gun, Pride (In the Name of Love), I Melt With You, Love Shack, Dr. Feelgood, London Calling, Look of Love, Cruel Summer, Nasty, Every Breath You Take, We're Not Gonna Take It, Born in the U.S.A., Fight For Your Right, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Top 50 Movies of the 1980’s

The Goonies, Poltergeist, E.T., Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Labyrinth, UHF, National Lampoons Vacation, The Money Pit, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Gremlins, The Little Mermaid, Return of the Jedi, Clue, Batman, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining, The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Great Outdoors, Beverly Hills Cop, A Christmas Story, Caddyshack, Airplane!, Raging Bull, Big, Lethal Weapon, Friday the 13th, Blues Brothers, Die Hard, Coming to America, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Rocky III, The Terminator, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, An American Werewolf in London, Mannequin, The Golden Child, The Breakfast Club, The Princess Bride, The Untouchables, Tron, First Blood, The Secret of NIMH, The Running Man, Good Morning, Vietnam

Top TV shows of the 1980’s

Wonder Years, Who's the Boss?, Webster, The Waltons, Three's Company, St. Elsewhere, Small Wonder, Silver Spoons, Seinfeld, Saved by the Bell, Roseanne, Quantum Leap, Perfect Strangers, Night Court, My Two Dads, Murphy Brown, Mr. Belvedere, Mork & Mindy, Miami Vice, M*A*S*H, Married...with Children, MacGyver, The Love Boat, Laverne & Shirley, Knots Landing, Hill Street Blues, Head of the Class, Happy Days, Growing Pains, The Greatest American Hero, The Golden Girls, Full House, Family Ties, The Facts of Life, The Dukes of Hazzard, Diff'rent Strokes, Dear John, Dallas, The Cosby Show, ChiPs, Cheers, Cagney & Lacey, Bosom Buddies, ALF, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Knight Rider, Remington Steele, Mama's Family, Designing Women, Magnum P.I., Dynasty, Simpsons, L.A. Law, Thirtysomething, Life Goes On,

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