LIFE IN THE 70’S AND 80’S
A span of space exploration, protests, fashion and music to the automotive industry, natural disasters, social movements and far more. All this covers the time interval between 1970 and 1980, two so similar yet so different decades, and so different from the times we live now.
One of the biggest problems of those years were the wars, especially the cold war and a tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. These years cover many wars and conflicts and some of them are the Vietnam war, the Arab-Israeli conflict which continues to this day, war Yom Kippur initiated by Egypt and Syria against Israel for the recapture of territories. There was also the Lebanese war when the Israeli government made an attack in a response to the assassination of the Israeli ambassador. Various civil and guerrilla wars as well as assassinations such as the murder of the Libyan President William R. Tolber Jr. in the 1980 and frequent nuclear threats mark the decade as well.
On the other hand, there was great music that is still very recognizable and appreciated today. In the 1970s the music was quite diverse. It was continued by the musicians from the sixties such as The Who and Elvis Presley whose concerts were broadcasted in more than 40 countries at the time, Bob Dylan and the Beatles which disbanded in 1970 and released each their own album. Then there was the corporate rock whose representatives are Bread, Kansas, The Dobbie Brothers, and others.
Over time a very popular disco music emerged, with the predominance of ABBA, Bee Gees, Donna Summer, and the Sunshine band.
People listened to the experimental classical music, art rock, hard rock and the glam rock which rose sharply in Europe.
In the late 1970s hip hop music appeared, and country music blossomed greatly. There were many deaths and breakups of famous singers and groups. Jimi Hendrix, an American singer, guitarist, text writer and performer of the songs such as Hey Joe, Bold as love and many more was one of many who met his early death, at the age of 27.
In the 80s all kinds of rock, country music and hip-hop music were preserved. At the time, one of the biggest stars was Michael Jackson, known for dancing moonwalk, his leather jacket, and white gloves. He was considered one of the most successful musicians along with Prince.
Two women artists who broke the scene were Madonna and Whitney Houston with her classic I wanna dance with somebody. Techno style and house music appeared, a form of dance electronic music that was initially popular in discos and eventually flew into the pop music.
The music industry was also strongly influenced by the MTV program and cable television which became more accessible to all people. Because of that the popularity of shows and the children’s cartoons increased. A lot of them are still watched till this day, such as Smurfs, Garfield, and sit come Friends.
The development in computers, video recorders, mobile phones changed the era, which was also great for the film industry. Top-notch- Hollywood produced movies were made, for instance Rocky, Superman, Star Wars and Godfather. Some years later films Batman, Top Gun, Indiana Jones and the last Crusade, and the Return of Jedi were made. The most famous actors of that time were Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, and many others.
When it came to fashion it was all about the individuality. According to the Vouge there were no rules in fashion. The woman wore miniskirts, vintage clothing, disco style, bright colors with sequins and a bell-bottom. Several styles were known. The first was the hippie style, which is characterized by T-shirts with ties, ponchos, worn jeans and as a decoration dog looking collars made of a natural element such as feathers, shells and little rocks. The second style was the glamour style, as an inspiration from movies. Common colors were lilac, beige, light green, and baby blue. They also wore turbans, hats, and pearl earrings. Other looks were also the casual look, active wear, custom styles, and disco style. Finally, there was also a relaxed look with sweaters, tracksuits, tunics, and capes. One trend was the famous one-piece swimwear, which continued well into 1980s. For men, oriental fashion, bright colors, glam rock, and informal clothing were very typical. Sportswear, such as overalls, cardigans and valor T-shirts appear at the end.
In the eighties, fashion finally fully developed into heavy metal. It ranges from ripped pants, colorful hairstyles to neon clothes and styles that did not exist before. Popular hairstyles were perm, the mullet, hi-top fading and in general all kinds of big hair. There are quite similar things to wear as before and some new ones. Typical are overalls, leather pants, jeans jackets, polo shirts and sleeveless shirts. Makeup was just as aggressive as the hairstyles. Very accentuated lips, cheeks, and eyebrows with a lot of eyeliner and tons of blush. Glasses appear as a fashion accessory, more precisely the Ray-bans as well as athletic headbands. Fashion has changed a lot but in a way the details and some things have stayed the same. They got their inspiration from the movies and music videos.
These years included also natural disasters, catastrophes, science discoveries and much more. The most known natural disasters were the earthquake in the 1970 in Peru with the magnitude 7.7, the earthquake in Italy in 1980 where about 5,000 people were killed and lost.
To sum up, these decades were full of new things, successful people, scientific advances, various findings, and some clothing trends that continue to this day. The years did not escape the cultural changes, economic struggles, and the best music.
| SOURCES: |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s
Pictures:
Presley: https://www.radioekspres.si/elvis-presley-2/
glam rock: https://www.elle.com/fashion/news/g28197/runway-fashion-inspired-by-70s-glam-rock/
