The late 1980s love affair with French movies
The late 1980s saw an unexpected surge of interest in French movies like Jean de Florette.
1980s
News, current affairs, and cultural issues from the 1980s
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Demonising people with ‘Yuppie Flu’
Yuppie Flu was a condition recognised but mocked in the 1980s
Teaching adult literacy in the 1980s
UK adult illiteracy in the 1980s was at least 5% and I was one of many tutors trying to tackle that.
Was TV better in the 1970s and 1980s?
Was TV better in the 1970s and 1980s or is our nostalgia a big mistake?
1986 – 40 years ago in Britain
Looking back at 1986, it was a year when two halves of Britain went in different directions. With the year-long miners’ strike defeated in 1985, industrial areas saw a further surge in unemployment and a sense of despondency. But in London, it was a different world. Financial deregulation in the City of London powered the…
Zoomers challenge Boomer office culture
Gen-Z is challenging the Boomer office culture of the 1980s and they might have a point.
The Unsolved Murder of Dian Fossey
There’s an astonishing number of unsolved murders from the 1980s and it’s very striking how varied these cases are. Mobsters, members of cults, victims of homophobia, and racist homicides. Some of the stories are truly sinister so let’s investigate. The People’s Temple and a cult defector In 1980, Jeannie Mills, her husband Al, and daughter…
Iran – the overthrow of the Shah in 1979
With Iran back in the news, it’s an opportune moment to ask how did this country come to be ruled by a theocratic caste combined with a parliamentary democracy? Up until 1979, Iran was under the thumb of a monarch – the Shah – who was pro-western and effectively policed the Middle East on behalf…
Attitudes to sex in the 1980s
Attitudes to sex in the 1980s were more liberal than is sometimes assumed. But the decade was very different from the liberated 1960s and rebellious 1970s. The AIDS pandemic and rise of political conservatism impacted how young people viewed sex. Despite a climate of fear and repression, a survey in 1986 had very surprising results….
Growing up before digital – what was it like?
It’s hard to remember a world – only a quarter of a century ago – when most people had no public visibility. Imagine it. A world without social media influencers, TikTok trolls, YouTube channels, and bots. The only way you ever got your name or face in public was if a newspaper published your letter…