1980s nostalgia

1980s nostalgia is nostalgia for certain aspects of the 1980s. There is 1980s nostalgia in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland,^[1] Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Sweden, the UK, the US and elsewhere. 1980s retro is retro related to the 1980s.

Generation Z are nostalgic about the 1980s, in anglosphere countries^[2][3][4][5] and in Japan,^[6][7] even though they were born after the end of the 1980s.^[8] The same is true of members of Generation Y born after the 1980s in South Korea.^[9] Tom van Laer (University of Sydney) and Davide Christian Orazi (Monash University) described the effect of the television series Stranger Things on Generation Z as "pseudo nostagia",^[8] but Charles Fairchild (University of Sydney) disputes that concept and label.^[2] In 2022, Spotify said that Generation Z are more nostalgic for the 1980s than for other decades.^[10][11]

1980s music was more popular than that of other decades in Europe in 2010.^[12] In North America and Europe, it has been said that the quality of 21st century pop music is largely actually inferior to that of the 1980s.^{[13][14][15][16][17]} Lost 80's Live is a 1980s nostalgia concert tour.^[18] 1980s nostalgia music genres include synthwave, vaporwave, chillwave, sovietwave, the '80s remix and hypnagogic pop.

Some 1980s fashions have been revived^[19] in the 2010s^[20] and 2020s.^[21] 1980s fashions that have been revived include shoulder pads,^[22][23] power suits^[24] and 1980s makeup.^[25][26]

There is nostalgia for the Rubik's Cube.^[27]

Showa American Story is a Chinese video game set that combines American 1980s nostalgia with Japanese Shōwa nostalgia, as seen from the perspective of a video game developer who encountered the pop culture of those countries as a child in 1980s China.^{[28][29][30][31]} Its trailers feature 1980s music from Warabe, and the first went viral in 2022.^[32]

There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Kate Bush.^[2] The Newsreader (2021) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s.^[33]

There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Men Without Hats^[34] and Mini Pop Kids;^[35] and for 1980s food brands such as President's Choice cookies.^[36] There are 1980s retro markets.^[37]

There is more nostalgia for the 1980s than for any other decade.^[38] There is nostalgia for 1980s Italo pop^[39] and the 1980s music of artists such as Nena and the Scorpions. Deutschland 83 (2015) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s.^[38]

There is nostalgia for The Ramayan.^[40]

There are collectors of 1980s pop music cassette tapes.^[41] There is nostalgia for 1980s Indonesian disco music;^[42] and for 1980s films such as Gengsi Dong, Ratu Ilmu Hitam and Catatan Si Boy.^[43]

In Japan, 1980s nostalgia is part of the broader phenomenon of "Shōwa nostalgia" and "Shōwa retro".^[44] There is nostalgia for 1980s television programmes such as Takeshi's Castle^[45] and The Best Ten;^[46] for 1980s city pop,^[47] new music^[48] and kayōkyoku music;^[46] for the 1980s music of artists such as Mariya Takeuchi,^[48] Yōko Oginome,^[49] Meiko Nakahara, Saki Kubota,^[48] Akina Nakamori, Seiko Matsuda,^[50][51] Hiroko Yakushimaru^[52] and Wink;^[53] for 1980s arcade games such as Pac-Man and Galaga;^[54] for 1980s computer consoles such as Famicom;^[55] for 1980s hairstyles such as the Seiko-chan cut;^[56] for 1980s floral pattern tableware;^[57] for 1980s vending machines;^[58] for 1980s analogue technology such as disposable cameras^[7] and cassette tapes;^[59] and for 1980s second hand goods.^[60] Extremely Inappropriate! (2024) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s.^[61] Musicians ClariS (2023) and NewJeans (2024) have performed cover versions of 1980s songs that imitate the stage routines of Wink and Seiko Matsuda.^[53][62]

In 2017, the Yōko Oginome song "Dancing Hero (Eat You Up)" (1985) reached number 2 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart.^[63] In 2021, the Mariya Takeuchi song "Plastic Love" (1985) reached number 5 on the Oricon Singles Chart.^[64]

There is nostalgia for 1980s music^[65][66] such as the 1980s OPM music of the Boyfriends, Hagibis, Sampaguita and VST & Company.^[67]

There is nostalgia for the television programmes, music and fashion of the 1980s.^[9][68] There is nostalgia for 1980s technology such as cassette tapes.^[69] Reply 1988 (2015) is a nostalgia television series about the 1980s.^[70][71]

There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Factory, Magnum Bonum and Noice.^[72][73]

In 2024, there was more nostalgia among people under thirty for the 1980s than for any other decade.^[74] There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of OMD,^[75][76] David Bowie, Duran Duran, Bananarama, George Michael, Boy George,^[74] Level 42 and Bucks Fizz; and for Frankie Say Relax T-shirts, New Romantics, Smash Hits, Filofax, spandex, fluffy dice,^[77] Blake's 7,^[78] Max Headroom,^[79][80][81] Woolworths Pic n Mix,^[74] rave,^[82] shell suits,^[83] 1980s jewellery,^[84] and 1980s Christmases.^[85] Now 80s is a 1980s nostalgia music television channel.^[86] Ashes to Ashes (2008) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s.^[87] The Here and Now Tour is a 1980s nostalgia concert tour.^[88] There are 1980s nostalgia cruises,^[89][90] websites^[77] and museum exhibitions.^[91] I Love the '80s (2001) and Match of the Eighties (1997) are 1980s nostalgia documentaries. 1980s music was rebroadcast in the music archive programme Top of the Pops 2 (1994), and 1980s episodes of Top of the Pops were repeated on BBC 4 from 2015 to 2020.^[92]

The Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill" (1985) reached number 1 on the UK singles chart in 2022 as a result of being included in the fourth series of Stranger Things.^[93] In 2017, 1980s music was more popular than that of other decades.^[94] 1980s retro albums include Goldfrapp's Head First (2010) and Duran Duran's Future Past (2021).^[95][96]

Briscoe said that 1980s nostalgia frequently views the 1980s through an American lens that does not accurately reflect 1980s Britain.^[97]

There is nostalgia for 1980s music, fashion,^[98] hairstyles^[99] and childhood;^[100][101] and for the New York of the early 1980s.^[102] Nostalgia television programmes about the 1980s include That '80s Show (2002), Everybody Hates Chris (2005), The Americans (2013), The Goldbergs (2013), Halt and Catch Fire (2014), Stranger Things (2016)^[103] and Paper Girls (2022).^[104] Nostalgia films about the 1980s include Donnie Darko (2001), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Watchmen (2009), Adventureland (2009), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)^[103] and Totally Killer (2023).^[105] The films Pixels (2015)^[103] and Ready Player One (2018) are expressions of 1980s nostalgia.^[106] The film Drive (2011) is an expression of 1980s retro.^[107][108] 1980s nostalgia documentaries include I Love the '80s (2002)^[109] and The Greatest Night in Pop (2024).^[110] The 1980s nostalgia boom includes remakes and reboots of, and sequels to, films and television programmes released in the 1980s.^[103]

The Metallica song "Master of Puppets" (1986) charted in 2022, as a result of being included in Stranger Things.^[111] In 2021, 1980s music was more popular than that of other decades.^[112]

• 2000s in fashion#First-wave 1980s revival
• 2000s in fashion#Second wave 1980s revival

• "Time After Time: The Meaning of 80s Nostalgia". Laist (ed). The '80s Resurrected: Essays on the Decade in Popular Culture Then and Now. Macfarland. pp 9 to 76. See also passim.
• Critic's Notebook; Get Out Your Shoulder Pads: The 80's Are Here. The New York Times. 25 April 2001.
• The 70's Are So 90's. The 80's Are The Thing Now. The New York Times. 5 May 2002.
• Strangest thing: Resurgence of TV programs set in '80s shows no sign of halting. USA Today.
• Like, Omigod!' It's the return of the '80s. CNN. 21 August 2002.
• Millennial nostalgia brings '80s, '90s back into trend. abcnews. 28 December 2022.
• How Stranger Things got Gen Z humming 80s music. mint. 3 July 2022.
• We love the 1980s. The Guardian. 27 January 2006.
• The 1980s revival that lasted an entire decade. The Guardian. 22 January 2010.