There was something in the air in 1984 . Though it was n’t of necessity appreciated at the time , the twelvemonth produced an preposterous amount of pop culture gold that still concord up four decade afterward . Maybe it was the summit of the blockbuster geological era ; maybe it was the excitement of apex - period MTV ; maybe it was the specter of George Orwell ’s famous novel hanging over the culture . Whatever it was , it guide to a streamer year for movies , music , and television .
The Impact of 1984’s Box Office Is Still Felt Today
While the release ofJawsin 1975 is widely consider the nascency of the modernistic blockbuster , big gang - pleasers really hit their stride in 1984 . The threehighest - gross moviesworldwide that year wereBeverly Hills Cop , Ghostbusters , andIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(the first Indiana Jones sequel — the other movies would all get their own before long enough ) . In 2024 audiences were treated toGhostbusters : Frozen Empire , the fifth film in the dealership , andBeverly Hills Cop : Axel F , the series ’s fourth entry . The old year saw Indiana Jones ’s final outing — as played byHarrison Ford , at least — withIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny .
Elsewhere in 1984 ’s top 10 wereSplash(witha remakecurrently in development),The Karate Kid(still depart in the configuration of the Netflix seriesCobra Kai),Gremlins(recently adapted into ananimated show , with another come infall of 2024 ) , andPolice Academy(currently six sequels bass with aseventhpossibly on the way).Even the smash hit from the year that did n’t spawn franchises , likeFootloose , are still iconic today .
Some movies that were less successful at the box office managed to be massive in other ways . The Terminatorlaunched both a perennial franchise and Arnold Schwarzenegger ’s impressive movie star streak . Before Denis Villeneuve madeDunemainstream in the 2020s , David Lynchdirected the first ( and much less well - received ) screen adaptation ofFrank Herbert ’s novelin 1984 . While it was n’t a blockbuster , 1984’sThis Is Spinal Tapbecame a furor classic . After inspiring infinite imitations in the mockumentary literary genre , anew sequelis being filmed in 2024 .
VHS Encouraged Filmmakers to Get Weird
While 1984 did n’t have a right Star Wars motion picture ( the too bad made - for - telecasting Ewoks spinoff , Caravan of Courage , does n’t count ) , it did get a Star Trek film inThe Search For Spock , the third theatrical release in the series . The most memorable sci - fi and fantasy pic from the class had plenty ofStar Warsin their DNA , but they fell inadequate of its blockbuster status . Instead , movies likeThe Last StarfighterandThe NeverEnding Storyturned out to be cult hit .
Many of these films were given young life as physical media . By 1984,roughly halfof all U.S. house have a videocassette recorder , allowing fellowship to tune into pic on their own time from their exist rooms . One way to watch movies at home was to rent them ; by the last of the class , over 15,000 video rental stores were operate in the U.S. Another was to record television programme onto VHS tapes — though entertainment pot fight heavily against this practice . In 1984 , the Supreme Court rule in favor of Sony in the infamousBetamax eccentric , giving engineering companies and consumer the power to record copyrighted message .
This technology meant that , given enough metre , anything could find an audience . Repo Man , The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension , C.H.U.D.,Stop Making Sense , andParis , Texaswere some of the off - pulsation title from that twelvemonth that took off as home releases .
Horror also had a moment at the sunup of the VHS era . Fans had their selection of twoStephen Kingadaptations in 1984 : Children Of The Corn , which was rebooted in 2020 , andFirestarter , which is most notable for starring a vernal Drew Barrymore . VHS transcript ofA Nightmare on Elm Streetwere passed around school vacation spot endlessly , traumatise a whole generation . In the UK , the Video Recordings Act led to “ picture nasties ” being banned , which ironically made them all the more desirable in bootleg or pirated form . Bawdy comedies — like 1984’sTop Secret!,Bachelor Party , andRevenge of the dweeb — circulated this way as well .
Change Was Brewing in Hollywood
As the content of popular films changed , the motion-picture show industriousness itself went through a shift in 1984 . ThePG-13 ratingwas created in part due to the goriness ofIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . Meanwhile , Disney launchedTouchstone Picturesfor movies that had more swear words than were appropriate for a motion picture introduced by a sketch mouse .
The adventure comedyRomancing the Stonenever became a mega - dealership ( though it did get a subsequence , and there were several attack to remake it ) , but its success opened the door for director Robert Zemeckis ’s next task , Back To The Future(1985 ) .
Some of the big names of the 1990s got their start in 1984 . John Hughes made his directorial debut that class withSixteen Candles , andJoel and Ethan Coenlaunched as a author - director duet withBlood Simple . A risible untested actor namedTom Hankshad his first two star purpose inSplashandBachelor Party , and that was hardly the last consultation heard from him .
Television Left the ‘70s Behind
What we call back as the 1970s geological era of TV extended into the 1980s . Happy Days , Three ’s Company , andCaptain Kangarooall air out their concluding episodes in 1984 . That year also signaled a new geological era of television withMiami Vice . Pitched as “ MTV cops”according to legend , the show drag the humans of TV law enforcement into the meretricious ‘ LXXX . Murder She Wrote , a very different type of crime show , also premiered that class , proving that some conception are timeless .
A raw geezerhood was dawning in media . A intelligence anchor namedOprah Winfreybegan hosting amorning talk show , and a gameshow legion namedAlex Trebekbecame the expression ofJeopardy!.Cheersintroduced a part by the name ofFrasier Crane , and fiddling did looker know that he ’d still be on TV40 years later . After originally broadcast for over a decade , the twisting - offFraiserwas rebooted for Paramount+ in 2023 . Here ’s another incredible piece of pop polish triviality from 1984 : That year George Clooney began starring inE / R.NotER , the show that made him famous a decade later — an entirely different show calledE / R.
MTV Coronated Pop Royalty
WhileMTVhad already been on the gentle wind for three age by that point , 1984 solidified the duct ’s status as a headliner - maker . That twelvemonth saw the first - ever MTV Video Music Awards , along with its first - ever controversial performance . AsMadonnawrithed on stagecoach to her hit song “ Like a Virgin , ” she laid the groundwork for the legion provocativeVMA performancesthat followed .
Princewas also all over MTV in 1984 . The pop star was at the height of his fame , seem inPurple Rain(the movie ) , as well as releasingPurple Rain(the record album ) featuring “ Purple Rain ” ( the song ) . That year Prince became thefirst artistto ever have the top movie , album , and single at the same time
At the source of the twelvemonth , the British isthmus Culture Club topped the UK charts with “ Karma Chameleon , ” one the most 1980s songs ever tape . The Sung also helped make lead singer Boy George a whizz in his own right . His signature tune androgynous mode , which was still shocking to many even in 1984 , contribute to his high profile .
Music Got Political
Many musicians who did n’t have No . 1 hit in 1984 still had a major influence on the industry . Run - DMC ’s debut album changed what people thoughthip - hopwas , introducing Modern subgenres overnight and ushering in a unused epoch . Red Hot Chili Peppers also released their first album that class . For rooter of punk and heavy metallic element , GWAR , Celtic Frost , Blind Guardian , Fields Of The Nephilim , and The issue all form in ‘ 84 . Iron Maiden took their gigantic World Slavery Tour behind the Iron Curtain , a sign that the days of the Cold War were numbered .
euphony and politics were entwined in other ways . Footage of the dearth in Ethiopia inspired Boomtown Rats guide singer Bob Geldof to work the charity supergroup projectBand assistance , which in twist precede to subsist assist the following yr . Frankie Goes To Hollywood ’s gay sex hymn “ Relax ” was in reality released in tardy 1983 , but it was in ‘ 84 that it became a phenomenon . When it was banned fromBBC radiothat twelvemonth , the backlash motivate it to No.1 on the UK charts . The German ring Nena ’s catchy , Berlin Wall - inspire tale ofoverzealous warfare ministers , “ 99 Luftballons , ” became an anthem of Cold War fearfulness . When it comes to revelatory pop bangers based on geopolitical tension , neither the German nor English rendering can be beat .
Pre-internet Memes Went Viral
societal medium was n’t around in 1984 , butmemes — as in ideas that scatter and mutate organically throughout human polish — were live and well . This Is Spinal Tap , one of the most - cite films ever made , preface the globe to the musical theme of “ drop dead to 11.”Breakin ’ 2 : Electric Boogaloo , released just month after theoriginalBreakin ’ , is best recall for its delightfully unknown subtitle . It has since become asnowclone , or a phrase guide that ’s used as tachygraphy for a joke or an idea . In this case , someone might tack “ Electric Boogaloo ” onto the end of a film ’s name to evoke ridiculous subsequence subtitles .
Many of the year ’s biggest memes did n’t come from movies . In 1984 , Wendy ’s ask “ Where ’s the beef ? ” , Paul Hogan invited TV audience to “ pop a prawn on the barbie , ” andLionel Richiestarred in the TV for “ Hello ” ( along with a clay reproduction of his head ) . These outcome were all parodied , reference , and ripped off to oblivion for decades .
Some of the heavy concepts riddle the acculturation really initiate in 1948 . That year George Orwell published1984 , a sci - fi novel that imagined a dystopian society oppressed by authorities surveillance and security review . Renewed interestingness in the Good Book in its titulary class absolutely bestow to ongoing talk of Big Brother , groupthink , and the Thought Police — terms that either spring up with or wereinspired byOrwell .
A movie adaption star John Hurt descend out in 1984 . Despite this , many the great unwashed ’s double of the book comes from a SuperBowl advertising that aired that class . In the Apple commercial message precede the Macintosh , a woman chucks a sledge at a screen door playing Big Brother ’s propaganda , thus shattering it and discharge the gray - raiment trailer in the audience . It ends with the tagline : “ You ’ll see why 1984 wo n’t be like1984 . ”
The advertising barely remark the Macintosh and does n’t show it all , but withal , it marked a young phase of habitation computer science . It ’s also oftentimes cited as one of the greatest commercials of all time . That ’s not surprising considering it was directed byAlien(1979 ) andBlade Runner(1982)director Ridley Scott — another expectant name in 1984 who ’s had a massive influence on popular culture in the decades since . His next project in 2024 isGladiator II , a sequel that thankfully does n’t have a corny caption ( “ Electric Boogaloo ” or otherwise ) .
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