(Very unpopular opinion incoming)
In my personal opinion, the 1980s were when pop culture (music especially) started to flush down the toilet. (This doesn’t mean that EVERYTHING from the era was bad, but there was, IMO, an overall decay in quality.
What really bothers me the most is the persistent obsession with 1980s pop culture.
Seriously? Will it ever end?
I think it’s because many people alive today (mainly Gen X and late Baby Boomers) were kids back then, so I believe it’s that mangy dog known as nostalgia.
There’s also the obsession with the 1990s too, mainly experienced by millennials and some of Gen Z.
However, I think the obsession with the 1980s (and, to an extent, the 1970s) partly comes from the elitism from the “back in my day” stubborn subset of some of the Baby Boomers, who think their time was better than today.
Now, not to shit on that generation, as there are plenty of sane, forward looking members, but the fact that they were called the “Me” Generation says a lot about this.
It’s pretty annoying when some people say that '80s music was better than today when the '80s had their fair share of godawful music like cheesy hair metal and some of synthpop. Same with the '70s, and to add on to this, I think jazz took a major hit in the 50s and 60s.
In fact… A lot of early rock and roll in the 50s was very repetitive, often sharing the exact same melody!!!
This also extends to movies, too (especially American film).