The 80s

In The Soho Press Book of '80s Short Fiction, editor Dale Peck offers readers a fresh take on a seminal period in American history, when Ronald Reagan was president, the Cold War was rushing to its conclusion, and literature was searching for ways to move beyond the postmodern unease of the 1970s. Morally charged by newly politicized notions of identity but fraught with anxiety about a body whose fragility had been freshly emphasized by the AIDS epidemic, the 34 works gathered here are individually vivid, but taken as a body of work, they challenge the prevailing notion of the ’80s as a time of aesthetic as well as financial maximalism. Formally inventive yet tightly controlled, they offer a more expansive, inclusive view of the era’s literary accomplishments. The anthology blends early stories from writers like Denis Johnson, Jamaica Kincaid, Mary Gaitskill, and Raymond Carver, which have gone on to become part of the American canon, with remarkable and often transgressive work from some of the most celebrated writers of the underground, including Dennis Cooper, Eileen Myles, Lynne Tillman, and Gary Indiana. Peck has also included powerful work by writers such as Gil Cuadros, Essex Hemphill, and Sam D’Allesandro, whose untimely deaths from AIDS ended their careers almost before they had begun. Almost a third of the stories are out of print and unavailable elsewhere. The Soho Press Book of ’80s Short Fiction is a daring reappraisal of a decade that is increasingly central to our culture.

Toronto In Colour: the 1980s features street scenes from the 1980s when I was new to the city, and saw it with fresh eyes. I had no way to anticipate how significant these Toronto photos would seem to me 30 years later. They show things that no longer exist, even though it hasn't been that long. Without necessarily trying to, I caught images of buildings, cars, fashions, gadgets that are no longer part of our world. Toronto's entire skyline is utterly changed, part of the inevitable growth and evolution.

The 1980s is remembered as a time of big hair, synthetic music, and microwave cookery. It is also remembered as the heyday of conservative politics, socioeconomic inequality, and moral panics. It is dichotomously remembered as either a nostalgic age of innocence or a regressive moral wasteland, depending on who you ask, and when. But, most of all, it is remembered. In retro fashion trends, in '80s-based film and television narratives, and through countless rebooted movies, video games, superheroes, and even political slogans imploring us to Make America Great Again (Again). More than merely a historical period, "the '80s" has grown into a contested myth, ever-evolving through the critical and expressive lens of popular culture. This book explores the many shapes the '80s mythos has taken across a diverse array of media. Essays examine television series such as Stranger Things, Cobra Kai, and POSE, films such as Dallas Buyers Club, Summer of '84, and Chocolate Babies, as well as video games, pop music, and toys. Collectively, these essays explore how representations of the 1980s influence the way we think about our past, our present, and our future.

From their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, B movies declined in popularity through the 1970s. As the big Hollywood studios began to make genre films with sky-high budgets, independent producers of low-budget movies could not compete in theaters. The sale of American International Pictures in 1979 and New World Pictures in 1983 marked the end of an era. The emergence of home video in the 1980s marked the beginning of a new phase, as dozens of B movies were produced each year for the small screen, many becoming cult classics of science fiction, horror and fantasy. Through numerous interviews with producers, directors, photographers and actors, this book sheds light on an overlooked corner of film history with behind-the-scenes stories of 28 low-budget favorites from the 1980s.

The unapologetic excess, glamour, and bold eccentricity of 1980s style graces every page of this extraordinary collection of clothing and accessories from the decade's most influential fashion figures. The Museo de la Moda here documents the thriving creative sartorial period during the 1980s through an amazing collection of 500 vintage pieces curated by the museum's founder, Jorge Yarur Bascuñán. Founded in 1999 and opened in 2007 in Santiago, Chile, the museum has amassed one of the world's largest collections of 1980s garments, accessories, and design objects, from subversive, deconstructed ensembles by Comme des Garçons to explosively graphic Fiorucci jumpsuits. The '80s: Museo de la Moda captures a decade marked by audacious displays of opulence and fearless experimentation where the worlds of music, art, fashion, culture, and design collided and informed each other. This substantial volume presents close to 600 pages of fabulous garments and accessories--many featured in Vogue, Elle, L'Officiel--from renowned designers such as Azzedine Alaïa, Issey Miyake, Katharine Hamnett, Claude Montana, Yohji Yamamoto, and BodyMap. The dynamic photo collages are accompanied by new interviews with the boldest international personalities and fashion designers, who reminisce on that vibrant time, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Joan Collins, Jane Fonda, and Thierry Mugler, among others. Chapters explore aesthetic themes, ranging from urban fashion and dressing for the evening to men's fashion and motifs and color. The ultimate book on '80s fashion, this essential volume will be treasured by fashion, style, popular culture, and design enthusiasts alike.