Those Wild 80s

Today was a nice lazy day spent watching football and VH1's I Love the 80s, 1982-1986. What can you say about that decade? I was a child during that time, my earliest memory only goes back as far as 1984, but what a strange time in out history, at least from a pop culture standpoint. The big hair, the leg warmers, everything about fashion back then was completely over the top. From TJ Hooker to Dynasty, GI Joe to Inspector Gadget, that decade had it all.
The notable commentators on these specials were Michael Ian Black and Hal Sparks. It's easy feasting when you're making fun of the 80s but these two in particular were hilarious. I mean, Don Johnson thought he could sing back then?
People were making fun of the 80s before they were even over. It's been a decade since the 90s and I just don't see the humor from that era. Perhaps people were too self-conscious, or too aware back then. But I love watching those old 80s specials. For me, they're pretty nostalgic, since I was a kid back then. And looking back on the fashion, we've certainly come a long way.
I'm curious how the state of the world influenced pop culture. With Reagan and a hawkish administration, there was plenty of patriotism and a renewed sense of hope running in the air. From the anti-communist campaigns in Nicuagra and El Salvador, to the eventual collapse of the Berlin Wall, it was a monumental decade, a time that saw America become great again. These were troubling times, uncertain how the Cold War would end up, but at the same time, pop culture was so over the top, I just know there has to be a connection between the two.
Obviously cartoons like GI Joe and movies like Red Dawn were reminiscent of what was happening at the time. Definitely had that America kicks butt feel to it. But there was no war at the time, so the peaceniks had nothing to rally around (they were busy actually working), though they showed up to protest the potential of war when Reagan deployed missiles into Europe. But no major combat.
I'm just trying to figure out if there was somehow a connection between the political climate of the times and the ridiculous pop culture climate, with bands like the Thompson Twins Wang Chung. Perhaps this was just a period of bad song writing, not everyone necessarily is motivated by politics, though there were exceptions in people like Bruce Springsteen.
Anyways, if you are in the mood for mindless fun, watch reruns of I Love the 80s, they are hilarious.