What can some of the 1980s biggest hit movies and television
shows tell us about the conservatism of the Reagan Era? While pop culture and
politics may seem like separate spheres, each has always influenced the other,
especially during the 1980s. We will revisit iconic bits of 80s popular media
in order to see how America was dramatically shifting over the course of the
decade. Discover how in many ways we are still living in a world created
by 1980s television and film.
Daniel Gifford, Ph.D. is a public historian who focuses on
American popular and visual culture, as well as museums in American culture. He
received his PhD from George Mason University in 2011. He currently serves on
the Board of Directors of the Filson Historical Society, and his career spans
both academia and public history, including several years with the Smithsonian
Institution. He is the author of American Holiday Postcards 1905-1915:
Imagery and Context (2013) and The Last Voyage of the Whaling Bark Progress:
New Bedford, Chicago and the Twilight of an Industry (2020). He is
currently working on his third book, which explores the founding era of the
Filson Historical Society, 1884-1899.