THE AGE OF GENERATION X

The decade of AIDS, high divorce rates and the PG-13 rating also brought us Pac-man, Flashdance and the New Romantics.

To the generation growing up in the 1980s, it was a time of Rubik's cubes, Dr. Pepper, MTV, computer technology, parental divorce and the fear of AIDS. The decade opened with the tragic murder of former Beatle John Lennon in front of his apartment building in New York City. The nation was stunned by the loss and grieved along with his widow, Yoko Ono. Another assassination attempt shocked the world when an obsessed fan of actress Jody Foster shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan. In Britain, Margaret Thatcher was the Conservative Prime Minister, encouraging consumerism and conspicuous consumption, which gave birth to the Yuppie and a new (short-lived) era of promiscuity and decadence. Ostentation was the name of the game, even when it came to expressing sexuality, with cross-dressing Boy George leading the way. On a more serious note, AIDS was lurking in the background. It took a while for authorities to confirm that the AIDS virus had been identified, and for years it was thought only to affect homosexuals. Jerry Falwell called AIDS a "gay plague," and Rock Hudson was the first known celebrity to die of AIDS. But the world was wrong. Everyone was at risk. The divorce rate had risen to 50 percent by the 1980s and half of school-age kids lived between two households, shared by two sets of parents. As their parents and other concerned groups fought over lyrics and sexually explicit videos, a new rating, PG-13, was created to warn parents of sex, language, or violence in films. But for every person trying to set rigid rules, there was another trying to bend or break them. Brooke Shields raised a few smiles as well as a few eyebrows with her Calvin Klein jeans ads. Meg Ryan did, too, with her public performance of an orgasmic experience in When Harry Met Sally. The Reverend Sun Myung Moon defied convention when he married more than 2,000 couples in New York, some strangers to each other. And an Arizona man tried to see how far he could push the envelope- with 105 wives, he was found guilty of polygamy. Chartbusters in the early '80s included Madonna, Michael Jackson, Blondie and Queen. Mid-decade gave us Foreigner, Dire Straits, and USA for Africa. Whitney Houston made her debut later, sharing the air waves with George Michael, Bon Jovi, the Bangles and U2. In England, the New Romantics brought with them a new wave of music, with bands like Duran Duran and Human League under the spotlight.

THE SILVER SCREEN

Some movie soundtracks during this decade became as famous as the films they accompanied. Urban Cowboy made Gilley's Bar a household name, and "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places" spawned a generation of line dancers. The Blue Lagoon gave us the hit "Endless Love," Arthur delivered "Arthur's Theme," and Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes sang the rousing "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman.Flashdance gave us "Oh, What a Feeling," among others. But not all movies were about the music. Some made us laugh (Romancing the Stone and The Princess Bride). Others moved us (Children of a Lesser God and Sophie's Choice), and still others such as Fatal Attraction made a lasting impression about rabbits as pets and cured some couples of infidelity.

BETWEEN THE PAGES

The 1980s was the decade for mainstream glitz and romance with authors Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel, Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins and Harold Robbins dominating the best seller lists year after year. With little room for anyone else, John Irving still managed to elbow in with The Hotel New Hampshire, as did Alice Walker with The Colour Purple.

PEOPLE

Henry and Christina Ford got divorced, while Glenn Close got married but then divorced three years later. The very public marriage between Patty Duke and John Astin dissolved. And although Piano Man Billy Joel appeared to be happily married to his Uptown Girl, model Christie Brinkley, they also eventually broke up. Royalty had its pairings and breakups, too. Grace Kelly's daughter Princess Caroline of Monaco