Cable was born and MTV , orginally intended to be promos for albums, had an enormous impact on music and young people. The digital compact disc (cd) revolutionized the music industry. Dances learned on MTV included slam dancing ,lombada, and break dancing. Harlem's gay Black and Latino males imitated the beautiful jet set with their (then underground) Vogueing a 'pose' dance popularized by Madonna  incorporating the struts and stances of high fashion models.

Pop, rock, new wave punk country, and especially rap or hip hop became popular in the 80s. Rap was new in the late 80s and 90s. It had started in prison 20 years earlier by jailed black inmates who, in the absense of instruments, turned poetic meter into musical rhythm. The early rap heard on ghetto streets was abrasive and laced with hostility toward society. Early important groups are Milli Vanilli , M. C. Hammer , Vanilla Ice , and L.L. Cool J .

In 1981, VCR sales rose 72% in 12 months. By 1989, 60 percent of American households with televisions received cable service. Huge or memorable movies of the decade included On Golden Pond , Tootsie Arthur, Stephen Spielberg Movies like E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, The Big Chill, Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Out of Africa, Back to the Future , Cocoon, The Breakfast Club Platoon, Star Trek,  Good Morning Vietnam Fatal Attraction, Rain Man, and Driving Miss Daisy. 

Broadway revivals were important during the 80s. Revival musicals  like West Side Story , The Music Man, Anything Goes, Me and My Gal, Brigadoon, Grand Hotel, Gypsy, and The King and I  all did well at the box office. Sell-out musicals were ahead for La Cage aux Folles.