🇬🇧United Kingdom · 80s
The Miners' Strike
Coal, Torvill and Dean, and a year that split Britain in two.
4 milestones of 1984
Arthur Scargill led the NUM into a year-long strike against pit closures. It became the most bitter industrial dispute in British history. Families torn apart. Communities destroyed.
Class conflict — present both sides but acknowledge devastation to mining communities
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean scored perfect 6.0s for their 'Bolero' routine at the Sarajevo Olympics. 24 million Britons watched. The nation held its breath — then roared.
The IRA bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference, killing 5 people. Thatcher narrowly survived. She gave her speech the next morning.
Terrorism — honor the victims, factual about the political context
Bob Geldof organized Band Aid after seeing BBC reports of the Ethiopian famine. 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' became the fastest-selling single in UK history.
70% local · 30% international
A Passage to India
David Lean — David Lean's final film. The Raj on screen.
The Killing Fields
Roland Joffe — Haing S. Ngor's Oscar. Cambodia's genocide. British cinema at its bravest.
Ghostbusters
Ivan Reitman — American import that dominated UK cinemas.
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Michael Radford — Major UK release — TMDB 6.8
Supergirl
Jeannot Szwarc — Major UK release — TMDB 5.3
The Jewel in the Crown
1984 — ITV's Indian epic. The end of Empire dramatized beautifully.
EastEnders (development)
1984 — BBC was developing its answer to Coronation Street — Albert Square was coming.
Live coverage of miners' clashes
1984-85 — The Battle of Orgreave on the evening news. Britain polarized.
Currency: GBP
Inflation: 5.0%
Thatcher's economy was growing for some — London booming. But northern industrial towns were devastated.
Inflation-adjusted values
ZX Spectrum
Sinclair's computer was in millions of British bedrooms. Manic Miner. Jet Set Willy.
Amstrad CPC
Alan Sugar's computer launched — affordable computing for the masses.
Cable TV
Cable television beginning to arrive in UK cities.
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