New Books in History Jim Cullen, "1980: America's Pivotal Year" (Rutgers UP, 2022)
Nov 24, 2025
Cultural historian Jim Cullen, author of '1980: America's Pivotal Year', explores the dramatic shifts in American culture and politics during that transformative year. He discusses how the election marked a turn from Carter's presidency to Reagan's, shaping future policies. Cullen highlights the cultural zeitgeist through music, film, and television, examining everything from John Lennon's works to the rise of 'Dallas' and the implications of chain bookstores. His insights illuminate how these changes foreshadowed the 1980s and beyond.
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Double Take Moment Between Decades
- 1980 captured a cultural double-take between lingering 1970s attitudes and an emergent neoconservative turn.
- Jim Cullen argues that politics and popular culture aligned to reveal this protean moment.
Election As Political Realignment
- The 1980 election marked a political realignment from New Deal liberalism toward neoliberal market politics.
- Cullen sees Reagan's victory as the political pivot whose cultural echoes are visible across media.
Centralized Media Created Shared Moments
- Television, film, music, and books formed a centralized media culture in 1980 that amplified shared national moments.
- Cullen emphasizes that a few hits reached tens of millions, creating a cohesive zeitgeist unlike today's fragmented media.
