An icon of the 80s to me is He-Man and the Masters of The Universe, and other such animated cartoon series that were broadcast to many shaping many children's play times and imaginations.
The 80's saw a huge array of animated television series, with imported dubbed cartoons from Japan becoming increasingly popular such as Votron, Battle of The Planets and Dragonball Z. With influences from around the world, cartoons such as He-Man, Thundercats and Mask became hugely successful, spanning multiple series, and quite extensive toy lines that no child could go without.
It would be a mistake not to create a franchise that can be bought into. With lunch boxes, clothing, action figures, costumes, key rings and god knows what else. This brought consumerism to front, with parents buying their feverish children their favourite hero and his super rocket car with fold out wings. With the United States coming to an end with the Cold war, the cartoon series usually focused on ordinary people becoming a super hero type of figure fighting the ultimate evil and usually defeating him every week. This could reflect on American's mentality at the time, where they felt triumphant against the Soviet nation and averted a larger conflict.
The 80's cartoon series continue to be popular to this day, with reboots and re-releases of popular franchises, such as Transformers, and its never ending cartoon series and popular film trilogy. Maybe America is heading for a similar mindset with good being victorious over evil, or maybe they are harking back to a simpler time.
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