Nike Air Jordans 1984 (1980's)

Origin: Nike became a very prominent company in the athletic world in the early 1980's and they even started making shoes. However, Converse and Adidas were still the prominent companies of producing basketball shoes. In 1987, Nike picked up a sponsorship from the player that was considered the best basketball player at the time, Michael Jordan, and the Air Jordans were born. These shoes were still sneakers like shoes before. There were many basketball shoes in the past that could be worn as normal shoes, but this shoe was made by Nike solely to make a fashion statement. The shoe was made by Nike, an athletic company that was started in 1964 in Beaverton, Oregon.

Purpose: This shoe was innovative in its focus on being a fashion statement. There were other shoes that were made to look good, but there were not shoes that were as flashy as the Air Jordans. These shoes were not very new in material used. The bottoms were made of rubber and the tops were made of leather. The shoes had a difference in durability. There was more leather use so that they could be worn out of playing basketball without ruining the shoe. The Nike Air Jordan were created so that there could be a shoe that could serve the purpose of being a basketball shoe and a normal shoe while being a loud fashion statement.

Value: This shoe is an expression of this time period because the 80's were a a period of hints that were new and flashy in popular culture. Things such as punk rock and rap became prominent in the 80's and this shoe is a perfect expression of the time period. This she expresses the values because it expresses the flashiest and value of new and cool things in the 80's. It my express concerns by showing that things may have become too flashy in the 80's. This shoe is the best expression of the time because it represents the explosion of new and flashy things in basketball better than other items of the time period do.

Limitations: This shoe cannot say much about the certain events that happened during the time period. It cannot tell us anything about certain events such as the end of the Cold War and the impact of the Reagan registration and Ronald Reagan in the 80's. There were many voices that were talking about things that were happening outside the U.S and things such as the recession that were happening around the U.S and this shoe cannot really illustrate that because of its lack of connection to anything political. The Nike Air Jordan were quite unusual compared to other basketball shoes of the time because of how flashy the shoes just were. These shoes do not shoe the voices and perspectives that came from any events or issues with the government or anything political.


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