The ’90s Didn’t (Completely) Suck
If I wasn’t from Jamaica, then why would I be wearing this hat? ~from “Half-Baked”
- This, um, says it all
People ask me sometimes why I usually write about the ’80s and not the ’90s. It’s because I think of the ’90s as one long stretch of excrutiating pain occasionally interrupted by moments of slightly lesser pain. I guarantee you probably would too if you went to high school during those years. The ’80s, on the other hand, are a kind of glorious set of halcyon days I can remember with great warm, fuzzy, gushing fondness. They were the years without puberty, grunge music, and the Macarena.
But I’m turning a new eye toward the Decade of Clinton recently. Was it all really as horrible as I remember? I’ve been out of high school 15 years now and the pain is finally beginning to ebb, the scars to heal (the Macarena ones, at least.) I’ve come to the conclusion that there were some really good things about the ’90s along with the horrendous.
I’m trying something a little new today: a blog entry mostly in pictures. If you guys like it, great, I’ll be doing more. If not, well, we’ll consign it to the recycle bins of history. Like…the Macarena.
I give you: the pop culture of the 90s, as I remember them. See how many you remember too, my fellow Gen X Rangers. You may now all unscrew your complimentary mini-bottles of Jaegermeister and put on your 3-D glasses if you want to see any of this in 3-D.
But you know what?
Big news flash: Leading up to the Oscars on Feb. 26, I’ll be posting a special 3-part project called “33 Films, 33 Years” covering a favorite film of mine for each of my 33 years. Cool, huh? If you have any suggestions I’d love to hear them. (I’d also like to know if I’m the only one who had a love/hate relationship with the ’90s, so keep that feedback coming.)
As always, if you enjoyed this post, click “Like” and subscribe/add P&Q to your blogroll. I’ll have to send you some Pogs and an old DiscMan if you don’t.
Prawn And Quartered 
Honestly, the 90’s are very forgettable for me, culture-wise. The only cartoon I remember was Bump In the Night.
I don’t know that one (goes to look it up)
The 90’s are a bit of a love/hate for me because most of my childhood/teenage years were in the 90’s and man we had some crazy stuff! Furbies were just plain evil. Almost as bad were the Tamagochi, or however you spell it.
I remember Tamagotchi very well. Some girl in my math class got in trouble for bringing hers to school. 🙂 And yes, Furby is evil.
The 90s had the crappiest music of any decade. NONE of it was worth listening to. Or dancing to. But I like yr picture idea. Mind you, perhaps there should be some guidance for uncool people who don’t know what the pictures are of – like me. Cause then we would get to be just SLIGHTLY more cool – and all because of you!
The 90’s didn’t have much in the mainstream of the time.
It made you have to actually search for what you are really into rather than rely on radio (Feh!) and television.
That’s a great point. There was a lot of really good indie stuff in the 90s.
LOL…if you look at the tags, I’ve made sure to label them, just in case. As for the music, I agree it pretty much sucked.
Depends on how you look at it. For what I was into I got to see a few things start out or go back underground and flourish by the end and up until now.
I’m a child of the ’70s and high school in the early ’80s, so I don’t even know most of this ’90s stuff well enough to comment. The ’90s for me were a blur of postgraduate study and then working way too many hours! A couple of good things for me about the ’90s TV scene were TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL and EARLY EDITION. But mostly I think the ’90s culture just passed me by.
I should clarify…..technically I’m also a child of the ’60s, but only lived three years in that decade so I don’t remember it! But then again, it seems like people who actually were older also don’t remember it, right?! HAHA
LOL, Amy! I can agree with you that being busy keeps you away from the pop culture. Can we safely add ST:TNG to the things that were good about the 90s? (It premiered in 1991.) 🙂
No, it premiered in 1987 I believe…..one more good thing about the ’80s! But it did go on until 1994 or so.
Sorry I did not think to do a reply……my thing about is about ST:TNG!
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