History UsefulNotes / The90s

* So what was the education system like? Unlike in, say, TheFifties, there was a ''huge'' stigma around dropping out of school. Skipping class was a no-no and carried some heavy penalties. Going to college was more or less expected and was considered the rule, not the exception. If you didn't go to college, it wasn't bad per se if you got a good job or entered the military.

* WesternAnimation started [[TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation coming into its own]] after [[TheDarkAgeOfAnimation decades of stagnation]]: ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''SpiderMan'' really started to push the envelope as to what stories could be told via animation, often with fantastic results. On the other end, ''RockosModernLife'' and ''{{Animaniacs}}'' played a giant game of "[[GettingCrapPastTheRadar let's see what we can slip past the censors]]" and often won. Most broadcast networks still had their own SaturdayMorningCartoon block, and CartoonNetwork got their start in the nineties as well.

* The "'90s singer-songwriter" was practically a trope in and of itself. Mention the names LizPhair, AlanisMorissette or {{Sarah McLachlan}} to any woman in her 30s or late-20s, and she will most likely regale you with tales of the great music festival that was Lilith Fair (whether or not she actually went there; there's a good chance she got her stories from people who did). The '90s are the first decade in which women in general (not just individual musicians or bands) were taken seriously as rockers, and the female rock stars produced by the decade became known for their angsty lyrics (in true '90s grunge fashion). At the same time, the {{riot grrrl}}s, while never enjoying the mainstream success of their male counterparts, also left their mark on the underground with their staunchly feminist brand of {{punk rock}}.

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* The "'90s singer-songwriter" was practically a trope in and of itself. Mention the names LizPhair, AlanisMorissette or {{Sarah McLachlan}} to any woman in her 30s or late-20s, and she will most likely regale you with tales of the great music festival that was Lilith Fair (whether or not she actually went there; there's a good chance she got her stories from people who did). The '90s are the first decade in which women in general (not just individual musicians or bands) were taken seriously as rockers, and the female rock stars produced by the decade became known for their angsty lyrics (in true '90s grunge fashion). The {{riot grrrl}}s, while never enjoying the mainstream success of their male counterparts, also left their mark on the underground with their staunchly feminist brand of {{punk rock}}.

* For women and girls, overalls were extremely popular, and high-cut jeans were the rule until about 1999. Unless you were in {{high school}}, skirts were practically non-existent. Acid-washed jeans held on as a holdover from the '80s, but spandex was verboten.

* [[EightiesHair Frizzy and/or voluminous hair]] for women remained as a holdover from the 1980s, although flatter hair pushed it out by the end of the decade. The women's hairstyle most associated with the decade is the "Rachel" cut, worn by JenniferAniston in the early seasons of ''{{Friends}}'' -- flat, straight, and square layered.

* {{Anime}} was just starting to develop in the United States. Girls had ''SailorMoon'' and the boys had ''DragonBallZ'', and...that was about it unless you wanted to really do some hardcore searching. Of course, these animes were {{Bowdlerize}}d out the wazoo, but most kids didn't know, as they had nothing to compare it to. Late in the '90s, ''{{Pokemon}}'' showed up and really kick-started the anime movement, allowing to really take root and become the industry it was in the '00s.

* To listen to Top 40 radio in the 1990s would mean being buried under endless waves of Sixpence, Suzanne Vega, and tons of more mellow vocal artists.
* {{Grunge}} was very popular in the early part of the decade, but was a very common target for ridicule and faced [[DeaderThanDisco a major backlash]] as increasingly derivative bands partook in a lyrical style that NathanRabin dubbed "Hunger-Dunger-Dang."
* HairMetal briefly held over from the '80s and remained successful up until 1992 or so, after which point it was quietly [[IncrediblyLamePun acid-washed from history]].
* GangstaRap peaked in the 1990s with the famous East Coast-West Coast rap war.
* {{Britpop}} emerged in, [[CaptainObvious well, Britain]] as a backlash against grunge, and became the dominant form of music on the other side of ThePond. However, the only Britpop band to gain real traction in America was {{Oasis}}.

* {{Boy band}}s were extremely popular throughout the late '90s.
* Many college students across America followed Lo-Fi, the LosAngeles[=/=][[TheWindyCity Chicago]]-based rock genre spearheaded by Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Beck.

* MoralGuardians were at their most hot-and-bothered since TheFifties, as a result of shows like ''BeavisAndButthead'' and ''TheSimpsons'', video games like ''MortalKombat'' and ''NightTrap'' (this was when the [[YouCanPanicNow moral panic]] over [[MurderSimulators video game violence]] begun) and musicians like MarilynManson and [=~N.W.A.~=] (and GangstaRap in general). The guardianship [[JumpTheShark jumped the shark]] in 1994 when a Jerry Falwell-produced video claimed that President BillClinton was a {{serial killer}} who had [[ConspiracyTheorist ordered hits on political enemies]].

* WesternAnimation started [[TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation coming into its own]] after [[TheDarkAgeOfAnimation decades of stagnation]]: ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''SpiderMan'' really started to push the envelope as to what stories could be told via animation, often with fantastic results. On the other end, ''RockosModernLife'' and ''{{Animaniacs}}'' played a giant game of "let's see what we can slip past the censors" and often won. Most broadcast networks had their own SaturdayMorningCartoon block, and CartoonNetwork got their start in the nineties as well.
* TheNineties may well have been Disney's golden age. After a brief DorkAge in TheEighties, the Mouse Factory came roaring back with a string of hits in ''BeautyAndTheBeast'', ''{{Aladdin}}'', ''TheLionKing'', and ''ToyStory''. As a child growing up in TheNineties, you were ostracized if you had not seen ''TheLionKing'' yet.
** On that note, ''ToyStory'' started the trend towards using [=CGI=] in movies. While 2D animation and 3D animation lived side-by-side for TheNineties, the nails were starting to form in the coffin.
* The 24-hour cable news network really got its motor running in the '90s. With national stories coming to a head (Bill Clinton's involvement with Monica Lewinsky; [=JonBenet=] Ramsey; Columbine; OJ Simpson), a combination of the networks and the Internet made reporting what it is today (same info repeated ad nauseum, new info as needed). Sadly, this also started the trend of news networks latching onto and subsequently overreporting whatever they deemed to be the "next big thing".

* {{Cell phone}}s were in the transition period between the giant bricks of the '80s and the smaller, sleeker, multimedia-enabled devices of today. While prices were coming down, they were still most definitely a luxury item, even more so than a home computer, and were predominantly the domain of businessmen and people who worked on the go. For the rest of us, there were pagers. Cell phones started becoming smaller, cheaper and more common late in the decade, but even then, anything beyond the basics (sending and receiving calls and text messages) reserved only for the most high-end models. Service was found only in more urban areas, and was still rather spotty. Text messaging was a lot more expensive than it is today, and was practically unheard of. It wasn't for nothing that most people still relied on land lines during this period, and things like pay phones and the Yellow Pages (massive {{doorstopper}} books that listed all phone numbers in a given area) were commonplace.
* Video gaming really started taking off amongst kids - despite the fears of violence. The '90s saw the SuperNintendo and the SegaGenesis, which is seen by some as the last great console war - to this day, it's truly difficult to tell who was the clear-cut winner. Gaming started improving from a technolgical standpoint, and by the late '90s we had both a 64-bit system and the birth of the compact disc as a gaming medium. {{Nintendo}} owned the market after the Genesis fell off, but Sony would take over until the Wii came along in the late '00s.

* Video gaming really started taking off amongst kids - despite the fears of violence. The '90s saw the SuperNintendo and the SegaGenesis, which is seen by some as the last great console war - to this day, it's truly difficult to tell who was the clear-cut winner. Gaming started improving as a medium, and by the late '90s we had both a 64-bit system and the birth of the compact disc as a gaming medium. {{Nintendo}} owned the market after the Genesis fell off, but Sony would take over until the Wii came along in the late '00s.

* The 24-hour cable news network really got its motor running in the '90s. With national stories coming to a head (Bill Clinton's involvement with Monica Lewinsky; [=JonBenet=] Ramsey; Columbine; OJ Simpson), a combination of the networks and the Internet made reporting what it is today (same info repeated ad nauseum, new info as needed).

* In California, former [=NFL=] running back Orenthal James Simpson was allegedly involved in the murder of some close friends and his wife. While celebrity trials had gotten press before, this one absolutely dominated national headlines for a very long time. There were some racial implications involved as well.

* WesternAnimation started [[RenaissanceAgeOfAnimation coming into its own]] after [[DarkAgeOfAnimation decades of stagnation]]: ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''SpiderMan'' really started to push the envelope as to what stories could be told via animation, often with fantastic results. On the other end, ''RockosModernLife'' and ''{{Animaniacs}}'' played a giant game of "let's see what we can slip past the censors" and often won. Most broadcast networks had their own SaturdayMorningCartoon block, and CartoonNetwork got their start in the nineties as well.

* As for networks, [=NBC=] was pretty much king of the roost. [=FOX=] had its massive sports contract to fall back on, and [=CBS=] and [=ABC=] were pretty much neck-and-neck at the bottom. [=ABC=] did have a success story with [=TGIF=], though.
* TheNineties was more or less the decade of the {{Sitcom}}, with ''{{Seinfeld}}'' and ''{{Cheers}}'' first, followed by ''{{Friends}}'' and ''{{Frasier}}''.
* WesternAnimation started coming into its own as well: ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''SpiderMan'' really started to push the envelope as to what stories could be told via animation, often with fantastic results. On the other end, ''RockosModernLife'' and ''{{Animaniacs}}'' played a giant game of "let's see what we can slip past the censors" and often won. Most broadcast networks had their own SaturdayMorningCartoon block, and CartoonNetwork got their start in the nineties as well.

* Regarding entertainment, the {{Sitcom}} was king, with ''{{Seinfeld}}'' and ''{{Cheers}}'' first, followed by ''{{Friends}}'' and ''{{Frasier}}''.

* And speaking of the internet, most of what we now know as the internet did not exist. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFF0oQySsh4&feature=related Here]] is a look at how primitive the internet was as recently as 1995. No {{friending network}}s, very primitive search engines, no [[YouTube streaming video]], and use of the words "{{blog}}" or "wiki" in casual conversation would earn you blank stares. Message boards only came into their own late in the decade -- before that, there was {{Usenet}}. The only three browsers were Netscape, Internet Explorer (and its precursor, Mosaic) and America Online. Yes, [[SoBadItsHorrible AOL]], or as many people came to call it, [[DetractorNickname AOHell]]. Millions got suckered into AOL's crappy business policy thanks to its mass mailing of [=CDs=] and its ads proclaiming that it was "so easy to use, no wonder it's #1!". AOL was instrumental in kick-starting the EternalSeptember, which is when public interest in the internet first began to surge. The late '90s saw the growth and eventual collapse of the "dot-com" bubble, which is when everybody and their dog decided that they were an "e-ntrepreneur" and started up a website offering them some kind of service in the "new economy" that would be created by the internet. (As it turned out, claims about the "new economy" were about ten years premature.)

* Having an Internet connection (the word was always capitalized) was always in question. Many people didn't have a computer to begin with. Many computers were too old to connect to the internet. Many people who had modern computers simply didn't pay for service because it was much more expensive, and most people wouldn't go on for more than an hour because doing so would tie up the phone line. And it was always the phone line -- broadband was an option only found in a few areas and at a very high price, which meant that its use was reserved for the rich and for specialized fields (research, programming). [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svmYyeRY11o&feature=related This sound]] came on every time you turned on your dial-up modem to hook up to the internet. If you wanted to, say, [[TheInternetIsForPorn look for naked pictures online]], you would have to wait a few minutes for a grainy, 360x240 image to slowly load on your screen. Basically, unless you had used the internet, you probably didn't even know it existed, especially early in the decade.

* Having an Internet connection (the word was always capitalized) was always in question. Many people didn't have a computer to begin with. Many computers were too old to connect to the internet. Many people who had modern computers simply didn't pay for service because it was much more expensive, and most people wouldn't go on for more than an hour because doing so would tie up the phone line. And it was always the phone line -- broadband was an option only found in a few areas and at a very high price, which meant that its use was reserved for the rich and for specialized fields (research, programming). [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svmYyeRY11o&feature=related This sound]] came on every time you turned on your dial-up modem to hook up to the internet. Basically, unless you had used the internet, you probably didn't even know it existed, especially early in the decade.

* Baggy pants that threaten to slide down to your ankles if you run in them were popular for men starting in the mid-nineties, and stayed popular until about the mid-00's.
* Bell-bottoms made a comeback in the late-nineties, but were strictly for girls.

* In the late-nineties, fads were coming and going almost on a monthly basis. Tomagotchis, laser-pens, yo-yo's, and finally Pokemon were annoying people over the age of 13 everywhere.

* Many, many people didn't own a personal computer. Most homes had one computer for the whole family to use. The age of the model varied, but [[MicrosoftWindows Windows 95]] became the standard after, well, '95. Most printers were of the dot matrix variety, and laptops were rare, bulky luxuries.
** Having an internet connection was always in question. Many people didn't have a computer to begin with. Many computers were too old to connect to the internet. Many people who had modern computers simply didn't pay for service because it was much more expensive, and most people wouldn't go on for more than an hour because doing so would tie up the phone line. And unless you had used the internet, you probably didn't even know it existed.
*** Expect people to awkwardly refer to the internet as the 'world wide web' and talk about 'surfing the net' until about '98 or '99. It was also common to say the "double-you double-you double-you" part of URL's out loud.

* {{Grunge}} was very popular in the early part of the decade, but was a very common target for ridicule and faced [[DeaderThanDisco a major backlash]] as increasingly derivative bands partook in a lyrical style that NathanRabin dubbed "Hunger-Dunger-Dang." It was succeeded by alternative rock by the late-nineties.

* {{Boy band}}s were extremely popular throughout the late '90s, becoming TheBarney to anyone who wasn't a young girl.

* {{Grunge}} was very popular in the early part of the decade, but was a very common target for ridicule and faced [[DeaderThanDisco a major backlash]] as increasingly derivative bands partook in a lyrical style that NathanRabin dubbed "Hunger-Dunger-Dang."

* {{Boy band}}s were extremely popular throughout the late '90s.

* For women and girls, overalls were extremely popular, and high-cut jeans were the rule until about 1999. Unless you were in {{high school}}, skirts were practically non-existent.

* Frizzy and/or voluminous hair for women remained as a holdover from the [[EightiesHair 1980s]], as did acid wash jeans. Unlike the '80s, however, spandex was verboten.

* MoralGuardians were at their most hot-and-bothered since TheFifties, as a result of shows like ''BeavisAndButthead'' and ''TheSimpsons, video games like ''MortalKombat'' and ''NightTrap'' (this was when the [[YouCanPanicNow moral panic]] over [[MurderSimulators video game violence]] begun) and musicians like MarilynManson and [=~N.W.A.~=]. The guardianship [[JumpTheShark jumped the shark]] in 1994 when a Jerry Falwell-produced video claimed that President BillClinton was a {{serial killer}} who had [[ConspiracyTheorist ordered hits on political enemies]].

* Nowadays, Nineties Fashion is often shown as indistinguishable from The TurnOfTheMillenium. In fact, the manner of dress in those two decades was ''vastly'' different.
*Unless you were a child, your shirt was always tucked in, regardless of your gender or how formally you were dressed.
* For women and girls, overalls were extremely popular, and high-cut jeans were the rule until about 1999. Unless you were in high school, skirts were practically non-existent.
*Also in vogue were impractically small backpacks.
** -> ''[[PepperAnn Tiny vinyl sacks have been on the market for nearly a decade! In another year, they'll be retro!]]''
* Frizzy and/or voluminous hair for women remained as a holdover from the [[EightiesHair 1980s]]. As did acid wash jeans. Unlike the '80s, spandex was verboten.

* Both plaid and neon were extremely popular designs for clothing. Neon more so, but everybody remembers plaid more.
* Men's hairstyles changed drastically throughout the decade, from shaggy in 1994, to a parted bowl-cut in 1997, to [[TheSimpsons Bart Simpson Spikes]] in 1999.

* The 1990s were the point at which drug awareness reached the point of {{Narm}}. Anti-drug commercials were sprinkled in between shows aimed at eight-year-olds, [[MisaimedMarketing who weren't exactly being offered to begin with]].[[hottip:*:Though the young actresses involved helped usher millions of boys into adolescence.]] Programs like DARE were at their most aggressive (and least effective); and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwu7L38glcQ Rachel Leigh Cook was tearing up her kitchen for unclear reasons]]. Amongst adults, employee drug tests were ubiquitous no matter your line of work.
* Pro Basketball continued to rise in popularity, thanks in no small part to Michael Jordan. It's no coincidence that the most watched basketball game of all time was in 1998.
* MoralGuardians were at their most hot-and-bothered since TheFifties, as a result of shows like BeavisAndButthead. The guardianship [[JumpTheShark jumped the shark]] in 1994 when a Jerry Falwell-produced video claimed that President Bill Clinton was a serial killer.
* Product synergy reached its weirdness apex in the '90s when Disney partnered with Nestle to create the Wonder Ball, a ball of hollow chocolate with character-shaped candy inside, and a hell of a lot of packaging.
* Partisan politics were extremely volatile, [[ItGetsWorse though nowhere near as much as today]]. Until the 1990s, right-wing media was more or less restricted to print, but new elements like The Rush Limbaugh Show (est. 1988) and Fox News (est. 1996) helped bring political arguments into every day life. Left-wing media still had a few years to catch up.
* School busing had become unwieldy in many parts of the country-- few if any kids went to their own local school, especially if they lived in a large or midsized industrial city.
* Domestic terrorism was a regular occurrence. The Unabomber, Oklahoma City, and the Atlanta Olympics are the most famous, but there were many others, and many feared an attack where they lived. Though domestic terrorism certainly didn't end, the media focus turned to Islamic extremism late in the decade.

* Home size in the 1990s continued to increase while lot size decreased, resulting in the modern McMansion. In addition, many housing developments were isolated and rural, increasing commute times and decreasing worker productivity. This, despite the fact that the average family size was decreasing.
* Many homeowners in the 90s went to great lengths to update their (often old) homes with the latest in decor, which mostly meant investing in a ''lot'' of glass and granite. Mean property values in the United States skyrocketed.
* Many, many people didn't own a personal computer. Most homes had one computer for the whole family to use. The age of the model varied, but Windows '95 became the standard after, well, '95. Most printers were of the dot matrix variety, and laptops were rare, bulky luxuries.
** Having an internet connection was always in question. Many people didn't have a computer to begin with. Many computers were too old to connect to the internet. Many people who had modern computers simply didn't pay for service because it was much more expensive, and most people wouldn't on for more than an hour because doing so would tie up the phone line. And unless you had used the internet, you probably didn't even know it existed.

* To listen to Top 40 radio in the 1990s would mean being buried under endless waves of Sixpence, Suzanne Vega, and tons more mellow vocal artists.
* Grunge was very popular in the early part of the decade, but was a very common target for ridicule and faced a major backlash as increasingly derivative bands partook in a lyrical style that NathanRabin dubbed "Hunger-Dunger-Dang."
* HairMetal remained successful up until 1992 or so, after which point it was quietly [[IncrediblyLamePun acid-washed from history]].

* The Britpop movement across the pond became successful in America.

* [[BoyBand Boy Bands]] reigned supreme throughout the late '90s.
* Many College students across America followed Lo-Fi, the LosAngeles/[[TheWindyCity Chicago]]-based rock genre spearheaded by Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Beck.

* Rudy Giuliani became mayor of New York City, thus ending the grimy "classic" New York of yesteryear.
* A particular unit of Los Angeles' police department underwent a decade of corruption and mafia-style activity in what became known as the Rampart Scandal, later inspiring the television series TheShield

* Seattle became the main cultural center of the country throughout the early '90s, only to be supplanted by Chicago.