I think in many ways the 1990s were part of the 21st Century.  The Cold War was over, pop culture was falling apart and even though it was pre-9/11 terrorism was really taking off.  Nobody seems to debate how authentically 20th Century the 1990s are but on the other hand the decade is treated differently than the rest of the century.

Your thoughts?

I think I see what you're saying.

The Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990 and '91 respectively. Of course, I was still a kid at the time, but I remember 'em both, and recalled thinking it was the beginning of a new era. Maybe even the Gulf War was a predecessor to the 9/11 War on Terror we're in now.

I remember a real fear in the air when that happened. I didn't fully understand the politics or the details at the time, but knew enough to understand something major was going down in the Middle East. (That was probably one of the shortest wars in history, thankfully!)

Yeah, I'll completely agree there was a real "modernness" to the 1990's in general. That's one reason it doesn't seem very dated today. Not just the pop culture, but the decade in general feels just like "a little in the past" as opposed to "old" (honestly, I don't think it will be considered that way for at least another 10-15 years).

The Internet, further dependence on technology and Liberal politics/lifestyles. Not to mention the rise of the "anything goes" nature of everyday life, as well all over the media, which we're pretty much in today. So, if I had to pick one year, I'd actually say 1991 was the beginning of the 21st century (at least based on what we're currently in).

P.S. People commonly talked about a "bridge to the 21st century" all in the 90's, so that might have something to do with it.