http://akinokure.blogspot.com/2011/03/where-is-90s-nostalgia.html

This article is pretty fascinating. It basically says how '80s nostalgia came by very fast (for example movies set in the late 80s made in the early 00s) while even though today is different from the 90s, there are still too many similarities to made an interesting nostalgia flick about the 90s.

http://akinokure.blogspot.com/2011/03/where-is-90s-nostalgia.html

This article is pretty fascinating. It basically says how '80s nostalgia came by very fast (for example movies set in the late 80s made in the early 00s) while even though today is different from the 90s, there are still too many similarities to made an interesting nostalgia flick about the 90s.

I think this is what the article was trying to articulate:
When it comes to nostalgia for the whole zeitgeist, it looks like only those from rising-crime periods bring out a yearning to return even decades later on.

i think it has more to do with just certain years have heightened activity in general (maybe to due with the Sun?) crime is prob only one of those things. remember in 1991 when crime peaked, you also had the fall of the soviet union and the shift away from the 80s pop culture.

http://akinokure.blogspot.com/2011/03/where-is-90s-nostalgia.html

This article is pretty fascinating. It basically says how '80s nostalgia came by very fast (for example movies set in the late 80s made in the early 00s)


The Wedding Singer, an 80s-nostalgia movie set in 1985, was released in 1998.

I wont get into it because its been discussed already and would be decadeology, but the 90s simply didnt have a "radical" enough pop culture like previous and subsequent decades did, so its harder to create nosalgia for it. It was a very nondescript decade.

The Wedding Singer, an 80s-nostalgia movie set in 1985, was released in 1998.

I wont get into it because its been discussed already and would be decadeology, but the 90s simply didnt have a "radical" enough pop culture like previous and subsequent decades did, so its harder to create nosalgia for it. It was a very nondescript decade.


I don't agree.  The '90s pop culture was a sharp contrast to the '80s.  However, the '90s zeitgeist has only been slowly evolving throughout the '00s.  It hasn't changed radically enough yet to invoke a wave of nostalgia.  We are due for a cultural shift soon, and a few years after that takes place, people will become more nostalgic for the '90s and the '00s.

The Wedding Singer, an 80s-nostalgia movie set in 1985, was released in 1998.

I wont get into it because its been discussed already and would be decadeology, but the 90s simply didnt have a "radical" enough pop culture like previous and subsequent decades did, so its harder to create nosalgia for it. It was a very nondescript decade.
I don't agree. Wedding Singer was based 13 years when it was released in 1998(based in the 1985 as you said). If we had a movie based in 1998, 13 years before present day, I think it would be hilarious. They could talk about how fast Windows '98 is. The teen could be listening to something like Marilyn Manson, while wearing an nWo shirt or something. A kid could be listening to *NSYNC as he is watching Pokemon. Could be a funny nostalgic movie if made right.

I don't agree. Wedding Singer was based 13 years when it was released in 1998(based in the 1985 as you said). If we had a movie based in 1998, 13 years before present day, I think it would be hilarious. They could talk about how fast Windows '98 is. The teen could be listening to something like Marilyn Manson, while wearing an nWo shirt or something. A kid could be listening to *NSYNC as he is watching Pokemon. Could be a funny nostalgic movie if made right.


when you put it that way, it does seem a really long time ago.  ;D

I don't agree. Wedding Singer was based 13 years when it was released in 1998(based in the 1985 as you said). If we had a movie based in 1998, 13 years before present day, I think it would be hilarious. They could talk about how fast Windows '98 is. The teen could be listening to something like Marilyn Manson, while wearing an nWo shirt or something. A kid could be listening to *NSYNC as he is watching Pokemon. Could be a funny nostalgic movie if made right.


No, it wouldn't be hilarious.  The difference is that 1998, while less dark than the other parts 90s, was still very bleak compared to the rest of the 80s, or at least how it was pop culture wise.

No, it wouldn't be hilarious.  The difference is that 1998, while less dark than the other parts 90s, was still very bleak compared to the rest of the 80s, or at least how it was pop culture wise.
So what? It could still be funny. Just because it wasn't as unique as 1985 doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good movie like the Wedding Singer

As a college student, I can say that many people I know are nostalgic for the 90s.  It represents their childhood to them.  I know several friends with Nintendo 64s or Super Nintendos hooked up to their tv alongside a newer, 00s game system.  Strangely enough, when I compare people I know who are 21 vs people I know who are in their 30s who were teens at the time, it seems like the 21 year olds are the ones more nostalgic for the 90s.  Maybe that's just cause I have more exposure to the 21 year olds though.

As for the topic, maybe 80s nostalgia just came earlier than normal.  I mean, 50s nostalgia was bigger than 60s nostalgia for a large portion of the 80s (Stray Cats, Back to the Future, etc.) despite the 60s falling into the "20 year rule" for nostalgia.  60s nostalgia didn't seem to get big until the second half of the decade and it went on several years into the 90s.

For a long time, I thought the nineties was too modern and close to our own time too. Then I re-watched the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Holy cow, the nineties-ness just jumps right out at you. I think the early-to-mid nineties had a very different look and feel, and the era's darker, more muted colors seem appropriate for times like these. The late 90's had a lot of elements that wouldn't seem out of place today (note that I only mentioned Buffy's first season. The rest didn't feel particularly dated), but the boy bands, the rap-metal, and the general faddishness are definitely ripe for satire. So it is kind of surprising that the nineties revival hasn't started yet. And somehow, the eighties revival is still going strong. Heck, at this point the eighties revival has lasted longer than the actual eighties. What was so great about AIDS, Flock of Seagulls, and the constant fear of nuclear obliteration that we apparently want to keep reliving it ad absurdum?  8-P

One word: fashion.
The fashion of the '90s wasn't wacky enough for it to have been memorable. Think about the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. All had some sort of really wacky, really memorable, long lasting subculture, or a subculture that made some sort of larger impact on society as a whole. Greasers in the '50s; Hippies in the '60s; Rockers, Hippies, Punks and Disco kids in the 70s; The Romantic and New Wave movement of the 80s, the Yuppies, the Preps, the Metalheads, the Jocks, the girls with teased hair, the neon clothes; etc.

What did the 90s have, fashion wise, that we don't? Grunge? Grunge only lasted 3 years in terms of mass popularity and was more of a marketing thing in terms of it being a "culture". There never really was any major Grunge culture as compared to the Hippie or Disco cultures. It didn't really imprint on the decade. The early, early '90s ('90-'92/93) had a lot of wild fashions--but for reason we associate the early '90s with just being part of the '80s culturally speaking.

Musically...Musically the '90s didn't really offer anything that new. Grunge and Rap, really. Rap is still very much with us and thus people won't be nostalgic about it for a while. Grunge--there was already a ton of Grunge/Slacker culture movies done IN the 90s itself...The 90s sort of celebrated any sort of culture or trend that was going on at the moment, whereas '70s or 80s tv shows didn't really do much of the same with the cultures of those decades. Basically, the 90s sort of nostalgized itself before it was over.

Think of films like Clerks, like Slackers, like Pump Up the Volume, Wayne's World, Singles. All of those would make GREAT 90's nostalgia films, ala Dazed & Confused, if done today with a nostalgic framework. The problem is, they were already done in the '90s.

What do people miss most from the '90s? The economy prosperity, the general sense of peace. Bill Clinton. And '90s kids miss all the cartoons we grew up with like the Angry Beavers, Beavis & Butthead, Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Rugrats, Gargoyles, etc. We miss the old gaming systems--Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, N64, etc, and all the characters related to them. We miss novelties like Gameboy Color and Pokemon, but Pokemon's seen a big resurgence in popularity. A lot of kids I know who are my age (20) still play or reference Pokemon.

Really, if you want to make a nostalgia flick about the '90s, you can focus on a few things, mostly youth oriented:

-The Grunge era, but it'd have to be done in a way that 90s movies didn't do it
-The Rave culture of the mid-late 90s and all of the stuff associated with it
-The early Hip Hop culture (Biggie, Tupac, NWA, etc)
-The Industrial/Metal culture; D&D subculture
-Columbine (not so much nostalgic as traumatic, but could be turned into a sociological drama if done right)

If you notice, there's a lot of traumatic or powerful (but positive) events that happened in the decades most people get nostalgic for:
1930s (Great Depression, Hitler rising to power, etc, Gangsters, FDR and his fireside chats; Men with fedoras, etc)
1940s (WWII, the beginning of the Atomic Era, espionage, Film Noir era)
1950s (Cold War, Korean War, McCarthyism, Paranoia over Nuclear War and Spies, Moral panics over Juvenile Deliquency, Greasers, and Beatniks; Moral Panics over comics like EC comics, Rosa Parks, Elvis, Rock N' Roll music, Leave it to Beaver, etc, The Day the Music Died)
1960s (Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK assassination, CIA running wild, Vietnam, MLK assasination, Hippie movement, Political Demonstrations, Radical Politics, Race Riots, assassinations of MLK and RFK, Drug Culture, Rock, Soul music, Doo Wop, Motown, '64 World's Fair, Space Race & Moon Landing, Beatles, Stones, long hair, etc)
1970s (Nixon going to China; Vietnam ending, Watergate and Nixon resigning, Fall of Vietnam, Heroin epidemic, Disco, Heavy Metal, Heavy Rock, Arena Rock, Gas Lines, Inflation, the malaise of the late '70s, All in the Family & other socially conscious TV shows rising, Punk Rock and the moral panic over it, Women's Liberation Movement; Gay Rights movement; Jimmy Carter, Big hair, Bell bottoms, sideburns, wild fashions, etc)
1980s (Reagan getting shot, Pope John Paul II getting shot, John Lennon murdered, rise of the Yuppies, New Wave scene, Heavy Metal scene and Moral Panic associated wit it, Big hair, Shoulder Pads, AIDs crisis, Iran Contra, Dungeons & Dragons and moral panic associated with it; The moral panic over Satanic Cults, etc)

Now, try to name stuff that was as big or as traumatic as stuff from those decades. In comparison, the 90s were a pretty bland decade, in the sense that nothing overly big, nor overly traumatic really happened. They were a pleasant, prosperous time, with not overly crazy fashions and many of the things that came from that decade in terms of fashion, mindsets, music, etc remain with us still. If you were to look at a picture from 1974 and a picture from 1988, you'd see two VERY different periods of time in terms of hairstyles and the way people are dressed. If you were to look at a picture from 1997 and a picture from now, not so much. You'd see some minor differences, sure, but nothing that would jump out at you as it would from '74 to '88. The '90s are still very much with us in 2011, whereas over the same amount of time, the 60s weren't still a big influence on the 70s, nor the 70s on the 80s, or the 80s on the 90s, etc.

It's not that the '90s was a BAD decade...It just wasn't as exciting both in good ways and bad ways culturally and socially as the preceding decades were, or even the 00s were.

So what? It could still be funny. Just because it wasn't as unique as 1985 doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good movie like the Wedding Singer


Yes, but the 90s had a much more serious tone at the time, as opposed to the light-hearted, flashy 80s.  Granted, I would like it if there was a movie that took place in 1998 featuring 13 year olds, but that is because I was 13 years old in 1998 myself.

That said, there is already few 90s nostalgia movies that came out recently, I dunno why none of you mentioned it:

Into the Wild(takes place in 1992 and features the soundtrack of Eddie Vedder)
Love Sex & Other Drugs(1997-  it is about a guy who is selling Viagra)
The Champion(Mark Walhberg being a fighter in 1993)
Remember Me(takes place in 2001 with college students born in 1979)

Musically...Musically the '90s didn't really offer anything that new. Grunge and Rap, really. Rap is still very much with us and thus people won't be nostalgic about it for a while. Grunge--there was already a ton of Grunge/Slacker culture movies done IN the 90s itself...The 90s sort of celebrated any sort of culture or trend that was going on at the moment, whereas '70s or 80s tv shows didn't really do much of the same with the cultures of those decades. Basically, the 90s sort of nostalgized itself before it was over.

What do you mean by rap is still with us, rock started in the 50s and is still with us too, both rock and rap have seen many stylistic changes. Rap started in the '70s with a completely different style from the gangsta rap of the '90s, and rap has changed SO MUCH in style even between 2000 and now(2011), and the other decades didn't celebrate their culture at the time ::), WHAT, that doesn't make much sense.

The '90s are still very much with us in 2011, whereas over the same amount of time, the 60s weren't still a big influence on the 70s, nor the 70s on the 80s, or the 80s on the 90s, etc. It's not that the '90s was a BAD decade...It just wasn't as exciting both in good ways and bad ways culturally and socially as the preceding decades were, or even the 00s were.

How are the '90s still with us, what about the '90s is still present, please tell ::). Do you mean that there is a '90s-ish style(as in music, fashion) in 2011, do you really think this neon, electropop, skinny jeans crap is similar to the late '90s style? And the '60s(especially late '60s) weren't a big influence on the '70s, is that a joke or something?

What do you mean by rap is still with us, rock started in the 50s and is still with us too, both rock and rap have seen many stylistic changes. Rap started in the '70s with a completely different style from the gangsta rap of the '90s, and rap has changed SO MUCH in style even between 2000 and now(2011), and the other decades didn't celebrate their culture at the time ::), WHAT, that doesn't make much sense.
How are the '90s still with us, what about the '90s is still present, please tell ::). Do you mean that there is a '90s-ish style(as in music, fashion) in 2011, do you really think this neon, electropop, skinny jeans crap is similar to the late '90s style? And the '60s(especially late '60s) weren't a big influence on the '70s, is that a joke or something?


Rap is still with us in that it's still mainstream, commercially successful, etc. Part of the overall culture at large. Rock is with us, yes, but it's dead commercially and isn't the major cultural/social force it was from the 50s-90s. Rap as it was in the 1990s is still in large measure with us---Gangsta Rap, Alt Rap, etc. And it's still pretty big especially in comparison to Rock, especially Alternative and Heavy Metal (the two biggest rock genres of the 90s--both largely dead). Some did, some didn't. The 70s was probably the most self referential decade besides the '90s.

Clothes, fashion, etc. Politics too is much the same as it was in the 90s. And yes, the neon colors and electropop is similar to both the early and late 1990s.

And after around 1973/1974, the main 60s element (Hippies) pretty much died out. 1967 was nothing at all like 1977. The Hippie movement, the demonstrations, the riots, the tension on the campuses--all major facets of the late '60s--were gone by the late 70s.

The '90s are still very much with us in 2011


Not really.

Rap is still with us in that it's still mainstream, commercially successful, etc. Part of the overall culture at large. Rock is with us, yes, but it's dead commercially and isn't the major cultural/social force it was from the 50s-90s. Rap as it was in the 1990s is still in large measure with us---Gangsta Rap, Alt Rap, etc. And it's still pretty big especially in comparison to Rock, especially Alternative and Heavy Metal (the two biggest rock genres of the 90s--both largely dead). Some did, some didn't. The 70s was probably the most self referential decade besides the '90s.

Clothes, fashion, etc. Politics too is much the same as it was in the 90s. And yes, the neon colors and electropop is similar to both the early and late 1990s.

And after around 1973/1974, the main 60s element (Hippies) pretty much died out. 1967 was nothing at all like 1977. The Hippie movement, the demonstrations, the riots, the tension on the campuses--all major facets of the late '60s--were gone by the late 70s.


Gangsta rap is still popular, where, where is it popular, that is borderline nonsense. How is neon, skinny jeans, and electropop similar to the late '90s, maybe it is somewhat similar to the very early '90s stylisitically but the late '90s come on, who's buying that. Have you listened to any mainstream rap lately, I mean WTF!

Not really.



Not only that, but in the post I quoted, it says the pop culture that is pretty popular now, you know, the whole bright colored skinny jeans, electropop thing, is similar to the late '90s, I didn't know whether they were trolling or serious when they said that. Imagine a popular rapper in '97, '98, '99(heck, even '05) wearing that stuff, I mean imagine them wearing neon skinny jeans and rapping to a electro-house beat. How can anybody with even an ounce of current mainstream music awareness consider gangsta rap to be even relevant in 2011, it's been completely dead for years now, in fact the whole style and image of popular "rappers" in 2011 is almost the complete opposite of the gangsta rap style and image of the '90s.

What was so great about AIDS, Flock of Seagulls, and the constant fear of nuclear obliteration that we apparently want to keep reliving it ad absurdum?  8-P


AIDS kinda sucked, but I can explain the Flock of Seagulls. If the world was going to end in a big fireworks display, you were gonna end up with hair like that anyways :)

Seriously, we used all the light and fluffy stuff to escape from the fact that we were probably doomed anyways.  It was only the 90s - with the end of the Cold War - when we realized we might actually have to see things through for a few more decades, that we really got depressed.  No watching the sun rise twice in the same day followed either by oblivion or a postapocapalyptic RPG come to life, just 5 years of high school, 4 years of college, and even if you delayed it with postgraduate studies, you still had 40 years of 9-to-5 to go before finally dying of a heart attack or cancer.  Hence, Nirvana.  

This decade is certainly different from the late 90's, but not as much as other decades. Like, say, compare 1987 to 1997, it almost feels like a 20 year difference. 1997 to 2007, quite different, but not nearly on the same level. I guess this decade was to the late 90's, what the 70's were to the late 60's.

This decade is certainly different from the late 90's, but not as much as other decades. Like, say, compare 1987 to 1997, it almost feels like a 20 year difference. 1997 to 2007, quite different, but not nearly on the same level. I guess the last decade was to the late 90's, what the 70's were to the late 60's.


I do kind of get you are saying, both the '90s and '00s were decades that had a more moderate fashion(especially compared to the '80s :D), with the '90s having a looser, laid-back style and the '00s having a cleaner style. The fashion in the early '10s has changed somewhat since 2007(more brighter colors, skinny jeans), I don't think it looks much like 1997 though ;D. I stopped taking the person who said the neon style was similar to the late '90s seriously, I clearly remember the late '90s(I was a teenager at the time) as having very baggy jeans, bland, boring colors, spiky hair with frosted tips, small afros on blacks guys, females wearing masculine clothes, ect., todays fashion has ALOT, ALOT more in common with '80s fashion and I don't see how anyone could miss that. Some people do wear the more casual blue jeans and t shirt but they have been wearing that since the '60s.

2011's difference to the 90s. Hmmmm. Interesting.

It's hard to say, today for instance, has a very electro type feel - but I think it's more akin by far to the club music in the 90s than to New Wave in the 80s. Lady Gaga is a lot more like 90s Madonna and Ace of Base than it's like actual 80s electropop.

You gotta remember the 90s wasn't all dark, grungy culture, a lot of it as well was flashy, cheesy stuff. And the flashy cheesy stuff in today's pop culture imo is more 90s than 80s like.

I think in terms of fashion and style, 2011 (and any year from 2007 or 2008 up) is a mix of 80s nostalgia and continuing 90sness. Yes, people are now un-ironic enough to wear neon colors, but are still too ironic and 90s to bring back perms and mullets. Another thing about today that's still very 90s is the whole political correctness thing, I would say it's actually even stronger than it was in the 90s, it just wasn't a novelty like then. Same with the whole Starbucks/hipster/coffee culture.

The fact the Simpsons is still on the air and is still very popular (albeit, only about 1/3 to 1/2 as popular as it was in the 90s) is evidence that a part of today still has a foot in the 90s. But I do think anything before 1998 is now obviously a different era. But more for the 80s and other 20th century things left over in most of the 90s than for the uniquely 90s things then, which actually tie it to today for the most part!

I think politics and technology is way different from the late 90's. Almost on the same level of difference between the fashion and music of the late 80's to late 90's. Fashion and music now is certainly different from the late 90's, but the late 80's to late 90's fashion/music difference feels like 20 years in comparison.

I think politics and technology is way different from the late 90's. Almost on the same level of difference between the fashion and music of the late 80's to late 90's. Fashion and music now is certainly different from the late 90's, but the late 80's to late 90's fashion/music difference feels like 20 years in comparison.


I majored in Computer Engineering, and I can tell you that after 2004, technology has seemed to halt as far increasing power and speed.  In the late 90s, a computer can have a Pentium 1 the first month and 6 months down the around we would have Pentium 2 Computer.  We plateaued in shrinking transistors(electrical designs that make the computer) around the mid 00s and hence we are using different ways of designing(for example, multi-processors are used to help speed up the computer with 2 processing chips on the computer).  I read somewhere that Intel just recently came out with 3-D processor chip, which will increase the speed of modern computers and continue Moore's prophecy of technology.

This is kind of turning into a decadeology thread and I don't want to piss off the powers that be but...

I think one of the reasons a lot of people get all "ITS STILL THE 90S!!!" is because they're hasn't been a real huge cultural shift (I mean an out-of-the-blue, abrupt, other-worldly shift) since the early 90s. Even 9/11 didn't bring a huge shift, if anything it gave the 90s culture a new lease on life for several more years (now we had a REAL reason to be dark instead of just simply rebelling against the 80s!). I do think we're overdue for another one.

One thing is for sure...2011 technology is NOTHING,NOTHING like 90s technology.

Ok I'm done.

2011's difference to the 90s. Hmmmm. Interesting.

It's hard to say, today for instance, has a very electro type feel - but I think it's more akin by far to the club music in the 90s than to New Wave in the 80s. Lady Gaga is a lot more like 90s Madonna and Ace of Base than it's like actual 80s electropop.

You gotta remember the 90s wasn't all dark, grungy culture, a lot of it as well was flashy, cheesy stuff. And the flashy cheesy stuff in today's pop culture imo is more 90s than 80s like.

I think in terms of fashion and style, 2011 (and any year from 2007 or 2008 up) is a mix of 80s nostalgia and continuing 90sness. Yes, people are now un-ironic enough to wear neon colors, but are still too ironic and 90s to bring back perms and mullets. Another thing about today that's still very 90s is the whole political correctness thing, I would say it's actually even stronger than it was in the 90s, it just wasn't a novelty like then. Same with the whole Starbucks/hipster/coffee culture.

The fact the Simpsons is still on the air and is still very popular (albeit, only about 1/3 to 1/2 as popular as it was in the 90s) is evidence that a part of today still has a foot in the 90s. But I do think anything before 1998 is now obviously a different era. But more for the 80s and other 20th century things left over in most of the 90s than for the uniquely 90s things then, which actually tie it to today for the most part!


You aren't by any chance be youngerderek?

This is kind of turning into a decadeology thread and I don't want to piss off the powers that be but...

I think one of the reasons a lot of people get all "ITS STILL THE 90S!!!" is because they're hasn't been a real huge cultural shift since the early 90s. Even 9/11 didn't bring a huge shift, if anything it gave the 90s culture a new lease on life for several more years (now we had a REAL reason to be dark instead of just simply rebelling against the 80s!). I do think we're overdue for another one.

One thing is for sure...2011 technology is NOTHING,NOTHING like 90s technology.


I agree.  We were running on basically a template of the Windows 95 format all the way up to Windows XP(in the mid 2000s),and when Vista/7 came out, it put an end of the old operating-system format.

This is kind of turning into a decadeology thread and I don't want to piss off the powers that be but...

I think one of the reasons a lot of people get all "ITS STILL THE 90S!!!" is because they're hasn't been a real huge cultural shift (I mean an out-of-the-blue, abrupt, other-worldly shift) since the early 90s. Even 9/11 didn't bring a huge shift, if anything it gave the 90s culture a new lease on life for several more years (now we had a REAL reason to be dark instead of just simply rebelling against the 80s!). I do think we're overdue for another one.

One thing is for sure...2011 technology is NOTHING,NOTHING like 90s technology.

Ok I'm done.


Also, personally I think the huge cultural shift happened around the mid 80s, and late 1991 was just an end of an era(when the USSR finally fell apart).

2011's difference to the 90s. Hmmmm. Interesting.

It's hard to say, today for instance, has a very electro type feel - but I think it's more akin by far to the club music in the 90s than to New Wave in the 80s. Lady Gaga is a lot more like 90s Madonna and Ace of Base than it's like actual 80s electropop.

You gotta remember the 90s wasn't all dark, grungy culture, a lot of it as well was flashy, cheesy stuff. And the flashy cheesy stuff in today's pop culture imo is more 90s than 80s like.

I think in terms of fashion and style, 2011 (and any year from 2007 or 2008 up) is a mix of 80s nostalgia and continuing 90sness. Yes, people are now un-ironic enough to wear neon colors, but are still too ironic and 90s to bring back perms and mullets. Another thing about today that's still very 90s is the whole political correctness thing, I would say it's actually even stronger than it was in the 90s, it just wasn't a novelty like then. Same with the whole Starbucks/hipster/coffee culture.

Yeah today's electropop/dance music does have a slight '90s eurodance vibe but it really is a combination of '80s synthpop, '90s eurodance, '00s trance/late '00s electro-house, even crunk. Like the song Bulletproof has a definite '80s sound while Ke$ha seems to have a "electro-crunk" sound, Lady Gaga has a strong industrial vibe with her song Judas. The thing with today's fashion is that it is not really '90s-like but people generally dress in a more individualistic manner, it is hard to pin down one universal style, although the whole neon, skinny jeans thing is mostly the current stylish fashion in pop-culture.

I am 22 years old and I think the 90s are better forgotten. I mean there were some great TV shows like Married With Children, good movies and even good music (although I prefer early-to-mid 00s music), but fashion was just so boring. People dressed in a boring way, unlike in the previous decades. Somehow the 90s tried to emulate the 70s and even ripped off the late 60s/early 70s peace sign (it was everywhere in the early 90s), but they failed big time! I'd rather be nostalgic for the 70s and the 80s, because I missed the opportunity to experience them than be nostalgic for the 90s. I am far more nostalgic for 2001-2005.

I am 22 years old and I think the 90s are better forgotten. I mean there were some great TV shows like Married With Children, good movies and even good music (although I prefer early-to-mid 00s music), but fashion was just so boring. People dressed in a boring way, unlike in the previous decades. Somehow the 90s tried to emulate the 70s and even ripped off the late 60s/early 70s peace sign (it was everywhere in the early 90s), but they failed big time! I'd rather be nostalgic for the 70s and the 80s, because I missed the opportunity to experience them than be nostalgic for the 90s. I am far more nostalgic for 2001-2005.


But was 1974 more like 1989 or 2010?

The 90 sucked big time (except for a few movies, TV shows and cartoons). Especially 90s music was crap. Eurodance and teen pop music was sh*t. Rap was crap (2001-2005 rap was better!), R&B was crap (unlike pre-90s and early-mid 00s R&B). Hell, even Grunge was cringe-worthy. Even punk-pop circa 2002-2004 was a lot better. And 90s cars were so fugly - plastic everywhere and they looked like bubbles on wheels:

Mid-to-late 90s Ford Taurus:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/96-97_Ford_Taurus_Sedan.jpg/300px-96-97_Ford_Taurus_Sedan.jpg

GM's Opel Corsa (Europe) from 1993-2001:
http://auto-catalog.net/images/f3/big1073.jpg

The 90 sucked big time (except for a few movies, TV shows and cartoons). Especially 90s music was crap. Eurodance and teen pop music was sh*t. Rap was crap (2001-2005 rap was better!), R&B was crap (unlike pre-90s and early-mid 00s R&B). Hell, even Grunge was cringe-worthy. Even punk-pop circa 2002-2004 was a lot better. And 90s cars were so fugly - plastic everywhere and they looked like bubbles on wheels:

Mid-to-late 90s Ford Taurus:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/96-97_Ford_Taurus_Sedan.jpg/300px-96-97_Ford_Taurus_Sedan.jpg

GM's Opel Corsa (Europe) from 1993-2001:
http://auto-catalog.net/images/f3/big1073.jpg


It was way better than 00s music. 00s music was a dumbed-down version of 90s music.

And 90s and 00s cars look identical. Do you hate 00s cars too?

It was way better than 00s music. 00s music was a dumbed-down version of 90s music.

And 90s and 00s cars look identical. Do you hate 00s cars too?


I'd argue that there is a huge difference between the boxy cars that was made in the early 90s and the smart hybrid cars made in the late 2000s.

Here is the Opel Corsa of the early 2000s to compare it with the red one from the 90s:
http://www.forum-auto.com/uploads/200504/pitouchok_1112391865_opel_corsa_c_2000.jpg
Yeah, it's quite wound, but has some straight lines, that make it more appealing.

With the European Ford Fiesta, the difference is even larger:
The mid 90s model:
http://www.thedailycontributor.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/1996-ford-fiesta-300x202.jpg
The 2001-2005 model:
http://www.autoplenum.de/Bilder/P/p0011415/FORD/FORD-Fiesta-1-3--2001-2005-.jpg
Of course the 2001 one looks better. However, by the mid-late 00s cars got uglier again. The new one is too similar to a bubble:
http://static.blogo.it/autoblog/ford-fiesta-2009/Ford_fiesta_2009_00_01.jpg This one is available in the US.

However, there are still some cool cars today:
http://www.carpages.co.uk/guide/@images/seat/seat-ibiza-sc.jpg
(not available in North America)
I love those lines, make it look sporty! And IMO it looks much cooler than the Fiesta.

The early 2000s Taurus looked way better than the 90s. It was made less ovoid:
http://images.thecarconnection.com/sml/2002_ford_taurus_100004811_s.jpg

And 90s and 00s cars look identical. Do you hate 00s cars too?


This is false actually, '90s cars and '00s look far different to me. Sure early '00s cars still have that mid-late '90s look, but 2006+ or so was far different. I can EASILY identify a car made in the last 5 or so years by the way it looks. Look at the windows, the side panels, the headlights, the roof, the bumpers, door handles even, etc. And that's just the exterior... '00s cars have a clear style. Here's a Honda Accord from the year 2000 compared to 2009 for example, to me this is a huge difference.

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/11/13/028477.1-lg.jpg

http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2009/04/30/17/17/2009-honda-accord-ex-pic-8833.jpeg

VERY different.

A 2009 Taurus to compare to that late '90s taurus.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/96-97_Ford_Taurus_Sedan.jpg/300px-96-97_Ford_Taurus_Sedan.jpg

http://www.distrocars.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/2009-Ford-Taurus-Rear-Side.jpg

I mean COME ON. Huge difference.

Yeah 90s and LATE 00s cars look different, sure. early 90s cars were late 80s holdovers for the most part. But from the mid 90s to the mid 00s, car design didn't change much at all.

2011's difference to the 90s. Hmmmm. Interesting.

It's hard to say, today for instance, has a very electro type feel - but I think it's more akin by far to the club music in the 90s than to New Wave in the 80s. Lady Gaga is a lot more like 90s Madonna and Ace of Base than it's like actual 80s electropop.

You gotta remember the 90s wasn't all dark, grungy culture, a lot of it as well was flashy, cheesy stuff. And the flashy cheesy stuff in today's pop culture imo is more 90s than 80s like.

I think in terms of fashion and style, 2011 (and any year from 2007 or 2008 up) is a mix of 80s nostalgia and continuing 90sness. Yes, people are now un-ironic enough to wear neon colors, but are still too ironic and 90s to bring back perms and mullets. Another thing about today that's still very 90s is the whole political correctness thing, I would say it's actually even stronger than it was in the 90s, it just wasn't a novelty like then. Same with the whole Starbucks/hipster/coffee culture.

The fact the Simpsons is still on the air and is still very popular (albeit, only about 1/3 to 1/2 as popular as it was in the 90s) is evidence that a part of today still has a foot in the 90s. But I do think anything before 1998 is now obviously a different era. But more for the 80s and other 20th century things left over in most of the 90s than for the uniquely 90s things then, which actually tie it to today for the most part!


Reading over this again, this contains some very bad reasoning, like "but are still too ironic and 90s to bring back perms and mullets." man, no wonder some people on the forum are annoyed, how is not bringing back perms and mullets(or any other '80s fashion) making the early '10s seem very '90s, please, please tell me(the '50s/'60s didn't have perms or mullets as popular fashion, I guess the '50s/'60s was very '90s too ;D), the other person already said some idoitic crap about today's bright, neon fashion being similar to LATE '90s fashion(and couldn't be more wrong). I honestly don't see any late '90s style or look in 2011, the only people I hear this from are a few on this forum, I've looked up '90s fashion articles online and most comment on how passe the '90s are, and I've never heard anybody IRL comment on a '90s similarity, often quite the contrary, I'm starting to think some on the forum are kind of delusional. There's ALWAYS going to be some elements of past decades in the present, this whole "2011 is more like 1997 than 1987" stuff is getting more ridiculous. 

The '90s will take longer to comeback as certain elements (fashion, movies, etc) lingered well into the '00s and being that the '90s were the first decade of the "mainstream Internet era", that will set it back, despite the fact that '50s nostalgia being the first decade of the "teleivision era" took off rather early. Baby Bommers were NOT a key component to '90s culture unlike the '50s-'70s and even to a degree the '80s. Generation X (and early Gen Y for the kids stuff) would lead the '90s nostalgia in terms of not only reliving, but passing it on to their children. The teens of the '90s are getting married and have kids at a later age, go to college longer, and thus take longer to "settle down", which is when nostalgia generally arrives. The '80s are as far as oldies stations go as well. Just give it another 5-10 years to truly feel nostalgic about the '90s when it becomes "the parent's time" to the youth.

The other day I was looking at some "90s kids" thread, and most of the things there were either 80s leftovers, or 80s reruns, e.g. "The Littles" cartoon, "Inspector Gadget" "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon, that started in 1987, "Married With Children" that started in 1987, "ALF" that started in 1986 and many more from the 80s that were re-run or still were running in the 90s. The ones from the 90s cited were "Dexter's Lab", "Powerpuff Girls", etc. but the main part were 80s leftovers. I miss my childhood in the early 90s (the late 90s were mostly boring), but it was like growing up in the 80s, I remember our local station ran 80s cartoon well into the early 00s. To be honest, 80s and previous decades had better cartoons than the 90s, except for "Dexter's Lab" ans a few others. It's probably because in my area the 90s were like a stripped and toned down version of the 80s, especially the early part. So for each country/area/state, the 90s were different.

The '90s will take longer to comeback as certain elements (fashion, movies, etc) lingered well into the '00s and being that the '90s were the first decade of the "mainstream Internet era", that will set it back, despite the fact that '50s nostalgia being the first decade of the "teleivision era" took off rather early. Baby Bommers were NOT a key component to '90s culture unlike the '50s-'70s and even to a degree the '80s. Generation X (and early Gen Y for the kids stuff) would lead the '90s nostalgia in terms of not only reliving, but passing it on to their children. The teens of the '90s are getting married and have kids at a later age, go to college longer, and thus take longer to "settle down", which is when nostalgia generally arrives. The '80s are as far as oldies stations go as well. Just give it another 5-10 years to truly feel nostalgic about the '90s when it becomes "the parent's time" to the youth.


I'd argue that Baby Boomers were a key component in the pop culture of the 90s--iT was the last decade that they were a key component. Some of the biggest stars of the decade (like Harrison Ford, for one example) or stars who made huge comebacks (like John Travolta) in the '90s were Boomers; The President through most of the '90s, Clinton, was a Baby Boomer. Movie studios, directors and the like were run by Boomers. Even some of the supposedly edgy Gen X cartoons, were actually made by Boomers--Think for a prime example of the Simpsons. It debuted in Dec 1989 but it was very much a '90s show and it's creator was born in 1954. Same with Seinfeld--Jerry Seinfeld was born the same year, and Seinfeld was one of the defining '90s television programs. The Disney Renaissance which influenced the childhood of a lot of MY generation (I'm born in 1990) was pushed and created by Boomers. I think a lot of what my age group grew up on pop culture wise was created or made by Boomers.

You have to remember too was that a lot of Baby Boomers were having kids in the late 80s and early 90s--More so than Gen X was. I know a lot of kids who have parents like mine who were 30+ in 1990.

I'd say the only area that Generation x exclusively had cornered for most of the 90s was music. Music, of course, has since the '50s ALWAYS  been created by twentysomethings and aimed toward the teenagers. Every musical trend of the decade was in some ways a Gen X thing--even the Heavy/"Hair" Metal which dominated from around '90-'92--See Wayne's World; There were a lot of people who were just like the ones portrayed in that movie.

Even then, I'd say--at least the Grunge "movement"--There were probably  a lot of older Boomers (remember, the Baby Boomers span all the way from 1946 to 1962 or thereabouts) in terms of age who wanted Grunge to become a true MOVEMENT, like being a Hippie was in their youth. A lot of the media pushed Grunge as this whole new alternative lifestyle, but, I think to most teens and young adults, it really wasn't; it just music and even then the term was more a brand. But the older people in the media WANTED it to be. I remember reading an article about how by the mid '90s stores were selling clothes branded as "Grunge" clothing. It was oversaturated and made into something more than it was by Boomer businesspeople hungry for a "movement", and for a way to kind of denigrate Generation X as a generation of directionless, punky, dirty slackers--Hence the whole book "Generation X" which was to show how edgy and jaded the twentysomethings of the early 1990s were.

It's probably because in my area the 90s were like a stripped and toned down version of the 80s, especially the early part. So for each country/area/state, the 90s were different.


My area is always 10 years behind the times, So in the 90s everyone was still wearing stonewashed jeans and perms.

Yeah 90s and LATE 00s cars look different, sure. early 90s cars were late 80s holdovers for the most part. But from the mid 90s to the mid 00s, car design didn't change much at all.
No untrue took a look at a photo comparing a 2002 Nissan Altima to a 1998 Nissan Altima and they look very different.

Do the same thing with a 1998 Mazda 626 and a 2003 Mazda 6.

Here is the Opel Corsa of the early 2000s to compare it with the red one from the 90s:
http://www.forum-auto.com/uploads/200504/pitouchok_1112391865_opel_corsa_c_2000.jpg
Yeah, it's quite wound, but has some straight lines, that make it more appealing.
http://www.autoplenum.de/Bilder/P/p0011415/FORD/FORD-Fiesta-1-3--2001-2005-.jpg
Of course the 2001 one looks better. However, by the mid-late 00s cars got uglier again. The new one is too similar to a bubble:
http://static.blogo.it/autoblog/ford-fiesta-2009/Ford_fiesta_2009_00_01.jpg This one is available in the US.

However, there are still some cool cars today:
http://www.carpages.co.uk/guide/@images/seat/seat-ibiza-sc.jpg
(not available in North America)
I love those lines, make it look sporty! And IMO it looks much cooler than the Fiesta.


http://images.thecarconnection.com/sml/2002_ford_taurus_100004811_s.jpg
Ill the one you like looks ugly to me. I like the US one better,

This is kind of turning into a decadeology thread and I don't want to piss off the powers that be but...

I think one of the reasons a lot of people get all "ITS STILL THE 90S!!!" is because they're hasn't been a real huge cultural shift (I mean an out-of-the-blue, abrupt, other-worldly shift) since the early 90s. Even 9/11 didn't bring a huge shift, if anything it gave the 90s culture a new lease on life for several more years (now we had a REAL reason to be dark instead of just simply rebelling against the 80s!). I do think we're overdue for another one.

One thing is for sure...2011 technology is NOTHING,NOTHING like 90s technology.

Ok I'm done.
I think you are wrong on that I mean 2003-mid 2008 glam rap was different then 90's rap.

I am 22 years old and I think the 90s are better forgotten. I mean there were some great TV shows like Married With Children, good movies and even good music (although I prefer early-to-mid 00s music), but fashion was just so boring. People dressed in a boring way, unlike in the previous decades. Somehow the 90s tried to emulate the 70s and even ripped off the late 60s/early 70s peace sign (it was everywhere in the early 90s), but they failed big time! I'd rather be nostalgic for the 70s and the 80s, because I missed the opportunity to experience them than be nostalgic for the 90s. I am far more nostalgic for 2001-2005.
Maybe you just like the 00's better because you were a teen then. I am 31 years old and I have respect for 80's, 90's, and even 2003-mid 2007 culture. 2008+ pop culture I am not a fan of it though.

Geez, 90's teens like me had to crap from the 80's pop culture fans back throughout the 90's now we have to take crap from 00's culture people!

I'd argue that there is a huge difference between the boxy cars that was made in the early 90s and the smart hybrid cars made in the late 2000s.


Yeah starting around the late '00s cars designs looked alot more futuristic, another thing I've noticed is that cars started having antennas on the top.