The 1990's

Films: Sachie HarA

The 1990s was such a creative decade with Movies and TV shows that helped shape America and Film henceforth. Films vary in topics such as romance, comedy, documentary, drama, thriller, and mystery but one topic was almost dead in the 90s, horror. One movie brought it back. Scream hit the screen and critics said "horror will never be the same," but it really just made old horror popular again. Dark secrets, the female, with an androgynous name themed killer who may or may not be one of us! Most horror movies from this time were terrible holiday based movies, Scream reopened a lot of doors for horror. In that way Scream will go down in history as one of the best movies in horror.

One thing in the 90's that was a pretty big topic in some of the best movies was transformation. Encino Man (1992) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) are a big part of this film style. In Encino Man, Dave and Stoney Brown transformed a newly found caveman into the coolest kid in school. Beauty and the Beast, the Beast turns into a Handsome prince because he was given a chance. Lesson there, people change for the better and don't judge a book by its cover. This set film on a path to hundreds of movies today starring this kind of attitude, either for plain fun or to show kids that people can change for the better!

Clueless, a movie that truly struck the hearts of millions. A fun loving movie that is an extremely important part of movie history. It was just so 90s! One of the most important part of Clueless is the fashion. It was set in Beverly Hills here the treads are at it best and it brought the high fashion all over the world for almost two decades. Alicia Silverstone was the iconic actress of the day, and her character was completely lovable. Why was Cher such an awesome character? First of all she was popular, pretty, rich and had an amazing fashion sense but at the same time she was loving and sweet which made her character so admirable. And made Clueless such a worldwide hit.

In the 90s the internet came out and people reacted. Technology is very important and complex so a movie like the Matrix was an instant hit. A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers. Aside from the big actors and cool affects it got people thinking about new devices. It was dark and grudgey, a twist from the 80s which was mostly lighter topics.

This Romeo and Juliet theme took an extremely tragic event and played it as a romantic drama. The Titanic made people realize not all thing are perfect and added onto the darker period of film.

What I learned from not only studying the 90s but talking to my family that grew up in the 90s I learned, the 90s was a darker period in film. Everyone was questioning what they knew up that point. Technology was new and fashion was sharp. People were feeling disconnected from each other, internet grew to prominence and video games entered the household. People started ”waking up” and realizing there is more to life then what they were taught focused on. They starting pushing back against this and because of that movies became more violent more realistic. Filmmakers and editors were capable of making more spectacular thing beginning of digital manipulation of film. Although it was a star contrast to the light heartedness of 80s movies the 90s still had room for the "90s romcom".

FILM FASHION: ALEXIS

A lot of pleated plaid, and red and black clothing. Also, short skirts over the knee. A lot of heels for women, and usually long hair. For the more “well of” characters, there was a lot of fur, sequined gowns, and go go boots. Young men, had quite colorful clothing. Mostly, there would be a short sleeved shirt, with a belt, and some bright, colorful pants such as pink, blue, or yellow. The hairstyles was mostly like a little long but not a lot, like half a neck length.

News And Politics: Richan Wen

During 1996 a big event that occurred The Summer Olympics. They were held at Atlanta, Georgia July 19, 1996. It was a huge international multi-sport event. Atlanta was the fifth American city to host the Olympic Games and the third to host the Summer Olympics. The United States won the most medals during this event. They won 101 medals in all. Most of these medals were gold and second most was silver. Over two million people came to Atlanta and about 3.5 billion people around the world watched part of the games on television.

George H. W. Bush was the 41st President of the United States. He was President for one term that ended in 1993. After his term, Bill Clinton took over office for two terms. Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States and he is married to Hillary Clinton. Bill Clinton left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating since World War II. Afterward, George W. Bush, also George H. W. Bush’s eldest son, came into office for another two terms beginning in 2001.

Gaming in the 1990s was a big thing going on at that time. It was a revolutionary decade for game players and game makers. Many consoles were created such as, The PlayStation, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System or the SNES, the Nintendo 64, and the Gameboy Color. Tons of games were made as well for these systems such as, Pokemon Yellow, Kirby, and Mario Party.

Many natural disasters have occurred during the 1990s. Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 Hurricane killed 65 people and devastated Florida and other areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast causing $26 billion in damage. It was the most costliest natural disaster until Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

What I’ve learned from this topic is that America was currently experiencing a huge revolution throughout the whole country. People weren’t really ready for natural disasters that would destroy a state or kill multiple people. America was a tornado it self, twisting and turning in the ways the world worked. Looking back at other decades I realize that the 1990s made a huge impact on how life in 2017 is lived. I know we shouldn’t dwell in the past or search the future but we should at least learn from the past and be ready for the future.

NEWS AND POLITICS FASHION: ALEXIS

There were quite formal fashion, a business suite with a skirt and heels. There was usually a bob with bangs. There isn't really that much to say. A jacket with a white blouse underneath, and a skirt that matched the jacket. Pretty similar to what people wear on the news nowdays.

Music: Anna BirDbrayer:

The 90’s was a time to express worries and concerns through films, tv and music. Music has always been a way to let people know about what you believe in, to let go of sorrows, and to lift the listener's spirits. Music in the 90’s was dominated by bands like Nirvana, Radiohead, Metallica and artists like Whitney Houston, Prince, Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. Top hits were ranged from grunge to pop to hip hop.

There was a lot of heavy rock, distorted guitars and angst. The early 90’s were swept away by a music “movement” known as grunge from the Pacific Northwest. One very popular band was Nirvana. Nirvana consisted of 2 people (Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic), until 1990 when Dave Grohl joined. Kurt Cobain was considered a big influence and king of grunge. In 1994, Kurt put a bullet through his head causing the band to separate and somewhat marking the end of the grunge movement. Kurt’s suicide was considered a tragedy, because so many people loved him and his influences.

Radiohead was and still is an extremely popular alternative rock band, selling a whopping 30 million albums. The five-piece appropriated blending electronic music and rock music. Albums like OK COMPUTER and Kid A broke the boundaries of these two different genres. Later on, they somewhat ushered the era of independent artists. They managed their own band and yet succeeded. Currently, some consider this english band as “the beatles of the 21st century”. Although that is a controversial topic, they’ve influenced so many other artists and are still leaving their marks on the music industry, so I personally believe that it’s a true statement.

The king of pop is a phrase well-known, describing the legend Michael Jackson. Starting out in his family band, The Jackson Five, he moved up to being one of most famous pop artists. He has contributed so much to music which included him being a “complete entertainer”, meaning that he was an amazing dancer, singer, and songwriter. He didn’t only influence the music industry though. MTV became so popular because Michael Jackson put his music videos on their channel/broadcast. MTV’s success rode on the back of Michael. He also used his fame to write songs for charity like WE ARE THE WORLD. His music will last through the ages, because of the huge impact he had on industries. There are so many more influential artists which have shaped the music we listen to now. But these are some which have most definitely made their mark on the world and modern society.

Music Fashion: Alexis FarberovER

Women wore a lot of crop tops in music videos or shirts that showed off their stomachs and wide pants, usually some kind of sweat pants. Sometimes, the crop tops were worn with short skirts. There were a lot of different hairstyles there wasn't just one hairstyle that people had. The overall music theme of the 90s was funky and colorful.

ADVERTISEMENT: Gianna Chiaino

1990s’ advertising was confronted by new social and economic changes. Advertisers were under pressure to find the cheapest way to advertise while advertising to the largest audience possible. Advances in technology expanded the mass media market, but new technologies, such as the internet fractured their audience.

One of the most important events of the 90’s was the creation of the internet. This helped advertising tremendously but also hurt it at times. First off was that the internet lead to an emphasis on nature and outdoor imagery because of computer based backgrounds. This was helpful to companies because you could make it look like you were filming in a hard to get to place, such as the Arctic, from the safety of your studio. One hardship that came from the internet was that it was expensive to get ads and commercials posted on websites. In 1994, HotWired was created. HotWired was the first commercial online magazine and it cost $30,000 to post an ad on it for 12 weeks.

A lot of 90's advertisements revolved around neon and bold colors. Such as the ones on the bottom of the page. Most neon ads advertised makeup, clothing, and accessories. Brands with neon advertisments included Escada, Pepsi, Cover Girl, and Bold Hold Hairspray.

During the 90's, brands became more accepting towards biracial models, advocates, etc. In 1995, Nike released a commercial featuring young girls of different skin colors. Watch the commercial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkLyeKJAqgs

One big advertising breakthrough was the advertising for the "Blair Witch Project". The Blair Witch Project was a movie released in 1999 and was about 3 student filmmakers who decided to investigate the supernatural myth of the Blair Witch. After disappearing into the Black Hills with their recording equipment, they were never seen again. In 1998, Haxan Films introduced a basic website telling the backstory of the Blair Witch. During the next few months, Haxan Films added to the website, producing a grand total of $1 million on promotion. The website brought in tons of people to watch the movie, resulting in over $248 million dollars in sales. If you would like to check out the website (although it has been newly renovated) here is the link: http://www.blairwitch.com/

Advertisement Fashion: Alexis Farberov

The models had very long necks, and to make their neck look longer, they either had short hair, or it was up. There was a lot of skin shown off, and they usually had quite bright colors and a lot of different designs on one piece of cloth, it wasn't plain. On one skirt, there could be ten different designs so the outfits were very busy, not plain at all. The clothing being advertised was not very "practical" clothing that many people wore or bought. Now, you would find in the same magazines clothing that can be worn every day and a lot of people have.

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