The Nineties: Difference between revisions

{{tropeUseful Notes}}

[[File:90s_148290s 1482.jpg|frame|'Twas also a good decade for pop culture.]]

[[The Balkan Wars|Yugoslavia]], [[Ruthless Modern Pirates|Somalia]] and [[Hotel Rwanda|Rwanda]] exploded into savage sectarian genocide, and [[Sierra Leone]] faced a deadly civil war that was frustratingly difficult for other nations to stop, provided that they even cared. Radicals revolted against corporations in [[Seattle]] at the beginning and end of the decade. Japan came to terms with the end of its economic bubble and settled in for the long, frustrating stagnation of the Lost Decade. "Made in Japan" was replaced by [[Red China]] as the big outsourcing villain. HIV awareness grew, with drugs being developed to fight the disease. There were riots in [[Los Angeles]] and the OJ Simpson [[Kangaroo Court|chase/trial/circus]]. The younger tropers might have been born at this time -- possiblytime—possibly in the back of a white SUV.

The Reagan/Thatcher/Gorbachev era ended with a bang as "greed is good" got replaced by postwar recession ennui through the early 90s. In the U.S., Ross Perot led a political revolution of pissed-off independent voters; dissatisfaction with [[The Man]] became the norm and [[Conspiracy Theorist]] talk radio became the rage. [[Bill Clinton]] got elected thanks to [[Gulf War]] Syndrome, then impeached. Seattle coffee culture was all the rage as a Starbucks opened up on every street corner, driving fear into the hearts of [[Hipster|Hipsters]]s everywhere, who sought solace in [[Post-hardcore]], [[Post Modernism]], and other things with "post-" and "-core".

Everyone had the [[Jennifer Aniston]] haircut, and attended music festivals like Lollapallooza or Lilith Fair -- orFair—or at least, claimed to their friends that they did, as they were just as likely doing either "Lambada" or "The Macarena". In the US [[Grunge]] dominated the [[Sorry I Left the BGM On|real life soundtrack]] for five years, before collapsing into an [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks|identity]] crisis. Kurt Cobain continued chart-topping for two years [[The Day the Music Died|after his death]], alongside [[Alanis Morissette]] and [[Alice in Chains]], eventually replaced by pop music during the latter half of the decade. Across the pond, meanwhile, [[Britpop]] and the Cool Britannia movement soared; [[Oasis]] and [[Blur]] had their famous chart war, while the [[Spice Girls]] became cultural icons. In academia, modernism was out and [[From a Certain Point of View|relativism]] was in; the magazine ''Social Text'' published the first computer-generated [[Word Salad Philosophy|word salad hoax]] as the "Culture Wars" smoldered between scientists, anti-abortionists, and radical academicians. Raves and Ecstasy became huge, along with the [[Perishing Alt Rock Voice]].

''[[Seinfeld]]'', after a shaky start in the '80s, shot to wild popularity. ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' redefined both animation and the family [[Sitcom]]. ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'''s junior class became comedy superstars, including future senator [[Al Franken]]. [[Wayne's World|Wayne and Garth]] parodied the [[Deader Than Disco|dying years]] of Hair Metal. [[Brat Pack (actors)|Brat Pack]] stars like [[Brad Pitt]], [[Johnny Depp]], [[Keanu Reeves]] and River Phoenix [[Growing the Beard|grew up]] and started making Indie films set in depressing, misty cities in the Rust Belt or [[The Other Rainforest|Pacific Northwest]] featuring a belligerent, aimless, cynical and under-employed populace instead of cheerful or offbeat youth comedy, including ''[[My Own Private Idaho]]'' and ''[[Fight Club (film)|Fight Club]]''. [[Irony]] became synonymous with [[Nineties Anti-Hero|grittiness]] and [[Do Not Do This Cool Thing|pessimism]] about a corporate-dominated, post-industrial, and [[Cyberpunk with a Chance of Rain|above all, rainy future]].

Modern culture's obsession with electronics was born in [[The Eighties]] and became dominant in the [[Turn of the Millennium]], but it really came of age in the last half of this decade as people switched out computer models every other year. Dolly the sheep was cloned. GPS became operational. Personal computers were more accessible than ever, setting up their dominance in the next decade. Cell phones became more common. [[Reality Television]] started. The [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[Nintendo 64]], and [[PlayStation]] were released and raised a generation latchkey kids. Sega as a brand came out and died within this decade, reflecting the increasing pace of technology.

[[Adventure Game|Adventure Games]]s hit it big in the mid-1990s; [[RTS|Strategy]] [[Simulation Game|Sim]] games with orthographic landscapes were invented. People bought games in boxes with elaborate supplements and funky [[Chiptune|midi music]]. Or pirated off their neighborhood [[Message Board|BBS]], along with the [[Copy Protection]] page. "The 3D revolution" meant vector graphics, which meant "[[Cyberspace|virtual reality]]" and ''[[Castle Wolfenstein]]''. [[Superman]] [[Death Is Cheap|came back]] (albeit with a [[Superman 64|horrible game]]). ''[[Doom]]'', ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'', [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and]] ''[[Pokémon]]'' scared the [[Moral Guardians]], with Doom as one of the perpetrators that triggered the Columbine High massacre.

Kids and adolescents played ''[[Street Fighter]]'' in the arcade leading to a [[Fighting Game]] boom led by Capcom, SNK, Sega and Namco. On the PC side of things, ''Doom'' helped make the [[First-Person Shooter]] mainstream and ''[[StarcraftStarCraft]]'' was starting to conquer Korea.

[[Tamagotchi|Digital pets]], [[Anyone Remember Pogs?|Pogs]], yo-yos, laser pointers and [[Beanie Babies]] were all the rage with kids. A Razor scooter and roller blades were invented and quickly considered two of the must have items, and the Discman began to replace the Walkman. In Japan, we saw a farewell to the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''[[Metal Heroes]]'' and ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' as well as ''[[Ultraman]]'' as they went through an ice age while ''[[Super Sentai]]'' prospered and was beginning to be adapted for western audiences as ''[[Power Rangers]]''. [[Boy Band|Boy bands]] and [[Riot Grrrl|girl groups]] began to dominate the market, and two major [[Gangsta Rap]] stars were killed within months of [[Tupac Shakur|each]] [[The Notorious B.I.G.|other]] following a war of egos between the east and west coasts. Indie heartthrob River Phoenix died of an overdose.

''[[Akira]]'', originally released in Japan in 1988, became a surprise [[Cult Classic|cult hit]] on home video in the West, ushering in an entire generation of [[Anime]] fandom and helping, along with ''[[The Simpsons]]'', to mount a serious offensive against the [[Animation Age Ghetto]]. Following in its footsteps, ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'', ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'', and ''[[Perfect Blue]]'' would go on to grab the attention of serious film critics the world over and signal the arrival of [[Adult Animation]] as an artistic presence. Meanwhile, ''[[Pokémon]]'' redefined "[[Cash Cow Franchise]]" for millions of children (and [[Periphery Demographic|adults]]) around the world. ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' gave girls [[Girls Need Role Models|strong female heroes to idolize]] besides [[Wonder Woman]];.<ref> while introducing many a young boy to ''*ahem*'' "mature" sensibilities. From [[Barenaked Ladies]]: "Gotta get in tune with Sailor Moon, 'Cause that cartoon has got the 'boom;' anime babes, that make me think the wrong things</ref>." on the flipside, ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' redefined "action cartoon", and would be responsible for more kids taking martial arts than anything since ''[[The Karate Kid]]'';<ref> while also introducing many a teenage girl to ''*ahem*'' "mature" [[Ho Yay|sensibilities]]. [[Mr. Fanservice|Buff, handsome, sweaty men]] [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|slamming into each other]] [[Foe Yay|every episode]]... this series alone could be cited for the rise of [[Yaoi]] in the US.</ref> ''[[Ranma ½]]'' became the most famous and funniest show to [[Not Safe for Work|never be able to be shown on US Television]].<ref> [[Adult Swim|[adult swim] ]] once stated, when they said fans could request shows, "And before you ask... NO RANMA! THAT WILL NEVER BE SHOWN HERE! EVER!!!"</ref> ''[[Slayers]]'' and ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'' showed the D&D community that Japan was [[One of Us|just as nerdy as we are]]. ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' shook the anime world to its roots with its dark, contemplative [[Deconstruction]] of the medium, heavy [[Post Modernism|postmodernist]] leanings, and themes of alienation and existential angst that hit a nerve in the zeitgeist of 90s audiences; its unprecedented (and unexpected) success ushered in a torrent of [[Follow the Leader|imitators]] attempting (with varying degrees of success) to copy its visceral mecha combat, psychologically complex cast, [[Mind Screw|trippy]] [[Kudzu Plot|plot]], and [[Faux Symbolism|unconventional]] use of Judeo-Christian symbolism. The [[Toonami]] [[Cartoon Network]] block was launched, bringing [[Anime]] to the viewing options of [['''The Nineties]]''' children en masse. Even though it took almost a decade for it to be widely accepted as "mainstream" media in the United States (it was already mainstream in [[Latin America]] before that), [[Megas XLR|its]] [[The Powerpuff Girls|influence]] [[Dexter's Laboratory|should]] [[Samurai Jack|be]] [[Star Wars: Clone Wars|obvious]] [[Ben 10|by]] [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|now]].

See Also: [[The Gay Nineties]] (and contrast/compare it with the 90s), [[The Edwardian Era]] (the 1900 to 1910 era), [[World War I]], [[The Roaring Twenties]], [[The Dirty Thirties]], [[The Forties]], [[The Fifties]], [[The Sixties]], [[The Seventies]], [[The Eighties]], [[Turn of the Millennium]], [[The New Tens]] and [[The New TensTwenties]].

* [[Console Wars]]: The battle between [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] and [[Sega Genesis]] was [[Serious Business]].

* [[Eternal September]]: the [[UseNet]] and online [[Message Board|BBs]] reached the height of popularity thanks to AOL, before [[Blog|blogsblog]]s and [[Friending Network|myspace]].

* [[Hipster]]: Trope codification of [[Trope Codifier|early-90's geek-chic]], emulating [[Beatnik|beatniksbeatnik]]s and the [[The Other Rainforest|Seattle culture]]

* [[The Internet Is for Porn]]: [[The Nineties]] may very well be the 2nd Sexual Revolution because of this!

* [[Ghost in Thethe Shell (1995 film)|Ghost in The Shell]]

* [[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing]] -- though—though it wouldn't reach the height of its popularity in America until it was imported at the very end of the '90s.

* [[Naruto]] -- The—The manga began with a pilot chapter in 1997 and started regular publishing in 1999.

* [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]] -- which—which was shamelessly exploiting the belief that the end of the century means end of the world.

* ''[[Ninja Scroll]]'' -- showed—showed many kids (and parents) who were familiar with anime only through the above franchises that not all anime [[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?|really were for kids]], [[Rated "M" for Money|which of course made it all the more popular]].

* [[Super GalsGALS!]]. Manga started in 1999.

* [[Turn A Gundam (Anime)|Turn a Gundam]]

* [[You're Under Arrest]] -- Anime—Anime released during this time.

* [[X-Factor (comics)|X-Factor]]. Second version. First appeared in October, 1991.

* ''[[Ghost World]]''. First appeared in June, 1993. The graphic novel set in an entire subculture of quirky [[Hipster|hipstershipster]]s.

* ''[[The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot]]''. Storyline published in July-AugustJuly–August, 1995.

* ''[[Planetary]]'' by [[Warren Ellis]] and (mostly}) drawn by John Cassaday. Debuted in September, 1998.

* ''[[Batman: Dark Victory]]''. Series started in December, 1999.

** ''[[The Baffler]]'' -- a—a DIY-published literary and political magazine.

* ''[[Goosebumps]]'' -- by—by R.L. Stine.

* ''[[Guess How Much I Love You]]'' -- first—first published in 1994, later installments appeared in the late 2000s, and an [[Animated Adaptation]] was created in 2011.

* ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' --— the worldwide phenomenon kicked off around the end of the decade. The series itself takes place in this decade, with book 1 taking place in 1991 and book 7 (apart from the epilogue) finishing in 1998.

** ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and Thethe Philosopher's Stone (novel)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' (1997)

** ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and Thethe Chamber of Secrets (novel)|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'' (1998)

** ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and Thethe Prisoner of Azkaban (novel)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' (1999)

* ''[[Hemingway's Six -Word Story]]''

* ''[[The NightsNight's Dawn Trilogy]]''

** ''[[The Stand]]: [[Limited Special Collectors' Ultimate Edition|Complete and Uncut]]'' was released in 1990 and re-cast [[Next Sunday ADA.D.]] with updated references to early 1990s pop culture... prior to 1991, producing a classic-rock armageddon.

* [[Angel]] -- Spun—Spun off from ''Buffy'' in late 1999, the beginning of a five-year run.

* [[Barney and Friends]] -- Although—Although the video series began in [[The Eighties|1988]], the TV show first aired in 1992.

* [[Beverly Hills, 90210]] -- source—source of the yuppie scourge.

* [[Boy Meets World]] -- possibly—possibly Patient Zero of the flannel virus, a devastating fashion pandemic that spread out from [[Seattle]] in the decade's early years.

* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]] -- the—the movie came out in 1992; the TV show debuted in 1997. It proceeded to alter television forever, not only influencing writing, but also how shows are structured.

* [[The Daily Show]] -- The—The original version with Craig Kilborn started in 1996. [[Jon Stewart]] took over in 1999.

* [[Dark Skies]] -- One—One of many paranoia-filled sci-fi shows.

* [[The Flash (TV series1990)|The Flash]]—the -- afirst live-action adaptation of [[The Flash|the comic book character]].

* [[Frasier]] -- the—the Seattle-based (of course!) [[Spiritual Sequel|follow-up]] to the classic [[The Eighties|80's]] sitcom, ''[[Cheers]]''.

* [[Fresh Prince of Bel Air]] -- kick—kick-started [[Will Smith]]'s acting career.

* [[Friends]] -- vied—vied with [[Seinfeld]] for the title of ultimate 90's sitcom, and origin of [[Friends Rent Control]].

* [[Hey, Dude!|Hey Dude]]

* [[Holly OaksHollyoaks]]

* [[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]

* [[Homicide: Life Onon the Street]] -- Artsiest—Artsiest [[Police Procedural|cop show]] on network TV, [[Spiritual Successor|predecessor]] to ''[[The Wire]]'', and [[Intercontinuity Crossover|home of]] [[wikipedia:John Munch|John Munch]].

* [[Late Night]] with [[Conan O'Brien]] -- Gen—Gen X's Johnny Carson.

* [[Law & Order|Law and Order]] -- one—one of the first procedural dramas to make extensive use of theater actors in bit parts.

* [[Master ChefMasterChef]]

* [[Murphy Brown]] -- the—the quintessential 90's "single TV female", so much so that Dan Quayle [[Never Live It Down|called her out for it]].

* [[Nowhere Man]]-- One—One of the many paranoia filled sci-fi tv shows of this era.

* [[NYPD Blue]] -- the—the [[Darker and Edgier]] [[Police Procedural]] that made Dennis Franz a [[Fan Disservice|sex symbol]].

* [[Power Rangers]] -- started—started here. (''[[Super Sentai]]'' was already over [[The Seventies|15 years old,]] though.)

* [[Quantum Leap]] -- the—the show that made Scott Bakula famous; it debuted in 1988.

* [[Rescue 911]] -- first—first aired in 1989

* [[Round the Twist]] -- Although—Although the revived series ''just'' tipped into the early '00s, that was after the writer that had created it left due to creative differences, essentially taking the show's unique and quality storytelling with him.

* [[Seinfeld]] -- the—the series finale was a big event nationwide, like [[M*A*S*H (television)]] in the 80s.

** [[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]] (began in 1987, but continued till 1994)

** [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]

** [[Star Trek: Voyager|Star Trek Voyager]]

* Talk Soup -- AlthoughSoup—Although you may know its revamped version, ''[[The Soup]]'', better.

* [[Weird Science (TV series)|Weird Science]] -- Television—Television adaptation of the [[John Hughes]] film.

* [[The West Wing]] -- started—started in 1999, and was [[Captain Ersatz|basically about]] the Clinton Administration.

* [[Whose Line Is It Anyway?|Whose Line Is It Anyway]] -- the—the UK version had been going since [[The Eighties|1988]], but the American version started up in 1998 once the British run ended.

=== Genres: ===

* [[Boy Band|Boy Bands]]s:

=== Other Musicians: ===

* [[Bjork]] became famous in the 90s with her own uniquely [[Perishing Alt Rock Voice]]...<br />...as did [[Macy Gray]] towards the end of the era, in 1999.

* [[Blink -182]]

* [[Jay- Z]] also premiered with a classic album called ''Reasonable Doubt''

* [[Leif Garrett]]: Had a brief [[Career Resurrection]] towards the end of this period, bleeding into the [[Turn Ofof Thethe MilleniumMillennium]].

* [[Nine Inch Nails]] -- Trent—Trent Reznor's one-man doomfest that John McCain famously pretended to like.

* [[REM]] -- perennial—perennial musical innovator through the 1980s, kicked off the rise of [[Alternative Rock]] at the start of the 1990s.

* [[Santana (band)|Santana]] -- The—The veteran band experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim, scoring brand new hits by the end of the decade.

* [[3Three Six6 Mafia|Three Six Mafia]] (aka Triple 6 Mafia)

* The [[Monday Night Wars]] between [[WCW]] and [[WWEWorld Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]]

** [[Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere]]

* ''[[Alone in Thethe Dark]]''

* ''[[Baldur's Gate|Baldurs Gate]]''

** [[Castlevania II: BelmontsBelmont's Revenge]]

** [[Castlevania: Rondo of Blood]]

* [[Flashback (video game)|Flashback]]

* [[Ghosts 'n Goblins (series)|Ghosts N Goblins]]

** [[X -Men: Children of the Atom]] (1994)

** [[EarthboundEarthBound]]

* [[My Little Pony: Friendship Gardens]]

* [[Quest for Glory]] II - IV, the first [[Dungeons and& Dragons|D&D]]-style scripted adventure game

** [[Resident Evil 3: Nemesis]]

* ''[[LegoLEGO Rock Raiders|Rock Raiders]]''

* [[The Seventh7th Guest]]

* [[Sim CitySimCity]], followed by SimCity 2000 and 3000

** [[Sim AntSimAnt]]

** [[Sim TowerSimTower]], let's see have I forgotten any? ("[[The Simpsons (animation)|Don't forget my biggest flop, "Sim Sandwich.]]")

** [[Spyro the Dragon (1998)|Spyro the Dragon]]

** [[Spyro 2: RiptosRipto's Rage!]]

* [[StarcraftStarCraft]]

** [[Super Mario Land 2: Six6 Golden Coins|Super Mario Land 2]]

* [[XStar Wars: X-Wing]]

* [[Happy Tree Friends]]. Debuted in 24 December, 1999.

== Webcomics[[Web Comics]] ==

* [[Neopets]]. First discussed in 1997, launched on November 15th15, 1999.

* [[Eek! theThe Cat]]

* [[Freakazoid!]]

* [[Hercules (Disney1997 film)|Hercules]]. Television series based on the feature film.

* [[Ka BlamKaBlam!|Ka Blam]]

* [[Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legend]]

** [[Scooby -Doo in Arabian Nights]]

* [[Sherlock Holmes in Thethe Twenty Second22nd Century]]

* [[What -a -Mess]]

* [[Widget, the World Watcher]]

{{examples|Works set, but not made, in the decade:}}

== Anime &and Manga ==

* ''[[Lost in Space]]'', made from 1965-681965–68, was set (apparently) in 1997.

* ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]'' (early nineties, made in 2004, set in 1992) and ''[[Liberty City Stories]]'' (late nineties, made in 2006, set in 1998).

* ''[[Superego]]'' is set sometime in 1995, possibly June 1st1.

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