In your mind, what single person, thing, idea truly represents the 90s?
My students and I were discussing the concept of “Zeitgeist”, and I was trying to explain the impact and importance of the music scene when I was growing up. To me, Nirvana (like it or not), was the ultimate Zeitgeist of this era.
What single “thing” embodies the spirit of the 90s to you?
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Aww snap, didn’t even think about that. Absolutely. Everything about it screams 90s.
Puck 4 LYFE
The band “Third Eye Blind”
The Gulf war
DVD
Princess Diana dies in car crash
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
And baggy pants in all genres.
The Real World was the first thing that came to mind for me. Maybe this hairstyle.
@TheOnlyNeffie Gawwww, yes. The ol’ slightly opened chili bowl curtain.
I was born in ‘91, so I was too young to really get into the “spirit” of the ‘90s, but when I think of the ‘90s I think of Windows 95, ivory-colored computers, bubblegum dance music, Pokemon, Kidsongs, and the dot-com boom.
Bill Clinton with all his charisma and foibles
The Atlanta Olympic bombing. Bill Clinton would be a close second.
The explosion of the internet.
I think if we’re talking about zeitgeist, I would consider the “Aughties” more the age of the internet (I think of zeitgeist as more the cultural influence or sensibility of the time – the internet began to gain widespread functionality and popular usage when social networking became the rage, along with texting, etc.).
The interesting thing about the 90s is that they really are two decades from a zeitgeist perspective. I think “The Real World” straddles both. But the first thing that popped into my head was Nirvana as well. Grunge, however, was the first half. The second half I would characterize as the Snoop Dogg/Backstreet Boys era.
PS – I like a more literal translation of the german “zeitgeist” into the english “space ghost!” (the exclamation point is part of the translation).
@iamthemob How you soon you forget the “dot com” boom.
@tinyfaery
But that was accompanied with the bust, which nearly ruined faith in internet start ups. When innovation was spread more to the population, I think that’s when the internet had a greater effect on our culture instead of just our economy.
He “did not have sexual relations with THAT woman”.....lol
Bill Clinton sex scandal….despite it i still liked him and i’m not even American!
people saying “its the 90’s things are better now…”
First half of the 90s would be Grunge.
Latter half would be the internet.
Final Fantasy VI and Pearl jam.
Pogs.
Well, for me it’s way more six than seven. The question asked about in my mind, so. :D
Bill Clinton’s presidency. Alternative rock becoming more popular. The Buffalo Bills 4 straight Super Bowl losses.
the flowering of the World Wide Web
a close 2nd, and inter-related to that, would be the flowering of the 2nd psychedelic generation
The end of the Cold War, and more to the point, the birth of the second age of globalism. The feeling that there was actually only one world we all shared, not the “us vs. those subhuman commie bastards” mindset of 40+ years.
The return of sanity to rock music and ecstasy were pretty big too.
Agree with @zannajune. And as for me I think the movie: “Reality Bites” neatly summarizes the 90s.
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