As a Child of the 90’s I was able to see a variety of Pop culture changes, with the madness of the 80’s ending and the beginning of the 2000s and the internet taking shape, the ’90s…well….were different. But let’s explore the childhood of the 1990s for the youngest to teenager.
Table of Contents
Best Decade?
I’ve gone on record that I think the ’80s was the best decade for all things pop culture, music, Films, TV, games and entertainment and as kids generally all round life, as we didn’t know what was happening. Being born in the early 80s I grew up on this but as the 90s were about to hit I was 8, and this meant I was becoming much more familiar with life out there.
But the 90s was an unusual decade, the 80s were so different and saw almost everything come to the forefront of pop culture and drastically changed over the decade. The ’90s were different and in many ways didn’t hold the love of pop culture that the ’70s and ’80s did, even the 60s for the older generation was held in such high regard. But as with all things in life, things come full circle and here in the early 20s, it seems like the 90s love may be having a resurgence.
Music
At the time films and TV, were fine, music was fine, and saw that era of techno, dubstep, dance, and boy band and girl band take over. But with music it still also seemed to be a bit varied, it had a monotone almost, angry, sometimes just spoken on the songs, Rap, became a much bigger thing. The ’80s were definitely different and varied but the 90’s almost come across as Angry,
But this then was followed but advancements in technology, the internet, CD, and Digital music devices were far more apparent which meant record labels didn’t do everything as they did before. By the end of the 90s music was again varied and almost looking down on cheesy old classics, in fact, it was almost like it hated every genre that wasn’t theirs.
TV
TV was still at its prime, with more TVs around than ever, with multiple houses, Saturday nights were big still while Soaps still dominated, as did Saturday mornings for kids. But compare 1990 and 1999? the technology had moved on, SKY and the multiple channels with random shows and networks were becoming more standard practice. American TV was continuing to influence the UK and other counties more and more. The production value had changed and we were just starting to see the beginnings of reality TV, and normal people being the centre of game shows, programs and mainstream TV.
Filming
Filming took another leap in this era, I don’t think personally the decade will live long in the cinematic world of excellence as there are many films that are not good, and even those that were ok haven’t held up, again with technology meant the films of all sorts of quality were coming out more and more. However, there are gems of films out there, Jurrasic Park, T2, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Matrix, and many many more, but not as prolific as other decades and perhaps the love that other decades get. When I look back at my Top 5′ s across the genres you will generally see the odd films from the 90s in there.
Internet
With the internet getting better and more affordable the way we saw and look at the world was changing, the 2000s would see it become a way of life and we were approaching it in 1998 and 1999 but we were there yet, add the fact that Y2K was coming! the end of the world as the millennium was coming! needless to say, it didn’t…everything didn’t stop, the computers didn’t all break.
Gaming
Gaming in this decade saw it become one of the main forms of entertainment, it would continue to grow of course in the future years but this decade saw us have N64, SNES, and Megadrive, among others but we also saw the charge of Playstation and by the end of the decade the PS2 that took it further into the new Millenium. PC gaming though continue its growth, it was just for IT people, all people began to have PCs in school and at home, thus the gaming part of it also improved and a new breed of gamers was born.
Pop Culture
There were plenty of other Pop culture changes, Shellsuits became a thing, Flips flops, bumbags, all things Neon! weird things written on the side appeared on clothes and TV (thanks to Saved by the Bell). The ’80s were a rebel, and the ’90s were angry but we also used the decade to almost grow up, both myself and seemingly the culture, the 2000s we seemed more grown up along with a little bit of fun but the ’90s were almost the teenage years, the Curt Cobain and Slim shady I’m just angry and I’m telling everyone about it years.
In Reflection
I think now with that generation in their 30s onwards they look back with rose-tinted glasses and will pick up on the things they remember, ever younger people that were then young kids will look back and think of all the programs they had, which for that decade was the start of all this content. This really was a different decade, arguably the last before we saw and knew everything, we were still run by local opinions, TV and local TV, things looked so large still with Films and News, Shops were local, pubs, hanging out etc.
You can argue things changed, didn’t change or whatever… but for me, it did all change in the 2000s with technology and many other things, it’s not my favourite decade but actually there was plenty to like growing up from older kid to teenager, to just about to turn 18.
If you sit and think there are many things, Films, TV, Music, Gaming and pop culture that gives you a great feeling, the ’90s probably had it all in a way, not the best of it all… but a little bit of it all, what a random decade.
Win a Gift Republic Totally 90’s Family Board Game
To help you celebrate and remember the fun of the ’90s, I have a Gift Republic Totally 90’s Family Board Game to giveaway.
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Gift Republic Totally 90’s Family Board Game (WTDS)
