How do you even begin to tackle an entire decade worth of culture? Let alone one so rich with pivotal moments that captured the zeitgeist?

I was a little over 2 years old when the 90s started - so while there were very real atrocities and disasters that occurred throughout the decade, as there are with every decade - I still look back on the era through the lens of childlike innocence. My personality was formed during this decade. I am who I am today because of this decade. I was blessed to have an unbelievably great childhood, which is probably why these days, I’m more of a man baby than an actual fully-formed adult. I can’t escape the past (nor would I want to) as I’m constantly chasing the euphoria of those tender, formative years. Thank God for Flashback Friday.

Because this is such a meaty topic - and because it’s impossible to cover everything - I’m going to break this article down into two main parts: My argument for why the 90s was the greatest decade in recorded human history, and a timeline of some of the biggest moments in entertainment and culture for every individual year.

Part 1 - The Case For Greatest Decade

Camp And Naiveté Kept Us Innocent

The 90s, like pretty much every decade that preceded it had cringe-worthy levels of camp upon second glance. Where the 80s were plagued with bad hair, cheesy sci-fi and horror films, and one-note rock bands who only made songs about partying and sex - the 90s were plagued with overly wholesome family sitcoms that always had a lesson to teach at the end of the episode. Laugh tracks were abundant, as were the “woos” whenever two characters kissed, or even so much as said something vaguely suggestive. Baby or animal onscreen? You were getting a long, drawn-out “aww.”

To a larger extent, this reflected the blissful ignorance of a pre-9/11 America. We could still appreciate the little things in life, such as two teenagers sharing their first kiss, or a toddler cuddling a puppy. We could laugh at forced one-liners, even if they didn’t make sense (Seriously, why was “Cut. It. Out.” a thing?) We were living in a time of economic prosperity and while we were engaged in military conflicts overseas, things were largely peaceful at home. We weren’t yet numbed to mass shootings, nor did we think they would become the norm, and as much a part of our societal fabric as the American flag itself. It was a time of prosperity. Jobs were stable. Life was stable.

It was a simpler time. A more wholesome time. 9/11 had not yet altered the course of human history nor destroyed our sense of security. During the 90s, Americans largely felt like we couldn’t be touched. Even through the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 that left 6 people dead, and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 that left close to 200 people dead - they were considered one-offs, and not a malignant growth. In our collective conscious - we couldn’t be harmed. We were living in our own wholesome family sitcom.

It would be the last time Americans lived that way.

We Experienced The 90s Together

While the 90s ushered in the beginning of cultural segmentation with endless cable channels tailored to each demographic, and the dotcom boom - we would’nt see segmentation truly come to fruition until this past decade.

During the 90s, radio was still very much a thing. As was network news. As were a litany of cultural institutions you simply couldn’t ignore. You couldn't avoid pop music phenoms like Britney Spears and NSYNC. You couldn’t look the other way on the impact Seinfeld had on situational comedies. We were all living in the same bubble. Before podcasts, before streaming, before social media algorithms, before splintered news factions allowed us to ignore stories we didn’t want to see, and in turn created alternate realities across the political spectrum - we were all largely part of the same collective universe in the 90s.

Similar to the sitcom-like concept of family togetherness - there was a beauty in all of us experiencing the decade together, on the same wavelength. Young and old, white and black, gay and straight.

It’s not like today’s world where you can have a global sensation like BTS still get largely ignored by huge swaths of the population. I know BTS is huge, but I couldn't name a single member of the group, nor a single song title. Good luck finding someone who lived during the 90s who doesn’t know the Macarena, or doesn’t know every word to the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air theme song.

Throughout all our differences in the 90s, we were still one.

Fashion Trends (And The Culture At Large) Encouraged Individual Expression

The 90s are an enigma. While what I just wrote about regarding the familial togetherness of the culture was very much a thing - so too was individual expression. We were all together, and we were all separate; occupying two opposing concepts simultaneously.

Fashion, which was once considered one of the few weaknesses of the decade, is now looked at as a strength. Sure, the recent surge can probably be attributed to older millennials like myself who are forcing the 90s back into existence, but the younger generations are embracing it too. Most young fashion icons of today - from hip hop artists to runway models - are joining the fray. That’s because the concept of 90s fashion is remarkably simple: Wear whatever you want. Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable. Express yourself any way you like.

It’s hard not to get on board with such a notion.

And it didn’t stop with fashion. Alternative lifestyles were granted more tolerance, cultural diversity was promoted in many television shows, particularly shows for children (Are You Afraid Of The Dark? had more diversity on its show than many shows in today’s world), and overall, it was cool to be yourself - whatever that meant.

Yes, the world back then was, and continues to be, dominated by cis, hetero, white men; but there were significant cracks made to the armor during that decade, and this recent, “woke” trend of embracing individuality and accepting people for who they are is actually not so recent. The 90s played a huge role in paving the way for societal change, and much of it came through entertainment (Will & Grace, Ellen for example).

The Golden Age Of Entertainment

Individualism was a huge part of the 90s. in particular; the way it shaped the entertainment landscape. Every genre of music had a moment. You can find classic albums in the world of Hip Hop (The Chronic, Ready To Die, Illmatic), Country (Come On Over, No Fences, Wide Open Spaces), R&B (My Life, CrazySexyCool, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill), Pop (Ray Of Light, Spice, On The 6) and Alternative Rock (Nevermind, OK Computer, Siamese Dream) - the latter of which birthed the Grunge sub-genre that dominated the rock scene at the time. Even Freestyle music had a moment. Haddaway’s “What Is Love,” anyone?

Television? The 90s had that covered, too. Seinfeld, Friends, The Sopranos, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Boy Meets World, and the list goes on. I haven’t even mentioned the cartoons (Rugrats, Doug, Hey Arnold, Batman: The Animated Series, Rocko’s Modern Life, South Park, Ren & Stimpy, Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria).

Film? Forget about it. The one thing everyone has to concede, is that the 90s were the greatest decade of cinema, period. Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, The Shawshank Redemption, and Forrest Gump weren’t just all released in the 90s - they were released in 1994 alone. Never mind all the other classic films that came out during the decade. Jurassic Park, Boyz n the Hood, The Matrix, Toy Story, Clueless, Fight Club, Titanic, The Silence Of The Lambs, Goodfellas, The Big Lebowski, Scream, Se7en, Schindler’s List, Reservoir Dogs, and The Sixth Sense.

Just like music at the time, film in general was having a renaissance, with classics all over the genre spectrum. Horror, comedy, drama, action, animation - it didn’t matter. If it came out in the 90s, it was good.

The world of video games saw an explosion of classics too, with Sega, Nintendo, and Sony all churning out one gem after another. Sonic The Hedgehog, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Super Mario 64, Pokémon (Red and Blue), Goldeneye, Metal Gear Solid, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, and literally hundreds more.

The message is clear: There was no shortage of entertainment during the decade. Quality in abundance.

Social Media Wasn’t A Thing, And The 90s Were The Last Time We Had A Handle On Technology

In what’s quickly becoming my favorite aspect of the 90s as we continue barreling down the sci-fi horror road we’re currently on - the 90s were simply put, a simpler time.

The internet was still in its infancy and as a result, was not the malignant tumor it’s now grown to be.

The internet was a place for information, communication, and porn.

It’s still all those things, but they’ve since added disinformation, online bullying, and more porn.

Social media is great, but it also fucking sucks. Mob mentality is rampant, people are battling each other for who can be the most “woke,” depression and anxiety are the logical results of watching your friends curate their lives in perfect posts, and oh yeah - bots distort news and influence elections now.

Automation continues to cost people their jobs, with no end in sight, as robots are steadily climbing up the ladder, and are replacing even white collar jobs.

You can’t put the genie back in the bottle, and we’ve lost complete control of technology. Tech and social media companies alike act with impunity as they form monopolies, sell private data, allow hate speech to thrive in the name of profit, all in the face of deregulation and governments that are scratching their heads as to how to reign them in.

Napster was one of the bigger nuisances of the 90s/early 00s, and it forced the music industry to drastically change its business model or face extinction. Print media is facing a similar problem, only there’s no solution. Institutions that used to seem impervious to any and all cultural changes are getting laid to rest one by one.

Not all new things are good things. Film reels still look better than digital ones. The cons of social media far outweigh the good, and being tethered to a device that now houses all our personal information and secrets sounds like a recipe for disaster and the likely targets of future warfare.

In short, everything was better in the 90s. Especially when the best gig a shady con artist could get was a walk-on role in a Home Alone sequel, as opposed to the presidency.

Part 2: A Brief Cultural Timeline Of The Greatest Decade

Let’s look at some of the moments that defined the 90s - both good and bad.

One word of note - there were a handful of crucial 90s pieces that just missed the cutoff. The original Nintendo Game Boy, North American release of the Sega Genesis, Seinfeld, Saved By The Bell, and The Simpsons all painfully made their debuts in 1989. Seriously, how insane is that? So while they’re all very much a huge part of this article and the 90s in general, they have a technical claim to the 80s. It sucks, but thems the breaks. Without further ado, let’s get into the cultural bubble that began on January 1st, 1990, and ended December 31st, 1999.

1990 - Let Freedom Ring

Berlin Wall comes down in 1989 - Alexandra Avakian

The decade wasted no time in regards to history-making world events.

East and West Germany reunified after seeing the Berlin wall come down in November ‘89, a mere two months before the start of 1990.

Nelson Mandela was released February 11th of that year, after serving a 27 year sentence in various South African prisons.

Goodfellas, a gangster classic, hits theaters on September 19th.

Goodfellas - Warner Bros. — *Goodfellas* - Warner Bros.

Notable Films:

Dances with Wolves

Die Hard 2

Edward Scissorhands

Ghost

The Godfather Part III

Goodfellas

Home Alone

Misery

Pretty Woman

Rocky V

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Total Recall

Tremors

Notable Television Shows:

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Beverly Hills 90210

Blossom

Bobby’s World

Captain Planet and the Planters

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

In Living Color

Law & Order

Rugrats

Talespin

Tiny Toon Adventures

Twin Peaks

Notable Songs:

“Free Fallin’” - Tom Petty

“Hold On” - Wilson Phillips

“Poison” - Bell Biv DeVoe

“Pump Up The Jam” - Technotronic

“Vogue” - Madonna

You're watching the official music video for "Vogue" directed by David Fincher from Madonna's soundtrack album 'I'm Breathless' for the motion picture 'Dick Tracy' released on Sire Records in 1990. Listen to Madonna's latest release here: https://Madonna.lnk.to/latest Subscribe to the Madonna Channel! https://Madonna.lnk.to/YouTubeID Check out the Official Madonna YouTube Playlists...

Notable Albums:

AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted - Ice Cube

Bossanova - Pixies

Fear of a Black Planet - Public Enemy

No Fences - Garth Brooks

Violator - Depeche Mode

Notable Games:

F-Zero

Final Fantasy III

Fire Emblem

Mega Man 3

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Super Mario World

Misc:

Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in Japan and South Korea

Dunk-a-roos are introduced by Betty Crocker

1991 - Smells Like A New Movement

Nirvana photoshoot outtakes - Kirk Weddle

Here we are now, entertain us

It was the song heard ‘round the world. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was released in late summer, and just like that, hair metal - or what was left of it by that time - was officially dead.

Nirvana, with their second, but first commercially successful album Nevermind, ushered in a new era of music, complete with a rabid, angsty generation of teenagers looking for social, political, and economic change. Grunge was in, 80s metal was out.

While the cheesy party songs of the 80s were gone - tragically, so too was a rock icon.

Freddie Mercury Performs At Live Aid - PA Images

On November 24, 1991, the world lost Freddie Mercury. Just one day after he released a statement confirming he had AIDS.

Photo of Person Typing on Computer Keyboard - Soumil Kumar (Pexels.com)

While the music world was experiencing a revolution - there was another, more important, ultimately humanity-altering movement getting underway at the same time. That same summer, just before the world was introduced to a little band from Seattle - the internet was released to the public.

1991 was also the year in which Americans were captivated by the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas, and subsequent Anita Hill hearings in which Hill accused Thomas of sexual misconduct. A Republican SCOTUS pick credibly accused of sexual assault in an emotionally-charged hearing who ended up making it to the court by a narrow margin? We’d see the entire thing play out again 27 years later.

1991 also set the table for what would become a major story the following year.

On March 3, 1991, footage was released of four police officers brutally attacking Rodney King.