THE 90’S By: Matias Ortiz, Franky DeMise, And Anthony Fernandez
PAGE 3: Films in the 90’s PAGE 4: Education in the 90’s PAGE 5: fashion PAGE 6: Music PAGE 7: Food in the 90’s PAGE 9: Sports PAGE 12: Law and justice PAGE 13: Celebrity gossip PAGE 14-15 Domestic policy PAGE 16-17 Foreign policy PAGE 18: Way we lived PAGE 21: Book review PAGE 23: crossword
EDUCATION IN THE 90’S EDUCATION IN MEDIA Education in the 90’s was not only just in the classroom but it extended to many different areas such as the the television, with television being used as a vessel for learning so that kids could remember the things they need for school and this leads to the show that is Schoolhouse Rock, which had episodes which had episodes varying from many different areas including math. Science, The conservation of the earth and Grammar. Each of these episodes was made to be a catchy song so that the kids would remember the lesson that each episode was trying to teach them. It began as an advertising venture by David Mccall when his son had trouble remembering the multiplication tables.
PICTURED ABOVE: the many characters of the popular show “school house rock”
It began as an advertising venture by David Mccall when his son had trouble remembering the multiplication tables. The first song that he recorded was “three is a magic number” Tom Yohe later began doodling pictures to go along with this music and he suggested that Mccall should add animation to these songs. Then the songs with the animations were sold to ABC and it aired on a Saturday morning for many Saturdays to come. The first episode, called My Hero, Zero was aired in 1972 and then more episodes continued to air until 1978. The broadcast still continued in the 1990’s and the 2000’s but it was less frequent than before, the broadcast completely ended in 2001
The 90’s came with the rise of technology and the internet. The internet and computers made it possible for kids to have a fun while still learning about a subject. Examples of this include educational games like gizmos and gadgets which taught science and treasure mountain which taught reading, math, and logic.
FASHION in the 90’s Fashion in the 90s was incredibly unique and interesting. Trends could be set by anyone, and anything could quickly become popular. Bright colors, silly designs, and lots of skin were common during this time period, and some of the most memorable, and maybe some of the strangest, fashion trends were popular during this time, and these are only a few of them.
Crazy Trends! In the early 90s, tv shows such as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air inspired the style of wearing brightly colored shirts which were far too big and shorts that also were quite oversized. People often wore streetwear with cartoonish accessories in crazy colors. Will Smith, the star of the show, was the main trendsetter, wearing insane shirts, Zubaz pants, and impressive Jordans. 1993 saw the birth of a strange, new sensation: Raver Nation. This eye-numbing style included wide-leg JNCO jeans, armfuls of Kandi, which were multicolor bracelets, and everything rainbow colored came onto the scene. This style still represents peace, love, respect, and unity.
Influence Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain were arguably one of the most influential couples in 90s fashion. Courtney single-handedly made the look of dark makeup and baby-doll dresses popular, and Kurt arguably started the entire “grunge” trend, which involves baggy, torn clothes. He also wore flannel shirts very well, and all of these things became very popular throughout the 90s. (pictured right)
Someone dressed in similar Raver Nation getup (above) Will Smith in The Prince Of Bel Air (below)
Music In the 90’s
The music from the 90's had the continuation of the types of music that were popular in the 70's and in the 80's. Just like in the 80's the rock and metal genres continued to be popular along with its many sub genres, specifically glam metal which. This is also known as hair metal which is a subgenre of heavy metal which also had pop-influenced hooks, with outfits borrowing from 1970's Glam Rock.
There was also Eurobeat which given its name comes from Britain,. It is a type music that borrows from other genre but still has a defining thing which is speed. An example of a fast Eurobeat song is Running in the 90's made by Max Coveri. There also is then the rise of Michael Jackson with his many pop songs. Things like Smooth Criminal which was also displayed in a movie called This is It.
PICTURED ABOVE: The poster for one of michael jackson's hit songs, smooth criminal
FOOD 90’S
IN
THE
THE SWEET TASTE OF THE 90’S
DRINKS OF THE DECADE
The 90's had the creation of many different candies and drinks varying from different types of gum to sodas. Hubba-Bubba bubble tape, created by Wrigley was introduced in the 1980's but reached its height in the 90's. It has six feet of gum so that it would last last very long. It also had the iconic bubble gum taste. There was also the creations of the lollipops like the ring pop and the push pop. The ring pop which was created in the 90's and had an edible diamond on top of a plastic ring. The plastic ring keeps the sticky edible diamond off of the kids fingers. The push pop was also made at around the 90's with the slogan don't push me, push pop. When you did what the name entails you would have a long-lasting lollipop coming in many different flavors.
There was also the drinks that came from the 90's. The juice pouch known by the name Capri Sun, which had many different flavors ranging from lemonade to pacific cooler. The product became less popular over time due to the fact that people had a difficult time getting the straw into the hole. There was also the interesting Pepsi flavor that was crystal Pepsi. It was created in 1992 and received bad reviews because people did not like the idea of Pepsi making their drink clear.
Sports Whether you prefer to play sports, watch sports on the tv, or are simply not interested, you cannot deny the importance and prominence sports have in the world, and here are a few of the best moments in sports from the 1990s. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in America, and there have been almost inhuman feats and players throughout the years. Americans love basketball, so when the USA basketball team lost to the Soviet Union team in the 1988 Olympics, they decided to stop not bringing their best players to the Olympics, and in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, they brought a team of all-stars, and annihilated the competition, easily getting awarded the Gold Medal. No team was able to lose by less than a 30 point difference. Soccer was not nearly as popular among Americans as sports like basketball or football, but its popularity certainly increased dramatically when the 1994 World Cup was hosted on US soil. Stadiums were sold out and it even led to the rise of the MLS, also known as Major League Soccer. The US soccer team began to play in major tournaments around the world. The fan base was no longer small, but around 18 million people and rising watched the US play against Portugal.
Baseball is another titan of sports, and the 90s were a terrible year for the sport. In 1994, there was a strike against baseball, and the World Series of that year had to be cancelled. The effects of this situation are still felt today, as studies show that a smaller percentage of Americans pay attention to baseball than in the last 40 years. It is incredible what one event did to this sport that was loved by Americans for so many years.
P A R W UN S S E N I HAPP HUBB
A BUB
BA ST
RING
GUM
LAW AND JUSTICE
Some of the cases of the 1990's brought justice to the loopholes of the ADA (americans with disabilities acts) that were neglected. One of these cases which reinforced that act was the Cleveland V. Policy management system. Cleveland worked at the Policy management system for a while before suffering a stroke. This stroke hurt her concentration, memory, and hampered her ability to work, so she filed for a ssdi application do she would receive the benefits.
She later felt better so she tried to return to work, so she no longer had those benefits. But she was fired from work 4 days later. So she filed an ADA lawsuit against the company that fired her. Yet when it was brought to court the court found a contradiction with her lawsuit and her ssdi claim. The lawsuit said that she could perform her functions properly while her claim said she was disabled
Celebrity Gossip Celebrities have no end to their rumors. The gossip surrounding famous people is impossible to avoid, and whether true or not, most of these rumors are not good ones. Celebrities are pretty easy targets for ridiculous claims, and the following were some of the most prominent ones. Some rumors that sprout about celebrities are ridiculous, and there was a pretty unbelievable one during the 1993 Academy Awards. The rumor was that Marisa Tomei, who won the Best Supporting Actress trophy for her performance in My Cousin Vinny, did not actually win the award. Supposedly, Jack Palance, the announcer, mistakenly read her name off the card. This was confirmed to be false, however, as most of these rumors are. Remember Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain from the fashion section? Well there are pretty grim rumors about them as well. Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994, and the world mourned the loss of this figure. However, rumors soon surfaced about Kurt’s wife, Courtney Love. The rumor was that Courtney murdered Kurt, and this was an extremely common thing for people to talk about. This was not true, and there was no sign of it being true.
Michael Jackson’s career was full of all kinds of strange stories about him, and he earned himself the nickname Wacko Jacko. One of these stories was that he had bought and slept in a hyperbaric chamber, and the rumor continued to say he was doing this to prolong his life. In fact, this was one rumor that was partially true. Jackson did buy a hyperbaric chamber, but later donated it to a hospital which specialized in burn victims. He had been severely burned previously in an accident when filming a Pepsi commercial, so he knew what it was like.
DOMESTIC POLICY HARD TIMES The 90’s were a time of very highs and lows, one one end, the financial end, the 90’s were prosperous, the united states saw a massive year in the stock market, and a long time of strong economic prosperity, but on the other end of the spectrum, socially, racial tensions split the nation, most notoriously the case of whites and blacks, while the new invent of the internet allowed for many people to share their thoughts anonymously, which while the world adapted to it, helped create tensions that created a split in pop culture
American history, after the 1991 recession the united states saw steady growth in jobs, drops in inflation, and a boom in the stock market. During the same time president clinton signed in the omnibus act, which created new tax brackets, increased taxes, but also bettered healthcare, fuel pricing and social security
IN THE GOVERNMENT During the bush presidency in the 90’s the united states was prosperous, the GDP (gross domestic product) continuously rose for more than a decade, the longest recorded rise in economic growth in
Pictured above: president bill clinton (1992-1998)
SOCIAL CHANGES
INTERNET
The internet was one of the much debated subjects of the 90’s, and of the biggest issues was net neutrality, as the internet has somewhat The 90’s were a time of great created a race war, with the social change for the united states, anonymity and complete people adopted new ideologies and freedoms granted by the many of the issues many dealt with in internet, once again those still bitter could express their the past were dealt with directly and thoughts, and while one side conquered, it created a long american peacetime, but with all ups was complaining the other side was enjoying this there is a down, and issues that are freedom, it was an issue of still being dealt with today started in net neutrality, how neutral the 90’s should the government and internet service providers be when it comes to what their customers and their people are saying, this issue was tackled by the FCC which gave us the internet freedom The 90’s were a time of highs and we have today, though lows for the issue of race, gender, recently, senators are and sexual preference inequalities, considering killing the act, for example, the current president Bill and allowing internet providers to sell someone's Clinton signed a bill and promoted the idea that made it so that men and internet history to others as a way to control what people women could not be denied jobs search and say on the because of their sexual orientation, internet this bill allowed gay men and women to access many jobs, as long as they said no when asked for their sexual orientation while interviewed, this bill became known as the “dont ask, dont tell” bill.
DISCRIMINATION
Foreign Policy
It being the 90's most policies came from Bill Clinton who was president for seventy percent of the 90's. In general he followed a doctrine of enlargement of which he was taught in school, this is also what became known as the Clinton Doctrine. Unlike the other doctrines the Clinton Doctrine was not as cut and dry as the other presidents doctrines. It mostly was about caring about other countries , about being ashamed that we could not even pronounce their names. This doctrine justified the wars that we had in Yugoslavia.
Not only did Clinton establish his doctrine but he also helped establish ourselves into both NAFTA and GATT. NAFTA, standing for the North American free trade agreement. It is a treaty between the countries Canada, Mexico and North America. By agreeing to make this trade deal they eliminate all trading barriers between the countries. By eliminating said barriers they increase investment opportunities. GATT, standing for the general agreement on tariffs and trades was another agreement that Bill Clinton pushed congress to do. It was the first worldwide, multilateral trade agreement. It was in effect until January 1st 1995 when it was replaced with the World Trade agreement. GATT had three main provisions, one that each member must confer most favorite nation status to one another, that there will be no restrictions on the number of imports and exports, and to eliminate tariffs
Way We Lived The 90’s were chock full of a unique culture that was between the futuristic technologic revolution in the form of computers and such, and an even more advanced future lay in wait for a little less than a decade. Here are some very memorable pop culture references from the 1990’s. Technology was in a strange state of development during the 90’s. Computers that were actually buyable and usable had come out recently, but in a few short years these brand new technologies would be beyond obsolete. The internet became very popular during this time, and the AOL, or America Online, distributed the internet connection. However, this was pretty inconvenient by pour standards. It became very expensive, since you had to pay by the hour to stay connected. A popular thing was a free trial that you got if you signed up with America Online, with a few hundreds hours in a disk. Also, noises such as the iconic “You’ve got mail” became a staple of any person’s computer with internet connection. Before there were mobile phones, there were pagers, which were small devices that let you send short numerical messages to contact others. These became very popular, then lost popularity, both very quickly, probably due to the mobile phone which came about a decade later, making them, and most music players, obsolete.
Like computers, tv and video has evolved immensely in a short period, and the growth started in the 90’s. VHS tapes were really big, and so were business such as Blockbusters. However, even for the people of the time, these could be very inconvenient, as almost nothing was as frustrating as buying or renting a new VHS tape, only to find the film in the wrong place and having to rewind the tape. CDs for music were also very popular at the time, and it is another technology that is all but extinct today. Almost everybody pirated CDs due to the companies that sold them seeming to scam them. TV commercials became a large part of daily life in the 90’s, from funny ones, to informational ones, to annoying and downright terrible ones, commercials started to become a source of great pop culture. One such commercial was the Encyclopedia Britannica kid. This was not the actual name of the Commercial, but it is what is was known as. The commercial annoyed people to no end, the geeky kid and the strange voice from above that gave him the answers to his test seemed to grind people’s gears. Life Alert commercials that played during the afternoon cartoons became a source of material for kids to make fun of, such as the unforgettable “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.” Finally, products garnered much fame, such as the infamous crystal Pepsi, which became a hit despite its short time in stores.
THE SAME EXHILARATING EXPERIENCE
BUT NOW IN….
COLOR
DON'T PUSH JUST ANYONE
PUSH POP (THOUGH POP MIGHT NOT LIKE IT)
Book Review There were many books written in the 90’s, but Lois Lowry’s The Giver is a great example of an exceptional novel of its time. The novel is follows Jonas, a 12 year old boy who lives in a dystopian society, much unlike our own. In this world, everyone is assigned a job once they reach a certain age, and Jonas was the first in a long time to earn the job of Receiver, a highly esteemed job within the community. The previous Receiver must teach Jonas around his job, and it is an unusual one. The Receiver is tasked with holding the memories of a past world, one with happiness, fun, sorrows, pain, anger, and interestingly, color. Color was lost long ago, and nobody can see them anymore, but now Jonas can. However, the seemingly perfect society starts to shows its true colors to Jonas, and when a newborn is going to be killed because it was born too small to survive, he refuses the rules of the Society. The world of The Giver is full of more sorrow than it previously shows. The characters all play very important roles, such as the Giver, who was the previous Receiver. The novel i ripe with symbolism, and the underlying message seems to be a warning for the future to come. In a dramatic, exciting adventure full of emotion and twists at every turn, Lowry’s world is definitely worth giving a read.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
References Borja, Sahara, and Zoe Bain. “Beloved Foods from the '90s.” Delish, 10 June 2015, www.delish.com/food/g154/90s-food-photos/?slide=2. Accessed 23 May 2017. "Bill Clinton: Foreign Affairs." Miller Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2017. Lussenhop, Jessica. "Clinton Crime Bill: Why Is It so Controversial?" BBC News. BBC, 18 Apr. 2016. Web. 08 May 2017. “North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) | United States Trade Representative.”North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) | United States Trade Representative, 11 Apr. 2016, ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north-american-free-trade-agre ement-nafta. Accessed 23 May 2017.