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A4 1990s Rokicki

Page history last edited by Shubdeep Singh 13 years, 9 months ago

Elizabeth Gojcaj

Ana-Maria Sutac

Shubhdeep Singh

Shivani Porandla

 

 

MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

 

                       

 

Business & the Economy

 

          

           For the first couple years of the 1990’s there was an economic downfall. America has been a huge consumer of foreign goods and trade before the decade. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in The Gulf War, the price of oil dramatically increased along with inflation. “The second half of the 1990s marked the longest sustained stretch of economic growth in U.S. history” (The American Economy). The American economy was prosperous and steady during the majority of the nineteen nineties. The U.S. has been a free trade economy since World War II. The Jones Industrial Average rose and companies merged to form bigger, richer, and more powerful businesses (United States Economy). After peaking at7.5%, unemployment declined steadily throughout the early and mid-1990s, and in 1998 remained below 5%. After 1993, inflation mostly remained under 3% (United States Economy).

 

          The nineties was the age of technology, and the introduction on the World Wide Web in 1990. The Internet opened the doors for the economy and businesses and helped them grow. Since the World Wide Web, large businesses were becoming dependent on the internet and becoming more technologically advanced. Technology was rapidly changing and most of the world and businesses communicated through email and cell phones. Businesses started to create websites for their companies such as Amazon and eBay. During the decade, the economy had completed one business-cycle. A rough start for the first two years with high unemployment and then advancing with technology helped the economy out of the recession.  

 

Education

 

          At first, Education was not as valued as it started to be in the 1990s. SAT scores have been declining while colleges and businesses wanted firmer students. The standards for education were raised. More private schools were opening; the first charter school was opened in 1992, and more and more schools had uniforms for their students. Some families were upset with the loose restrictions set by public schools that they chose to home school their children. Religious schools were also becoming popular. Such as catholic schools, parents would pay more money to send their children to receive a private education rather than a public one where education was diminishing.

 

          Schools were getting “make-overs.” With the technology becoming more advanced, there were more projects introduced into the schools in America. Blackboards were being replaced by whiteboards, the Smartboard was becoming popular in the classrooms, and the internet was becoming accessible for students. By 1998, national law required all schools to send out report cards.  Stronger Teachers Unions were being formed and more rules were being generated. The nations focus was education and preparation for the business world. By the end of the decade, many programs were created to help different levels of students learn. 

 

Fashion 

     

           The 1920s was a decade of high fashion after the progressive era, but as the 1990s came around everyone started to dress down also known as the grunge or poor boy fashion. People started    wearing clothes found in retail stores. Hats also became a very popular fashion in 90s, people didnt wear it just to sports games, but everywhere, it was part of the grunge fashion. They wore clothes that expressed their individual style, but at the same time were comfortable. This  laid back fashion started with traditions such as casu alFridays. On the other end of the spectrum people enjoyed the preppy look of stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch. Many people started getting tattoos and body piercings all over their body. Examples of everyday fashion were leggings, calf length skirts, long blazers, sports clothing, etc. As the decade progressed the brand name of clothing became very popular. The public based the “quality” of the clothes on the brands they were from, very similar to what happens in our lives now. In 1990 air jordan 5 was realeased and in 1992 air jordan 6 was released. These shoes were named after one of the greatest players of all time, Micheal Jordan. Adidas started out in Germany, but soon progressed and transferred into the United States where it started to develope into all different kinds of sports equipment. Nike went public in the 1980s, but in the 1990s the company signed Tiger Woods, which was a big deal for he was a golfing phenomena.  

 

  

Film and theater

 

          The Filming industry became heavily dependent on the use of special effects to produce successful movies. One of the most renown films made in the 1990s was Jurassic Park. The use of special effects proved triumphant with the success of movies such as Scream and the Blair Witch Project. Another uprising in the film industry was the use of animation. Movies such as The Lion King, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, etc also became very popular. The 1990s was the decade of Mainstream films, Hollywood also started to make many more sequals and re-released old movies. Hollywood also formed DreamWorks studio, which is now one of the most popular studios in Hollywood, not to mention extremely victorious. Titanic, which was the most succssful movie of all time was released in 1997.  There were also many sucessful T.V shows that were broadcasted in the 90s, such as Baywatch and Friends.  Although the theater started in the 1980s it boomed in the 1990s with live productions of The Lion King and Rent. Broadway became more popular by gaining the British audience due to the many British theater performers that joined Broadway.   

           

 

Food &  Drink

 

     In the 1990s Americans began to watch their diets and were more concerned about their health intake. Many cookbooks were available to make food at home so that the amount of fat put into the food could be controlled by the consumers. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act was passed on November 8th, 1990, with this act most foods are required to have a nutrition labeling on them and the nutrient content claims and health claims are required to meet FDA regulations. The labels had to include the percentage of each type of fat that was present in the foods and the amount of calories as well. During the 1990s people closely monitored their calorie intake, and many dietary supplements were being used which started to cause health problems. Not only did the consumers of America become health conscious but in reaction to that the producers began to make foods that were healthier for people as well. The Frito Lays Company decided that instead of creating new brands for their company they should focus and improve the brands that their company already had. They created a low fat version of Ruffles and came out with baked potato chips. Places like Mc Donald’s and other fast food restaurants began to come out with food that were low in fat to draw in more consumers. V8 Splash which is a healthy vegetable drink came out in this decade along with Kellogg's healthy choice cereal. 

 

     The drink of the decade for the 1990s was Coca-Cola, it was the most popular and most consumed. Coca-Cola came out with different versions of its product, such as New Coke, and Coke II, but in the end came back to Coca-Cola classic. The Cola wars between Coke and Pepsi took place during the 1990s which Coca-Cola ended up dominating in. During the period where there was a craze for soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi there were many ads that came out to represent the companies.

 

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Print Culture

 

          The 1990s was a decade when technology boomed. Before the 1990s, newspapers, novels, and magazines were very popular. In the 1990s, with the advancement of technology that was taking  place, things were not longer printed. Books were put on tape, so no longer were people reading books, but they were rather listening to them on tape.  The internet created a world of endless possibilities. New communication ways came to be, along with new ways of advertising, and publishing. Ads were now shown online more rather than just being printed and the e-mail was a new way of communicating that became very popular very fast.

 

          The “e-book” also came in style. The “e-book” allowed book publishers to just publish their books electronically and it also gave the reader the choice to just download the book to a computer if he/she did not want to go to the store, purchase the book, and read it the “old- fashioned way”. There were new magazine that were online exclusives, which meant they could only be found online and not on stands. Although these were very popular, the majority of the people stuck to reading books, magazines, and newspapers the original way.

 

          Some of the best sellers during the 1990s were Stephen King, Danielle Steel, Amy Tan, and Tom Clancy. One of the most popular book series that emerged during the 1990s was the series by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter. The story is about a young boy who realizes he is a witch and attends the magical school, Hogwarts. The book was a sensation not only in America, around the world. Even though some countries banned it because it promoted witchcraft, the book was so popular, that J.K. Rowling created 7 sequels that were just as popular as the first book.

 

Sports &  Games

 

The 1990s was a period in time where some of the most famous athletes of all time made their name in history. The one man who dominated the century was Michael Jordan, one of the most renown basketball players in history. He led his team, the Chicago Bulls, to six NBA championships. Tiger Woods, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa all gained and made their name in the 1990s. The women of the times started to progress in sports as well. They made huge achievements such as: the Women’s soccer team won their first world cup in 1991, women gymnasts won gold at the Olympics in 1996, and the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) started in 1997. ESPN started broadcasting the X-Games to the world. In 1999, Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France, two years after battling life threatening cancer. Wayne Gretzky, holds 61 hockey records, and is an all time legend who played for the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and more.  

 

 

                

 

 

Music   

          

          In the 1990’s, popular music included pop and rap. Music popularity changed from R&B to hip hop, or “club music.” There were many music groups such as the backstreet boys, N’Sync, and the Spice Girls. It was very common to see teen groups. With the development of technology, electronic music was an increasing technique. Musicians could change the pitch and tone of their original music to give it a “new” style. It also caused controversy among music artists. Some believed that it was ruing the true quality of music and did not require talent to sing or play a musical instrument. One of the most popular songs in the decade were “Bye Bye Bye” and Sir Mix A-Lots one hit wonder, “Baby Got Back.”  

 

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Government & Politics

 

The 1990s was a decade of many difficulties such as war, terrorism, and scandal. In the early days of this decade the cold war ended. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had challenged the United States in ownership of the Persian Gulf. In 1992 President Bill Clinton was voted into office. Many people did not support his ethics or his decisions such as involvement in the Whitewater land development and his denials of having an affair with a young White House intern. With the House of Representatives strongly against Clinton, they impeached him in 1998. This led the congress and the senate to question the political ethics of the United States in 1999. But in the end President Clinton finished his term and was not impeached. Government was also on a peace keeping mission at this time, for they believed that the best way to control world unrest. Although this mission was very optimistic it was tested several times throughout the course of the decade.

 

 

Leadership 

       

       In 1993, Bill Clinton became the 42th president of the United States of America.  He served two terms in office and was mainly known as an international peace maker for his success in the Middle East and Europe. He helped to negotiate the peace conference between Israel and Palestine and helped during the Yugoslav Wars for their independence against communism. 21.2 million new jobs have been created since 1993, the most jobs ever created under a single Administration (United States Economy).

 

          Clinton was also known at the “First Baby-Boomer” President. During Clinton’s campaign for presidency, he hired James Carville as one of his campaigners. He hung a sign at campaign headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, which read: "It's the economy, stupid!" This slogan attracted the American voters, thus winning the election against his opponent George Bush. Bill Clinton had charisma, and was like by the public. Some people found it surprising that Clinton had won, and not George Bush. Many people believed that he won because he caught the attention of the middle-class people. He stressed that he was going to help get the economy out of the recession, and he did eventually having the American economy go through one complete cycle of the business cycle.

 

 

The Way We Lived

 

          The extended family was becoming more common in the nineties; it included the nuclear family along with aunts, uncles, grandparents, or in-laws. Living with more relatives was beneficial for their economic life. It enabled more people to work, and all the money came to that one household. More family members could go to work, while the grandparensts stayed home to watch the kids, otherwise known as a free babysitter. In the hit series, Full House, it displayed the way of life for the majority of people in America. Danny was a single father who lives with his three daughters. If he only lived with his daughters it would be considered as nuclear family, but he also lived with his brother-in-law, and his best friend. During the decade, it was more common for children in step-families to do poorly in school and have financial needs. During some parts of Full House, the extended family did have some trouble controlling their three daughters at school and financially. The extended family was the normal standard during this era.

 

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Law &  Justice

  

          In the 1990s the populations concern was more towards crime rates, guns, juvenile violence, and the rights of minorities and women than anything else.  While we continued to improve our technology which helped us better communicate and learn, it also increased conflicts, legally and politically. Other conflicts such as women and minority civil rights were disputed across the country in courtrooms, state legislatures and even in the Congress.  One case in particular that stoop out from the rest, was the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. The crime rate within the US increased slightly at the beginning of the decade, but then it decreased slowly throughout the following years.  One type of crime that continued to increase all over the country was drug related crimes. Due to the high rise in violence and crimes committed by and against minors, state and federal agencies were forced to come up with something which would stop juvenile crimes. This was the beginning correctional boot camps, intervention programs and mentors. Because crimes involving drugs and guns continued to increase, the administrations of both presidents, George Bush and Bill Clinton, contributed towards the making of legislations. These legislations were mandatory background check-ups before one was given the right to buy a gun. There was also a drastic increase in security due to the multiple terrorist attacks within our borders. Another issue that caused public concern was the multiple troubles the President Clinton went through which started with his alleged involvement in the Whitewater land-development scheme and ended with his preachment trial in 1998.

         

     While women were still arguing and fighting over equal rights between them and men, they were still not granted those equal rights. In 1991, in a gender discrimination case, employers were forced to make the workplace safe for all workers. Later in the decade, two state-supported all-male military schools, The Citadel in South Carolina and the Virginia Military Institute, were also forced by federal law to accept women applicants. In the 1990s, President Clinton initiated a "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy for gays in the U.S. military while the Hawaii Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages. Along with this, many other states refused to allow same-sex marriages within its boundaries given the explanation that marriages are “exclusively as a union of a man and woman.” While the increase in technological capabilities created new opportunities for the American population, it also created far bigger problems. Within the decade, many states also banned human cloning. One number that stands out most from the other was the increase in Americans with access to computers which rose from 15% to 50%. While this helped Americans communicate better and have accessibility to more information faster, the internet also created privacy, censorship and national security problems.

 

Religion

  

          In the 1990s, many immigrants arrived to America and therefore many religions came along with them. Americans in the 1990s identified themselves as very religious people. Over 95% of Americans said that they believed in God. Even though the dominant religious groups were Protestants and Catholics, there were many others such as Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. The Supreme Court wrote new rules on how the government should and could regulate religious activities. For example: “In Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith (1990) the Court ruled that religious behavior is not exempt from governmental regulation as long as the intent of the regulation is general in scope and not intended to help or hinder religion.” This changed interpretations of the First Amendment that regulations had to reflect the overriding sate interest and be as less intrusive as possible. In 1998, the Congress accepted the Liberty Protection Act. This caused an increase in attention paid to the religious oppression throughout many different countries and also required the president’s response to these actions to with diplomatic and economic authorization.

 

Positive Political Cartoon

 


Even though many people say the sex scandal ruined President Bill Clinton's reputation, he still managed to do something good for the country. He kept on denying that the allegations of the affair was false, and while doing all that, he managed to propose the first balanced budged in almost 30 years. In the first couple years of the nineties, the economy was in a recession. When Bill Clinton was elected, he helped the economy prosper and regain momentum. The economy in the late nineties was great and rapidly growing from the help of President Bill Clinton and his balanced budget.

 

Negative Political Cartoon

 


The political cartoon above is a cartton that involves President Clinton. In the early 1990s, the Lewinsky Scandal took place. The Lewinsky Scandal was a political sex scandal that took place due to the relationship between the President of the United States, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year old White House intern. When the scandal broke out, President Clinton denied everything, but was later proved wrong. "Now, I have to go back to work on my State of the Union speech. And I worked on it until pretty late last night. But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you." President Clinton ended up being impeached in 1998.

  

 

MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

          Culture, events, and leadership are major factors that shaped and reflected Post-WWII America in the 1990s. WWII was a long time before this decade but the Cold War ended in the 1990s as the USSR dissolved. The Cold War was one of the events that effected America’s economy. Along with that the Cold War was what kept many Americans employed, so when it ended there were unemployment issues and people couldn’t afford what they used to be able to. That event connects to fashion in the sense that when American families had financial trouble it would affect the way that they dress. In the 1990s people dressed down in jeans and t-shirts, the style was very simple yet affordable. Now once again we can take that and link it on to culture. American culture is created through times like these, dressing the way that they dressed became a part of American culture and has made its little mark on fashion history.

            WWII itself had a major effect on some of the things that went on in America years after it ended. Our parents are part of the generation called the Baby boomers, after the war had ended and the soldiers came home and most couples decided that it was time for them to finally settle down and make their own families. With that, many babies were born and of course those babies grow up. When they grew up all of a sudden there was more competition in workplaces because there were more employees than the amount needed, which forced companies to lower wages and for people to become more competitive when it came down to jobs. That also has made its way into American culture because our lives have become much faster and much more competitive due to what the baby boomers are teaching their children from their own personal experiences. Our parents want us to succeed for a reason, they were out in the world competing for jobs because there were less jobs available than what is needed, so their point for being tough on us is so that we don’t suffer in the long run.

            Since President Bush had much to deal with internationally with the war it had a direct effect on America, the economy wasn’t as great as it could be and the people of America did suffer. The unhappiness of the Americans is partly a reason why Clinton was elected; he made promises to help the American economy and the people of America. He was re-elected and served a second term in office but was impeached near the end of his presidency.

            During WWII there wasn’t much food available for the American people that would explain why the obesity rate went up when the war ended, food was more available and people took advantage of it. Once they started to notice that the food they now have isn’t about to go anywhere people began to watch their weight and calorie intakes so that they were healthy. This shaped the food culture of the 1990s, the decade is known for creating new types of foods that were healthy for people, and things like baked chips and etc. were introduced to society, along with things like dietary supplements.

            So as you can see, WWII and the Cold War both had major effects on the American society even after they ended. Through leadership some events occur, and from the events occurring culture is formed. Everything is connected in some sort of way. Culture, Leadership and events are the biggest aspects that shaped and reflected Post WWII America.

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

          "1990s: Fashion." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 1235. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 June 2010.

 

          “1990s: Film and Theater." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 1237. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 June 2010.

 

          "1990s: Print Culture." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 1265-1266. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX3425100767&v=2.1&u=lom_inac&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w>

       

            Loschek, Ingrid. "Twentieth-Century Fashion." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 348-353. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 June 2010.

 

           "Overview." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 June 2010.

 

          "Overview." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX3468303542&v=2.1&u=lom_inac&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w>

 

          "The 1990s Government, Politics, and Law: Overview." UXL American Decades. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, et al. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 64-65. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

          "The 1990s Government, Politics, and Law: Overview." UXL American Decades. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, et al. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 64-65. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

          "The American Economy." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 June 2010.

 

          “United States Economy.” Encyclopedia of the Nations. 2010. Advameg. 4 June 2010. <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/United-States-ECONOMY.html>

          

Comments (1)

shivani_porandla3@yahoo.com said

at 7:00 pm on Jun 8, 2010

Liz can you put up pictures...cuz obviusly none of you like mine:) lol

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