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B4 1990s Gallagher

Page history last edited by Jessi Sun 13 years, 9 months ago

Jessi Sun, Shalin Shah, and Kate Kapas

 

 

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

 

The 1990s:

"Wax on, Wax off"

 

 

Business & the Economy

 

 

Business and economy in the 1990s was remarkably very efficient.  In the midst of success, old assumptions regarding how to run a business became obsolete.  Probably the most revolutionary advancement to the business and economy throughout the 1990s would be the enhanced feasibility of the Internet.  With the internet, entrepreneurs were about to access an easy to access, cheap, and effective medium to connect with the public.  In regards to the economy, the new usage of the Internet critically enhanced its rate of growth, all while stabilizing rates of inflation.  This new economy of the 1990s challenged many previous assumptions concerning the economy, one such being inflation rates with a growing population and low unemployment.  In regards to the workplace, people with top business positions earned high salaries, particularly because there were not enough people to fill these specialized positions.  Women however did work their way into the American work force, but were still slightly denied access to top business positions.  The economy and business of the 1990s drastically boomed with the introduction of the use of the internet.

 

 

Education

 

 

Over the course of the 1990s, several concerns were at the forefront of educational policymakers' minds: "declining" educational standards and "increasing" school violence. Emphasis was placed on the lackluster standardized test scores across the US-- authorities declared that teachers would need to step up curriculum or face salary cuts. The President, Bill Clinton, passed several bills concerning the educational standards schools had to meet. During this time, the controversial No Child Left Behind act was also passed in order to give children with fewer opportunities an equal chance at education.

 

Parents were also concerned over the seeming dip in education, especially since economic standards were low and job competition was high. They sent children to alternative forms of education, such as private schools or charter schools; some even turned to homeschooling. Many parents whose children remained in public schooling only allowed this because they couldn't afford private school and couldn't get school vouchers.

 

Media coverage of school school violence, especially in high schools, increased tension over education. However, it wasn't until the 19999 Columbine High School shooting that fears were confirmed. Suddenly, the whole nation was on edge; in particular, an eye was kept out for young males bringing in potential weapons to school. School held frequent random locker searches or split off a chunk of the budget to bring in police forces with dogs and to purchase metal detectors. Many parents also blamed the increase in violence shown in the media on the generation's increased consumption of entertainment with "violent" messages like rap and television.

 

 

Fashion

 

 

Right from the onset of the 1990s, the clothing became more casual and comfortable with an emphasis on being both affordable and minimalist. Where the previous decade had emphasized its aggressiveness with powerful, broad-shouldered, professional clothing, now the 1990s wanted a more laid-back feel.

 

Throughout the '90s, denim was very popular-- girls would cycle through colored jeans and guys would wear saggy jeans with wider hips, due in part to Levis influence. Knit tops, thick-soled shoes, and fake fur (due to animal rights activists) were also added to wardrobes. Also, a prominent increase in female work clothingcould be seen.

 

During the early '90s, grunge fashion, which generally consisted of baggy T-shirts, loose jeans, and a worn-out look, was popularized by designers like Marc Jacobs. Midriff-revealing shirts and sports clothing were also widely enjoyed. By the mid-'90s, however, attention was drawn towards older styles. For example, girls wore more formfitting, flowing clothing: sating gowns from the '30s, A-line dresses from the '60s, and even bellbottoms from '90s. Military and patriotic clothing were also important during this post-Gulf War period, as well as futuristic styles thanks to the 1995 Jupiter landing prediction. Finally, at the end of the '90s, trends turned towards khaki pants for the guys because of Tiger Woods' influence, more revealing, overtly sexualized clothing for the girls due to pop idol influences like Britney Spears, and preppy styles.

 

 

 

Film and theater

 

The 1990s had many revivals and "remakes" in the film and theater industries. These brought back movies that people had loved before and were brought before a whole new audience. One such movie was Romeo and Juliet. Unlike previous versions however, this was set in a modern time with guns and cars.

 

The 90s did not have all remakes of movies though. Many popular movie were completely original. Some of these were Forrest Gump (1994) a movie based on a book written in 1986, Titanic (1997) based off of the sinking of the ship by the same name with a love story thrown into the story line, and Shakespeare in Love (1998) a movie based on the inside life of William Shakespeare. Titanic is scheduled to be re-released in 2012 in 3D.

 

 

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Above is a slideshow of some popular movies from the 1990s.

But none of these movies would have been possible if not for the technological advances. Some of these were the creation of better special effects to draw the watcher into the movie and the improvement of animation. Some of the most loved movies for children would not have been possible if not for these changes.

 

Movies were not the only thing that made 90s entertainment. Along with movies came the boom in the theater industry and the creation of hit television shows. Some popular television shows that people still watch the reruns of today are "Friends", "Full House", "Roseanne", and "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air". Some shows from the 90s are still shown during primetime. Some shows like this are "The Simpsons", "King of Queens", and "America's Most Wanted".

 

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Above are YouTube videos showing clips of '90s media.

 

Due to Broadway performing live showings of some of the popular shows of the time, there was a renewed love of performing arts. Some notable shows of the time are Chicago (which was brought back to the stage as a reprise of a well loved play) and The Lion King (based off of the hit Disney® movie). These live show put a new spin on the stories that people knew with different actors and actresses who brought their own "flavor" to the stage.

 


 

Food &  Drink

 

The 90s had some of the popular food brands and products that we see today. The 90s had a spark in awareness of what exactly people put in their bodies. On November 8th, 1990 the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act was passed that mandated that companies say how many calories and fat was in their products. 

 

The 90s was not only a time of weight watching. It was also a time of product development. During this decade we had the Coca-Cola® vs. Pepsi® battle of the products of which Coca-Cola ended up the winner. New products of this time were Healthy Choice® from Kellogg, Pizza Hut came out with their stuff crust pizza, Lay's Baked Potato Chips, and V8 Splash.

 

 

Above is a picture of a restaurant menu from the 90s.

 

Print Culture

 

In the 1990s, the usage of Internet drastically increased. Now it was possible for people to read entire ebooks online with just a few clicks and a payment. People enjoyed this ease-of-use and newspaper subscriptions saw a decline, although tabloids, magazines, like Entertainment Weekly which started in the '90s, and archived versions of newspapers enjoyed online readership. The other reason newspaper subscriptions went down was because fewer people saw the necessity in receiving the news when the Internet's resources were seemingly right at their fingerprints, especially because basic search engines, such as Google, were started up during this time. Also, besides the Internet, audiobooks became more readily available, allowing people to listen to books on the way to work, saving them precious time. (Print Culture)

 

 

A screencap of the beta version of Google.

 

However, despite this sudden wave of possibility, many people clung to the hardcover copies of their books. When JK Rowling's Harry Potter series began publication in the late '90s, in fact, it brought many people who had turned towards the Internet for reading back to the world of print. It even convinced the younger generation to pick up books again.

 

 

The original cover for the first book in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.

 

 

Sports & Games

 

Sports and games of the nineties were different from previous decades in the fact that they were not primarily about the actual playing of the sports.  Americans all over the country enjoyed watching famous people play sports.  The media and television made these sports very similar to television shows and they became a form of entertainment for Americans.  Many superstars excelled at their sports while common Americans were trying to get into shape.  “The business of athletics kept getting bigger.” (Baughman) Small cities had ballparks in hopes that famous people would play there and many Americans that wanted to imitate their idols took up sports as well.  With all of the popularity of sports, sports memorabilia became a big deal as Americans collected baseball cards and sold them for large sums.  

 

This decade was a good decade for women’s sports as well.  Many women gained fame in the sporting industry.  Mia Hamm was a renowned soccer player and there were many well known ice skaters.  Even though the sports world was changing, traditional sports still had most of the spotlight.  Baseball was very popular and players like Carl Ripken Jr., Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa were well-known and acclaimed during the time.  Michael Jordan was an amazing basketball player that was on the court for most of the decade as well.  Tennis was a popular sport as well but not quite as popular as baseball and football which were considered “All-American sports.”  During World War II, Football was a very respected sport as football players became great soldiers due to their strength.  Thus, many men and boys took up the sport and encouraged their children and children’s children to do the same, explaining the great popularity of it in the 1990s.  

 

A photo of Michael Jordan as he prepares to shoot.

 

As far as games were concerned there were lots of video games and board games during the time.  Board games typically had to do with television or sports.  Many board games were centered around already popular things so that they would get bought.  Video games were a whole other story as the technology made it possible for lots of exciting changes in the industry.  There were also interesting toys that could not have been possible without technology but were not as complex as video games such as Tamagotchis.    

 


A colorful ad for the Tamagotchi toy.

 

 

Music

 

Interestingly enough, music during the 1990s veered towards the undefined. Musicians began creating alternative forms of every genre, for example alternative rock and country. Experimenting with several different genres to create something resembling one but also part of the other was very popular.

 

Over the entire decade of the '90s, new forms of music sharing such as the music venue Lollapalooza and rave parties were explored. Michael Jackson was very influential throughout all of the '90s. With the end of the Cold War, however, political messages in music declined.

 

More specifically, though, during the early '90s, catchy songs such as Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby and alternative songs such as Verve Pipe's The Freshmen were well known. Grunge music was popular with bands such as Marilyn Manson, Green Day, Metallica and, above all, Nirvana being credited with the popularity of this style of music. Kurt Cobey of Nirvana was especially admired. In the mid-'90s, music turned towards teen pop, thanks to the Spice Girls and boy bands like NSync and The Backstreet Boys, who set catchy music to younger faces, along with more general pop like Donna Lewis' I Love You Always Forever. In counterpart to both the harsher, angrier sounds of grunge and the upbeat sweetness of the teen pop was Mariah Carey's more soulful songs about caring and treasuring loved ones. Come the late '90s, solo singer Shakira was topping the charts, next to ska band No Doubt, the lead singer of which, Gwen Stefani, would later go on to become a soloist herself, country artists like Shania Twain, and pop rock bands like Sixpence None the Richer and The Cardigans. At the end of the '90s, teenaged pop idols were being set up for fame: Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, and Christina Aguilera were all marketed for their youth and their music was embedded with more blatant sexuality than the rest of the decade's music. Smash Mouth and Muse were two other bands that enjoyed popularity at the end of the '90s.

 


http://8tracks.com/shadowpup88/90s-history-project-tracklist

TRACKLIST:

Black or White | Michael Jackson

Ice Ice Baby | Vanilla Ice

The Freshmen | Verve Pipe

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) | Marilyn Manson

Time of Your Life | Green Day

Enter Sandman | Metallica

Smells Like Teen Spirit | Nirvana

Wannabe | Spice Girls

Tearin' Up My Heart | NSync

I Want It That Way | Backstreet Boys

I Love You Always Forever | Donna Lewis

All I Want For Christmas Is You | Mariah Carey

Ciega, Sordumuda | Shakira

Don't Speak | No Doubt

What Made You Say That | Shania Twain

Kiss Me | Sixpence None The Richer

Lovefool | The Cardigans

Ironic | Alanis Morisette

...Baby One More Time | Britney Spears

Candy | Mandy Moore

Reflection | Christina Aguilera

All Star | Smash Mouth

Muscle Museum | Muse

 

 

"The Way We Lived" 

 

The lifestyle of the average American during the 1990s was very similar to the lifestyle of the average American now.  In the 1990s, nuclear families declined in popularity and many children were raised by grandparents or step parents.  Families increased in size and lots of extended families became closer. It wasn’t all about the nuclear family anymore.  The Internet became common during this time and people started to do things on the Internet that they had never done before such as shopping and playing games.  Americans enjoyed many different kinds of fast food and the obesity rate went way up.  Americans played all sorts of games.  Cell phones became way more common as well.  There was a television in almost every single American household.  Super Mario was a big hit as teens everywhere played video games. 

 

 

(Note: Above is a version of Super Mario World that is playable on home computers. Screencap below.)

 

 

 

Government & Politics

 

The government and political body of the 1990s in America were marked with war, terrorism, and civil rights.  With the end of communism final at the beginning of the decade, the United States called for a “new world order,” in which the global security would be based on international relationships and trade.  After the Cold War, threats against America and its political body were high.  Not only this, but the global security was at stake with high threats from terrorism too.  In August of 1990, Saddam Hussein challenged America in the Persian Gulf by invading Kuwait, a major source of America’s oil.  After the war with Iran, Iraq’s market was weak and thus they accused Kuwait of supplying the market with too much oil, causing much dispute between them.  As this argument was settled throughout the decade, it left uneasy religious tensions throughout the Middle East.  Internally, America’s public was weary of presidential nominee Bill Clinton of his alleged relations with the Whitewater scandal.  Along with this, his scandal with a White House intern, his impeachment from presidency became successful in 1998.  Throughout the 1990s, the internal and external struggles truly shaped how America functions during the present day.

 

 

A breakdown of the world's oil supply.

 

 

Leadership

 

William J. Clinton was sworn into office as President of the United States on January 20th, 1993 by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Before he took the office however, he was the Governor of AK. After four years, of being the 42nd president, he ran again for the presidential office. This time, however, he had the problem of Monica Lewinsky. The scandal that followed the two will forever overshadow the former president's acts for the bettering of our country. He was the 2nd president to be impeached in office. (Cooke)

 


President Bill Clinton during his Inauguration.

 

 

Law &  Justice

 

One of the most defining aspects of the 1990s law and justice system would have to be O.J. Simpson’s trial.  While Americans typically did not take too much interest in the legal system, O.J. Simpson was a famous football player so all of his fans took a lot of interest.  He was thought to have killed his ex-wife and her friend.  He was eventually found not guilty.  Americans were glued to the television and this case became the obsession of many.  In other news concerning the law, due to the increased number of children being raised by grandparents or stepparents or even single parents there was an increase in juvenile crime which was combated by boot camps.  There were some equal rights for women that were argued at the time as well.  In a particular case, “the Supreme Court ruled that employers cannot bear women of child-bearing age from workplaces where they might be exposed to toxic substances.  Rather, employers must make the workplace safe for all workers.” (Baughman) While it would benefit women and their children to be banned from those places, the Supreme Court was finally treating women as equals and thinking of the average American as a whole not just the women.  With all of the developments in technology, many Americans also disputed the legality of some science, especially genetic science.

 

 

A mugshut of OJ Simpson.

 

 

Religion

 

 

Surprisingly enough, the 90s was a very religious time period in America. Approximately 95% of the people in the population identified that they were in fact religious in some way. It was ruled by the Supreme Court however in Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith (1990) that religious behavior was not above the government as long as the rulings did not have an effect on those practicing the religion. For example, under this ruling, it was okay for Christians under the age of 21 to drink the alcoholic Communion wine. 

 

 

 

Positive Political Cartoon

 

 

(Washington Post)

 

 

Negative Political Cartoon



(Washington Post)

 

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

 

Post-WWII American or, more specifically, the final decade before the turn of the twenty-first century, the 1990s, was shaped by defining trends and events throughout the entirety of the decade from the culture to the events and even the leadership. Culture turned more towards self-expression and became more relaxed, while events ranged from the boom of Internet culture to the Gulf War, and leadership involved Presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton both. 

 

As far as 1990's culture was concerned, the end of the Cold War meant that the Generation X of the time chose to be more laidback and express themselves better. Fashion styles changed yearly depending on whatever caught the current interest of the young generation, which included younger people in the workforce, especially women. Similarly, music styles all depended on the interests of the younger generation; for example, in the early '90s, grunge ouwardly showed the yougner generation's hardships. Due to economic issues, emphasis was placed on new gaming equipment or toys, like Tamagotchi and video games, or even sports being more simple and affordable, yet also widely-available, due to the increasing use of the Internet for online shopping and communication. If the American mindset had been speeding up earlier in the decade, now all everyone wanted was faster, sooner, better, cheaper, although usually all four could not be delivered. However, again, with the Internet and another boom in the fast food industry, Americans were able to find ways to cut down on the time used for everyday activities. Conversely, dietary trends shifted towards looking at having a healthier prospective future with dieting plans starting up during this decade.

 

With a notably suspicious lack of a decade-long war looming over the heads of the 1990s, it would not be surprising to discover that special focus was paid to smaller attention-grabbing events. With the booming Internet culture came a manageable method for instant communication, online shopping, personal expressions, accessing information, and speeding up globalization. Also, the successful Gulf War increased American patriotism, the reunification of Germany served importance, and even the OJ Simpson trial held much significance simply because it showed the changing mindset people had for sports. Because Simpson was a famous athlete, thousands of people followed the trial, avidly watching for updates, which showed how sports mindsets had drifted more towards being a business than pure enjoyment. 

 

Finally, although few leaders stood out during this decade, the Presidents both served intriguing terms. President Bush, infamous for his dealings with the Middle East, and President Clinton, infamous for his fending off scandals and impeachment, both had varyingly successful years.  While Bush ended the Cold War, which affected the entire decade, Clinton brought in a liberal administration, which included decreasing the budget deficit, attempting to implement healthcare and open-mindedness towards gay rights, and an increase in women in high leadership positions, especially in the government. 

 

Thus, throughout the '90s, a shifting mindset towards being relaxed and open, as well as more individually expressive, was evident, from the rapid changes in fashion in music to the rising use of the Internet to the liberal movements of the government party. 

 

 

 

Works Cited

"1990s: Print Culture." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Gale Virtual Reference Library. 29 May 2010.

 

"Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union.." The American Presidency Project. 2009. University of California. Web. 17 Jun. 2009 

 

Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: U*X*L, 2002. Print.

 

Cooke, Jacob E. "Washington, George." Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. 3rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 1- 21. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Farmington Hills: Gale. Web. 30 Apr. 2008. 

 

"Europe Divided on Familiar Lines To Two Speeches." Prescott Evening Courier 54(1948): 6. Print.

 

"Overview." American Decades Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Gale Virtual Reference Library. 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>.


 "Washingtonpost.com: Herblock." Washingtonpost.com - Nation, World, Technology and Washington Area News and Headlines. Web. 10 June 2010. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/herblock/herblock1.htm>.

 

 

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