--The National Geographic Channel did a short mini-series entitled, The 90's: The Last Great Decade? It has 3 parts, so I thought I'd do a post on each part and give a rundown.
--Since, the 90's was when I entered adulthood, I remember almost everything that is mentioned very well. In many cases, I remember where I was and what I was doing when the events unfolded. Yet, I did learn some new things, because for the first 3 years of the 90's I was in college and paying no attention to the outside world.
Some of the contributors who were interviewed as part of the series:
-Rob Lowe (he narrates all 3 episodes)
-Newt Gingrich
-Tucker Carlson
-Jerry Springer
-Colin Powell
-P.J. O'Rourke
-Monica Lewinsky
-Detective Tom Lange
-Matthew Perry
--Roseanne
Part One: Great Expectations
1) Gulf War
--On August 2, 1990 Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. CNN was the first news organization to air live from Baghdad when a war had started. Kuwait is liberated.
2) Humvees and Hummers
--The humvee got a lot of good press from the war. The humvee led to the creation of the hummer. Arnold Schwarzenegger ended up buying 2 of the first ones.
3) Roseanne
--She credits herself in this series as being the one who got President Bill Clinton elected. I'm not sure thats true, but even if it was, it definitely isn't something to brag about ;-).
4) Clinton's Election
--I had all 4 of my kids while Clinton was in office. It was because of his presidency that I woke up and started paying attention to politics and current events. I was outraged by his lack of morality.
This series credits Clinton and his team with inventing the spin machine for how to get out of tough spots, and Clinton had many. James Carville was the leader and can probably be credited for keeping Clinton from being impeached.
5) Vanilla Ice and the Hip Hop Culture
--Vanilla Ice had a quick rise to fame, even though it didn't last long.
6) The Fresh Prince of Bel-air
--The series credited Will Smith and cast on the Fresh Prince with giving a new and better image of the black man.
--My oldest son used to get very excited when this show came on and would "dance" in his high chair to the theme song. The show always came on when I was fixing supper.
7) Rodney King
--This was an event that I didn't know much about because I was in college when it happened. And while I was outraged about about the Rodney King beating, and think the police shouldn't have been acquitted, it doesn't excuse or justify what happened afterwards.
--I was horrified as I watched the footage of black men beating and almost killing Reginald Denny. Denny's skull was fractured 91 times. Titus Murphy was one of the four people who rescued Denny and got him to the hospital. He was a true hero.
--The riots ended up killing 55 people and causing $1 billion in damages. How is killing innocent people and ruining businesses in your own neighborhood going to fix police brutality?
8) Clarence Thomas
--There are few things that outrage me as much as Anita Hill being used by liberals to try and destroy Clarence Thomas's life, character and chance to be a Supreme Court Justice. Thank goodness she wasn't successful, but it bothers me to this day that many still mistakenly believe he was guilty. Anita Hill is a disgrace to all the women who have been genuinely sexually harrassed.
--And the U.S. is fortunate that Thomas is on the supreme court, he is an honorable man.
9) Thelma and Louise
--A rogue movie in the 90's.
10) The Rise of the Bimbo
--Anna Nicole Smith got a breast enlargement and it led to a huge rise in women getting the surgery.
--She was one of the first people to become famous for no rhyme or reason, but many would follow.
11) The Decade of the Internet
--The world wide web transforms people's lives.
--Bill Gates makes computers accessible and affordable for everyone. By 2013, Gates is the world's #1 philanthropist.
--In the 80's, there was a movie called, Revenge of the Nerds. In the 90's, the movie actually happens.
12) Generation X
--Nirvana is one of the many voices of Generation X. Kurt Cobain commits suicide.
13) Reality TV
--The Real World launches a new genre of TV, reality TV.
--Court TV airs the Jeffrey Dahmer trial live.
14) The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing
--It was treated as a criminal justice matter and the men who were responsible were arrested. It should've been seen as an act of war.
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