1990s Movies

There is a big difference between the movies of the 1960s and the movies of the 1990s. One of the differences is the use of CGI. CGI did not exist in the 1960s. But, the new technology improved the production of movies and allowed for directors to fully get their vision across on screen. Both movies we watched in class, Titanic and Forrest Gump, make use of CGI in some way. Titanic uses it to recreate most of the exterior of the ship, and some of the inside as well. It allowed the ship to appear much grander than the set that was built. Forrest Gump also uses CGI technology. The film makers were able to remove Lieutenant Dan's legs, even though the actor who portrays him has legs. The movies of the 1960s would never be able to show many of the scenes in both of these movies simply because the technology was not available at the time. Another difference is the production value of the movies. Titanic and Forrest Gump were both big budget movies. The film makers spent a lot of money making the movies. In the 1960s, the budgets for movies was much smaller. Movies did not spend nearly as much to be made. I think CGI is something that is much better about the movies of the 1990s compared to 60s movies. It allows movies to create something that otherwise would not exist. On the other hand, the movies of the 60s represent a much simpler time in film making. Everything that was in the movie had to be filmed. There could be nothing digital added later. Because of that, the movies of the 60s are definitely simpler. The movies are also more natural because nothing digital could be added later and the movies had to be filmed in their entirety with all the pieces in place beforehand. I liked the movies of the 90s better than the older movies. In today's world, the 1960s movies seem extremely outdated. Even the1990s movies are becoming outdated because the technology has improved so much, but those movies are closer to a movie that would be released today.

1990s TV

The TV of the 1990s definitely changes from previous decades and is connected to the events of the decade. The sitcoms we watched in class have dirtier jokes than seen in previous decades. In the episode of Seinfeld, one of the plots of the episode revolves around Jerry swearing in front of a child. The word is bleeped out, but it is still clear to the audience which word was said. This language would not have been allowed previously, especially in a show from the 1960s or 1970s, which were all more family oriented shows. Seinfeld and Friends are both about a group of single friends living in the city. Sitcoms of previous decades were more focused on the entire family. This change definitely reflects the cultural changes of the decade. Young people especially are more willing to watch TV that includes sexual content. Also, the subject matter of President Clinton's impeachment made Americans more open to sexual content on TV. The Simpsons included lots of pop culture references throughout the episode, which was interesting to watch. Law and Order was one of the main crime shows of the decade. It is the first series to show both the investigation of a crime and the court process. One thing I noticed about the show is that of the main characters, none of them are female. Both the team of cops and lawyers were all male. Most shows today include female characters, so it speaks to the nature of the television industry that still in the 90s there are shows without female characters.

Bill Clinton

I don't think Bill Clinton should have been impeached. He was not guilty of a crime. I also don't think he should have been found guilty. He technically did not commit a crime or lie under oath. His affair with Monica Lewinsky was not against the law. America seemed to be more open to sexual jokes on TV because of the nature of Clinton's relationship with Lewinsky. The event definitely had an impact on America.

1990s Music 2

I really like the music of the 1990s. One of my favorite bands is the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and I was glad to see two of their songs on the playlist. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is another of my favorites, and almost single-handedly made grunge popular. The varying genres of music appealed to every type of American. No matter who a person was, they could find a genre that they liked. Americans definitely seemed to like variety in the 90s, which still seems true today. Songs by Tim McGraw appealed to the country fans, and Vanilla Ice showed that white guys could be hip hop superstars. This variety is reflective of the different tastes of the American people.

1990s Music 1

The music changed a lot from the 1960s to the 1990s. The music of the 1960s was mostly happy and upbeat. There were few sexual references used in the music and it was all pretty clean. The music of the 1990s is more provocative and explicit than the 1960s music. Rap is also a popular genre of the 90s, and it did not exist in the 60s. America is much more comfortable with the sexual content in the music by the time the 90s roll around. This type of content in the 60s would have been frowned upon and thought of extremely scandalous. Songs like "I'm too Sexy" and "You Oughta Know" would never have been hits in the 1960s. People in the 1960s seemed more conservative than the Americans of the 90s.

1990s Overview

For the 1990s, I'd like to look at Columbine, the OJ trial, and the Oklahoma City bombing.