Blog: Top 5 Pieces of 90s Pop Culture Nostalgia

I am a child of the ‘90s, and I’m betting you are too. Okay, raise of hands, whose mother styled them in printed leggings, poufy ‘80s throwback bangs, and multicolored scrunchies? Bad fashion aside, I don’t think I really appreciated the wonder of this decade until well into it, and maybe not even until into the early Aughties. So, here is a list of key 90s pop culture I miss, most of which aren’t even played in reruns on ABC Family. 

5) “Boy Meets World”
The first time I entered the world of Corey, Topanga, and Mr. Feeny, I was probably 11 and watching afternoon Disney Channel programming. Needless to say, I was blown away by the intricate story lines, clever humor, and accurate depiction of high school… and that’s not a joke. Recently, Rider Strong (who played Corey’s best friend Shawn Hunter) said that Corey and Topanga would probably be divorced by now because they got married so young. He is a big, fat liar.

4) Girl Pop
Though I can profess to love Katy Perry and Ke$ha, it can never really match my verve for ‘90s girl pop. The first CD I ever owned was Britney Spears’s “…Baby, One More Time.” I listened to that CD for hours and hours and could sing every word to the first two tracks, “Stronger,” and “Oops…I Did It Again” (even the weird space conversation part.) Still, Brit wasn’t the only high point in ‘90s music. Who doesn’t love calling out, “So tell me what you want, what you really really want!”?

3) Goosebumps
I’ll confess—I have never read one of R.L. Stine’s sixty-two book series, but it was still a significant portion of my (and millions of other children’s) life. In the second grade, I walked by the used-book fair and noticed one of the books. The cover was of a nice family photo of a barbecue: a mom, a dad, two kids, and a dog. And they were all skeletons. I blame “Say Cheese… And Die” for my aversion to cameras.

2) Commercials
Back in the day, I loved a good commercial. Now, it seems all of my favorites have either vanished or have been completely corrupted. Cookie Crisp’s “You can’t eat cookies for breakfast!” has been replaced with a lame wolf-version of the Trix rabbit (who, by the way, I just want to see eat the gosh darn yogurt and be done with it.) Nineties commercials had a fun, crazy vibe to them that commercials today just can’t obtain. There is no crazy huge Kool-Aid pitcher bursting through brick walls and there are no kids whose heads change into fruits when they eat Gushers. It’s just sad.

1) The WB
The WB has been the most important innovator in teen television. From “Felicity,” to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” these shows are truly my favorites, even today in a non-nostalgic kind of way. I can even enjoy a good “Seventh Heaven” if I’m in the mood (which, admittedly, is not often.) The demise of the WB has been the saddest development in my life thus far…and that’s only slightly a joke. Thankfully, Netflix exists, so I can enjoy them again and again, as well as YouTube, where I can watch the yearly promos of every WB star dancing around in random warehouses to “My Generation”. TV will never be this good.