Mid90s Hype
I want to live in the 90′s.
I’m sure I’m just so taken with the cool aesthetic as are other current models, Instagramers and millennials right now.
Albeit the grungy torn up jeans ARE cool, the hip hop scene was killer, cult classics like Clueless will always be fun to watch, and I’m sure watching hit shows like Friends influenced a lot of girls to strive to be as cute and effortless as Monica and Rachel were...sorry, Phoebs. I love you, your style is just rare, but not any less cute.
There’s just something else hidden in that era that a lot of people of today are so pulled into. I get glimpses of that hidden quality with the influences of my aunts and uncles who were kids and teens in the 90s, and to this day, they are just so cool as fuck. They have always fascinated me. The way their eyes light up when someone mentions Reality Bites, the way they just automatically groove into the Roger Rabbit, the Cabbage Patch, etc. when a hit tune from that time plays. The way they explain the complicated history and rivalries of rap artists, the way they just joke and play around like kids just reflects what must have been the level of playfulness and exploration of freedom they were delving into back then.
So far, the piece of artwork of today that definitely captures the hype of that decade so authentically is Mid90s (2018) dir. Jonah Hill. I haven’t even watched it yet, but if you just watch the trailer, I guarantee that you will be taken by it without it giving away any of the major scenes or plotlines. I know I shouldn’t be swayed by trailers alone, but you can tell some trailers are exceptions. There are those few that are just as good, or at least reflects the essence of the movie without giving much away, (e.g. The Social Network (2010) dir. David Fincher).
Watching interviews of Jonah Hill talking about his latest project makes you wanna keep listening to his wise words and entertaining anecdotes about that era. It truly made me wish I was just as formed and surrounded by that atmosphere. He truly grew up in that time, he witnessed the style evolve, and he hung out with actual skaters. The way he talks about skaters, for those who do not skate, makes you see them as purely motivated artists with so much in their hearts and so much to tell. Finally, a movie that doesn’t depict skaters as that stoner friend or just dudes wasting their time on a piece of wood and breaking any bone for fun as they go.
Just the effortlessness of how the 90s kids used to dress, the art and passion they inherited from the music that surrounded them, and the environment that didn’t have to rely on social media at any time during the day seemed like such a thrill of a lifestyle that a lot of us seem to want to achieve these days.
Whatever anyone’s or my opinion is about the film after having actually watched it, I am so grateful that Jonah Hill even wanted to showcase a story like this. These are the kinds of movies that I want to pay for. The idea is so refreshing but so deceptively simple, universal and most importantly, authentically human.
