The 90’s are back or did they never leave?
According to Popular Culture Professor at Humber College, Naveen Joshi, the 90’s never left.
“Television is rerunning shows from the 90’s because the demand is so high. We didn’t have all of these outlets before,” said Joshi.
The 90’s have the biggest impact on Pop Culture now, from the fashion industry to the entertainment industry being seen mostly in remakes of music and movies.
As for fashion, retail store Forever 21 released a controversial clothing line depicting lyrics of popular 90’s rap group NWA, which had to halt production because it was deemed too offensive.
“It’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad,” said Joshi, “but that might not be the point”.
Although Joshi doesn’t believe in the 20-year-cycle of decades, he does think that certain sociopolitical conditions make the 90’s so popular now.
“Popular culture has many definitions, but the most common factor is that it is something that is appreciated by a large amount of people. It’s not just for young people anymore,” said Joshi.
The biggest factor of the 90’s, that is still an important issue today, is privacy erosion, according to Joshi.
“It was the first time people were willing to open their hard drives to others. It was a gateway for sites like Facebook and Twitter where people are now just willing to give out their personal information,” said Joshi.
90’s trivia host, Kaleb Robertson at Toronto’s Wayla Bar loves everything about the decade, and that’s why he initially started hosting trivia nights at The Gladstone in the West End.
“The Gladstone trivia night got so big, my friends don’t even come out anymore. It got too busy,” said Robertson.
Wayla bar has many nights specific to the LGBT community, but is inclusive to everyone. They have a zero tolerance policy for any homophobic, racist or sexist attitudes and their cliental reflects that.
The correlation between the gay community and 90’s culture is evident through this popular trivia night.
“It was the era of people coming out. Ellen came out, the first gay male kiss was on Dawson’s creek, and the first lesbian wedding was on Friends. It was really in the 90’s where all that stuff came out in the open and was talked about for the first time.”
Reporting by Sarah Sobanski and Victoria Williston
