The 1990s (pronounced "nineteen-nineties"; shortened to "the '90s") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on 1 January 1990, and ended on 31 December 1999.
In the absence of world communism, which collapsed in the first two years of the decade, the 1990s was politically defined by a movement towards the right-wing, including increase in support for far-right parties in Europe[1] as well as the advent of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party[2] and cuts in social spending in the United States,[3] Canada,[4] New Zealand,[5] and the UK.[6] The United States also saw a massive revival in the use of the death penalty in the 1990s, which reversed in the early 21st century.[7] During the 1990s the character of the European Union and Euro were formed and codified in treaties.
A combination of factors, including the continued mass mobilization of capital markets through neo-liberalism, the thawing of the decades-long Cold War, the beginning of the widespread proliferation of new media such as the Internet from the middle of the decade onwards, increasing skepticism towards government, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to a realignment and reconsolidation of economic and political power across the world and within countries. The dot-com bubble of 1997–2000 brought wealth to some entrepreneurs before its crash between 2000 and 2001.
The 1990s saw extreme advances in technology, with the World Wide Web, the first gene therapy trial, and the first designer babies[8] all emerging in 1990 and being improved and built upon throughout the decade.
... that the singer Luci van Org followed up her mainstream success from the 1990s by starting a "Latin–disco–pop–country crossover" band?
... that Bulkboeken ('bulk books') were cheap reprints of Dutch literary classics, published from 1971 to the late 1990s, and again from 2007?
... that Cliff Christl, who became the Green Bay Packers team historian in 2014, estimated that he had recorded more than 250 oral histories with past players and coaches since the 1990s?
Image 7Rwandan genocide: Genocide victims in Murambi Technical School. Estimates put the death toll of the Rwandan genocide as high as 800,000 people. (from 1990s)
Image 8Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Seattle, Washington. (from 1990s in music)
Image 47The compact disc reached its peak in popularity in the 1990s, and not once did another audio format surpass the CD in music sales from 1991 throughout the remainder of the decade. By 2000, the CD accounted for 92.3% of the entire market share in regard to music sales. (from 1990s)
Image 48Flag map of the world from 1992 (from 1990s)
Image 50Pagers became widely popular. (from 1990s)
Image 51The federal building that was bombed in the Oklahoma City bombing two days after the bombing, viewed from across the adjacent parking lot. (from 1990s)
Image 52The Nasdaq Composite displaying the dot-com bubble, which ballooned between 1997 and 2000. The bubble peaked on Friday, 10 March 2000. (from 1990s)
Image 86Oasis were the biggest band of the 1990s Britpop scene and the only band to make a significant impact in the US market. (from 1990s in music)
Image 87Go-go boots became fashionable again in 1995. They were worn by women of the hip-hop, alternative, and dance subcultures. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 88Trio in 1995 wearing neutral-colored tops and relaxed-fit, slim-leg pants and jeans. (from 1990s in fashion)
Image 120The catsuit became a trend in the late 1990s. Normally made of latex, PVC, or spandex, it was often worn with high-heeled boots. (from 1990s in fashion)
Lyricist Howard Ashman pitched the idea, and the screenplay went through three drafts before Disney Studios president, Jeffrey Katzenberg, agreed to its production. The animators based their designs on the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, and computers were used for both finishing the artwork and creating some animated elements. The musical score was composed by Alan Menken, and features six songs with lyrics written by both Ashman and Tim Rice, the latter of whom took over following Ashman's death. (Full article...)
Production on A Bug's Life began shortly after the release of Toy Story in 1995. The ants in the film were redesigned to be more appealing, and Pixar's animation unit employed technical innovations in computer animation. Randy Newman composed the music for the film. During production, a controversial public feud erupted between Steve Jobs and Lasseter of Pixar and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg due to the parallel production of his similar film Antz, which was released the month prior. (Full article...)
The film's screenplay was adapted by Stone and Zachary Sklar from the books On the Trail of the Assassins by Garrison and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs. Stone described this account as a "counter-myth" to the Warren Commission's "fictional myth". JFK's embrace of conspiracy theories made it controversial. Many major American newspapers ran editorials accusing Stone of spreading untruths, including the claim that Kennedy was killed as part of a coup d'état to install Lyndon B. Johnson in his place. (Full article...)
Mulan was the first of three features produced primarily at the Disney animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) in Bay Lake, Florida. Development for the film began in 1994, when a number of artistic supervisors were sent to China to receive artistic and cultural inspiration. (Full article...)
McKenna wrote the script based on his own childhood and experiences of growing up in San Diego. He sold the script to New Line Cinema, which was impressed by the writing. American History X was Kaye's first directorial role in a feature film. Budgeted at $20 million, filming took place in 1997. Before the film's release, Kaye and the film studio were in disagreements about the final cut of the film, which Norton had played a pivotal role in conceiving. The final version was longer than Kaye intended, which resulted in him publicly disowning the film, thus negatively affecting his directing career. (Full article...)
Image 6
Parasite Eve (Japanese: パラサイト・イヴ, Hepburn: Parasaito Ivu) is a 1997 Japanese science fiction film that was directed by Masayuki Ochiai and is based on the 1995 novel Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena. Kiyomi (Riona Hazuki), the wife of Toshiaki Nagashima (Hiroshi Mikami), is left brain dead after a traffic accident on the day of their first wedding anniversary. Nagashima attempts to make Kiyomi live again by making a deal with a doctor who wants to harvest Kiyomi's kidneys for transplanting into a young girl in the same hospital. Nagashima agrees on the condition that he can have his wife's liver. While Nagashima experiments with the organ, the doctor finds one night the samples have emerged as a gelatinous form in the form of Toshiaki's dead wife and reveal themselves as an organization of sentient mitochondria that are bent on making a new species that will wipe out humanity.
In 1997, Kadokawa Shoten decided to use the film production side of its business to develop a film version of Parasite Eve, making it its first film in three years. The film was co-produced by Kadokawa and Fuji TV's Motion Picture Division. Ochiai made his debut as a feature film director, having worked in Japanese television on horror series such as Night Head. Parasite Eve was filmed in eight weeks with a budget of ¥550 million. Ochiai was not entirely pleased with the result of the film, feeling he was pressured to push the love story element of the story, later saying there were "so many compromises I had to make that it couldn't be a true horror movie". The film was released in Japan on February 1, 1997, with limited release outside the country. It received mixed reviews; The Daily Yomiuri found the film "mildly enjoyable at times" and Fangoria called it "flawed but fascinating". (Full article...)
Image 7
Strange Days is a 1995 American science fiction thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, from a screenplay by James Cameron and Jay Cocks, and based on a story by Cameron. The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Michael Wincott, and Vincent D'Onofrio. Set in Los Angeles on the last two days of 1999, the film follows Lenny Nero (Fiennes), a black marketeer of an electronic device that allows a user to experience the recorded memories and physical sensations of other people, and Lornette "Mace" Mason (Bassett), a bodyguard and limousine driver, as they are drawn into a criminal conspiracy involving Nero's ex-girlfriend Faith Justin (Lewis) and the murder of a prostitute.
Primarily centered on themes of censorship and scapegoating, the film also parodies and satirizes the animated films of the Disney Renaissance, musicals such as Les Misérables, and controversies surrounding the series itself. The film also heavily satirizes the Motion Picture Association of America; during production, Parker and Stone disputed with the MPAA, which returned the film multiple times with an NC-17 rating due to its frequent use of profanity. The film's songs were written by Parker and Marc Shaiman, the latter of whom composed the score. (Full article...)
Steven Spielberg served as executive producer, with writing by Paul Dini, Nicholas Hollander, Tom Ruegger and Sherri Stoner. Japanese animation studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now known as TMS Entertainment) produced the animation. How I Spent My Vacation was released on both VHS and LaserDisc formats on Wednesday, March 11, 1992. It was the first feature length animated film to be released direct-to-video in the United States. The film was later aired on television as four separate Tiny Toon Adventures episodes. The events of the film take place between the second and third seasons of Tiny Toon Adventures. (Full article...)
Taking place in a world where toys come to life when humans are not present, the plot of Toy Story focuses on the relationship between an old-fashioned pullstring cowboy doll named Woody and a modern space cadet action figure, Buzz Lightyear, as Woody develops jealousy towards Buzz when he becomes their owner Andy's favorite toy. (Full article...)
Roger Corman acquired the rights to Brosnan's novel in 1991 and the project entered production two years later to capitalize on an extensive marketing campaign used to promote Jurassic Park. Simon was hired to direct Carnosaur and is credited with writing the screenplay, reworking most of the plot elements of the novel. Afforded an $850,000 budget, the special effects were completed with models and animatronics largely designed by John Carl Buechler. (Full article...)
The film follows the life of an Alabama man named Forrest Gump (Hanks) and his experiences in the 20th-century United States. Principal photography took place between August and December 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Hanks into archived footage and to develop other scenes. The soundtrack features songs reflecting the different periods seen in the film. (Full article...)
Burton conceived Edward Scissorhands from his childhood upbringing in suburban Burbank, California. During pre-production of Beetlejuice, Caroline Thompson was hired to adapt Burton's story into a screenplay, and the film began development at 20th Century Fox after Warner Bros. declined. Edward Scissorhands was then fast tracked after Burton's critical and financial success with Batman. The film also marks the fourth collaboration between Burton and film score composer Danny Elfman, and was Vincent Price's last film role to be released in his lifetime. (Full article...)
Madonna: Truth or Dare (also known as In Bed with Madonna internationally) is a 1991 American documentary film by director Alek Keshishian chronicling the life of entertainer Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. Madonna approached Keshishian to do an HBO special on the tour after watching his Harvard senior project. Initially planned to be a traditional concert film, Keshishian was so impressed with the backstage life that he persuaded Madonna to make it the focus of the film. Madonna funded the project and served as executive producer. The film was edited to be in black-and-white, in order to emulate cinéma vérité, while the performance scenes are in color.
Madonna: Truth or Dare was screened out of competition at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival and was given a limited release on May 10, 1991; two weeks later, it had its worldwide release. It opened to positive reviews although certain scenes, such as one where Madonna visits her mother's grave, were criticized. Madonna was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress. With a worldwide gross of $29 million, it was the highest-grossing documentary of all time, until Bowling for Columbine surpassed it in 2002. Truth or Dare has been noted as a groundbreaking film for its casual portrayal of homosexuality, and was compared to Paris Is Burning (1990). It has also had an impact on reality television and celebrity culture, inspiring parodies and other music-related documentaries. (Full article...)
You are invited to participate in WikiProject Years, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about years, decades, centuries, and millennia.
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject: