If You Grew Up In The 90s, These 8 Things Were So Bad They Somehow Became Iconic
Pressmaster | Canva The 1990s are arguably the best 90s. If science invented a time machine, and I had the chance to watch an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? marathon in my light-up Sketchers, I'd be slamming a straw into the first juice box faster than a Mazda RX-7. It was such an amazing era that even the dumb parts of it have an odd nostalgic charm.
Research has suggested pop culture is obsessed with the "good old days," leaving us to wonder if nostalgia is as bad as some of the music and movies of the 90s. Reliance on the past might suggest we lack any new creativity.
Yet, familiarity brings comfort and connects us with the past, which can be inspiring. Looking at the so-bad-it-was-good from the past can be a creative tool to build a better future, or at very least have a reminiscent chuckle.
If you grew up in the 90s, these things were so bad they somehow became iconic:
1. Vanilla Ice
Noted for being the only rapper to appear in a Ninja Turtles movie, Vanilla Ice was the zenith of cheesiness. And yet, whenever Under Pressure comes on the radio, part of you still wishes it were Ice Ice Baby.
2. Goosebumps novels
Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash
They say if you give a monkey a typewriter and an infinite amount of time, he'll eventually produce Shakespeare. Well, R.L. Stine apparently didn't have time for all that.
So he showed us what happens when you give a monkey a typewriter, an afternoon, and hot fast forward. But in some small way, you yearn for a time when you were innocent enough to be frightened of it (the book, not the monkey).
3. Shaquille O'Neal movies
There's been a resurgence lately in the appreciation of "bad-good" movies, which makes now the perfect time to remind the world that Shaq tried to act at one point ... and it was amazing.
Not his acting skills, but what happens when you pay a real-life giant who DGAF to pretend to be a genie in between basketball practices. Film critic Roger Ebert only went as high as three stars for any Shaq movie with Nick Nolte, Blue Chips.
4. The original 101 Pokémon
I'm calling it now: This will be our generation's "back in my day" line when we're old, decrepit, and complaining about "kids these days".
Sure, it was essentially just cartoon cage-fighting, but we loved it. Nowadays, there are so many Pokémon that you'd need PhDs in Japanese Cultural Studies and Zoological Mathematics just to keep up.
5. Tamagotchis
Tamagatchis were great for parents because they demonstrated just how much you could absolutely not have that puppy you asked for every Christmas. We miss it because somewhere out there, a Tamagatchi is awaiting euthanization, wondering why we didn't at least send it to a no-kill shelter.
6. HitClips
Ever wanted to listen to crackling static with hints of a top-40 track breaking through? HitClips had you covered. It's too easy today. Back in the 90s, you earned your NSYNC. One speaker, one earphone, one button, and no volume control was the recipe for one minute away from the trials of teen life.
7. Napster
Photo by Brooke Balentine on Unsplash
Oh, the days when you would wait two days to download a Bush song and then roll the dice to find out whether it was a virus. Napster was a socially constructed event that constantly evolved the interaction between people and technology.
Napster was viewed as a revolutionary way to get free music, while businesses and lawyers viewed it as an illegal platform. The resulting legal fights turned early Internet behavior into strict digital rules and streaming business plans that define how we access technology today.
8. Xena and Hercules
Greek mythology is pretty rad on its own; even the god of wine and parties can turn into a lion, summon bears, and generally take charge when he needs to. So, with terrible acting and cheesy plot lines, nothing could tank these shows.
One study even argued Xena changed the idea of a hero by showing that being tough also means being flexible and emotionally connected to others. Unlike old-school heroes who work alone, Xena grew stronger through her deep friendships with other women and showed that true strength comes from valuing other women's perspectives; what's more iconic than that?
Bob Alaburda is a senior editor at dvm360. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Ravishly, and more.
