The 90s are the New 80s

 The announcement came yesterday that TEENICK, the digital cable sister network of Nickelodeon is showing an all 1990s block weeknights starting at midnight. Who says nothing good happens after midnight? They may not have seen Kenan & Kel or Doug but now you can. As a proud 90s kid this is great. It also to me signifies that  the 90s are back in a big way. As they say, what's old is new again. One of the hot tickets of the summer tour lot are the combined forces of the New Kids on The Block and Backstreet Boys. Child stars of the 1990s (for the most part) have become the new cultural icons and most importantly hysterically funny fashions are back (no rat-tails please!) So to me the 1990s have become the new 1980s, the decade we still wish it was.
 At the dawn of the 1990s, there was still alot of 80s flare that carried over, but there were also alot of new things that happen. How can anyone forget Beverly Hills, 90210 setting off an entirely new genre of television show, the teen drama. Flashfoward over twenty years later, 90210, the latest spinoff is trying to recreate the parent series. While there have been several teen dramas, I think the success of Donna, Dylan, Kelly, et al. has yet to be captured. At that point of time social and cultural issues melded together to give the show its push. Now the issues of teens are captured in reality shows such as 16 & Pregnant, but nonetheless the glory days of the Peach Pit contributed to this trend.
 Movies now even capture the essence of the nineties. Recent releases have been reminiscent of several movies. Take for instance the pragmatic, romantic comedies that question love and its power remind me of Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, and Sandra Bullock looking for love while claiming they hate it. Crazy Stupid Love, Friends with Benefits, Valentine's Day, and many others released in the past few years have captured this renaissance of sorts.
 Music as well has followed this trend. As the aforementioned poster boys of Backstreet and New Kids have come together it emphasizes how comfortable people are reliving their respective glory days. However, newer artists such as Katy Perry have relied on retro sounds to capture fans' attention. To me the song, "Teenage Dream" captures an experience that could have easily been alongside Mariah Carey in 1995.
 Not to fear Gen X'ers, the 80s still hold a very special place to anyone who appreciates it. But nobody can say "wiggety wiggety wack" like Mack Daddy and Daddy Mack :)