Media and Entertainment in the 90’s The music, books, television shows and overall media that were a product of the 90’s had a lasting impact on American culture. From Nirvana’s influence on the creation of the grunge music genre to the acclaimed Harry Potter franchise, entertainment established in the 90’s is still loved and revered by numerous people to date. Nirvana’s influential as well as successful 1991 album “Nevermind” was a huge push in making the “grunge” music genre popular and mainstream during the 90’s. Selling 11 million copies in America and an outstanding 30 million worldwide, “Nevermind” was truly one of the most significant decade-defining album of the 90’s, as it related to the niche interests of misfit teens. The lead …show more content…
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) the debut book the series starred young boy wizard, Harry Potter, and his magical education. Author J.K. Rowling started writing the series as a single mother living in an unheated apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland. She spent many days writing The Philosopher’s Stone in a nearby coffee shop with her daughter, Jessica, next to her in her stroller. When completed, Rowling sent the book to loads publishers, all of whom rejected the book. Eventually, the book was sold to Bloomsbury press for $4000 in 1995. The Philosopher’s Stone was immediately a huge hit with adults and children alike. It was awarded the British Book Award as well as the Smarties Book Prize. Rowling then signed a 7 book contract with Scholastic, and the series was made into an incredibly successful movie franchise in 2001 The 90’s brought into existence countless important pieces of media. Nirvana’s creation of grunge music, The X-Files and its influence on the people who watched it, and the awe-inspiring Wizarding World of Harry Potter, are significant parts of American culture and history; and won’t soon be forgotten by the ones who enjoyed …show more content…
Keith. "The X-Files and the 1990s." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas, ABC-CLIO,2017, popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1985706. Accessed 27 Sept. 2017. Cox, F. Brett. "The X-Files (Tv, 1993)." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas, ABC-CLIO, 2017, popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1362290. Accessed 27 Sept. 2017. Gould, Katherine. "Nirvana." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas, ABC-CLIO, 2017, popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1471308. Accessed 27 Sept. 2017. Gulla, Bob. "Kurt Cobain." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas, ABC-CLIO, 2017, popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1348329. Accessed 27 Sept. 2017. Batchelor, Bob. "Grunge, Alternative, and Rock Music in the 1990s." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas, ABC-CLIO, 2017, popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1513542. Accessed 27 Sept. 2017. "J. K. Rowling." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas, ABC-CLIO, 2017, popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1501561. Accessed 27 Sept.
Although they only had seven years together as a band, Nirvana is thought of as one of the most influential bands of all time. Before Kurt Cobain's death in 1994, the band only recorded three studio albums, Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utereo. Combined, their estimated total record sales are over 75 million worldwide, with Nevermind and In Utereo reaching Diamond status. Nirvana solidified their place in rock history by bringing alternative rock to the mainstream, expressing raw emotion in their music that had never been heard before and probably not since. (“Nirvana
Kurt Cobain; one of the most famous and influential musicians in the history of rock and roll - more specifically, Grunge. Being a member of Nirvana, the most prominent band in the history of the genre isn’t the only accomplishment of the late, great musician though as he also won many awards. Kurt Cobain had an interesting upbringing, successful musical career, and a life that ended with a sudden death.
Grunge music originated in Seattle, Washington and can be described as dirty guitar, strong guitar riffs with distortion. They had dark lyrics and expressed the emotions of teenagers. Punk rock is the most popular genre with young rebellious teens that talked about they hated listening to their parents. These genres didn’t become mainstream until the world discovered the rock and roll band “Green Day” in the mid 90’s. The style of the time consisted of cut off T-shirts and tight, ripped jeans. Bands like a “Aerosmith” and “Guns and Roses” played a big fashion roll during this
Cobain’s quote impacted a variety of people, from outcasts and misfits, to accepted and popular people. His quote allowed people to be able to except
One of the best known decades for music was the eighties. During this generation, there were a number of landmark events. This decade set a standard for music to evolve from for years to come.
The transition from the multicultural era of the eighties to the postnetwork era of the nineties triggered abrupt changes in American media and culture. [6] From fashions to family life, relationships, and attitudes, many new cultural elements subsequently changed television portrayals of ordinary American culture within this time period. More specifically, the culture of the eighties is often characterized by the rise of MTV and megastars, techno music and club drugs, and popular fashions such as leather, leggings, and Ray Bans. Eighties culture can be described as the ‘bombdigity’ and nineties culture can be described as more toned down, moral, and ‘sweet’.
Television is one of the most popular ways to consume media. However, television wasn’t always the way it is today. Many changes took place in the television industry during the 1980s. Some of the important changes that took place in the 1980s were the new types of programming, the increase in the popularity of cable television, and new technology that was invented such as the remote control. Television had a huge effect on society through the way if affected the ways children could be educated and what people watched. It impacted technology through changes in how people watched television and what people could record and watch on television. It also had an enormous effect on the economy through changes in competition in the television industry and how musicians and their music could be made popular. Television in America in the 1980s affected society, technology, and the economy.
Their single Smells Like Teen Spirit made Nevermind the first alternative rock album to acquire worldwide fame (“Kurt Cobain”). Cobain’s talent was record smashing and innovative, because he took a whole music genre to a never before seen worldwide level. This type of accomplishment was not because of some strange luck, but a result of Cobain’s creative approach to the sound of alternative rock. As a result of their breakthrough, many powerful companies started to publicize them like when Time announced, “‘It also launched the commercial vogue for grunge and made Seattle famous for something other than cappuccino, rain, and bad professional sports,’” (Latson, 1). Kurt Cobain’s success was remarkable because not only did the music industry change, but a whole unique business and trend was opened up. The fact that Kurt managed to leave a long lasting imprint in the constantly changing fashion industry displayed how successful he was. In the music industry Cobain changed the direction of contemporary rock and was compared to legends like Bob Dylan and John Lennon (Hilburn). People thought of Kurt as one of the rock legends because of his raw talent that made him extremely relatable and mighty. This was a huge deal, to be compared to other rock legends and to have changed the entire sound of a music genre. Talent, a strong work ethic, and a relatable character took Kurt Cobain to the top and
The grunge music of the 90’s might be a product of the times and changing of opinions, it still has a strong presence and legacy in the modern age. Music critics can argue about whether grunge music’s effects on rock music were positive or negative but the main point is that it did affect the music, fashion, and cultural world in a huge way. The grunge movement affected not only the music world and but the overall society of the 90’s and every decade that followed. Grunge emerged from Seattle in the late 1980s. This genre of rock and roll helped create a bridge between mainstream 1980s heavy metal–hard rock and post-punk alternative rock. Eventually, grunge faded—partly because of the death in 1994 of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who had become a generational spokesman. Some people say that “grunge music ruined rock and roll” when in reality it gave way to new forms of the genre and helped bring harder rock songs to the mainstream audiences of the time.
In the 90’s, the concept of music was a huge explosion compared to previous years, though there were many more acts of creativity. Primarily, music played a huge part in society as apposed to other decades.
As America headed into the 1980s, two decades of social and political upheaval have left the nation rattled and the economy weakened. The Iran hostage crisis shook America's confidence and many looked for a new kind of leader to steer the country into the new decade. Ronald Reagan led America into a new era of prosperity leaving the soul-searching of the 60s and 70s behind. The nation was ready to enjoy itself and with plenty of new toys to play like VCRs and video games, Americans spent more time at home and soon something called cable TV would make it even harder to leave the living room. With the new innovation of the TV, one of the ideas for a channel was a marriage between music and television. This new idea for a channel devoted to something called music videos would end up revolutionizing and often scandalizing an industry that had no choice but to embrace the fact that music in the 1980s had to have a face with videos. By having these music videos, they would change the way we look at music and the way we look at the world. This cutting- edge idea was a new medium perfectly suited to a new generation and that idea was called, MTV. This leads to the question: How did MTV influence pop culture of the 1980’s? This topic is worthy of investigation because the coming of MTV has had a significant impact on the way people see pop culture. Before researching the topic, the writer had limited knowledge on MTV and only knew about the music itself. In the paper, the writer was
Grunge music was one of the most popular genres in the 1990’s, bringing a new style of rock with gritty distortion and new styles of hair and clothing.
One of my favourite bands of all time is Nirvana, because this was the first rock band I started listening to at the age of twelve and this established my taste of music until nowadays. However, they had a big influence on their contemporary pop-rock musical industry in the early nineties, as well. Despite the fact that they released only three studio albums in seven years, Nirvana is often regarded as one of the most influential, effective and remarkable rock bands of the century.
Music Television gave a generation a voice. With the awakening of MTV, 1983 was a golden age for music television. The inception of hip-hop music videos caused wardrobe to be an important part of an artists “armor”. Rappers used outfits for promotional purposes. Certain outfits would be worn in pictures, performance, and
As a child, Cobain’s main influence was Evel Knievel, and he was determined to be reckless and fearless like his hero. As Cobain grew older, however, his influences became primarily musical, and included Neil Young, nicknamed the “Godfather of Grunge,” the Beatles, and various alternative bands (DeRogatis, para. 8). His major accomplishments were his recordings, as Cobain was known as a lyricist more than a musician, despite his short-lived career.