Plug-In To The 90s
It’s just a movie. Yet, it turns into an humorous-dirty history class with satire and anecdote that makes it less lame, even fun.
We might not breathing the air of grunge the day we born. But ah, lets jump back, Great Scott!!, to the 90s era which guides us to preserve history values or even learn about cultural difference. A plenty of family-wise and teenage-riot are captured. What a balance scale, homie.
Well, I heard enough about F.R.I.E.N.D.S and The Simpsons. And also, it’s not fair that MTV get so much spotlight. Right Butt(Head)?
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR
Trapped in a debt, no choice but to take a role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith made it square and found himself a spotlight. Young and restless Wills played a protagonist role as in a story of Bank’s household, wealthy-black family in a well-respected neighborhood. A dot in a paper. A black man in a white space.
The show ain’t about Will but a black community and their existence in the States in particular. Static stereotypes in relation with black identity was at stake that time. Challenging sociental norm about Afro-American; thuglife, drugs, and crimes, the show put on humor to clear the air, make it straight. Common phrases such as, “driving while black” or “papa out for milk and never comeback” are erased by the time TFPOBA aired.
About the characters. Mr. G (Geoffrey) is a sassy-snarky butler ever a live. Hillary is a spoiled-model-fashioned wanna be. Ashley is a growing-smart girl. Will (the neon-rapper) and Carlton (the jerky golfer) are a dynamic duo. The Banks parents? They’re just okay.
FREAKS AND GEEKS
“I believe in God, Man. He plays drum for Led Zeppelin. John Bonham, baby!”
Originally narrated by Paul Feig and co-writer (the mighty) Judd Apatow, the show is all about two different ideological groups of the chewy gum group (the Freaks) and the three-dork-keeters (the Geeks). Driven out from cool-kids-run-school cliche into Freaks and Geeks-rule-school, Feig in any possible way create a realistic-beliaveable story in which happens during the Jansport era. Lindsay, the math-lete, strives an acknowledgement to be a popular chick by putting herself between the burnouts while her lil’ brother, Sam stuck with the academic-stud-nerds.
Despite a sluggish start, Freaks and Geeks was crawling their way to become a prominent classic cult in 90s (even now). Packed with it is a bunch of cultural references in fashion, music and lifestyle. Just keep an eye on Neal t-shirts, plus James Franco leather-jacket is badass
The needle around the bush is dropped by Rush. That’s how the youth living their live underneath rock and roll horizon. It was hardly acceptable for the parents back then, that the cultural shifting was taken place — classic Paul Anka vs Sex Pistols —in almost family affair.
And yeah, Lindsay wears camo-military jacket to Homecoming Dance.
KING OF THE HILL
Suburban Home by Descendents should be a show theme, knowing that Hank is the king of the Arlen County, Texas. Simply showing us about the backwater live of Dallas neighborhood, KOTH sets themselves as the waited sunday night staple. Put aside Bart and the yellow things. King of the Hill is the longest animated series ever run (259 episodes).
With an incredible-honest sense of humor, Mike Judge leads us into the time where the middle-american people try to achieve their middle-american dreams. Hank is the hint, Peggy is the clue and Bobby is the future. Hank, himself is a common picture of an American dad; hard worker, man with word and man with jeans. Masculinity is what Hank is made for, a traditional typical winning bread man, never easy in a changing world. Anyway Peggy (Hank’s wife) is 16 half sized feet, make her also man-a-like.
To sum up, KOTH is a seminal satire-comedy about conservative family condition of post-Reagan era. The main theme is the ideal American Golden Age against Post-modern alternate culture. As the show taken place, the neoliberal culture is in growth (90s until 00s) which affects the baby boomer (generation X) in adapting with the transforming world. Bobby (Hank’s son) is the output of the cultural shifting.
Don’t forget the show quartet; Hank the Hardnosed, Dale the conspiracy guy, Bill the tanktop man, Boomhauer the failed-womenaizer guy.
FUTURAMA
A destiny is written, no matter how far you’re going, it’s fixed. A young-goofy pizzaman is incidentally froze in a capsule for a thousand years. And what’s he become at his wakening? A damn intergalactic deliveryman. Same old caps, same old shoes.
Futurama is an animated-cartoon series aired for 7 seasons straight (at the time MTV launched their spacecraft to the moon) during 1999 until 2003. Matt Groening, the creator, is a Star Wars’ geek. Look how he turns the 1999 NYC into the 2999 techno city, still with its flees and dumps. The space-imaginary making him creates an intergalactic-racial group of doofy express company; Fry, Leela, Bender, Amy and Prof. Farnsworth.
No space to write all the detail (watch it yourself), but here’s the brief. Fry is modeled after James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. Bender is tender, a robot of soft-warm heart. Leela, well i might say, a sexy-smart cyclope. Amy is a picture of asian kinda girl. Prof. Farnsworth is Fry’s great great great plus 4 times nephew.
This show is my bottom list, but it’s the future and Adult Swim make the dirty-pervert version of it.
