1990s part I

The 1990s (pronounced "nineteen-nineties" and abbreviated as "Nineties") was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1990 and ended on December 31, 1999.

Culturally, the 1990s was characterized by the rise of multiculturalism and alternative media, which continued into the 2000s. Movements such as grunge, the rave scene and hip hop spread around the world to young people during the decade, aided by then-new technology such as cable television and the World Wide Web.

A combination of factors, including the continued mass mobilization of capital markets through neoliberalism, 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.

New ethnic conflicts emerged in Africa, the Balkans, and the Caucasus, the former two which led to the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides, respectively. Signs of any resolution of tensions between Israel and the Arab world remained elusive despite the progress of the Oslo Accords, though The Troubles in Northern Ireland came to a standstill in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement after 30 years of violence.

1990s in fashion

The fashion in the 1990s was the genesis of a sweeping shift in the western world: the beginning of the adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and to a lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.

In the early 1990s, several late 1980s fashions remained very stylish among both sexes. However, the popularity of grunge and alternative rock music helped bring the simple, unkempt grunge look into the mainstream by 1994. The anti-conformist approach to fashion lead to the popularisation of the casual chic look; this included T-shirts, jeans, hoodies, and trainers, a trend which continued into the 2000s.

Overall, the 1990s saw a return to the minimalist fashion of the 1950s and 1970s, contrasted to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. Additionally, fashion trends throughout the decade recycled styles from previous decades, notably the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Michael Jordan won SIX championships in the '90s. That fact alone made us believe that wearing Jordans gave us magic powers. (Also, they still do.) Each pair of Js released during this era was a banger. Every pop culture icon in the '90s rocked a pair. Undeniably the greatest trend of the '90s.

Film

Computer Graphics were born. CGI or Computer Generated Imagery revolutionized the industry by gifting hits such as Jurassic Park, Independence Day and Men in Black where technology empowered the storytellers to create a believable fantasy world. The makers could depict almost anything on the screens now, their imagination being their only boundary. Two major genres from the Golden Age were revived in a big way in this decade. Disney and Pixar recreated the magic of animation movies with Toy Story while the romance genre was brought back to life by Titanic .

The 10 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing):

• Titanic
• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
• Jurassic Park
• Independence Day
• The Lion King
• Forrest Gump
• The Sixth Sense
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park
• Men in Black
• Armageddon