Culture Crash: Why We Can’t Let Go Of The ’90S

Author Chuck Klosterman’s newest book is called The Nineties, and it’s a thorough look at the decade – its politics, its history and of course, its culture.

One thing Klosterman said he thought a lot about while writing his book was how much things have changed since the 90s. For instance, he says the stakes back then felt different. For instance, there were different expectations for everyday political engagement. In all, Klosterman said he wasn’t writing the book to be nostalgic for the past, but rather that he just wanted to take a good look at it.

If someone’s reading this book and their hope is that they want to feel nostalgia for the past, they may feel that. They will definitely see the references and they will see the things that remind them of their old life. But I didn’t really write it in that way. I don’t really have a desire to go back to the ’90s, I just think it’s interesting.— Chuck Klosterman

Though Klosterman wasn’t necessarily intending to ignite 90s nostalgia, we do live in an age of retro media. TV shows like Stranger Things harken back to the 80s, while movies like Lady Bird take place in the 2000s. After writing his book, Klosterman said this constant cultural nostalgia and cross-referencing is in part because the internet has made every era accessible.

So now, when we see something that seems retro — and now almost everything is to some degree retro — it can be retro to any period. So, you’re right. Like Stranger Things has a real 80s feel, a real Spielberg 80s feel. That can be right along something like say the show Pen15, which has a real 90s feel, and it doesn’t seem odd. Our relationship to the movement of time is different. Something that was on television in 2005 does not seem radically different from something that is on television now. This was not the case between say 1965 and 1980.— Klosterman

As we continue to see references to these past decades, it can definitely be helpful to learn more about them at the same time. If you want to learn all about the decade of the Discman and the Nintendo 64, Klosterman’s book The Nineties is available now.