In technicality, the 1990s started on 1/1/1990 at midnight. However, the 90s culture for which it is know has a fuzzy starting day, late 1992/1993. One movie that I feel is an allegory for this transition is Home Alone 2.
Why of all the movies I could pick, Home Alone 2 gets picked? Well, like many things, I was often behind on the times. I saw this film on VHS in 1994. When I did see it, I obviously enjoyed the movie. However, in 1994, I never gave much thought to the cultural allegory that this film actually had. There is a bit of an 80s feel to it, while at the same time, it was released in November 1992. What makes this seem like an allegory for the 1990s transition?
The Talkboy
In 1992, you could not get this toy. It was used as a prop in the film, where the sneaky Kevin McCallister uses it to record the voices of adults, then uses those recorded voices to get hotel reservations in New York. Kevin even has part of his own voice on there and slows it down. The toy didn't come out until 1993. Tiger Electronics decided to market this as a toy, being as it had ties to the movie that was so popular, and sales took off. I eventually got one of these. I still have it.
You could record your voice, play it regular, fast, or slow. You could play tricks with your voices to make your voice sound really high and squeaky, or make it sound very deep. On the other side of the included tape, there were clips from the Home Alone 2 film.
I remember the Talkboy being advertised on TV. As a child, I thought it was so funny that one could play tricks on other people with it. If memory serves me correct, I saw this commercial on Nickelodeon, the Nickelodeon of the 1990s, the glorious years of Nickelodeon. I never thought of the cultural significance of it, that youth culture made especially for people ages 7-12. The Talkboy, in many ways, served as the bridge to the cultural 1990s, as opposed to the literal 1990s.
So that fuzzy period of late 1992/1993, that could be considered when the 90s as a cultural time actually started. This movie was basically a bridge to the cultural 1990s. The film was of the late 1980s/early 1990s feel. The Talkboy represented something that took the youth culture to a new era.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anjyiO754hU
Why of all the movies I could pick, Home Alone 2 gets picked? Well, like many things, I was often behind on the times. I saw this film on VHS in 1994. When I did see it, I obviously enjoyed the movie. However, in 1994, I never gave much thought to the cultural allegory that this film actually had. There is a bit of an 80s feel to it, while at the same time, it was released in November 1992. What makes this seem like an allegory for the 1990s transition?
The Talkboy
In 1992, you could not get this toy. It was used as a prop in the film, where the sneaky Kevin McCallister uses it to record the voices of adults, then uses those recorded voices to get hotel reservations in New York. Kevin even has part of his own voice on there and slows it down. The toy didn't come out until 1993. Tiger Electronics decided to market this as a toy, being as it had ties to the movie that was so popular, and sales took off. I eventually got one of these. I still have it.
You could record your voice, play it regular, fast, or slow. You could play tricks with your voices to make your voice sound really high and squeaky, or make it sound very deep. On the other side of the included tape, there were clips from the Home Alone 2 film.
I remember the Talkboy being advertised on TV. As a child, I thought it was so funny that one could play tricks on other people with it. If memory serves me correct, I saw this commercial on Nickelodeon, the Nickelodeon of the 1990s, the glorious years of Nickelodeon. I never thought of the cultural significance of it, that youth culture made especially for people ages 7-12. The Talkboy, in many ways, served as the bridge to the cultural 1990s, as opposed to the literal 1990s.
So that fuzzy period of late 1992/1993, that could be considered when the 90s as a cultural time actually started. This movie was basically a bridge to the cultural 1990s. The film was of the late 1980s/early 1990s feel. The Talkboy represented something that took the youth culture to a new era.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anjyiO754hU
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