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    1999 was a Mt. Vesuvius of pop culture

    By Matthew Martin
    | August 25, 2019
    Movie Blogs, Music

    All year long we’re taking a look back at some of the best, most memorable, or at least culturally significant movies from 1999.  That was twenty years ago and it feels like last Thursday. Already in the series we’ve considered M. Night Shyamalan’s breakout hit: The Sixth Sense. It’s a horror-thriller that stands the test of time and works as a great movie that would have been great in any year of release. M. Night could have made this movie yesterday and he would have had a smash on his hands. He could have released it in 1989 and it would have been just as tremendous.

    We then looked at Fight Club, a movie very different from The Sixth Sense. It was very much a product of its time and time has not been good to it. It’s obnoxious, pretentious, gritty but undramatic, and the twist at the end was flat compared to Shyamalan’s first big shocker. In March we reminisced about the bygone fun of The Mummy, a film that has certainly held up, precisely because it leaned heavily on the past and its Indiana Jones inspirations. Already we have a tremendously eclectic few movies. One modern-day thriller/horror, one gritty 90’s-esque macho-fantasy, and one 1920’s-set throwback.

    In April, everything was thrown aside as we reflected on the revolutionary and genre-defining sci-fi feature, The Matrix. In May, we talked about the awesomeness that was Star Wars Episode I….’s teaser trailer, before lamenting in June how the masterful IRON GIANT fell through the cracks. Last month we reflected on the seminal low-budget horror hit, The Blair Witch Project.

    Still to come are looks back on Office Space, Sleepy Hollow, Man on the Moon, and Galaxy Quest.

    Let’s pause the series for a month, however, and consider how 1999 as a whole was such a humongous year for pop culture. There are probably a few factors that played into this, two primary ones being the dawn of the modern internet era and the way 9|11 cast a “before and after” pall over every aspect of western culture. A huge, tragic, and world-changing event like that has a way of calcifying a lot of cultural events and situations, so a lot of the jokes and memes (before they were called such) from the end of the 90’s sort of…stuck.

    Matrix Which Pill

    If you are under the age of, let’s say twenty-five, you might not be able to appreciate what kind of a year 1999 was. In short, if you were a fan of any kind of genre about anything, there was something for you in 1999. Don’t believe me, here are a few quotes from a few movies that not only defined the era but which all sprang from the same year…

    • “I want you to hit me as hard as you can.”
    • “I see dead people.”
    • “Take the red pill.”
    • “By Grabthar’s Hammer…what a savings…”
    • “PC Load Letter?!”
    • “It feels like warm apple pie, man”
    • “Blame Canada!”
    • “I’ll trying spinning; that’s a good trick!”

    Wild Wild West Will Smith Kevin Kline

    Okay maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. And then there are the many many movies that were significant for one reason or another, that this year-long series isn’t even able to get to.

    • Cruel Intentions (small budget, sleazy premise, young cast = big profit)
    • Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick’s finale)
    • The Green Mile (a movie that still resonates in pop culture today)
    • American Beauty (that scene with the rose pedals is still parodied and instantly recognized)
    • Toy Story 2 (solidified Pixar as a juggernaut)
    • 10 Things I Hate About You (a generation-defining movie, not quite as culturally-revolutionary as The Breakfast Club, but close enough for the ’90s)
    • Wild Wild West (infamous is still famous)

    And that’s just movies. What about music? You’d be hard-pressed to find a year since 1999 that was as diverse in its biggest hits. For example, this:

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    basically was 1999. And then there’s…

    • “My name is (what?) my name is (who?); Slim Shady”
    • “I want it that way”
    • “She’s Livin La Vida Loca”
    • “Hey now, you’re an all star, get your game on, go play”
    • I’m a Genie in a Bottle, you gotta rub me the right way”
    • “Oh, where oh where can my baby be? The Lord took her away from me…”
    • “I don’t want no scrub. A scrub is a guy who can’t get no love from me.”
    • “Say my name, Say my name…”
    • “I’m torn; I’m all out of faith; this is how I feel; I’m cold and I’m unchained, lying naked on the floor…”
    • “Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99…Wear Sunscreen.”

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    Now I’m sitting here just getting nostalgic, listening to Natalie Imbruglia and TLC, thinking about how simple life was in the 9th grade.

    1999 was the year my family got a real computer (and got rid of the mid-90’s Macintosh that couldn’t do anything more than play Around the World in 80 Days and The Oregon Trail). It was the year I got my first email address (which I still use!). It was the era of peacetime, airport goodbyes, the balanced budget, VH1’s Behind the Music, and the last gasps of the greatness from The Simpsons.

    It’s my definitive “formative” year, and it just so happened to be one of the last, most diverse, most meme-inducing years in pop culture history.

    Happy twentieth.

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    16 Comments
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    Bigfoot
    Bigfoot
    3 years ago

    There were so many fun (and somewhat scary) moments in that year. Do you guys remember the Y2K scare? My parents were afraid that their savings in the bank won’t be withdrawn on the following day. I wasn’t afraid at all because I had no savings at that time.

    0
    Reply
    GabbaHey
    GabbaHey
    3 years ago

    Good sampling of 1999 lyrics. I still think “Genie in a Bottle” is kind of awesome. Seemed like there was a summery, sunshiny vibe to a lot of the songs.

    0
    Reply
    KeeperofUnicorns
    KeeperofUnicorns
    3 years ago

    I didn’t hate Wild Wild West and found Will Smith pretty funny in it. I suppose I’m a rare fan. The Green Mile was incredibly touching and has stuck with me all these years.

    0
    Reply
    murasaki
    murasaki
    3 years ago
    Reply to  KeeperofUnicorns

    A certain scene in The Green Mile traumatized me, but I would still recommend it. Same director from The Shawshank Redemption!

    0
    Reply
    Arabella
    Arabella
    3 years ago

    I had forgotten all about Cruel Intentions. It’s been ages since I’ve seen that film. I remember thinking that Ryan Phillippe was such a hot bloke. That was a wonderfully cast film.

    0
    Reply
    GabbaHey
    GabbaHey
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Arabella

    I need to see it again. And yeah, that was a good cast! It’s too bad the sequel was a bust. Why did they bother?

    0
    Reply
    Snarky-Guru
    Snarky-Guru
    3 years ago

    The Matrix was such a harmless franchise that it’s hard to see how the whole “blue pill” and “red pill” madness spawned a hateful misogynistic group.

    0
    Reply
    GabbaHey
    GabbaHey
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Snarky-Guru

    Yeah, I know! It’s weird. Slightly off-subject, but I’m curious about the next Matrix. Hope it’s at least a bit better than Reloaded and Revolutions.

    0
    Reply
    Stargazer
    Stargazer
    3 years ago

    Those who were alive in those days can consider ourselves lucky because we have seen the passing of the old world to the technologically advanced society we are living right now. Boy (and girl) bands of all sorts were the fad in 1999. I will surely miss those days.

    0
    Reply
    murasaki
    murasaki
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Stargazer

    Good times! I loved the Backstreet Boys back then. Boy and girl bands are still going strong, from Korea (BTS, Blackpink, and more) this time.

    0
    Reply
    GabbaHey
    GabbaHey
    3 years ago

    I’m looking forward to reading about and talking about Office Space, one of the most quotable movies ever. And yes, The Green Mile is unforgettable.

    0
    Reply
    murasaki
    murasaki
    3 years ago
    Reply to  GabbaHey

    TPS reports, Bill Lumbergh, the stapler, and flare are what I remember most from Office Space. Jennifer Aniston had some funny lines, too.

    0
    Reply
    murasaki
    murasaki
    3 years ago

    Nice reflection on 1999! MTV was still doing okay then, thanks to videos of the songs mentioned and shows like Beavis and Butt-Head.

    0
    Reply
    GabbaHey
    GabbaHey
    3 years ago
    Reply to  murasaki

    Behind the Music on VH1 was still cranking out good bios. Predictable formula, but I couldn’t help but get into it and totally root for the person at the end.

    0
    Reply
    Arabella
    Arabella
    3 years ago
    Reply to  murasaki

    And don’t forget Daria. Our brainy gal was in her second or third season in 1999 and it was fantastic to watch. I always wondered what happened to MTV’s soap opera, Undressed. Was there closure or did it just abruptly end?

    0
    Reply
    murasaki
    murasaki
    3 years ago
    Reply to  Arabella

    Not sure why it ended when it did — but I saw somewhere that as of late last year, there were talks of a reboot.

    0
    Reply

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