ATTENTION all those who are 25-32 years of age... PLEASE!!!!

Hello...I was born in 1982. Long rant ahead

LINGO
From what I remember in the early-90s, the phrase "NOT!" from "Wayne's World" was very popular. Basically it was the 90s way of saying "Sike/Psyche!" For example, you might tell a nerdy kid "Hey, you're really cool...NOT!" Dorky, yes. "Yo mama" jokes were also really popular at that time lol.

-"You Can't Touch This" (1990-91, basically means "I'm too cool")
-"Talk to the Hand" (1993-97, someone places their outstretched hand, almost like they're giving someone a Hi-Five. Except "Talk to the Hand" means that you don't want to hear what someone has to say)
-Whatever! (c. 1996, almost the same as "Talk to the Hand")
-Oh, and for some reason, kids LOVED doing that scene from "Home Alone" when Maculuay Culkin would put his hands on his face and scream.

MUSIC
-The music of the decade went in weird spurts. Alternative and grunge were pretty big from about 1994-98 or so, then boy bands became really popular. You also had "gangsta rap" become big during that era, but it seemed to taper off a bit after Tupac and Biggie were killed in 1996-97. I would say music REALLY went downhill sometime after 1998.

TV
SITCOMS
-I know the TGIF sitcoms ("Family Matters", "Boy Meets World") were really big, and you can still find them on TV today. "Fresh Prince", "Full House", and "Blossom" were also really popular. Add to that "Home Improvement". Depending on who you ask, "The Simpsons" were also a lot funnier then as well. Out of those, I pretty much watched all of them, even though as a preteen, I knew "Full House" and "Blossom" were pretty damn corny. That being said, they were still better than most shows on TV.

CARTOONS
-I loved "Doug" because it was a show geared at kids/teens, but it didn't pander to them. At the same time, it had elements that adults could enjoy as well...you just don't see that on TV too much anymore. I also remember "South Park" being VERY shocking when it first premiered. Same thing with "The Simpsons", but the "worst" thing Bart Simpson said was "hell".

OTHER
-If you had cable you were cool, and back then you "only" got about 70 or so channels, including the premium channels. I know that sounds paltry, but back then each cable channel had its own identity, so you could actually find some variety, not to mention MTV still played MUSIC!
-Talk shows were all over the place...seems like everyone had one, including Vanessa Huxtable from "The Cosby Show"...
-There was no reality TV, except for maybe "The Real World" or "Road Rules". There was "Star Search" and other shows like that, but they were cheesy, and knew it. TV didn't take itself so seriously until the last 10 years or so.
-Bob Barker banging his "Price is Right" models was a pretty big deal as well..
-Oh, and Alex Trebek had a mustache too lol

MOVIES
Movies...I don't remember too many summer blockbusters. I mean, you had the occasional action flick ("Terminator 2", "Batman Returns/Forever"), but it wasn't like it is now, where every month, you have a big comic book-based movie or CGI action movie. Movies were made more to entertain, and not just because the producers knew it would make $300-400 million. Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure a $300 million pull was damn near unheard of 20 years ago, except for maybe "Batman". It seems like back then, movies aimed at the preteens/teens actually dealt with everyday kids in everyday life. Like with "Doug" they taught lessons without being over the top, and they could actually be seen as family movies, catering to both children and adults. I think that's one of the reasons I can still watch "The Sandlot", 16 years later.

MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION
Not to be a snob, but I think my generation grew up right at the start of the political correctness movement, and I am so appreciative of the stuff we had in the late-80s/early-90s. There was no overbearing concern over McDonald's making you fat...mainly because you didn't get McDonald's (or any other restaurant) every damn day! You were still encouraged to go outside daily and get some fresh air. If you sucked at sports, so be it...if you got mocked for it, so be it. You could get into a fight with someone at school or in the neighborhood, and not be afraid of them retaliating with a weapon. Most importantly, PARENTS raised their kids, not the TV. If I repeated a dirty joke or comment from a TV show (say "Married...with Children"), plain and simple, I was told not to say it again and I just wasn't allowed to watch the show. Nowadays, an angry parent would march straight to FOX and picket outside the building! If you did something bad, you could get spanked (or at the very least smacked) and nothing would happen to your parents. Kids were allowed to be kids, and have creative imaginations.

I apologize for the long response, but you did bring back some pretty good memories. Seems like the 90s were better than I thought lol...thanks for the trip down memory lane and good luck with your project! :-)

Oh stewardess...I speak jive.

Sayings
When I was in grade school the kids in my class used the term The bomb. Like You're the bomb." Which meant you were cool. Man was pretty popular term too.
Cartoons
I liked Real Ghostbusters, The Simpsons, Doug, Rugrats, Gargoyles, X-Men, and Spider-Man.
TV Shows
I liked Home Improvement, Saved by the Bell, Family Matters, and Boy meets world. I used to like Full House and now I hate it. I also liked two shows that didn't last very long. They were called Soul Man (which starred Dan Akroyd) and Teen Angel. Soul Man actually had some appearances by Tim Allen. Both were kind of focussed on God so that's probably why they didn't do so well.
It's really late so that is all I have to say.

Kelloway: Doyle, get in the car.
Doyle: But I ordered Onion Rings.
Kelloway: Doyle!

Yeah, for lingo, we also carried over the "duh" and "no duh!". Don't forget the overuse of "EXTREME" during the mid-90s. People used that as much as people use the term "reboots" now. I don't know if it was common, but words me and my friends would use would "shyeah"(basically "yeah"), "Way!"(in response to "No way!?"), "dorky", "psyche", "wicked", "phat", "homey"("How you hangin' homey?", you can also substitue "homes"). "Blazing" was a term used for getting high, and "bud" was slang for weed. Don't forget terms like "da bomb"("That song is da bomb!"), "it's all good"("Don't worry, it's all good!" and "all that"("She thinks she's all that?").

For music, Grunge took over as 80s Metal died out. Dance based pop ruled the early 90s, giving way to heavier techno and house sounds. Rap became heavy with gangsta themes. Most 80s artists that didn't fade away became more adult contemporary. Kenny G nearly set the adult contemporary standard. During the end of the 90s, however, pop went ultra bubblegum with boy bands(Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 Degrees) and girl bands(Spice Girls, BeWitched)

For television, the family sitcom was a dying breed, being replaced by sitcoms that revolved around adult groups of friends(Wings, Seinfeld, Friends). Though the strongest family sitcoms could be found on TGIF(Family Matters, Full House, Step By Step), and Fox's Married with Children. As a cartoon family sitcom, The Simpsons ruled the 90s, in it's entirety. There was also more sketch comedy shows, some that did great(In Living Color, All That), while others didn't(The Edge).

In fashion, during the early 90s, dayglow clothing from the 80s evolved to a strange fashion sense with faux paint splatter. Kids used to always wear their long sleeve shirts/sweaters tied around their waists, and fanny packs were big. Soon, with Grudge becoming super popular, flannel plaid clothing became a norm, as did baggy jeans(some so baggie, they would ride ultra low). 70s style made a brief return, with bell bottom pants and various 70s inspired blouses. Near the end of the 90, the metrosexual look become pretty big(the start contrast between the grunge look).

I was born in 1986 and I remember people saying "Sike!" instead of saying just kidding. ("My mom found out that we snuck out last night and is calling your mom...Sike!")

Also I think this might be a NY thing but everyone would say "Mint" in place of cool.

A lot of people would quote Wayne's World with "Party time! Excellent!" and "Sha-wing!".

Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler were also hugely popular and often quoted.


That's about all I can think of right now, I might edit this if anything else comes to mind.

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