What happened back in 1989/1990?

Maybe it's just the fact I was born in January 1990, that's probably it, but to me the 1980s and before seems like a different world from today. I thought one time I might have heard a voice in my head saying on January 1, 1990, the vibration or even all the particles in the world were replaced by new ones and consciousness changed. My grandma said January 1990 was almost nothing like the 80s which I find strange considering it was mere days after the 80s ended. January 2010 was definitely just like the 2000s and January 2000 was definitely exactly like 1998 or 1999, from what I remember, as far as I'm concerned the 90s was part of the new millennium not the 20th century which to me is a foreign century despite the fact I can remember the last 8 years or so of it. It sure seems like people thought differently before the 1990s, I think modern thought similar to how people think in the 2010s began quite clearly in the early 1990s.

Many people of course, anyone over 28 years old, can remember when the 80s turned into the 90s ---- am I crazy? Were the 80s actually pretty much the same as today's world aside from things like the Internet, or did people and the world seem different in a metaphysical way in pre-1990 times?

If you know the TV show "the wonder years" .... well that was before 1990.

I moved to Eastern Europe to relive some of that sentiment.. It's changing here rapidly too unfortunately.
I think it's not the age but the people that create the atmosphere.

I was born around that time too and I've heard older people say almost exactly the same thing as you, OP.

One thing I think is interesting is 1989 doesn't get much attention. I mean, what can you clearly associate with that year and no other? A fad, a fashion trend? Anything else? I'm drawing a blank. It's like a kind of "shadowy" unknown year.

Ever see the movie Donnie Darko? It's about a kid who has a kind of paranormal experience. Or maybe it's psychosis. You have to see for yourself. It takes place in 1989.

I heard somebody else saying a lot of spiritually powerfull stuff happened in 1989 and 1990, now this might be getting a little far out there in "woo-woo" territory but a lot of people seem to have had deep spiritual awakenings around that time, or psychotic episodes, too...I keep coming across stories like that...

I think this is a really important thread, OP.

the world was quiet.

the wall had come down, communism was dead. we had no great enemies in the world.

for the first time in 100 years, there was a calm.

Originally posted by Partygirl
I was born around that time too and I've heard older people say almost exactly the same thing as you, OP.

One thing I think is interesting is 1989 doesn't get much attention. I mean, what can you clearly associate with that year and no other? A fad, a fashion trend? Anything else? I'm drawing a blank. It's like a kind of "shadowy" unknown year.

Ever see the movie Donnie Darko? It's about a kid who has a kind of paranormal experience. Or maybe it's psychosis. You have to see for yourself. It takes place in 1989.

I heard somebody else saying a lot of spiritually powerfull stuff happened in 1989 and 1990, now this might be getting a little far out there in "woo-woo" territory but a lot of people seem to have had deep spiritual awakenings around that time, or psychotic episodes, too...I keep coming across stories like that...

I think this is a really important thread, OP.

I love Donnie Darko!!!! I used to go by that name on here but something happened to my account. I really do feel like "something" ended in the late 80s and I almost feel like today is a facsimile of the world that existed before the '90s and not quite the same world. The 1980s seem like the same world as even the 19th century or ancient times somehow even though it was different people - this world we have been living in since 1990 seems almost like a sham world, like not the same!

1989 seems pivotal in history, it's like the end of the "old days" and the beginning of the "new days". Communism flopped, it was the last days prior to computers/the Internet/cell phones being common (all three existed throughout the 80s but were uncommon and almost unrecognizably primitive relative to today), the music was very different and even the way people talked back in the 80s, at least Americans, sounds different, like more serious and awkward than the way people have talked since 1990 and still do today, which seems more goofy and ADHD-ish.

It's also strange how quickly fashion changed. The 90s still had a lot of 80s fashion left over, especially like older people and less urban/trendy areas of the world, I mean even in the late 90s certain people still had mullets and thick-framed glasses, but you can tell that the beginning of the change to modern fashion and attitude as well probably began in 1989 and certainly by 1990. The Simpsons and Seinfeld began in 1989 and there really became a sarcastic and cynical attitude where everything is kind of a "joke" since then, before 1990 it was like everything was a bit less "solid" yet people were more serious, if that makes sense. Now it's like things are harder and more physical yet people are less serious and also more rude and frank.

I was born in 1989.
Over the years I've had this similar feeling too about 1989.
There's something special about that year...

I done take much importance in star signs and all that jazz.

But 1989 is quite historical.
What I mean by this is alot of things happened within that year.
I can't explain it but over the years loads of things happened.


Is that me or something?
I don't know..


but ...1989.

Originally posted by Soveren
I was born in 1989.
Over the years I've had this similar feeling too about 1989.
There's something special about that year...

I done take much importance in star signs and all that jazz.

But 1989 is quite historical.
What I mean by this is alot of things happened within that year.
I can't explain it but over the years loads of things happened.


Is that me or something?
I don't know..


but ...1989.

Also I believe more people were born in 1989 or 1990 than any other years in history - I could be wrong about that though.

reply to post by m1991


I thought before, the 1980s were a kind of "high rationality" time, like the "last time things were taken serious" just as they are. Business was business, Gecko was a businessman, Reagan was a president, Pablo Escobar was a a bad guy, etc etc. All these people -- or symbols projected onto people, I guess -- were very clear-cut, almost simplistic. Pure, you know? I guess everything was "pure" not in a moral sense but in an aesthetic sense.

Then came the 1990s and you had the tryumph of "irony" and "postmodernism" and everything had a twist. Heroes weren't heroes anymore, villians weren't villans. Like, you had the 1990s batman, who was a good guy, but was also dark and brooding and kind of tormented psychologically. Or you had all the Tarantino movies, where the good guys were a bunch of creepy foul-mouthed thugs. See, heroes weren't heroes anymore and bad guys had their good side. Everything got all mixed up, culturally.

I guess that's one difference, right?

Originally posted by Partygirl
reply to post by m1991

 

I thought before, the 1980s were a kind of "high rationality" time, like the "last time things were taken serious" just as they are. Business was business, Gecko was a businessman, Reagan was a president, Pablo Escobar was a a bad guy, etc etc. All these people -- or symbols projected onto people, I guess -- were very clear-cut, almost simplistic. Pure, you know? I guess everything was "pure" not in a moral sense but in an aesthetic sense.

Then came the 1990s and you had the tryumph of "irony" and "postmodernism" and everything had a twist. Heroes weren't heroes anymore, villians weren't villans. Like, you had the 1990s batman, who was a good guy, but was also dark and brooding and kind of tormented psychologically. Or you had all the Tarantino movies, where the good guys were a bunch of creepy foul-mouthed thugs. See, heroes weren't heroes anymore and bad guys had their good side. Everything got all mixed up, culturally.

I guess that's one difference, right?

edit on 9-8-2011 by Partygirl because: (no reason given)

Exactly! Postmodernism, don't get me wrong, it existed before the '90s, it just wasn't mainstream. The period from 1920 to 1989, postmodernism was an undercurrent, witnessed mostly by artists and the especially insightful, since 1990, it is the mainstream, and the modern is dying out (especially now, even books are disappearing, in the 90s, most of modernity still existed though a smart person could tell it wasn't really the modern age anymore) I know what you mean too. The 80s (and every time before in known history) had suffering and sadness and all that, but it seemed almost cartoonish and romantic in a way. Like even the horror movies had a charming kind of cheesiness to them even if they can sometimes be scary. The Cold War and even WW2 are kind of romantic, while the 'War on Terror' just seems tragic and awful (maybe that's because we have to deal with it in the moment) even though in terms of loss of life etc it's nothing in comparison to either world war. Hitler was like a classic villain and the Allies seem like heroic and valiant, I know in reality the good and evil of both sides was muddled and I think with WW2 especially there is a LOT of historical alteration over the years (I'm not a holocaust denier type but I do think the Allies being the victors made themselves seem more good than they were and the Axis more evil) but the way people thought of it at the time, it was like Lord of the Rings or something, a pure kind of struggle between two forces, one good and one bad.

Yeah I mean like - don't you think a show like South Park would have been impossible before the '90s? Yet I could see it fitting into any time period from the early 90s and beyond.

Francis Fukuyama said history ended in 1989, maybe he was right.

Originally posted by m1991

Originally posted by Partygirl
I was born around that time too and I've heard older people say almost exactly the same thing as you, OP.

One thing I think is interesting is 1989 doesn't get much attention. I mean, what can you clearly associate with that year and no other? A fad, a fashion trend? Anything else? I'm drawing a blank. It's like a kind of "shadowy" unknown year.

Ever see the movie Donnie Darko? It's about a kid who has a kind of paranormal experience. Or maybe it's psychosis. You have to see for yourself. It takes place in 1989.

I heard somebody else saying a lot of spiritually powerfull stuff happened in 1989 and 1990, now this might be getting a little far out there in "woo-woo" territory but a lot of people seem to have had deep spiritual awakenings around that time, or psychotic episodes, too...I keep coming across stories like that...

I think this is a really important thread, OP.

I love Donnie Darko!!!! I used to go by that name on here but something happened to my account. I really do feel like "something" ended in the late 80s and I almost feel like today is a facsimile of the world that existed before the '90s and not quite the same world. The 1980s seem like the same world as even the 19th century or ancient times somehow even though it was different people - this world we have been living in since 1990 seems almost like a sham world, like not the same!

1989 seems pivotal in history, it's like the end of the "old days" and the beginning of the "new days". Communism flopped, it was the last days prior to computers/the Internet/cell phones being common (all three existed throughout the 80s but were uncommon and almost unrecognizably primitive relative to today), the music was very different and even the way people talked back in the 80s, at least Americans, sounds different, like more serious and awkward than the way people have talked since 1990 and still do today, which seems more goofy and ADHD-ish.

It's also strange how quickly fashion changed. The 90s still had a lot of 80s fashion left over, especially like older people and less urban/trendy areas of the world, I mean even in the late 90s certain people still had mullets and thick-framed glasses, but you can tell that the beginning of the change to modern fashion and attitude as well probably began in 1989 and certainly by 1990. The Simpsons and Seinfeld began in 1989 and there really became a sarcastic and cynical attitude where everything is kind of a "joke" since then, before 1990 it was like everything was a bit less "solid" yet people were more serious, if that makes sense. Now it's like things are harder and more physical yet people are less serious and also more rude and frank.

edit on 9-8-2011 by m1991 because: (no reason given)

Now...capitalism to me is constantly changing, rapidly, we live in a age of information, constant change of identity styles etc, too much is thrown at our brains more then we can handle. You need to understand that our short 60 years cannot handle these.

People are slowly changing for the bad I assure you. Slowly but surely. thats my view.
morals and attitude are negative.
it's the secularisation.
i would like someone to know mor on the matter.

Now...capitalism to me is constantly changing, rapidly, we live in a age of information, constant change of identity styles etc, too much is thrown at our brains more then we can handle. You need to understand that our short 60 years cannot handle these.

People are slowly changing for the bad I assure you. Slowly but surely. thats my view.
morals and attitude are negative.
it's the secularisation.
i would like someone to know mor on the matter.

I actually think very little has changed since the early '90s. Sure the technology is better, but people in 1990 were just as tech-crazed as people today, they just weren't as far up the curve. Instead of using Facebook they were using AOL, but the modern mindset clearly began in the early '90s. The pop culture is the same too, hip hop is still king, as are manufactured boy bands and girl singers which began with New Kids on the Block and Tiffany and the like.

People say Lady Gaga is original but to me, every inch of her persona is totally 90s.

From first hand experience it was exactly the same. People were just as cynical as they were back in the 80's, 70's etc. Different wars, different music, different T.V shows and different technology was really the only ...er...difference. Language and symantics are constantly changing, just look at the way people talked in the early 2000's compared to today. It's just a matter of your perception maturing along with the times, you will see.

Originally posted by MrRoboto
From first hand experience it was exactly the same. People were just as cynical as they were back in the 80's, 70's etc. Different wars, different music, different T.V shows and different technology was really the only ...er...difference. Language and symantics are constantly changing, just look at the way people talked in the early 2000's compared to today. It's just a matter of your perception maturing along with the times, you will see.

So it was just as real and physical as today's world, before 1989, it only seems strange and unreal to me because I wasn't there?

reply to post by m1991


Pretty much. Technology and pop culture aside, people are the same now as they were then. People never change.

reply to post by m1991


i don't remember the 80's that much till


aug 89'.

the music sucked, that's 1 thing, looking back and golf and skiing was good.

i remember making money.


wasn't that the "ME" period?

I'm only 10 years older then you, yes it was very much real. I think if anything the 80's people became more unihibited to talk about taboo subjects of the past, and at times it was really in your face. Just watch movies from 10-15 years ago. You can clearly see the change in times. Not just in style, hard to explain, just the whole atmosphere seems off. I thought the same as you back in the early 2000's in regards to the 70's and 60's, I have found that most peoples outlook on life changes at around age 28 or so ( from personal experience and friends) It's as though you mature and you look at the world through new eyes, it's very humbling. In the mean time, enjoy.

reply to post by TopherWayne


No. People do change. It's easier to be good in good times, it's easier to be bad in bad times. People ate other human beings to survive in East Europe at the end of WWII, I don't think those same people did it again afterwards.

reply to post by fooks


HA!, I love the music from the 80's. It's so random. I find a lot of todays music is borrowing from that time frame.

Originally posted by m1991

Originally posted by MrRoboto
From first hand experience it was exactly the same. People were just as cynical as they were back in the 80's, 70's etc. Different wars, different music, different T.V shows and different technology was really the only ...er...difference. Language and symantics are constantly changing, just look at the way people talked in the early 2000's compared to today. It's just a matter of your perception maturing along with the times, you will see.

So it was just as real and physical as today's world, before 1989, it only seems strange and unreal to me because I wasn't there?

I wish I could think of an example off the top of my head... but you need to see more "raw" footage of people from those eras. I think what you're noticing a great deal of is in the 80's it was still "expensive" to commit something to quality footage and have it broadcast widely... thus anyone putting that effort in is going to make sure it impresses... which means exceeding "reality" which back then could only really be done by being more "fantastical".

Once it got so it was cheap for anyone to match the big boys... within reason... then it switched to an entire industry of trying to show us as we "really are" once the world got connected enough to start seeing itself in a more blatant and impossible to hide from light. So now we have the same trying to exceed reality happening in the media being pushed... but now it's trying to be more *real* than real rather than more *fantastic* than real.

This last part is ultimately what you are seeing. When you watch footage of the people when they are just chatting it up with friends and think nobody is watching... you can see that you would probably get along with them fine. It's the walls and masks and barriers we put up that create these illusions hiding what we're all like under the charade (we're all TV stars now!)

Namaste!

I was a kid in the '60s-'70s. The '80s were quite the awesome . But 1989-'90 seemed...stagnant. Or maybe just still. I felt like I was waiting for something to happen that just wouldn't. It was an odd couple of years and then things got moving again.

/TOA