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- 1990s (3)
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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in English Language and Literature
Men Will Be Boys: Regressive Nostalgia In The Virgin Suicides, Gabrielle Vuillaume
Men Will Be Boys: Regressive Nostalgia In The Virgin Suicides, Gabrielle Vuillaume
English Honors Theses
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides is widely considered a cult-classic novel. However, the text reveals much deeper concepts that at first may miss the eye. The first-person plural narration of the male narrators unveils a regressive nostalgia where they cannot move on from the suicides of the Lisbon sisters, which occurred in the 1970s, twenty years prior. This paper describes the gendered relationship between the present day of the novel, the 1990s, as a male possessiveness over the 1970s as a female past.
Verity, Olivia Sun
Verity, Olivia Sun
English Honors Theses
A divorced, despondent middle school science teacher joins a secret society and helps them get to the bottom of a Galapagos tortoise government conspiracy.
Finding Tomahna: Myst As 1990s Time Capsule And Community, Maxx Hirsch
Finding Tomahna: Myst As 1990s Time Capsule And Community, Maxx Hirsch
English Honors Theses
The original Myst took the 1990’s by storm, quickly becoming the best-selling games in the world after its initial release in 1993. Many gamers and reviewers look back now, accustomed to lightning-fast loading speeds and razor-sharp graphics, ask why? I believe that Myst was able to find such wild popularity because it was a relevant reflection of its time period. In all of its oddity and solitude, Myst is an excellent representation of the feelings of American adults in the 1990’s. This thesis examines Myst as a product of wartime, new technology, and of community.
"A Kindler, Gentler Time": How Pleasantville And The Truman Show "Fix" The 1950s Suburban Ideal, Sophie Cohen
"A Kindler, Gentler Time": How Pleasantville And The Truman Show "Fix" The 1950s Suburban Ideal, Sophie Cohen
English Honors Theses
The Truman Show and Pleasantville both present a vision of the 1950s that is manufactured and mediated by television. I attempt to explain this using Lauren Berlant's model of the pilgrimage narrative, in which a character encounters true America in Washington, DC. Instead of locating America in the nation’s capital, though, I argue that these films locate America in the idealized suburbs of the 1950s. I propose that this pilgrimage differs from the one Berlant outlines in one crucial way: the capital can be visited at any time, but if America is really located in 1950s suburbia, then citizens of …
Twistin’ The Night Away: Perverted Nostalgia In How I Learned To Drive, Coco Mcneil
Twistin’ The Night Away: Perverted Nostalgia In How I Learned To Drive, Coco Mcneil
English Honors Theses
This paper situates Paula Vogel's 1997 play How I Learned to Drive as an American memory play that is representative of 1990s cultural and political discourses rooted in nostalgia for the 1960s. By examining each character--the Greek Chorus, Peck, and Li'l Bit--within Lauren Berlant's 'intimate public sphere,' 1960s iconography, and memory practices, I argue that Vogel offers an allegory in Drive that characterizes this nostalgia as perverted and traumatizing rather than idyllic.
Blood-Ties And Misfortune, Justin Frasier
Blood-Ties And Misfortune, Justin Frasier
English Honors Theses
A story about a boy who faces familial and mental health struggles.
Simulating America: Ludocapitalism Of The 1990s In Wall Street Kid And Animal Crossing, Emily C. Byrne
Simulating America: Ludocapitalism Of The 1990s In Wall Street Kid And Animal Crossing, Emily C. Byrne
English Honors Theses
The 1990s witnessed a rapid and unprecedented growth in technology. People watched more television and film, conversed with strangers in anonymous chat rooms, messaged each other on personal pagers, and increased their consumption of video games. The 1990s mark the third decade of the video game industry’s existence. Similar to other forms of digital media, the video game industry participated in rapid technological development during the decade. Home and handheld consoles became increasingly widespread, driving players away from the arcades of the past. Genres such as the first person shooter, fighting games, and survival horror started gaining significant popularity. These …