90's Nostalgia Commemorative Issue April 2017 | Page 27

MADEXXXX
MADETHEN
revisit the Hillman alma mater while the gettin’
is good via Netflix.
FRESH PRINCE
Almost every nineties
baby can recite the
Fresh Prince theme
song by heart at the
drop of a dime. Will
Smith brought quite
a character to life when playing a typical
teen from Philly sent to stay with family out
in fancy living Bel-Air. Of course we enjoyed
the funky style, the constant jokes, and silly
behavior such as Carlton’s dance but the
show was intended to instill morals such as
family and self-worth. The teen, although not
letting it slow him down, battled such issues
as growing up with an absentee father or the
culture shock of being confronted by several
different kinds of people who were raised with
a silver spoon. One of the most memorable
episodes from the TV series was "Papa's Got
a Brand New Excuse" (Season 4, Episode 24)
when Will’s father pops back into his life after
over a decade. Although their relationship does
not seem out of the norm initially, the trauma
of growing up without a father reveals its ugly
head when his father returns back to his old
ways. A scene where Will explains to Uncle Phil
what he's gone through (and learned on his
own) without his father bringing him to tears
sheds light on the impact of a generation of
fatherless children. This show went on for a
whopping six seasons and can still be seen in
rerun fashion. It's missed most for it's humor and
insight on the perspective of a black male youth.
FAMILY MATTERS
Suspenders and a laughing snort should snap
your memory back into momentum when
recapping the kooky Winslow family with the
nerdy nuisance of a neighbor, Steve Urkel. The
patriarch of the family, Carl Winslow had more
than his day job as a police officer to keep his
hands full. There was also a fleeting cast from a
cliche teenage daughter, a feisty grandmother,
and a sassy sister-in-law with an adorable son.
Living all under one roof had its challenges
but served as an example of another kin d of
mixed family which is portrayed as the new
norm now for sitcoms and even some films.
The show was heavily based on family values
but also kindness in the face of bullying. A huge
example of how bullying became a focus on the
show is when the after effects were highlighted
in “The Gun” (Season 6, Episode 16) episode.
Laura, the relatable girl next door, gets beat up
by a girl gang member Toni Procopio over her
jacket. After being forced to face an altercation,
Laura makes the decision to purchase a gun
even after Urkel warns about the risk involved.
Before Laura can purchase the gun officially,
Toni shoots her best friend Josie over a pair of
shoes. Steve Urkel served his purpose in being
the silver lining to any cloud that may have
surrounded the lesson in the episodes, but also
shocked the audience with his transformation
from nerd to ultra-bae better known as Stefan.
ALL THAT
We still can't quite put our finger on what made
All That just that amazing but it did set the
scene for several teen stars we grew up to love
such as Amanda Bynes and Kenan & Kel. Now
that we give it further thought, the show was
literally all over
the place giving
reason to why we
as millennials flock
to late night shows
like Saturday Night
Live and Jimmy
Fallon. All That
was composed of
a cast of kids that
would come and
go in a variation of comedic skits. The easiest
way to describe its footprint is an accelerated
version of what the Mickey Mouse Club used to
be. Creative freedom was given to kids which
was unheard of at that time. All That may have
opened the door for other spin-offs but also
gave the incentive for kids to have a choice in
what they consume. The learning lesson from
this show wasn't the sketches, the lesson was
in raising the bar for kids, allowing them to be
funny. Having a show where you have skits such
as Good Burger which resulted in a mega-film
just shows how millennials were budding into
the successors you see today.
Now that we’ve taken that walk down memory
lane, we hope you remember that albeit
nostalgic that 90’s television was pretty lit.
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