Week 5: "I Will Always Love You" (1992)

Week 5: “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
Mon 9.14/Wed 9.16
Class: Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“You’re in College Now: The New Rules of University Writing”
Due: REFLECTION 2

Upcoming:

Week 6: The Waco Siege (1993)
Mon 9.21/Wed 9.23
Read: eR—“Forty-Eight Reasons '90s Kids Had the Best Childhood” (Buzzfeed), “Why I Am Raising My Kids Like it's the ‘90s” (GoldenSlumbersPhotos), “What a Typical Day Was Like for a '90s Kid“ (Bustle), “What Was It Like Growing Up in the ‘90s?” (Reddit), “Growing Up in the ‘90s” (Vocal)
Class: Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations

Back in the Day News 9.12

• Princess Diana's niece, Lady Amelia Spencer, shares engagement news (Hello!)
• Justin Timberlake joins effort for Nashville MLB expansion team (BallparkDigest)  
• A look at current fashion trends inspired by the '90s (Harper's Bazaar)
• Sister, Sister alum Tia Mowry-Hardrict recalls she and her sister were rejected from a popular '90s teen magazine because they were black (TheMail)
• Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. reimagines Doogie Howser, M.D. set in Hawaii with a female teen (Deadline)

 

Reflection 2: Don't Go There—The Controversial Music of the Nineties

Like the '80s, the '90s had no shortage of controversial songs. But unlike the '80s, these songs were often met with an increasing social consciousness in the country, including a third wave of feminism and a burgeoning gay rights movement. As a result, many controversial '90s songs and videos not only faced corporate constraints, but consumer pushback.

For this examination, choose three of the following songs and videos considered controversial in the nineties. In your examinations, consider what about the song or video would deem it unfit for listeners or viewers of that decade. Would they still be controversial in "woke" 2020? Why or why not?

Note: While some of the songs or videos below might now seem tame, others remain very NSFW—even in 2020.

1. Divinyls, "I Touch Myself" (1990) - overtly pro-masturbation song and video
2. Madonna, "Justify My Love" (1990) - sexually provocative video, featuring bisexuality and voyeurism
3. Bel Biv Devoe, "Do Me!" (1990) - lyrics glorying statutory rape
4. Northside, " Shall We Take a Trip" (1990) - lyrics celebrating drug use
5. Garth Brooks, "The Thunder Rolls" (1991) - video featuring woman killing her abusive husband
6. Michael Jackson, "Black or White" (1991) - video ending called violent and too sexual
7. Holly Dunn, "Maybe I Mean Yes" (1991) - lyrics suggesting that a woman's "no" might mean "yes"
8. Public Enemy, "By the Time I Get to Arizona" (1991) -Video aired only once on MTV before being banned for violent imagery
9. Pearl Jam, "Jeremy" (1991) - song and video about a disaffected youth that is often misconstrued as being about a school shooting
10. Body Count, "Cop Killer" (1992) - lyrics inciting police violence
11. Sir Mix-A-Lot, "Baby Got Back" (1992) - overtly sexual lyrics and video
12. Brand Nubian, "Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down" - lyrics glorifying gay-bashing
13. Nirvana, "Rape Me" (1993) - anti-rape song often misconstrued as being pro-rape
14. Nine Inch Nails, "Closer" (1994) - sexually provocative video, including nudity
15. Tom Petty, "You Don't Know How It Feels" - censored by MTV, VH1, and radio stations for references to drugs 
16. Aaliyah, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" (1994) - sexually provocative lyrics from a 15-year-old singer
17. MC Hammer, "Pumps and a Bump" (1994) - sexually gratuitous music video
18. Eminem, "Low, Down, Dirty" - lyrics depicting misogyny, necrophilia, and domestic violence
19. The Prodigy, "Smack My Bitch Up" (1997) - violent and misogynistic lyrics
20. The Chicks (née The Dixie Chicks), "Goodbye Earl" (1999) - song and video about a woman killing her abusive husband

Mechanics:

• 1.5 pages in length
• MLA Style, plus works cited

Due: Wed 9.16 (via Canvas)

Week 4: President Bill Clinton (1992)

 

Week 4: President Bill Clinton (1992)
Mon 9.7 (NO CLASS—LABOR DAY)/Wed 9.9
Class: Lecture—“Citing Sources in MLA: The Basics” and “MLA Style 101”
Due: REFLECTION 1

Upcoming:

Week 5: “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
Mon 9.14/Wed 9.16
Read: Class: Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“You’re in College Now: The New Rules of University Writing”
Due: REFLECTION 2