The 1990s
10 HYPES — 1991
10 hypes that took over America in 1991.
In 1991, American kids took their hobbies seriously. Baseball cards might be worth more than an allowance, a quarter at the arcade could end in public embarrassment, and the wrong Christmas console could fuel an argument for years. These ten hypes captured a year when what you watched, wore and played could say something about you.
#10
culture
Beauty and the Beast
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast arrived in theaters in November, with memorable songs, instantly recognizable characters and Belle, a book-loving heroine who wasn’t waiting to be rescued. Its ballroom scene blended hand-drawn characters with a computer-generated setting, creating a striking moment that helped make the film feel like an event. The movie’s reach went beyond the theater: its music, characters and merchandise joined the larger Disney machine. Then it became the first animated movie nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, helping prove animation could be more than a children’s release.
1991#9
culture
Lisa Frank
Lisa Frank transformed ordinary school supplies into bright displays of personality. Unicorns, dolphins, rainbows and vividly colored leopards covered folders, stickers, notebooks and pencil cases. For kids with little say over their schoolwork, choosing a folder offered a small way to make something boring feel like theirs. Lisa Frank was also a real person, an artist running her company from Tucson, Arizona. At its peak in the nineties, the company brought in more than $60 million a year. A folder wasn’t just for homework anymore; it could show your friends what you liked.
1991#8
culture
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 had premiered the year before, but its teen following took off in 1991. Fox aired new episodes over the summer, when many shows would be in reruns, and they drew between 15 and 19 million viewers each. Brandon, Brenda, Dylan, Kelly and Steve became more than characters on television. Their actors became teen idols, and viewers carried episode debates into school the next day. The show made a point clear to television executives: teenagers were an audience worth chasing.
1991#7
culture
The Sports Card Boom
Baseball cards were no longer just about finding a favorite player. Collectors bought packs, checked price guides and wondered whether a card might be a profitable investment. Upper Deck had raised the stakes with glossy, expensive cards, including a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card that collectors treated like a savings account. Card companies printed cards by the billions, and sales of new sports cards passed $1 billion a year at the boom’s peak. But when nearly everyone saved cards expecting them to become rare, scarcity became a problem. Most 1991 cards are worth very little today, because so few were thrown away.
1991#6
culture
Hypercolor
Hypercolor shirts changed color when exposed to heat, leaving a temporary handprint when someone touched the fabric. The shirts appeared in schools, malls and on MTV. Demand was so strong that Generra could reportedly supply only about half of what stores wanted, and sales reached $50 million by May—more than the company had expected for the full year. The novelty had a drawback: a large color patch beneath your arm was less exciting than a handprint. Generra rushed to make more clothing, and the craze cooled quickly. In July 1992, the company announced it would seek bankruptcy protection. For a while, Hypercolor made clothes feel futuristic—without an off switch.
1991#5
culture
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
In the first Terminator film, Arnold Schwarzenegger played a machine sent to kill someone. In the 1991 sequel, he returned to protect someone, while a new threat—the shape-shifting T-1000—took center stage. Its liquid-metal transformations, created with computer-generated imagery and practical effects, made it look as if the rules of matter had stopped applying. The motorcycle chase, explosions and Arnold with a shotgun helped make the film a spectacle. Terminator 2 became 1991’s highest-grossing movie, earning more than $200 million at the domestic box office.
1991#4
culture
Super Soaker
An ordinary squirt gun required getting close enough to soak someone—and close enough to get soaked yourself. Engineer Lonnie Johnson found a more powerful stream of water while working on an experiment at home. The toy reached stores in 1990 as the Power Drencher; in 1991, Larami gave it TV commercials and the name Super Soaker. The new range turned backyard water fights into exercises in strategy: hide, wait, aim, fire and run. Around two million Super Soakers had been sold by the end of 1991. The famous water gun’s inventor had worked for the Air Force and NASA.
1991#3
culture
Street Fighter II
Capcom released Street Fighter II in arcades in March 1991. Players picked a character, learned their moves and faced opponents. Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Guile inspired strong opinions, while their special moves demanded joystick motions that could seem nearly impossible. A player could practice for twenty minutes, only to have someone else challenge them at the machine—and do it better in front of a crowd. The arcade became a social place to compete, and Street Fighter II became the highest-grossing arcade game in the United States that year.
1991#2
culture
Nirvana and Nevermind
Nirvana’s Nevermind arrived in September 1991, bringing alternative rock from Washington State into the mainstream. MTV put “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in its high-priority Buzz Bin, and its video—a school assembly spiraling out of control—helped draw attention to the band and its sound. Word of mouth spread from college students to their younger siblings. On January 11, 1992, Nevermind reached number one on the Billboard album chart, replacing Michael Jackson’s Dangerous. The music came with a deliberately unpolished look: flannel, knit caps and ripped jeans. A style that had been alternative was becoming mainstream.
1991#1
culture
Nintendo Versus Sega
In 1991, “Nintendo or Sega?” could divide a group of kids fast. Nintendo had dominated the American video-game market, but Sega had Sonic the Hedgehog, whose speed and impatient foot-tapping made the character hard to ignore. Sega sold an attitude as well as a machine, declaring in its ads, “Genesis does what Nintendon’t.” Nintendo brought the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to America in late August, with Super Mario World in the box. That November, Sega started including Sonic with every new Genesis. Each company claimed to be winning, and the rivalry played out in living rooms and on school buses. For kids, choosing a console could become part of their identity: you were a Nintendo kid or a Sega kid.
1991