Charting Your Emotional Growth Through 90s Movies

Photo: Chuck Savage [Getty Images]

Yes, the 1990s. They started with Kevin McCallister and ended with Thomas “Neo” Anderson. For kids who came of age during the years 1990 to 1999, movies represented a gradual peeling back of our illusions and myths to reveal a dark, disturbing underbelly that would haunt us well into the 2000s.

Get Nostalgic: The Mandatory 90s Time Capsule

Our trusted institutions–from the rubbery comic mayhem of Jim Carrey to the actual White House–were given unexpectedly dark new twists or blown to bits outright. We could no longer trust American Hero Tom Hanks. Steven Spielberg lulled us into an awe-struck dinosaur haze before hitting us in the gut with a brutal look at the Holocaust–in the same year. Here’s a look at how you can chart your emotional progression from fun, carefree youngster to black-clad cynic through the movies of the decade. Buckle up (and remember to click on the “+” icon next to each film title for our take on that movie).

Your 90s Movie Emotional Rollercoaster

Find out how the movies of the 1990s charted your emotional growth, for better or for worse.

1990 - 'Home Alone'

America's sweetheart Macaulay Culkin turned a tale of parental neglect into a heartwarming holiday romp. We could relate to Mac's loneliness but also his mischievous ingenuity - between Mac and Bart Simpson, this decade is off to a rollicking start!
1990 - 'Pretty Woman'

First, Home Alone made abandonment fun. Now, in the same year, we have a sugary sweet tale of how being forced into prostitution can have a happy ending! Any wonder we were so wonderfully optimistic at the start of the 1990s?
1991 - 'Beauty and the Beast'

The hits just keep on coming. Nothing can stop the 90s! Disney's animation output for much of the late 80s failed to match their legacy titles, but Beauty and the Beast saw the House of Mouse return to its full glory once again.
1991 - 'The Silence of the Lambs'

<Record scratch> Hold up, 90s. What's this? The plucky, determined, and resourceful Jodie Foster is in line with how the rest of this decade is shaping up...but the rest? Um...this is pretty dark. Why did my parents let me watch this?
1992 - 'Wayne's World'

OK, the goofy slackers from Saturday Night Live are here to bring us back! They're making Schwing! jokes and...taking pointed satirical jabs at our consumerist culture? Umm....
1993 - 'Jurassic Park'

Thank you, Steven Spielberg! Sure, this movie is a little terrifying and features a few too many dismembered body parts for our young eyes, but the magic is there! The wonder! The Goldblum!
1993 - 'Schindler's List'

What's that, Steven? You have another huge movie out this year? Yay! Can't wait to see what kind of magical journey we'll be...

...<deep exhale>. Wow...
1994 - 'Forrest Gump'

We love Tom Hanks, but why are we now so suspicious? It's like we can't trust that the joyful optimism of the early 90s will carry us through. OK, this is fun so far, but...is it telling us that going through life without intellectual engagement is preferable to standing by beliefs or becoming involved in causes even if they're futile? Blindly drifting through history is better? What is going on here?
1995 - 'Seven'

Remember how cool Brad Pitt was in Thelma & Louise? Can't wait to see him play a badass cop who....OH MY GOD! TELL ME WHEN IT'S OVER!
1996 - 'Independence Day'

Our beloved national institutions are being decimated by aliens that are not misunderstood or cute or just looking to go home. They are mean and nasty and just want to wipe us out. And judging from Randy Quaid's character, we...deserve it?
1997 - 'Titanic'

OK, the 90s are nearing its end, so this is just what we need. A soaring romantic epic! Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet? Perfect. Aaaaaand...Leo's dead. Thanks, 90s. Why are we suddenly so interested in black clothing?
1998 - 'The Truman Show'

Help us, Jim Carrey. You're own only hope. Bring some Ace Ventura silliness into this decade that started so fresh and innocent. Sigh. Yep. A brutal, nihilistic satire about the shallowness of existence. Maybe I will get that tattoo.
1999 - 'The Matrix'

OK, fine. The world is s sham. Our existence is meaningless. Black pleather is a solid fashion choice. Music is just computers cursing at each other. We get it, 90s. You broke us. Bring on the the Y2K apocalypse because there's no way, say, the second decade of the 2000s could be any worse.