The 1990s Arts and Entertainment: Overview

The culture war that began in the 1980s, pitting outraged politicians against artists whose works the politicians considered obscene and the government agencies that supported them, extended into the next decade. In 1990, in the midst of calls to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA; independent federal government agency that awards grants to artists and art organizations across the country), the U.S. Congress cut the NEA's budget. Congress then went further, requiring that works by government-funded artists adhere to community standards of decency. Artists countered that such conditions discouraged creativity, and some even sued the NEA. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately sided with the federal government, artists continued to offer social and political commentary in disturbing works that managed to offend some Americans.

Filmmakers in the decade also experimented with previously taboo subjects. Vulgarity and violence, designed to shock and excite, appeared in more and more movies. Even critically praised movies such as Pulp Fiction (1994) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) were violent. Yet, in this atmosphere of violence, certain films stood out with their sensitive, poetic rendering of powerful moments in history. One such film was Schindler's List (1993), a movie about the Holocaust, the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis during World War II (1939–45).

The shock factor in the decade was not limited to theaters. From radio to television, talk-show hosts and their audiences raised their voices and lowered the standards of acceptable social behavior. Talk radio often generated extreme emotion and misinformation. Rush Limbaugh's variety of political conservatism appealed mostly to antifeminist, anti-environmentalist, white, Republican listeners, while Laura Schlessinger pandered to troubled people needing a quick fix. Probably the greatest trash-monger of them all, however, was Howard Stern, a radio "shock jock" (disc jockey who specializes in on-air vulgarity).

Television talk shows sunk to a new low when they moved from exploring controversial subjects to initiating confrontation. Day after day, guests appeared to air their grievances with friends and lovers, while hosts and producers encouraged louder and more vicious arguments to keep the shows lively. The worst result was a murder following the taping of one Jenny Jones Show, in which a young man revealed his crush on his male neighbor.

The popular-music industry of the 1990s was dominated by the teen or Generation X market, with grunge rock and "gangsta" rap taking the lead. The music was loud, with abrasive and painful lyrics, depicting troubled and hopeless lives. All too often during the decade, that pain tragically snuffed out the lives of young artists speaking for their generation. Perhaps seeking a release from the tension-filled times, many music listeners also found pleasure in the songs of love and longing by pop singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. She had more number-one hits than any other female vocalist, and only eight fewer than Elvis Presley, the all-time leader.

Readers also sought to escape, buying the mystery and crime fiction of novelists such as John Grisham and Robert B. Parker. The work of Grisham, in particular, ruled the best-seller lists for most of the decade, and no other writer could crack the top spot. Book clubs across the nation helped spread the popularity of reading, and a book club started by talk-show host Oprah Winfrey did much to keep the trend alive. Literary novelists such as Cormac McCarthy, E. Annie Proulx, and Peter Matthiessen, though not as popular in the decade, produced lyrical works that received deserved acclaim. Toni Morrison, whose deeply felt works had captivated readers since the 1970s, was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature.