CNN's "The Nineties": A Millenial's Perspective

I’ve recently been enjoying CNN’s The Nineties, with new episodes every Sunday night.* As a 1988 baby, my perspective of the 1990s is a little skewed. So when each new episode of The Nineties lights up my television screen, I find myself in awe at the nuances I’d missed as a child. It’s not that I wasn’t there for those major 90s events—it’s that I viewed them through the filtered lens of my parents.

Here are a few glimpses of what I mean:

• I knew the O.J. Simpson trial was happening, only because my mom kept complaining that it was on allll the time.
• I knew Bob Dole was running for president, only because my dad’s house was plastered in Dole signs and my dad was livid when Dole lost.
• I remember the Oklahoma City Bombing not because of the intensity of what happened, but because my mom spent the day scanning through the crowds on TV, trying to find my uncle (who was in Oklahoma City and hadn’t yet checked in with any family members).

Distance, maturity, and college have helped me fill in the gaps of the major events of the 1990s, but none of that is the same as being at a reasonable age to experience it firsthand. Now, as a 29-year-old who likes to think she’s up-to-date with current events, I’m left watching The Nineties on CNN, fine-tuning what I thought I knew and adding context to the moments that affected my parents so strongly.

*Of course, I watch the episodes on Demand on Monday evenings, because Game of Thrones trumps all. But that’s neither here nor there.