/lit/ - Literature

The late 90s was an economic high point. Then the economy took a dip in 2001, recoverd for a while then crashed again in 2007. The last crash was so drastic that it's unlike the US will ever relive the prosperity of these years. A lot of people look back on them fondly.

Entertainment reached a high point as well in the 90s pretty much across the board, at least in terms of success. Children's cartoons went from 30 minute toy commercials like Transformers and GI Joe, to cartoons for their own sake (Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life). Music Videos became more important than radio and MTV started producing its own original shows (everything from Beavis and Butthead to The Real World). Video games went from 2D to 3D. Movies started incorporating CGI, and we even got full 3D movies (Toy Story). Pro-wrestling became one of the biggest sectors of the entertainment era where giant companies were battling over who could get the biggest audience. Sit-coms reached a new level of quality with the creation of Seinfeld, one of the most criticaly acclaimed shows of all time. Harry Potter sparked one of the most successful book franchises of all time, not to mention the YA industry boom, which is still ongoing. No matter where you looked in the culture it seemed everything had reached a high water mark.

None of these industries are as lucrative as they were then, and whether it's the appeal or the quality that's declined, it's easy to see the 90s as a nostalgic golden age. It's understandable that the entertainment industry is stuck trying to re-create these successful years in any way they can.