Hey, follow me for a second. These four brothers showed up in a comic in 1984. The comic was initially a parody of something else, but it picked up steam and evolved into something more. In 1987, these four teenagers have an animated show loosely based on the comic; toys start selling like crazy, and they’re mainstream now. Scootch forward a few years, we’re in the 90’s and things are really happening. Four mutants are in one of the most iconic 90’s movies of all time; this film is more 90’s than the 90’s themselves. The ball is rolling for the ninjas now, and still rolling all the way up until right even now. These four turtles have been eating pizza on tv screens, phone screens, and big screens consistently and constantly.
If you picked up on the fact that we are talking about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then you have the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes, or at least his buddy Watson. As a child, I was enamored with the animated show that ran from 2003-2010, as well as the original live action film made in 1990.
So I’ve ranted about the Turtles for a minute. Why? Because I’m remembering how kool they are after recently rewatching the 90’s film as well as seeing the new movie TMNT Mutant Mayhem in theaters. I really like the new one. It’s funny, the animation is super neat, similar in style to the Spiderverse stuff, and It’s always cool for a new generation of kids to get their own TMNT movie. So this blog is in no way hating on the new movie, but it does have me thinking on something. The 90’s Turtles just feels right in a way that I think it only can in the 90’s.
I saw this Tiktok a long time ago with Vanilla Ice, who does a rap track in the og turtles movie, and he talked about how since the advent of the smartphone culture has not had the same level of demarcation between decades. The 70s are so 70s. The 80s are very 80s. Obviously the 90s are the most iconic time ever besides maybe the 90s. And the 2000s are pretty epic as well, because it’s really just a more tame version of the 90s. But as you get into the 2010s and beyond, we haven’t had the same decade defining trends. I think it’s a bummer.
But why have things changed? I think it has to do with the influx of information available with the internet and social media always being in the palm of our hand. We can see every “trend” going on all at once, so there’s more options for everyone to choose from. Also, the cool thing is to be completely unique, so many trends don’t get as massive a following. Instead of the 90s mindset of, “everyone has baggy jeans, so i need baggy jeans.” It’s more like, “Dam, tattoos are cool, but everyone is getting tattoos so i don’t want to.” Or everyone has a beard so I shouldn’t.
The 90s hit so hard for a lot of reasons. The pop culture was peak; Nirvana, baggy jeans, Eminem, video games, the list goes on. I feel like the attitude and other pieces of the puzzle came together in the 80s, and the technology in the 90s came around just enough to make it even kooler without ruining it. I think the 2000’s were cool too, with technology influencing the 90s culture but not destroying it. Unfortunately, the smartphone was the tipping point.
We don't know how to be a part of something bigger than ourselves anymore. We would rather be unique and iconic, than join with our peers. Yet we also have no higher god than the approval of our peers. This obviously leads to tons of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, but for the purpose of cultural trends, it means a lot of “trends” happening all at once for an even shorter period of time on average than what it used to be.
That whole rant is to say, I think defining trends of the 90s just fits the TMNT vibe in a way that enables it to succeed further than how it can in modern day. It's so out there; 4 obnoxiously big, bright, green, teenagers wearing bright colored masks. They skateboard, listen to hiphop, and dance really well. The outlandishness just lends itself to the era.
When you watch the 90s film, we relate to the teenagers, not just the turtles but also the teens that get sucked into the Foot clan and stuff, based off of the things they do and wear. In the 90s movie, the teens skate, listen to hip hop, dress super kool, sorta grungish, play arcade games and eat pizza and smoke cigarettes. The aesthetic is so sick.
In the new movie, the turtles are still great characters, and they are relatable as modern teens. But I think there’s a magic that just can’t happen now. The turtles are focused on fitting in and what people think of them and being on their phones, and the other teens are pretty well the same. They’re concerned if they’re cool (or not) or if other people are kool, or if other people think they’re cool. The modern films can roll with the same big aesthetic, but as of now that aesthetic is not what typically vibes in our minimalist design-focused society.
I have no better way than to end this rant with a beautiful block quote from a Pop Verse artice entitled “The Pizza Wars are over? TMNT have chosen their favorite pizza (and pizza place)”:
“What exists between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and pizza is a love unconditional, a bond unshakable, a symbiosis radical. Though the Turtles ate other foods (and drank beer) in the original comics, the 1987 animated show paired them with pies, beginning a holy union lasting over 36 years. Jul 25, 2023”
Comments