How did you occupy your time when you were a teenager? Cassandra, the main character in The Rock Star’s Wife series, and her friends listen to music, hang out at each other’s houses, spend time at the mall, watch TV, and attend movies – lots of movies. In the 1990s, motion pictures were cheap entertainment for teens. The average ticket price for the decade was less than $5. Today, it averages around $12. Here are 16 90s pop culture trends mentioned in Sexual Awakening.
Magic Eye

Magic Eye. This work is ineligible for copyright and therefore in the public domain because it consists entirely of information that is common property and contains no original authorship.
Even if you’d never seen our room before, you’d be able to tell whose side is whose. Butterflies, flowers and Magic Eye posters decorate Vanessa’s side. – From Chapter 2
Magic Eye is a series of books featuring optical illusions of a three-dimensional scene created from a two-dimensional image. The books became wildly popular and spawned calendars and posters.
“For a flash in the 1990s, Magic Eye, the world’s most famous — and infamously frustrating —optical illusion, was everywhere,” Eye on Design says. “Posters bearing the brightly colored op-art hung from the walls of Midwestern mall kiosks. Postcards filled gift store racks.”
Jurassic Park

Entrance to the Jurassic Park area at Universal Studios Hollywood. HarshLight, photographer. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
I went with Shawna, Jenny and our close friends Jen Castillo, Jennifer Anderson and Tiffany Petrova to see Jurassic Park for the fourth time. – From Chapter 2
Debuting in June 1993, Jurassic Park is the first in the movie franchise about an amusement park filled with genetically engineered dinosaurs.
It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. It was the highest-grossing film worldwide, generating $1.046 billion.
MTV

Dan Aykroyd on set of MTV Music Television NYC. 1982. This work is from the Bernard Gotfryd collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work.
Mom snores softly, and I switch on my favorite station, MTV, hiding the remote between the chair frame and cushion. She doesn’t like me watching MTV because she doesn’t approve of how the bands dress in their videos. – From Chapter 2
Hard to believe now, but there was once a time when MTV stood for Music Television. The cable network launched in 1981, airing music videos. It was a big deal for artists to have their videos featured on the network, and videos were one of the ways young people discovered new artists.
The network began shifting heavily away from videos near the turn of the 21st century. According to The Cold Wire, a news, sports, and information website, the switch occurred for the following reasons: increased competition from other networks; it played all genres meaning if someone wasn’t a fan of what was playing, the person changed the channel; a niche audience equals a small audience; quickly run out of new content; and the rise of YouTube.
Jay Leno

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joshua Nistas, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), poses with Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show, after a filming of the show. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tekeshia Affa/Released)
I haven’t been able to find much on besides Jay Leno and infomercials, and I’m tempted to tug on the TV Guide but I don’t dare because Mom fell asleep on top of it and if I wake her up, she’ll be cranky. – From Chapter 2
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno launched in May 1992 on NBC following a controversy over who would replace Johnny Carson as The Tonight Show host: Jay Leno or David Letterman?
Letterman would leave the network for CBS with The Late Show with David Letterman competing against The Tonight Show.
Leno left The Tonight Show in 2009.
The Bridges of Madison County

Built in 1880 by Benton Jones, it is the longest covered bridge, measuring 122 feet. It remains in its original site over the Middle River southeast of Winterset. It is featured in The Bridges of Madison County movie. Phil Roeder, photographer. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
I find her in the living room reading The Bridges of Madison County. – From Chapter 2
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller is a 1992 romance novella about a love affair between a married woman and a National Geographic photographer who is photographing covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa, in the 1960s.
In 1995, the film adaptation debuted starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep as the main characters. Streep was nominated for an Academy Award.
X-Files
He laughed at me the other day when I told him Jennifer and I watch The X-Files together every Friday. – From Chapter 7
A sci-fi show that aired on FOX, X-Files is famous for the line “The truth is out there.” It starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, FBI special agents investigating the X-Files. The cases revolved around aliens.
It aired originally on Fridays before moving to Sunday nights later in its run. It ran from 1993 to 2002 and again from 2016 to 2018.
Reality Bites
Shawna and Jen have huge crushes on Ethan Hawke, so we’re going to grab something at McDonalds before seeing Reality Bites. – From Chapter 8
Reality Bites is a 1994 movie starring Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo.
The movie follows four recent college graduates as they struggle to start careers. It also explores dating, promiscuity and AIDS.
Forrest Gump

Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. Lakesbutta, photographer. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
I promised Shawna and Jen I’d meet them so we can go see Forrest Gump. It’s opening weekend, so we might have to wait a while to get in. – From Chapter 11
Another 1994 movie, Forrest Gump stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field. The film follows Forrest, a mentally challenge man, from the 1950s to the early 1980s.
It grossed $678.2 million. Its soundtrack features nearly 30 artists from Elvis Presley to Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band.
L for Loser

A girl demonstrating the L for Loser hand gesture. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
The three of us raise our fingers in the shape of a ‘L’ to our foreheads and say “loser” in unison. – From Chapter 15
“The gesture was popular in the 1990s,” Wikipedia explains, “partly popularized by the 1994 movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and 1993’s The Sandlot, as well as the 1999 Smash Mouth song ‘All Star,’ of which the song’s first verse contains the lyric ‘she was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an ‘L’ on her forehead.’”
I remember Greg Kinnear doing this on Talk Soup with a wag of the head, but I cannot find any video evidence.
A Pyromaniac Love Story
We’re going to see A Pyromaniac’s Love Story tonight, and I had to get permission to break curfew, although that often happens on movie nights because I have no control over the showtimes. – From Chapter 15
A Pyromaniac’s Love Story debuted in 1995 and stars William Baldwin, John Leguizamo, Sadie Frost, and Erika Eleniak. It is a love story surrounding the arson of a bakery. It grossed $468,240.
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

The Plough was used in the film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. Tony Hisgett, photographer. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
“We were having a debate while we waited for you,” Jenny says. “Which movie would you rather see next week? The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain or Braveheart?” – From Chapter 15
The Englishman who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain is a 1995 movies starring Hugh Grant. Tara Fitzgerald and Colm Meaney. It is about a Welsh village in 1917 that is proud of its mountain. Two English cartographers arrive to measure the mountain, only to discover it is 16 feet short of the 1,000 feet needed to qualify as a mountain. The villagers lug soil up to the top to raise the hill’s height while devising methods to keep the cartographers in town.
It grossed $21 million.
Braveheart

Mel Gibson on the set of Braveheart, 1995. Source: Scott Neeson. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
“We were having a debate while we waited for you,” Jenny says. “Which movie would you rather see next week? The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain or Braveheart?” – From Chapter 15
Braveheart is a 1995 film starring Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan,
Catherine McCormack and Brendan Gleeson. It portrays a fictionalized version of Scottish freedom fighter Sir William Wallace. It was a box-office success, grossing $213.2 million, and won the Academy Award for best actor and best film.
ER
“I didn’t know they made ER fan fiction,” I say just to irk her since she’s going through withdrawal now that the show is on summer hiatus. – From Chapter 16
ER was a medical drama airing Thursday nights on NBC. It aired from 1994 to 2009. Over its run cast members were numerous and included Noah Wyle (Vanessa’s favorite actor), George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Sherry Stringfield, Julianna Margulies and Eriq La Salle.
Stories were set in the fictional Cook County General Hospital in Chicago.
Freddy Kruger

Freddy Krueger cosplay. Yike665, photographer. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
I expect an insane killer like Freddy Krueger, but the person I see is younger, better looking and usually friendly. – From Chapter 16
Freddy Krueger is the main character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. He was portrayed by Robert Englund. The first film in the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street, debuted in 1984 and six sequels followed by 1995.
By the 1990s, the first films in the series were late-night movie staples.
Shrinky Dinks
If it were possible to shrink myself like a Shrinky Dink and hide under this bleacher, I would. – From Chapter 17
Shrinky Dinks are cut shapes of plastic, often cartoon characters or animals, that shrink when baked in the oven. They can be used to make necklace charms, keychains and other items. The craft was at its height in popularity in the 1980s, right when Cassandra and her friends were the target audience.
They are still sold in stores.
The Simpsons

The Simpsons graffiti in Germany. Notice Lisa’s L for Loser hand gesture. Husky22, photographer. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
I shut my notebook to annoy Mom. “Like in The Simpsons?” – From Chapter 29
The Simpsons is a cartoon airing on FOX following the adventures of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Voice actors include Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith and Hank Azaria.
It has aired mostly on Sunday nights since 1989.
Here’s the 4-1-1
This blog is a companion piece to Sexual Awakening, available in eBook, paperback and hardcover. This coming-of-age story, set against the backdrop of the mid-1990s Midwest, follows Cassandra, a high schooler whose big dreams clash with her family’s conservative expectations, as she comes into her own while navigating the complexities of teenage sex and dating. Buy now.
To listen to the songs mentioned in Sexual Awakening, follow The Rock Star’s Wife on Spotify.
For more information on the licenses mentioned on this page, visit https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/.
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