Zeigeist: Part 2

1988 - 1992
George H. W. Bush President

Major Events
US Embassies bombed (1988)
Berlin Wall Falls (1989)
Soviets pull out of Afghanistan (1989)
Gulf War (1991)
Collapse of the Soviet Union

This is a period of time when the Cold War seems to have been won by the U.S. At the same time, Bush switches our focus to the Middle East and Bin Laden starts bombing US targets. Among people my age (those of us who entered high school and grew into political consciousness in the early eighties), there is a sense of relief that what had always seemed to us to be a vaguely trumped up paranoia over the big bad Soviets is finally over. But the Cold War true believers are still in charge, so we have a vague sense of foreboding, especially when we are told we have enemies in the Middle East….ahh, the seeds of the War on Terror are sown.

Our movies during this period of time reflect this weird combination of optimism and cynicism. But early in this period, even our tales about taking on terrorists still revolve around understandable motivations, most notably greed. The hero is a cop.

I believe, Silence of the Lambs (1991) is a turning point, reflecting our growing ambivalence about the state of the world. With this film, we are introduced to a new kind of “terrorist”: an envious misogynist who needs to be taken down (by a woman also a cop), with the assistance of the antihero of the film. Hannibal Lecter is a “necessary evil” genius who assists the “right side” only because it amuses him.

And even though our ambivalence about evil vs. good, bad guys vs. good guys increases (as reflected in the most ambivalent heroes of them all—Batman and Terminator 2), we are still trying to assert the power of the honest man of integrity (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, A Few Good Men). We enter the era of Clinton feeling refreshed and eager to cast off the Cold War generation.

Popular Movies
1988
Rain Man
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Coming to America
Big
Twins
Crocodile Dundee II
Die Hard
Naked Gun
Cocktail
Beetlejuice

1989
Batman
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Lethal Weapon 2
Look Who’s Talking
Honey I Shrunk the Kids
Back to the Future, Part II
Ghostbusters II
Driving Miss Daisy
Parenthood
Dead Poets Society

1990
Home Alone
Ghost
Dances with Wolves
Pretty Woman
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Hunt for Red October
Total Recall
Die Hard 2
Dick Tracy
Kindergarten Cop

1991
Terminator 2
Robin Hood
Silence of the Lambs
City Slickers
Hook
Addams Family
Sleeping with the Enemy
Father of the Bride
Naked Gun 2 ½
Fried Green Tomatoes

1992
Aladdin
Home Alone 2
Batman Returns
Lethal Weapon 3
A Few Good Men
Sister Act
The Bodyguard
Wayne’s World
Basic Instinct
A League of Their Own