The film I decided to analyze was the movie Mid90’s directed by Jonah Hill. The film includes real skateboarders who are also actors such as Olan Prenatt, Na-Kel Smith, and other notable actors like Alexia Demie and Gio Galicia. As the title states, this movie is set in the mid-90’s and is set in California. I am going to analyze how skateboard and street culture which was once less popular, has become one of the main stylistic pillars in fashion today.
I chose this movie because it is one of my favorites but also because I feel it represents my stylistic background as well as where fashion is at today. The film is centered around skateboard and streetwear culture during the 90’s and a lot of this influence is what you see in fashion today even from big name brand designers such as Balenciaga. Baggy denim, bulky shoes, over sized t-shirts are some of the staple pieces that can be seen on actors in the movie and today on most people who embody streetwear.
The film follows a young boys journey in trying to enter adulthood while he struggles with personal identity and puberty all at the same time. While the main character Stevie is trying to find his identity, you see him copy the style of the older skaters he wants to be like and hang with. By doing this, Stevie is trying to communicate with the other boys that he is apart of the same culture as them so that they will accept him. He uses fashion as well as music as a means of subtle communication in hopes that the others will view him as an equal instead of an outsider trying to fit in.
Overall this film was a great representation of a revolutionary time in pop culture and I feel that in some way everybody will be able to relate to Stevie or some part of the film. I recommend this movie because it is a great coming of age story while presenting a historically accurate depiction of how skateboard culture arose and influenced the world.
