A Generational Past
Words by Will Sikich
Jonah Hill’s Mid90s offers a look into the past. Not the distant past, not even his own past, but the history of a generation. A period piece, love song, memory, Mid90s is Hill’s testimony about his recollection of being a kid. His characters’ relationships tell a universal story with a particular flavor – that of his nostalgic childhood decade. They present the confusion and anxiety of kids living in the ’90s and communicate the brutal truth about the way they were forced to grow up.
Stevie lives with his mom and older brother. He loves his mom and wants to be like his brother, but relationships are never dull for long. Stevie’s brother punches him regularly, then sits at his side when he ends up in the hospital. Stevie’s friend, Ruben, helps him fit into his new group of skater friends, then lashes out when Stevie starts gaining popularity. The power of Mid90s lies in its honest portrayal of relationships. People are selfish, people are self-destructive, people are there when you need them. Seeing these dynamics play out across the intimate medium of a film forces introspective reflection that causes the viewer to understand life as it is: imperfect.
Each character, Stevie included, makes at least a couple selfish or destructive decisions. Ruben starts a fight with Stevie over something stupid, their friend Fuckshit parties his grades away, and even the levelheaded Ray gets in the car with a drunk Fuckshit behind the wheel. We see the stupidity in these decisions, but Hill presents them to us in a way that softens us to them. We understand why they do what they do, why they don’t do what they should. We see them at their best and their worst. We come to know them as living characters worthy of empathy. Ruben doesn’t push Stevie to hurt him; he does it because he, himself, is in pain. And Fuckshit doesn’t drink every night because he wants to sabotage his future; he does it for fear there’s no future to sabotage.
“Kids only do what they think they should. They act tough, they want to be cool, but these desires simply translate into one grand wish: to be accepted. ”
Hill’s depiction of fraternal love was exciting and truthful. Stevie looks up to his two “big brother” characters, Ian and Ray, in different ways. His relationship with Ian dips and dives into violence at the drop of a hat. However, the two still share a brotherly understanding that contains infinite value for a kid in Stevie’s situation. Ray provides supplementary older sibling wisdom by helping him out and being a friend at the right moments. Other older kids help guide Stevie through his new social environment, too, and the sum of all these steers to a lot of actions – some healthy, some idiotic, but all a part of the natural growth of a kid navigating the mid 90’s.
By the end of the movie, we understand these characters. We know them better than they know themselves, like watching a historical documentary about war and analyzing how it all started without anyone noticing until it was too late. Growing up was tough for these kids. Judgmental parents and after school specials may discredit and demonize their behavior, but Hill wants us to see theirs as a multi-sided story – as all stories are. Kids only do what they think they should. They act tough, they want to be cool, but these desires simply translate into one grand wish: to be accepted. We all go through the proving grounds of adolescence, so why look at kids any differently than we saw ourselves in their place?
