Saturday, April 15, 2017

M is for Mall of America, Murphy Brown, My Cousin Vinny, & Mullets (2017 Blogging A to Z0

Welcome to my '92 Time Capsule, where I unearth artifacts and memories from a quarter century ago in alphabetical order everyday (excluding Sundays, with the exception of the 30th) during the month of April. 

Today's letter is M, so without further ado...

On August 11, 1992, the largest mall in the United States opened in Bloomington, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul.  The Mall of America has a gross area of 4.8 million square feet, which is apparently is enough to fit 7 Yankee Stadiums inside, and has 2.5 million square feet as retail space for its 520+ stores.


In addition to the 520+ stores, the Mall of America is also home to Sea of Life Aquarium, Crayola Experience, FlyOver America, and Nickelodeon Experience, the largest indoor theme park in the United States.

The mall receives an estimated 42 million visitors annually.

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Later that month, during the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards, the comedy Murphy Brown, which starred Candice Bergen, won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.


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My Cousin Vinny, an American comedy film starring Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, and Mitchell Whitfield, was released on March 13, 1992.  The film is about two young New Yorkers (Macchio and Mitchell) who are accused of a murder they did not commit.  Their attorney, Vincent Laguardia Gambini (portrayed by Pesci), is one of the boy’s cousins (hence the name “Cousin Vinny”) and has never conducted defense litigation at trial before.


Marisa Tomei won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1993 for her role as Mona Lisa Vitto, the girlfriend of Cousin Vinny.


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The Mullet, a hairstyle characterized by short hair in the front and long hair in the back, was a very popular hairstyle for men in 1992. 


Interestingly, the mullet was not a new trend that year.  Mullets have been around since the 1970s; during that decade they were sported by musicians such as Paul McCartney, David Bowie, and Rod Stewart.  The mullet continued to be worn by musicians and actors throughout the 1980s; MacGuyver, Robe Lowe in St. Elmo’s Fire, and By 1992, the hairstyle had made a significant resurgence.  Much of the popularity may be attributed to the number of country music singers who donned the hairstyle that year, singers such as Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, and Billy Ray Cyrus.


For many years, I blamed Billy Ray Cyrus for the overwhelming popularity of this hairstyle because he exploded on the scene in ’92 (you’ll read more about him in my S post next Saturday).  But, after looking back at popular culture of that year, I realize Billy Ray is not entirely to blame.  With the popularity of Lethal Weapon 3 and Wayne’s World, movies in which lead characters sport mullets, and tennis player Andre Agassi’s growing fame (Agassi won Wimbledon that summer while sporting a mullet), I see that many were to blame.


Even though the mullet hairstyle was popular in 1992, the term “mullet” apparently did not appear in print until 1994 when the Beastie Boys song “Mullet Head” was released.

“You're coming off like you're Van Damme
You've got Kenny G, in your Trans Am
You've got names like Billy Ray
Now you sing 'Hip Hop Hooray'

Put your Oakley's, stone wash on
Watching MTV and you watch on
And #1 on the side and don't touch the back
And #6 on the top and don't cut it wack, Jack

Mullet head, don't touch the back
Cut the sides, don't touch the back”

Thinking back, I don’t remember calling it a mullet at the time.  But, I don’t really recall having a name for it.  It just was what it was, a hairstyle with short hair in the front and long hair in the back.  FYI:  It wasn’t until 2001 when the commonly associated description, “Business in the front, party in the back,” was coined in the movie Joe Dirt.

What are your thoughts on mullets or My Cousin Vinny?  As always, thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful Saturday!  Happy Easter.




13 comments:

  1. I don't think I ever watched one episode of Murphy Brown. Not sure why. Maybe it appealed to adults instead of teens.

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    1. I haven't either. I didn't realize that until I started doing my research for this theme.

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  2. I remember watching Murphy Brown, I love that show. my cousin vinny - that was an okay movie, I'm not sure what the big deal is. wasn't there some mess make about Marisa Tomei was not quite the winner of the oscar and that there was some mistake? I recall there was some fussing about whether she had won or not.

    the mullet- a rather unfortunate hair style that should really not have existed, I seriously hated it

    have a lovely day.

    ~ my M post - the seven moods of a blogger ~

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    1. As I was conducing research for this theme, it dawned on my that I've never seen a single episode of Murphy Brown. I remember it, I remember it being rather groundbreaking due to the single mother plot (I think), but that's it.

      Yes, there was some controversy about Tomei's Oscar win, some conspiracy theory about whether she received the Oscar by mistake.

      Oh, the mullet... It was rather foul, wasn't it? Especially when the party in the back was really, really long?

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  3. I could really give my Fitbit a workout in that mall. I enjoyed Murphy Brown and My Cousin Vinny. I could never understand the Mullet. It looks too throwback for the 1990s. Just not attractive.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you could! Walker's paradise. I have never seen Murphy Brown, but I really like My Cousin Vinny.

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  4. I can't stand the mullet lmao it was big over seas to

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    1. Some were definitely worse than others. Billy Ray's and Travis Tritt's = HIDEOUS. Mel Gibson's = not too bad. LOL!

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  5. Mullets are awful. I don’t know why anybody thought they were a good idea. I’ve been to the Mall of America, but I didn’t get to stay very long because I was in MN for a dog show and to pick up a puppy. Playing with the puppy was more fun than shopping.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I agree, they were pretty hideous, especially the ones with the long, long hair in the back. The one like Mel Gibson sported wasn't bad.

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  6. In 1992, I was 9, and fairly fresh off the boat from the USSR (we arrived in July 1991). I was speaking fluent English at this point and I recall watching My Cousin Vinny with my parents. We watched it fairly often and it's still one of my favorite movies to date. The 90s were awkward for me. Having my life uprooted, moving down the socioeconomic ladder and experiencing the consequences of the downward movement, being foreign and ethnic, while white at the same time. It was a tough time and I never want to go back to those years but somehow, there's a bit of nostalgia as well - maybe because I was young and blissfully unaware of how the world worked. Full House, Saved by the Bell, flannel, neon everything, the fashion trends - those things all defined the 90s. Life felt simple, despite the difficulties...

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    1. I'm sure the 90s were a tough period for you, coming from an entirely different county with different customs. The language barrier alone was probably very hard to deal with. Maybe the 90s, despite being a hard decade for you, hold some nostalgia for you because you obviously remember some of the things that you enjoyed, like My Cousin Vinny. You are nostalgic for the good things, not the decade as a whole.

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