Nostalgia embellishes things, diverts attention to what is nicer. It is impossible to think of the cinema of the 90s without remembering the youthful appeal of some of the actresses who marked the decade: Drew Barrymore, Alicia Silverstone, Winona Ryder, Liv Tyler, Christina Ricci, Kirsten Dunst or Claire Danes. Obviously these are more widely thought of actresses, not just because of how young and beautiful they were in the 90s. They are all still active, magnificent and in many cases very powerful women.
But that selective nostalgia can make us forget that in the 90s, despite the fact that most were minors or had just ceased to be, were mercilessly sexualized and without a significant part of society finding it strange. To the point of coining the concept of 90s lolita to talk about them (or artists like Britney Spears). The tag was taken from the Vladimir Nabokov novel, but it was a biased use of the reference. It did not allude to the crime. He turned actresses into objects of desire (selling that they were aware of being so) and allowed the adult viewer to see them that way not only without feeling bad, but without even considering that it was fatal.
Drew Barrymore was 16 when he made ‘Poison Ivy’ (1992), the same as Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler in ‘Crazy’ (1994), Aerosmith’s video clip. And Natalie Portman, 13 when she debuted in ‘The Professional’ (1994) and 15 in ‘Beautiful Girls’ (1996). Without going into considerations about their characters in these proposals (were they the right age for what was required of them?), in the promotion of these films and in their definition as actresses to be followed, their shamelessness was brought to the forefront. physical attractiveness.
many of them they posed in a sexy attitude, the one that was asked of them, on the covers of the magazines. And rare was the text that did not refer to her attractiveness. In some cases, it was taken for granted that there was a direct relationship between their characters and themselves, that the decisions and risks they took artistically were reflected in the real world. But it wasn’t like that. In ‘Poison Ivy’, Barrymore gives life to a young woman who seduces her friend’s father. Her character is a femme fatale from the book, and the film remains controversial for her stance on women. Before shooting it, Barrymore had lived more than five adults together. The girl in ‘ET The Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982) was famous with 7 years, consumed alcohol with 9 and cocaine with 12, He had gone through rehabilitation centers, he had attempted suicide, he had emancipated from his mother at 14 and he had written some memoirs (‘Little Girl Lost’). She had been through everything.
But, even if she herself had nurtured a dangerous image at that time, today it is inconceivable that the media and the industry would turn a 16-year-old girl into a sex symbol. I mention the industry because in it what is irresistible one day is a reason for ridicule the next. Barrymore has reinvented itself many times. Today he has a television program, The Drew Barrymore Show, in which he brings out the most human side of Hollywood stars, and a business emporium that includes several lines of makeup and hair items, another of electrical appliances, another of furniture and even their own wines. And, before coming here, he has been reborn several times. But the sexualization to which he was subjected shaped his career for years and, perhaps, the decisions he has made since then.
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The case of Silverstone is different. After the three Aerosmith video clips which he starred in in 1993, came another film that strengthened his image of ‘Lolita: The Crush’ (1993). Directed by Alan Shapiro based on a personal story (today that information would have been spared), it tells the story of a journalist who is seduced by a teenager. The teenager is played by Silverstone, who was 16 years old, and, like in ‘Poison Ivy’, it was all the girl’s fault… The actress always rejected the Lolita label.
But, no matter how much he put on his part, he ended up swallowing her when ‘Clueless’ (Out of the Wave) (1995) was released, the film that catapulted her. She was 19 years old and it was decided that she was one of the sexiest actresses of the moment. As it was decided, in another demonstration of utter lack of mercy from the industry, the media and the public, which two years later was not. Not only was he not, but he suffered ‘body shaming’ when he made ‘Batman & Robin’ (1997). They were merciless with her physique, they said that she was fat. Once again, the sexualization that nobody asked for had dire consequences. It cut short the career of the actress, who found another passion in environmental activism. Silverstone has never left the cinema, just as Barrymore has not, despite the breaks. But there is no doubt that the mythical covers of the Lolitas of the 90s were a poisoned candy.