The beloved character Bridget Jones, who first graced the literary scene nearly three decades ago, is making a comeback in a new film titled “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.” This revival captures a growing movement among younger audiences. Specifically, Generation Z is finding solace and relatedness in the short-form content of the 1990s. Bridget’s story addresses body image issues and relationships with comedy and candor punctuated with romantic misadventures. This message connects powerfully with a generation of activists facing crises of their own.
Bridget Jones’s Diary came thwacking onto the screen late ’90s. This period saw increased enforcement of narrow licensing hours in tandem with rampant homophobia. The era’s complexities are not lost on today’s youth. Helen Fielding, Bridget’s creator, has noticed that a lot of Gen Z people act like they’re really into the irony of 90s culture. She notes that during her recent book signings, half of her audience comprises young fans who find solace in laughing at the quirks of that decade.
One of those fans is Hannah Bradfield, a 25 year-old freelance journalist originally from Norwich. Living with her parents in Houston, Bradfield is working on a novel that explores her childhood nostalgia for the 1990s. “And I think we’re all a little bit nostalgic for that time because, quite frankly, it just looked easier,” she said. Bradfield and her friends are frequently told that they should be very anxious about their future in the internet and social media era. “And I think just everything felt a little more easier and carefree and fun.” She said, mourning the invasive nature of today’s technology for children.
This yearning for the 90s goes beyond books and television shows. Sales of old-generation scents such as CK One and Tommy Girl exploded. Consumers are ready and willing to nostalgicize the hell out of a period that has long since passed. Popular music from that decade is resurgent in a big way. Oasis’s forthcoming reunion tour is provoking Beatles-type mania, with the same people who packed Knebworth in ’96 taking their kids to snatch up tickets. Miranda Sawyer, a former music journalist from that era, remarked on the enduring appeal of 90s songs: “They’re the songs that everybody knows, that people will sing when they’re drunk; they’re just part of the ether.”
She is a senior fellow in equality, leadership, and inclusion at the University of Birmingham business school. She’s done studies on Gen Z’s relationship to the 90s. Her work, both historical and activist, highlights the productive and destructive duality of nostalgia. We all have fond memories of the decade’s excess and freedom, but the era was marked by misogyny and discrimination. What she illustrated beautifully with the trailer was how 90s popular culture resonated through the ironically-laced banter and promotion of self-seriousness. These elements often serve to mask the underlying misogyny and other forms of discrimination that run rampant. Whiteman continues, “From a lot of people’s perspectives, the 90s were not necessarily a good time. I believe that’s quite literally the picture that’s put forward.”
Sheryl Garratt, who edited Face magazine in the 90s and now coaches creatives, echoes a pernicious idea about nostalgia. I’m old enough to know by now that every era gets cycled through every 2, 3, 4 years,” she said. We sort of repackage all of the best parts and remember none of the horrible parts. This cyclical nature of cultural revival can help explain why characters like Bridget Jones still feel fresh and relevant.
Bridget is preparing to return to the dating scene as a middle-aged widow. Her epic journey speaks to themes that everyone, whether they are kids or grandparents, can connect with. The character’s story of battling body image issues and fostering positive relationships is still relevant today. Fielding thinks these themes are what draw younger audiences to her work.
“I do think that the internet and social media are at the heart of everything, really,” Bradfield noted. “It’s great for some things, but it is just quite out of control now.”