17. Vanilla Ice
Within this 90s renaissance we are currently experiencing, a lot of pop culture is being re-examined by media critics. We’ve learned very little about ourselves so far, except that we’re still for some reason obsessed with the O.J. Simpson trial. As well as the fact that we still want to see Andrew Dice Clay pay for his past sins against taste and humility. How is that going, by the way?
One thing we’re doubtful to look back on with fondness – if at all – is the brief but highly publicized existence of Vanilla Ice. Ice broke onto the scene in 1990 with a brand new edition…of David Bowie and Queen’s “Under Pressure.” If ever white people had to feel ashamed in that decade, this would be the time – one that coincided with the Rodney King beating.
Ice stuck around for three years before vanishing into obscurity until reality television became a thing. His worst offence is hard to pin down, but 1991’s Cool as Ice certainly ranks high. Studios and record producers set out to make Ice the James Dean of his generation, the bad boy for which the good girl pined. Alas, it was not to be, and the high camp of the film manages to transcend the flat line readings of treasures like, “Drop the zero, get with the hero.”
Discussion about this post