Valley GirlCore Outflanks The DR
After the news broke about the passing of Shannen Doherty, there’s a legacy being left behind that warrants attention. 90210 may be a bygone artifact among the revolving door of teen dramas that have replaced its cultural foothold. Regardless, it’s the last gasp of the 90’s archetypes and the “scene” that allowed it to flourish. This article remains a celebratory tribute to Doherty. It also commemorates one of the best examples of social capital of the last American decade. A legacy that Doherty and the show contributed to. For those cynical about Gen Z, older fans might want to consider how their memories can be passed down and reclaimed socially and aesthetically with some optimism.
Before she donned the newbie mask in 90210, she was a queen bee in Sherwood, Ohio As a Heather, she enjoyed the spoils of aristocracy. Her place on the hierarchy wasn’t the main queen bee, but adjacent to the leadership. A leadership that she took over after the regime change conducted by Veronica Sawyer. An underreported interpretation of Heathers. Jason Dean wasn’t on a warpath against the cliques of Westerburg High School until Veronica inspired him. A feminine seduction inspired war and factionalism. The incel didn’t walk alone. Maybe, zoomers don’t prefer this angle on the timeline. Regardless, it’s a curious detail in the plot. Perhaps, Daniel Waters was sympathetic to the Paglia reading of history.
Anyway, it was Doherty who went from an obedient member of the aristocracy to a machiavellian. A lesson for women who don’t know who any of these people are from decades ago. When she went to Beverley High, she played the role of Veronica without all the incel romance and violence. Regardless, Doherty enjoyed both sides of the spectrum. Both archetypes reaped the benefits of the transitional '90s period in America. An era where the 80s was still prominent, yet the youth was about to graduate and embrace the last familiar epoch when the youth had a unifying culture and aesthetics. Whether you’re the it girl or the normie, there’s potential for you in 1990.
As she says in the first episode, she could be “anybody” and “somebody.” White middle-class gals deserve women like Doherty who were in fact “somebody.” An emblem of the valley girl class before Clueless and Mean Girls, the second generation mind you. The early 90s invited different company and the valley gals weren’t swept up by grunge, they dug further into the past to cope (speculation). Look at how Siouxsie Sioux dealt with the changing landscape. Gen Z has the potential to do the same. They don’t need to adopt the cynicism of their enemies. Those girls don’t have their best interests in mind. They want to be the Machiavellian to replace their spot on the hierarchy.
The safety nets that would’ve corrected these errors no longer have leverage. It’s easy to forget that the radio DJ incel captured the entire school’s imagination for expression and humor. FM pirate radio doesn’t educate and the zoomers have to fend for themselves. What if they didn’t lean on Conservative media and the DR for ideas? These haven’t created Grant’s eugenic dream after all. Instead, the zoomers can dream of the Sunset Strip, Pasadena, and the many tales from Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis. There are plenty of archetypes to assimilate into high art (or as high as an American can grasp) outside of the political cesspool. Stop waiting for the DR to do everything when Gen X did it better with cooler people and ideas.
Those death squads that Ann Coulter referenced won’t be from Conservative Inc. The pundits don't even have the fans and energy of groypers. Instead, it’s the would-be warriors with all of the 20th century at their disposal. All the lessons from the alt-right. All the lessons from the commercialization of the 90s as a cute decade for normies. This was the decade where Russ Meyer tier films met the mainstream audience, and heavy metal remained popular even after the 90s ended. In other words, it’s not wholesome content that defines the archetypes that pertain to us.
A cynical perspective may bring a nihilistic tone to this review. These were rich girls who never defined our identity. The class and regional distance can’t reach young dissidents outside that landscape. That’s not true. Brandon Walsh’s first girlfriend proves that they were one of us. She explains how her mom wants her to be social as they wear suspenders and stay distant from their social sphere (ideal). It’s uncertain whether she would use her leverage to be cold like Heather Chandler without the style and snark. Instead, she aligns with Brandon as one who wants to share the aristocracy with a newbie like the Heathers did for Veronica. An endearing idea for liberal-minded egalitarians. It’s relevant for us considering that they’re effectively creating a nepotistic team to dominate the Hollywood landscape. Ohio doesn’t have the geography (and neither does Slater in Arizona), however, it’s the idea of galvanizing the vanguard. Populism, outside of politics, has been established by the youth of all people.
Kelly Garth with a deviated septum… like Nick Fuentes? Coincidence? Anyway, it’s a reminder of what these artifacts represent decades after their heyday. Gen X has left them behind as entertainment that reached an expiration date. Wrong. Zoomers, specifically the fairer sex, could easily find value within the ruins of the 20th century. A culture that thrived from the California youth. A model that helps the art expand their imagination and Jungian archetypes instead of fetishizing the ballot box. The revolution comes from the girlies, not DR Twitter.