O.J. Simpson wins parole, but it’s no 1995 moment
O.J. Simpson’s parole hearing today in Nevada may have been widely watched and much-anticipated. But it was no “flashbulb moment,” not an occasion so rare and powerful that it will … Continue reading
No cause for cheer if O.J. Simpson wins parole
If he is paroled, it will be no cause for cheer. Expectations are that O.J. Simpson — former football star, erstwhile celebrity, and now aging felon — will win parole … Continue reading
Sitting in jail, O.J. Simpson becomes a cultural reference point
While he sits in prison in Nevada, O.J. Simpson, convicted armed robber and central figure in the 1995 “Trial of the Century,” has become an odd if recurring point of … Continue reading
The ’90s: With us still
In ways metaphoric and real, the 1990s linger, offering reference points and context for contemporary events and personalities. A telling example came at Times Square on New Year’s Eve, when … Continue reading
Colin Powell, three electoral votes, and what might have been
Colin Powell, the former U.S. secretary of state and a hero of the 1990-91 Gulf War, scored three electoral votes in this week’s formal election of the next American president. … Continue reading
When the U.S. stood still: Awaiting the O.J. verdicts in 1995
The watershed year 1995 produced two flashbulb events in America — moments so powerful and memorable that for years afterward people remembered where they were, and what they were doing, … Continue reading
The O.J. Simpson case: Five readable books
The recent bouts of television-induced fascination with the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder case have eased, thankfully. But residual interest is keen enough that suggestions for reading in some depth about … Continue reading
ESPN’s O.J. doc: Less exceptional than its rave reviews
For a five-part documentary that lasted nearly 8 hours, ESPN’s much-hyped treatment of O.J. Simpson was often short on nuance and explanatory detail. The film in the end was far … Continue reading
ESPN’s documentary about O.J. Simpson: A dissenting view
Amid the glowing, even fawning reviews of ESPN’s docu-series about O.J. Simpson, herewith a dissenting view. The first of five installments of O.J.: Made in America aired last night, but … Continue reading
‘Everything O.J. is in the zeitgeist right now’
Call it the long reach of 1995. It is rather remarkable that a 21-year-old murder case — in which most people now think defendant O.J. Simpson committed the grisly crimes … Continue reading
The 1995 Blog 