What we can still learn from '90s TV series 90210

Watching Beverly Hills 90210 re-runs was at first about killing time and drooling over Luke Perry as Dylan McKay.

But I noticed there was a lot more going on than the love triangles and Peach Pit shenanigans my young brain in the '90s focused on.

(Yes, Jim Walsh is still painfully self-righteous — that has not changed.)

Nostalgia for a time when we were younger and less stressed is something many of us are craving in this climate.

I've certainly experienced plenty of nostalgia while comfort-watching 90210, along with some lessons about important social issues — many of which we're still grappling with three decades later.

"Entertainment works with teachable moments best when it's not too didactic and includes grey areas, allowing people to debate scenarios," says Catharine Lumby, a professor of media at Macquarie University.

"90210 is a great example of that."

Body image, disability, race, suicide, abuse, economic privilege — there are so many themes in 90210 I could touch on, but three that stood out to me were victim blaming, consent and mental health.

To help me unpack these moral lessons, and what we can still learn about them, I spoke to some experts.

(Sorry Brandon, they're all Team Dylan.)

Victim blaming

There's a scene in a Halloween episode in season two that supports my theory that Dylan is not really a bad boy, but the voice of reason.

Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) has rocked up in a smoking hot witch costume, which cops flak from friend Brenda (Shannon Doherty) who says she's "looking for trouble".

Later that night, a man attempts to sexually assault Kelly.

The attacker says it's because she was "dressed like a slut" and even Kelly blames herself for dressing too sexy.

"I tried to tell you the dress is a little too much," says Brenda.

Enter Dylan, who points out the last thing she probably needs is another guy telling her what to do.

"You're blaming yourself for leading that guy on, but I want you to know as a guy, it doesn't matter how much of a magnet a girl turns on, a guy always has a choice, not making her do something she doesn't want to do … You said 'no'."

Kelly's other friend Donna (Tori Spelling) labels the attacker a rapist.

Mara Reinstein, a US-based entertainment journalist and 90210 superfan, says hearing the word "rape" on a teen drama in the '90s was huge. It demanded the viewer's attention.

Victim blaming is a topic "absolutely still relevant today", Professor Lumby says.

"Every time they do a survey about people's attitudes towards sexual assault, there is still … people who say what women are wearing bears some responsibility for assault."

For example, RMIT research from 2018 found 21 per cent of Australians believe because women express themselves sexually in public, it's not surprising men think they can touch them without permission.

Consent

The Halloween episode also touches on consent, as do many storylines in 90210.

In season one's Slumber Party episode, we hear from Kelly after she is asked about her first sexual experience.

She details being raped in the woods by a boy she had a crush on.

"She said multiple times throughout the series she couldn't shake her [promiscuous] reputation."

In season four's Take Back the Night, several characters share experiences where consent was ignored.

Guest star Laura Kingman (Tracy Middendorf), who is dumped by Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering), accuses him of rape. We see flashbacks from both characters, showing how they remember the experience differently.

"I didn't say yes, but I didn't say no," Laura tells Steve at the end of the episode.

Reinstein says the writers are trying to show consent is "not always a black and white issue".

Post #MeToo, conversations around active consent have been reinvigorated, shifting expectations to have the presence of a "yes", rather than the absence of a "no".

It's something Australia's legal systems are evolving to reflect.

Professor Lumby says 90210 was "really punching that message home early".

Danya Braunstein, a psychologist specialising in media, says the messages are effective because they are consistent and not moralistic.

"This is achieved by seamlessly incorporating the target value or lesson into the storyline, or [developing] characters who behave consistently and yet promote a positive message through their behaviour or articulation of a belief, value or moral judgement," she says.

"If the message seems too obvious and didactic, or if a character behaves in a way that is inconsistent with past actions, then it's more likely to be noticed and questioned by the audience, which may result in a viewer critiquing the message and rejecting it."

Addiction and mental health

While several of 90210's characters tackle addiction and mental health, Dylan's alcoholism is a narrative that is addressed over and over.

"Early on we see him take Brandon to an AA meeting — talking about AA meetings was unheard of [in the early '90s]," Reinstein says.

"Before this, sitcoms might do a special episode, where a character learns not to do drugs and it's never heard of again. But in 90210 it was a running plot line."

We also meet characters like Emily Valentine (Christine Elise McCarthy), who dated Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestly). She ends up in hospital for support with her mental health.

"A few episodes later Brandon visits her, and they have a really nice reunion. It's another example of the writers not just blowing it off," says Reinstein.

Professor Lumby says addiction and mental health are ongoing issues for people — not something a TV show character should recover from in one episode.

Professor Lumby says while there are obviously parts of 90210 that have not aged well (a lack of diversity being one), Reinstein says failed reboots show how difficult it is to recreate this winning formula.

"That is something that is really special about 90210; you're so invested in these characters.

"If we are still talking about shows like Riverdale in 30 years' time, I will be shocked."

So if you're looking to rewatch 90210, you can find it on 10 All Access — or treat yourself to the box set.