An overrated list from a 1995 issue of GQ magazine has sent the Internet into an uproar after resurfacing online, sparking a bitter debate over whether the tarnished articles really deserved such criticism.
The list, which features a wide variety of items, people, and fads that the author considers “overrated,” was originally posted on two subreddits, prompting thousands of comments from amused users.
Its content, which was crafted along similar lines to the New Yorker’s Approval Matrix, consists of things that were popular at the time, but a little clunky.
Described by the publication as a list of “81 people, places and things absolutely unworthy of the praise and respect they had received.”
Noting that they had published the first one the previous year, they added that: “It’s been 12 months and suffice it to say: there is still a lot of mediocrity and pure garbage out there that is being taken advantage of.”
The list, which includes a list of items, people and fads that the author considers “overrated,” was originally posted on two subreddits, prompting thousands of comments from amused users.
The divisive list appeared in the September 1995 issue of GQ magazine.
“But not here,” the publication boldly concluded.
While some of the elements listed, including gender ambiguity, designer lesbianism, and gay monologues, have aged poorly in the 2024 landscape, amused observers noted that many of them would still work today.
According to readers who saw the list on Reddit and X, VR and righteousness about Ticketmaster would still hold true today.
“I was laughing at how fucking good it is, minus a few glitches of course,” someone chuckled.
For some, the articles would make no sense in any decade.
—The speed control, the large intestine, the smell of freshly cut grass? one confused reader questioned,
Other users were simply amused by the randomness of the list.
‘Okay, but why were rainforests overrated?’ someone questioned.
“The mangoes didn’t do anything wrong,” argued another.
“I can’t believe people have been constantly complaining about Ticketmaster for almost 30 years and yet they’re still screwing us over,” one person observed.
‘Lisa Maris Presley’s Look’ (pictured) made the overrated list of 1995, as decided by GC Magazine
Also mentioned was the galvanizing effect of Heather Locklear on Melrose Place (Locklear in the middle photo).
The list was reposted on Reddit and X, where users were delighted to see what had aged well and what had aged poorly.
According to another person, “90 percent” of the list would still work today.
‘The cyber prefix, wood-fired pizza ovens, mangoes, Reggie Miller, virtual reality… gay comedy!’ Another listed enthusiastically.
“Whoever made this list is having a terrible time in the 21st century,” they joked.
“Half the list is ‘no duh’ and the other half of the list is between aged as milk and wasn’t even a good shot at the time,” another agreed, though he realized, “It’s pretty funny.”
“The ’90s were really the last decade,” declared one passionate reader.
“Haha, more like a list of things considered overrated in 1995 that ended up being iconic 29 years later,” joked another.
Other strange and overrated moments pointed out by the GQ authors were ripe tomatoes, rainforests, digitized family albums, anyone dubbed “the sexiest man of the year,” cruise control and mangoes.
