The directorial debut of Ben Stiller, Reality Bites has become a time capsule of the existential crises countercultural Gen X faced. Winona Ryder is a documentary filmmaker trying to find a job in the entertainment industry post-college graduation only to face the crucible of “selling out” when an MTV-esque TV channel shows interest in her project under the condition she makes some heavy changes. Her roommate Janeane Garafolo is excited about her promotion to management at The Gap but is also afraid that she may have contracted HIV. Steven Zahn is a celibate gay man who is afraid of entering a relationship because he is still closeted to his family. Ethan Hawke plays one of the greatest slacker characters in the history of cinema.  

Filled with cameos by musicians like Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner and The Lemonheads’ Evan Dando, and a soundtrack with Dinosaur Jr, The Posies, and Lisa Loeb, Reality Bites is companion to Cameron Crowe’s Singles in its depiction, and role of codifying aesthetically, what was beginning to be called “alternative” culture.