Presenting: The Gen X Oscars

The 98th Academy Awards are tonight and with all due respect to Sinners and One Battle After Another, we wanted to take this time to celebrate the movies that mattered.

So my friend Fawnia Soo Hoo, author of the fab Whatever Nevermind, and I decided to create our own Gen X Oscars, honoring the flicks, performances, and soundtracks we saw in multiplexes during our peak moviegoing years—1984-1997.

We even dressed up for the occasion

Our picks weren’t necessarily the most critically acclaimed, but more the iconic, quotable, culturally-significant gems that feel quintessentially Gen X.

Here, then, are the nominees.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Joe Pesci – Goodfellas (1990)

• Samuel L. Jackson – Pulp Fiction (1994)

• Pat Morita – The Karate Kid (1984)

• Alan Rickman – Die Hard (1988)

• Laurence Fishburne – Boyz n the Hood (1991)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Whoopi Goldberg – Ghost (1990)

• Uma Thurman – Pulp Fiction (1994)

• Marisa Tomei – My Cousin Vinny (1992)

• Joan Chen – The Last Emperor (1987)

• Angela Bassett – Boyz n the Hood (1991)

BEST ACTOR

• Bruce Willis – Die Hard (1988)

• Michael J. Fox – Back to the Future (1985)

• Michael Douglas – Wall Street (1987)

• Denzel Washington – Malcolm X (1992)

• Brandon Lee – The Crow (1994)

BEST ACTRESS

• Sigourney Weaver – Aliens (1986)

• Julia Roberts – Pretty Woman (1990)

• Alicia Silverstone – Clueless (1995)

• Jennifer Lopez – Selena (1997)

• Angela Bassett – What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993)

• Molly Ringwald – The Breakfast Club (1985) / Pretty in Pink (1986)

BEST GEN X MOVIE

• The Breakfast Club

• Boyz n the Hood

• Back to the Future

• Pulp Fiction

• Reality Bites

• The Joy Luck Club

• Goodfellas

• Dazed and Confused

• Clueless

• Fargo

• Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

***There were others. It was impossible to decide.

BEST SOUNDTRACK

• Reality Bites (1994)

• Pulp Fiction (1994)

• Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

• Purple Rain (1984)

• Romeo + Juliet (1996)

• Singles (1992)

• New Jack City (1991)

• Footloose (1984)

• Pretty Woman (1990)

And the winners are?

Drop your picks in the comments — we know someone's going to yell at us for leaving out an obvious pick.