Stereotypes of the '00s.

B.J. · Aug 19, 2012

I personally think that the late '90s until now don't seem to have their own distinctive feel. When I started college in 1992, we were already having '80s parties, and everyone knew exactly what that meant and what to wear. (I wore a skinny tie, had a Members Only jacket, and brought my Rubik's cube!

) If someone wanted to throw a '00s party right now, I don't think anybody would know what to do.

Lord Garth · Aug 19, 2012

There are two '00s. I draw the dividing line right at the middle, in 2005. Outside of politics and 9/11, the first half of the decade is too similar to '90s, so the second half is going to be more remembered.

I'll give this a try, stuff that's passe and doesn't extend really into the '90s or '10s:

SUV's
MySpace
Orange Alert
Eminem
Juicy
Bush

Can't get any more pure '00s than that.

JoeZhang · Aug 19, 2012

Lost.

RoJoHen · Aug 19, 2012

JoeZhang said:
Lost.

I like this.

Also, who cares about the 00s? We'll just reboot it in 2025 anyway.

Zulu Romeo · Aug 19, 2012

Trekker4747 said:
What stereotypes, or music will stand out the most?

If something needed to be set in the 00s, it may well feature some of this music of the time. I'm listing songs rather than specific artists, as successful artists' work can span several decades, whereas songs, while they may not be the greatest songs ever, are of the time in which they were recorded and released.

These are glaringly obvious examples, I know...

"Freak Like Me" - Sugababes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGSajAGg9h4

Oh yes, and also this ditty from 2007:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ljFaKRTrI

Other examples: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-the-aughts-20110617

Lord Garth said:
There are two '00s. I draw the dividing line right at the middle, in 2005. Outside of politics and 9/11, the first half of the decade is too similar to '90s, so the second half is going to be more remembered.

What would you say was the moment that separated these two '00s that you describe, from a cultural perspective? Can it be boiled down to a single moment? A series of related moments? Or is the dividing line merely on the stroke of midnight GMT, 1st January 2005?

Lord Garth said:
Bush

I'm certain that the band Bush peaked in the 1990s.

JarodRussell · Aug 19, 2012

teacake said:
People can't even agree on what to call the 00's. As someone said it has to be things that fade away with the new decade, a lot of which is probably not clear yet. Here's hoping it's hipsters.

I find it interesting that for me and everyone I no, no matter if they are 20, 30, 40 or 50, the 2000s just went by without having an impact (even though horrible and memorable things happened). Everyone thinks that the 90s were 10 years ago.

Greylock Crescent · Aug 19, 2012

Message boards.
YIM.

clint g · Aug 19, 2012

Zion Ravescene said:
Trekker4747 said:

What stereotypes, or music will stand out the most?

Click to expand...

If something needed to be set in the 00s, it may well feature some of this music of the time. I'm listing songs rather than specific artists, as successful artists' work can span several decades, whereas songs, while they may not be the greatest songs ever, are of the time in which they were recorded and released.

These are glaringly obvious examples, I know...

"Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd2B6SjMh_w

"Hey Ya" - OutKast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWgvGjAhvIw

"Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_sBOsh-vyI

"Paper Planes" - MIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRjZoRtu0Y

"Umbrella" - Rihanna ft. Jay-Z
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvBfHwUxHIk

"Sex On Fire" - Kings of Leon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF0HhrwIwp0

"You're Beautiful" - James Blunt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oofSnsGkops

"Stan" - Eminem ft. Dido
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMhN-hfMtY

"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" - Arctic Monkeys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK7egZaT3hs

"Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhCXAiNz9Jo

"Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY

"Toxic" - Britney Spears
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOZuxwVk7TU

"Single Ladies" - Beyonce
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY

"Don't Mug Yourself" - The Streets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veAIHDGghP4

"Freak Like Me" - Sugababes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGSajAGg9h4

Oh yes, and also this ditty from 2007:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ljFaKRTrI

Other examples: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-songs-of-the-aughts-20110617

Lord Garth said:

There are two '00s. I draw the dividing line right at the middle, in 2005. Outside of politics and 9/11, the first half of the decade is too similar to '90s, so the second half is going to be more remembered.

Click to expand...

What would you say was the moment that separated these two '00s that you describe, from a cultural perspective? Can it be boiled down to a single moment? A series of related moments? Or is the dividing line merely on the stroke of midnight GMT, 1st January 2005?

Lord Garth said:

Bush

Click to expand...

I'm certain that the band Bush peaked in the 1990s.

Seeing as how most of those songs make me super nostalgic for high school, you might be on the money.

Jono · Aug 19, 2012

50 Cent and his obsession with people's birthdays.

Like, like.

Lord Garth · Aug 19, 2012

Zion Ravescene said:
What would you say was the moment that separated these two '00s that you describe, from a cultural perspective? Can it be boiled down to a single moment? A series of related moments? Or is the dividing line merely on the stroke of midnight GMT, 1st January 2005?

Fashions/styles associated with the '00s, or having (re-)started in the '00s: hipsters, the leggings revival, skinny jeans on men, etc. didn't show up until the second half of the decade.

Politically, the tide turned against Bush after Katrina. Up until that point, the US was still polarized.

Web 2.0 and everything that came about because of it: MySpace, Facebook, and Wikipedia became prominent during the second half of the decade.

HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray was the second half of the decade.

I'm certain that the band Bush peaked in the 1990s.

Very funny.

Trekker4747 · Aug 19, 2012

JarodRussell said:
teacake said:

People can't even agree on what to call the 00's. As someone said it has to be things that fade away with the new decade, a lot of which is probably not clear yet. Here's hoping it's hipsters.

Click to expand...

I find it interesting that for me and everyone I no, no matter if they are 20, 30, 40 or 50, the 2000s just went by without having an impact (even though horrible and memorable things happened). Everyone thinks that the 90s were 10 years ago.

Agreed, it's usually a shock to me to realize how really "far away" 2000-2008 was.

Gary7 · Aug 19, 2012

The 00's seem kind of innocuous to me and I find it hard to distinguish them from the 10's. But a couple of things stand out:

Government at its worst (Bush)
Technology at its best
Greed at its worst
Irrational exuberance, part II
Social networking addiction

rhubarbodendron · Aug 19, 2012

^You might have reason to correct that list after the next elections. *sigh*

the only things remarkable about the '00s was that the complete lack of remarkable events. There was no millennium bug, no Armageddon, no messiah (of any religion), no asteroid or comet threatening to hit us and not even a decent solar storm.

JarodRussell · Aug 19, 2012

Rhubarbodendron said:
the only things remarkable about the '00s was that the complete lack of remarkable events. There was no millennium bug, no Armageddon, no messiah (of any religion), no asteroid or comet threatening to hit us and not even a decent solar storm.

Ouch.

Alidar Jarok · Aug 19, 2012

Holdfast, your list is superb. I especially want to reemphasize the girls in leggings and uggs look as a stereotype. A couple comments:

Holdfast said:
- nasty/tacky/slutty slogan T-shirts for both

I was going to say booty shorts with the same slogan printed on the back (only for girls, though, obviously).

- The financial crisis (though it could be argued that its impacts fit better into the current decade)

Last decade felt more like an economy of "meh." No one was living great, but it wasn't an intrusive part of people's lives in a way that took over the discussion.

- reality TV

And to clarify, I would make sure to include competition reality television shows like American Idol.

... there were some other nicer trends too, though:

I'm glad you posted this last part because I was beginning to get a bit depressed (mostly because we haven't escaped the negatives yet).

ETA: Something in the technology front that seems almost gone now:

ICQ and AIM.

rhubarbodendron · Aug 20, 2012

JarodRussell said:
Ouch.

I'm sorry

Really didn't mean to hurt you.
It's just that so many things had been announced to happen in the 00s and then nothing actually did.
Oh, wait, Obama was elected. An AA US-President is indeed something nobody had expected over here.
But in my own country the 00's were pretty boring.

Talosian · Aug 21, 2012

If you compare the first decade of the 21st century to its counterpart, the first decade of the 20th century, the contrast is stupendous.

In fact, you could even do the same comparison with the first decade of the 19th century!

This all has bearing with what many figures, like Kurt Anderson in his article on the stagnation of style, fashion, and art, and Tyler Cowen and Peter Thiel on the stagnation of technology (aside from computers) have said.

Each year today is less momentous than years were in - pick a decade in the 20th century. Music styles change at a glacial pace compared to generations past, which is why young people relate to older music much more than their parents and grandparents. It's not just because they're open-minded! It's because music has really evolved at a much slower pace today in recent years - especially since the turn of this century. The same can be said for any visual art you can think of, with the exception of architecture. Likewise for fashion and interior design. Also car designs, which have settled into a snail-like pace of aesthetic change.

Stereotypes of the '00s.

B.J.

Rear Admiral

Lord Garth

Admiral

JoeZhang

Vice Admiral

RoJoHen

Awesome

Zulu Romeo

World Famous Starship Captain

JarodRussell

Vice Admiral

Greylock Crescent

Adventurer

clint g

Admiral

Jono

Rear Admiral

Lord Garth

Admiral

Trekker4747

Boldly going...

Gary7

Vice Admiral

rhubarbodendron

Vice Admiral

JarodRussell

Vice Admiral

Alidar Jarok

Everything in moderation but moderation

rhubarbodendron

Vice Admiral

Talosian

Lieutenant Commander

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