So, I had a discussion with a friend of mine a few months ago about the present state of pop culture.
If you look back at the past few decades, a few things stand out in light of pop culture. For example, the 60's brings distinct images of The Beatles, the type of rock that was popular, political upheaval, and a certain type of television. The 70's, it was more of the hippie decade. Things got happier in pop culture, the music is very distinctly 70's. Star Wars came out in '77, Saturday Night Live started in the mid 70's.
Then, of course, you have the wondrous 80's. We all know, thanks to VH-1, the details of this decade. Saturday morning cartoons, cable television, MTV, Michael Jackson, Atari, and the list goes on and on. Music, movies, television are all distinctly 80's in that decade.
Enter the 90's. Grundge, Nirvana, Beavis and Butthead, Gangsta rap, Bill Clinton, Starbucks, the dot com boom, etc, etc, etc. So many things are distinctly 90's. Great changes and movements in the 90's gave that decade a distinct personality, in pop culture terms.
Now, you may be wondering what the point of this blog is, but hang with me. Now, enter the 2000's. Um...I don't quite understand what differentiates the 2000's from the 90's. To me, it just seems like (strictly from a pop culture stance) the 2000's are just a mediocre continuation of the 90's. Nothing has really happened in pop culture to push things forward.
Politically, this decade has been HUGE!!! Beginning with the whacky 2000 Presidential election, the Bush presidency, Sept.11, 2001, the Iraq War. These political shifts are very distinctly 2000's.
But, come on! Where's the FUN stuff of the 2000's? Is it going to be the XBOX 360? Playstation 3? Blogging? Gay cowboy movies? Advances in CGI effects in movies? What movies have come out this decade that are even worth mentioning? Where's the good music that will define the 2000's? It's 2006, and I haven't seen anything really defining this decade. Everything that's come out so far just seems like stuff that could've come out in the 90's. Maybe I'm just missing it. Maybe you can help me out. Maybe I'm just getting older, and I'm not as in tune with pop culture. Any ideas?
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2 comments:
Reality TV has really made its boom in the 2000s. Random technologies have come about, like DVR, which is my personal favorite. Fashion has been slightly more casual and throwback. When I think about music, I can't deny the fact that there has been some sort of trend to bring more traditional and/or older types of music into the mainstream. Think about Josh Groban, Michael Buble, John Legend, Nora Jones, and even Alicia Keys. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't remember that happening as much before. I don't know about movies either, other than The Passion of the Christ, which was huge to me, but I don't know if it will be something that will help define the 2000s. Who knows about it all, but I think that it's fun to think about, and I've wandered the same thing many times. All of the other decades, even back to the 20s, seem so defined. Maybe it will just take a while for us to realize the color of this decade, because we're in it.
Don't forget about Tuesday or Wednesday. :)
i agree that reality shows are distinctly 2000's, but other than that, my observation has been that pop culture has become (seemingly) fully saturated, and there is nothing new. Everything is a reference to something else, nothing is new. Fashion is 80's and 90's clothes(i even heard flannel was making a comeback). Music is bands that sound like pearl jam, jimmy eat world, or joy division. I really think you could categorize all mainstream music into one of those three categories(except of course rap/pop/rnb-stuff i dont necessarily consider music). Movies, oh movies, is it just me or can they not think of something new? So many remakes/sequels, so little time. I'm going to stop there. I agree with evan.
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