The decade as a whole
The 2000s '' Decade '' refers to the years from 2000 to 2009 , inclusive. Informally, it can also include a few years at the end of the Preceding Decade or the beginning of the Following Decade . Many people feel that the 2000s is no different culturally from the 1990s , or actually began during the late 1990s , most likely around the year 1998 in a pop-cultural sense. Others believe it pop culturally began right on target in 2000 or around 2002 . Some also state that the decade (and, the 21st Century ) also began in a symbolic way after the 9/11 attacks, although this would be considered by many to be a pessimistic opinion.
So far, the 2000s has been marked generally with an escalation of the social issues of the 1990s , which included the rise of Terrorism , the rapid, exponential expansion of economic globalization on an unprecedented scale, the rapid expansion of Communication s and Telecommunications with Mobile Phones and the Internet , international pop culture, and an extraordinary rapid rate of increase of Stress for the public in most nations.
In North America, Europe, and the Middle East, most major political developments in the 2000s revolved around the War On Terrorism and the Conflict In Iraq . Elsewhere, the major theme has been the rapid development of Asia's economic and political potential, with China , experiencing immense ecomonic growth, moving toward the status of a regional power and billion-consumer market. India , along with many other developing countries are also growing rapidly, began integrating itself into the world economy.
Major events relating to the War on Terrorism include the September 11, 2001 Attacks , the Moscow Theatre Siege , the Madrid Train Bombings , the Beslan School Hostage Crisis , the 2005 London Bombings , and the October 2005 New Delhi Bombings . In the news almost daily, the terrorism and Iraq conflicts dominate headlines with controversy regarding their consequences and justifications.
A trend connecting economic and political events in North America, Asia and the Middle East is the rapidly increasing demand for fossil fuels, which, along with fewer new petroleum finds, greater extraction costs (see Peak Oil ), and political turmoil, saw the price of gas and oil soar ~500% between 2000 and 2005 .
Names of the decade
In contrast to the decades from 1920 to 1999 , which are called "The Twenties", "The Nineties", and the like; the '00s have had no universally-accepted name. Some refer to the decade as "The Two Thousands", but many find that usage awkward and incorrect for a number of reasons, most notably the fact that, formally, the "Two Thousands" (that is, years whose spoken name begins with the words "two thousand") will last for a thousand years and not just the ten years of the "00" decade. Written in numeral form, the decade can be written either as the "2000s" or as the "'00s". But looking for a name that has the same "feel" as 'The Nineties' or 'The Fifties' has been problematic, especially in the United States.
In the rest of the English-speaking world "The Noughties" and "The Noughts" have come to be the most widely recognized and accepted terms.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1735921.stm] The term "Noughties" has been adopted by the BBC,[http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/01/08/news/columnists/john_hunneman/20_38_121_7_06.txt] and while the term may not be ''quite'' universal, there is no other term so widely recognized. Probably the only reason that the term "Noughties" has not been completely accepted world wide is the fact that, in the United States (where usage of "naught" or "nought" to mean 'zero' has never been ubiquitous), there is some confusion by those who assume erroneously that the term has something to do with the adjective "naughty".
This decade has occasionally been termed, in historical contexts, as the " Turn Of The Century ". But this term—just as when it was used in the early 20th century—does not clearly refer to a precise 10-year period, and indeed, originally carried the connotation of being the ''last'' years of a century. The somewhat less wan expression, "turn of the millennium", shares this ambiguity of meaning.
Other proposed names have been almost innumerable, and include, "the zeroes", "double-aughts", "2K's", "uh-ohs", "zoogs", "ozies", "abs", "Tommies", and "tweens". But these other suggestions usually represent the wishes of individuals, and do not generally represent any burgeoning consensus.
The United Nations General Assembly declared the decade of 2000-2009 as the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World." {Link without Title}
Events and trends
War, peace and politics
ablaze after two airplanes crash into the towers in a terrorist attack]]
- The the Israeli government enacted its Unilateral Disengagement Plan which removed Israeli Settlement s from Gaza .
- Major controversy over U. S. Presidential Election ( November 7 - December 13 , 2000 ).
- September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack on New York's World Trade Center and Virginia's Pentagon killing 2,993 people. A resultant change in stance towards international terrorism (See New Era and War On Terror ) has ripple effects on the USA's foreign policy and military strategy.
- U.S. Invasion Of Afghanistan to depose the Taliban regime in response to the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks ( October 7 , 2001 – July 18 , 2003 ).
- Venezuelan Coup Attempt Of 2002 against Hugo Chávez
- The Convention On The Future Of Europe proposing first European Constitution (i.e., of the EU ). The Constitution is rejected by French and Dutch electorate in 2005 leading to political crisis in EU.
- East Timor gains official independence from Indonesia . ( May 20 , 2002 )
- International Criminal Court established, used for judging War Crimes , Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide ( July 1 , 2002 )
- American and British forces respond to a disputed Iraqi threat with the 2003 Invasion Of Iraq .
- Darfur Conflict in Sudan
- " Orange Revolution " in Ukraine leads to election of Viktor Yushchenko as President after initial election victory of incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is annulled due to vote-rigging
- Revolution in Kyrgyzstan overthrows government of President Askar Akayev
- Beslan School Hostage Crisis , in which multinational terrorists take a school in Beslan , Russia hostage. 344 people including children die in the ensuing crisis. ( September 1 , 2004 )
- United States expands international influence, in particular in the Middle East . The US also holds a number of War Games pertaining to the Strait Of Taiwan in preparation for a possible war with the People's Republic Of China over a Taiwanese secession. China and Russia display a strategic relationship during a simulated "humanitarian" crisis in the same region during Peace Mission 2005 .
- Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro and his conservative Liberal Democratic Party are re-elected in a landslide election in September 2005, mainly due to a booming Japanese economy and Junichiro's plans to privatise the Japanese postal service.
- In 2005 , Early elections in Germany produce the first Grand Coalition for the country in almost forty years. After weeks of talks, the center-left Social Democrats and center-right Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union agree to let conservative Angela Merkel become chancellor. She is first chancellor to be from eastern Germany, as well as the country's first female chancellor.
- In America, as the Baby Boomers get set for retirement, Generation X begins to step up into political power, signified by the election of Illinois senator Barack Obama . Generation X grew in pop culture with the 1980s and 1990s .
- The world's view of the United States changes in the 2000s, particularly due to the interventionist policies of the Bush administration. Other issues such as Hurricane Katrina , NSA Warrantless Surveillance Controversy , and the Iraq War cause a polarisation in many American's views of George Bush's presidency. In late 2005 and early 2006, some Democrat politicians begin to consider calling for an Impeachment Inquiry into Bush's actions.
- Extreme political polarization in the United States leads to a rigid geopolitical divide between Red States and Blue States . Families are often bitterly split over political issues, and the youth are more invested in politics than at almost any other time in American history. Animosity reaches such levels that that in some quarters there is somewhat-serious discussion of secession and even the possibility of a civil war. (http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/civilwar.html)
Economics
Technology
IPod , a popular digital music player during the 2000s.]]
- A huge jump in . Digital music sales rise, accounting for 6% of all music sales in 2005 .
- Boom in music downloading and the use of Data Compression to quickly transfer music over the Internet, with a corresponding rise of portable Digital Audio Player s typified by Apple Computer 's IPod .
- Digital Camera s become very popular due to rapid decreases in size and cost while photo resolution steadily increases. Sales of film reel cameras diminish greatly as a result.
- Google search engine increases trafficability of the internet and " To Google " becomes a verb.
- Due to an increase in ability to store data, USB Flash Drive s rapidly replace Zip Disk s and 3.5-inch Diskettes .
- Graphic Card s become powerful enough to render nearly photo-realistic scenes in real time.
- Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 become the ubiquitous industry standard in personal computer software. Open Source and Free Software continues to be a notable but minority interest, with versions of Linux gaining in popularity, as well as the Mozilla Firefox web browser.
- Liquid Crystal Displays begin displacing Cathode Ray Tube s.
- Major advances in Hybrid Vehicle s such as the Toyota Prius , Ford Escape , and the Honda Insight .
- Greater interest in Future Energy Development due to global warming theory and the potential exhaustion of Crude Oil .
- Blog s, Portal s, and Wiki s become common electronic dissemination methods for professionals, amateurs, and businesses to conduct Knowledge Management .
- Wikipedia began and grew rapidly, becoming the largest Encyclopedia and most well known wiki in the world.
- DVD s replace VCR technology as the common standard at video stores, but there are an exception to the fact that some VCR technology still appears and various thrift shops and discount stores, along with many other independent markets.
- Due to the major success of broadband Internet connections, Voice Over IP begins to gain popularity as a replacement for Traditional Telephone lines. Major telecommunications carriers begin converting their networks from TDM to VoIP.
- Wireless Network s become commonplace in homes, education institutes and urban public spaces.
- LASIK eye surgery becomes popular as costs and potential risk decreases and results further improve.
- OLED (Organic light-emitting diode) technology revolutionizes display technology, making it possible to "print" screens on everyday objects.
- Home automation and home robotics become popular in North America; IRobot 's " Roomba " is the most successful domestic robot and has sold 1.2 million units.
- GPS (Global Positioning System) becomes very popular especially in the tracking of items or people, and the use in cars. Games that utilize the system, such as Geocaching , emerge and become popular.
- RFID (Radio Frequency ID) becomes widely used in retail giants such as Wal-Mart, as a way to track items and automate stocking and keeping track of items.
- DVRs (Digital Video Recorders), typified by TiVo , allow consumers to modify content they watch on TV, and to record TV programs and watch them later, leading to problems as consumers can fast-forward through commercials, making them useless and saving TV show for later viewing, causing a downfall of TV viewing.
- Self-serve kiosks become very widely available, used for all kinds of shopping, airplane boarding passes, hotel check-ins, fast food, and car rental.
- Internet usage surpasses TV viewing in 2004 . Satelite TV loses it ratings as network television ratings gradually increase.
- Emerging use of robotics, especially telerogsbotics in medicine, particularly for surgery.
- Many more computers and other technologies incorporated into vehicles such as Xenon HID headlights, GPS , DVD players, self-diagnosing systems, advanced pre-collision safety systems, memory systems for car settings, back-up sensors and cameras, in-car media systems, MP3 player compatibility, USB drive compatibility, keyless start and entry, satellite radio, voice-activation, cellphone connectivity, adaptive headlights, HUD (Head-Up-Display), infrared cameras, and Onstar (on GM models).
- ), File-sharing .
- Xbox 360 , Playstation 3 , and other next-generation systems revolutionize the videogame industry in 2005-2006 with photo-realistic graphics, a virtual online gaming world, and interoperability with other digital devices.
- The entire videogame industry's profits surpassed the movie industry's in 2004.
- The tech bubble burst for the most part in late 2000 and after three years of negative growth the market began its rebound in 2003 and has continued to see moderate growth through 2006.
- Videophones are cheap and abundant, yet even by mid-decade, they had not received much attention.
- Most cellphone carriers offer video viewing services, internet services, and some offer full music downloads, such as Sprint in 2005. This leads to an almost saturation of cell phone ownership among the public and a decline in the use and locations of Payphones .
Science
Culture and religion
- The vast proliferation of Information Technology and digital media leads to many cultural paradigm shifts as people grapple with Information Overload . Millennials (Generation Y) are commonly thought of as adept at, or even socially dependent on, these technological developments.
- Reality Television becomes a well-established sector of the Television programming industry for most of the early 2000s, switching to more traditional programming starting in the year 2004 . Nightly news broadcasts continue to lose viewership to 24-hour internet and cable news broadcasts. Changing television habits that involve increased use of the internet, telephone, and video games and the preponderance of TiVo make marketers rethink the paradigm of the 30-second TV ad. Viral Marketing , and Product Placement within reality television shows and movies are some increasingly used alternatives. Spam is used as an alternative, irritating many.
- Europe an society continues to become more Secular ; in contrast, Religious groups increase their political influence in the United States and the Middle East .
- The divisive US Presidential Election Of 2000 leads to commentators describing the country as split between Red States And Blue States .
- dies at age 84; succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI on April 19 .
- Same-sex Marriage becomes a major cultural issue in developed countries. In 2001, The Netherlands becomes the first country to allow gay couples to wed. This is followed by Belgium in 2003, and by Canada , Spain , and South Africa in 2005. In 2004, Massachusetts becomes the first U.S. state to permit same-sex marriage.
- Researchers note that the younger generations are continually beginning to avoid the political labels of Liberal and Conservative , as they find them confusing. Most young people that can vote or are reaching voting age (18 in the United States ) identify as Independents . They are also a rather religious generation. A large chunk of this population are being called "religious centrists," because of their religious outlooks on life and opposition to Abortion . Same-sex Marriage is a moral issue more and more of these young people see differently than conservative Christian Fundamentalists , favoring extending important legal and civil rights to their gay families and friends. These young people also strongly favor strong personal liberties ( Libertarian policy), pro-environmental laws ( Green policy) and/or Universal Health Care .
Other
suggested as a causative agent of SARS .]]
- virus outbreak, most notably in Hong Kong , China , Taiwan , Singapore and Toronto .
- In August 2002 over 18,000 French die in a Heatwave coinciding with the summer holidays when the bulk of France's medical and aged care staff are off-duty. Other spikes in mortality amongst the aged and infirm occur across Europe .
- over Texas upon reentry, killing all seven Astronauts onboard, prompting investigation into NASA communication abilities and safety. Space shuttle flight resumes in late 2005 , only to be suspended again.
- Major Earthquake rocks the ancient city of Bam , in Iran . Cost over 50,000 lives.
- On December 26 , 2004 , a Major Earthquake and ensuing Tsunami causes devastation in Sri Lanka , India , Indonesia , Thailand , Malaysia , The Maldives and many other areas around the rim of the Indian Ocean . As Of January 2005 the death toll is estimated to be nearly 290,000, prompting the largest Humanitarian Response for a natural disaster in history.
- Methamphetamine use skyrockets while crime rates in the U.S. reach the lowest rate in 40 years as of 2005 and use of most other drugs drops.
- Extended Alcohol Sales becomes popular public policy in US and UK.
- Underage consumption of Alcohol under supervision of a Parent or Legal Guardian is legalized in many states in the US in early 2005 .
- Bird Flu spreads through South East Asia ; countries begin preparing for a potential bird flu epidemic, fearing that it could mutate into a form that could transfer easily from person to person and kill millions of people. Bird flu spreads rapidly into Europe in October 2005 .
- Criticism of Vladimir Putin 's governmental policies and reforms mount and a backlash of Soviet-nostalgia occurs in Russia .
- On August 29 , 2005 Hurricane Katrina strikes southeastern Louisiana , U.S. , with winds up to 200 mph, killing more than 1,400 people and devastating the city New Orleans and the Mississippi coast, making this hurricane one of the deadliest hurricanes in known World History. People and life later return to New Orleans, but many Analyst s expect that New Orleans will never return to its prior state.
- A major Earthquake In Kashmir kills close to 80,000 people on October 8 , 2005 , devastating Kashmir and forcing the mass evacuation of mountain towns as winter approaches.
- Arctic sea ice cover reaches record lows; Global Warming continues to be a major concern. (see Environmentalism )
- The 2005 Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season becomes the most active on record. First use of the Greek naming system after traditional names exhausted.
Trends and Fashion
Fashion
- Fashion becomes less Grungy and more excessive, as the wearing of Flannel by people under 30 declines and tighter fitting jeans become more commonplace. The "Baggy Jean" craze of the 1990s begins to fade in during the mid '00s.
- In the United States, long hair for teenage boys and young men becomes very popular. Shoulder-length hair for young males has become much more mainstream, and is no longer considered just a "skater" and "hick" fashion.
- and early 1990s , return to style circa 2002 . Upturned Collar s on Tennis Shirt s become popular among the youth as well. Some boys begin to wear pink, and the Mohawk makes a comeback, becoming more mainstream and less of a generic trend, as it was during the 1990s . Wearing high-heeled boots, specifically tucking one's slacks into them, becomes a popular trend among young women -- which was also a popular trend during the '80s.
- Pinstriped button up shirts, Blazers , and layers of brightly colored sweaters are popular styles of fashion among young males. The trend was made popular by artists such as Usher and Kanye West in the mid 00's.
- Straight Hair on women still remains Fashionable in the 00's as it did in the 90's . However, the Shoulder-length Hairstyle ala donned Rachel-cut from the TV show Friends that dominated the 90's is replaced by women growing their hair out to their back section of their Body , sometimes as far down as their buttocks, as they did in the 1970s . The "bun" hairstyle of the late 1990s and young adults style circa 2004 in most urban areas, but in some rural areas it still remains in style.
- The late '90s popularity of Thong Underwear among female teens and women declines by the middle of the '00s. Larger undergarments, such as "boy shorts", make a comeback.
- Trucker hats, usually made by the Von Dutch company and commonly worn by celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher , become popular in 2003. But the trend quickly falls out of favor.
- Ugg Boots , a boot commonly made with sheepskin in Australia and New Zealand for the last 200 years, become popular and fashionable in 2003. wearing Ugg Boots -- a trend first made popular in 2003 -- on a movie poster for the film '' Raising Helen '' (2004).]]
- Gangsta and Emo become more or less mainstream and are the major fashion and music trends of the '00s.
- Wearing baseball caps backwards, common in the 1980s and 1990s, falls out of style in favor of wearing them sideways or forwards until about 2005 when major celebrities, such as the ones on the American Chopper Show bring that trend back into fashion once again.
- Tattoo s continue to become more common.
- Fad diets such as Atkins and Low Carb diets are popular during the early '00s, but fall out of favor circa 2004 in favor of diets heavy in Whole Grain foods.
- Slang words and catch phrases used often in 2000s America include "Retarded", "Fugly", "Manufactured" "Gay", "Crunk", "Wanksta", "Rad", "Whateva", "That's Hot!", "Totally", "Metro", "Tight", "Ill", "Ditty", "Git-R-Dun", "Sick", "Eh-oh", "BOO-YA!", "Pure", and "Werd up"/"word up" Many of them have roots from the 1980s and 1990s , such as the word "totally" and "rad". 1990s hip hop slang such as the word "yo", "da bomb", and "buzz kill" still remains popular in the middle 2000s.
- Cell Phones become prevalent with teenagers and often a fashion statement as opposed to a preppie toy or a tool primarily for adults and businesspeople. Payphone use and locations decline dramatically because of this.
- MP3 Players such as the IPod become very common as they become more powerful and easier to use.
- Generation Y supplants Gen X as current youth generation.
- Interracial dating and relationships become more common in the US. Interracial couples on television and movies in all manner of gender and racial scenarios become fairly common. It also becomes more (though not yet universally) accepted, helped by the emergence of famous children from Interracial marriages, such as Mariah Carey , Derek Jeter , Lenny Kravitz and Johnny Damon (Amer-Asian).
- A very strong Nostalgia for the 1980s emerges, and as a result many things from the '80s are "brought back" and certain aspects of the decade become cool again such as certain music styles and certain fashions (such as large earrings). Nonetheless, the kinship of the '00s with the 1990s (specifically the late '90s) prevents a complete acceptance of the '80s.
- Poker becomes a craze, as many Americans are enticed by online poker rooms and games with their friends and neighbors. The World Series of Poker aired on ESPN becomes a huge success.
- Emo goes from being a small subculture in the 1980s , and 1990s to becoming mainstream and fusing with Pop-punk and Post-Hardcore , beginning around 2000 but especially later in the decade. Pop Emo becomes mainstream circa 2004 .
- Cyberpunk culture becomes more relevant as the world now is at an almost futuristic level of technology and the 9/11 attacks create a Post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
- Teenagers with non-heterosexual Sexual Orientation s begin to come out earlier in their lives in a tense society that can either be welcoming or alienating.
- Former 1980's Heartthrob Tom Cruise oddly morphs something of a joke in the middle of this decade, with people often talking about his rants on Scientology and his peculiar romance with the younger Katie Holmes .
Europe
- In Eastern Germany and other ex-Communist countries was for a short time a growth in nostalgia for former Communist times ( Ostalgie )(2002).
- Because of the Afghanistan and the Iraq War and the politic of president Bush. there is a growing Anti-Americanism , especially in Western Europe.
- From early in the decade, mobile phones are a necessary accessory, even for the majority of children as young as 10 years old. Ownership approaches 100% of the population in most Western European countries.
- Fashion and cosmetic surgery become more mainstream; an increase in interest is most notable in men, influenced by fashion-conscious "celebrities" such as David Beckham .
- Chav culture in the United Kingdom becomes a significant fashion/lifestyle choice, especially amongst those in the Working Class .
Music
United States and Canada
- Hip-Hop is the most popular musical genre with the youth, replacing Rock And Roll , but it is starting to have a slight backlash in the mid to late 2000s. Artists like Kanye West , 50 Cent , Nelly , and Eminem are the dominant hip-hop artists that define the hip-hop genre in this decade thus far. Popular styles include glam rap ( 50 Cent , P Diddy , Ja Rule ), Crunk ( Lil' Jon , Ying Yang Twins ), and among a minority Underground Hip Hop ( Jurassic 5 , Atmosphere , Posse Of Two ).
- Rock And Roll , although it remains hugely popular, is no longer a staple of pop radio. The most popular style early in the decade (and also during the late 1990s ) was Nu Metal , featuring acts such as Linkin Park , Korn , Papa Roach , and Limp Bizkit . Around 2002 Emo and Pop-punk ( Fall Out Boy , Good Charlotte , Dashboard Confessional ) became popular amidst the waning popularity of nu metal. Around 2004 Metalcore and Screamo ( Killswitch Engage , Atreyu , Shadows Fall ) become popular, along with the Post-punk Revival fueled by 1980s nostalgia ( Franz Ferdinand , The Killers , Bloc Party ).
- Some styles of the 1990s remain strong and even trendy, except for a few such as the girl and boy bands/teen pop of the late '90s that declined in popularity during the early part of the '00s. Most of this can be attributed to the critcism of the genre's "fakeness" and "shallowness" and the growing up of its fanbase. Several artists of the era (i.e. Britney Spears ) still maintain a strong media presence in the '00s, but make more headlines for their lives rather than their music. The teen pop genre morphes into a more adult-oriented sound. Artists such as Kelly Clarkson gain favor circa 2002 . "Disney" and "Nickelodeon" artists such as Hilary Duff , Lindsay Lohan , Aly & AJ , The Veronicas , Hope Partlow and Jesse McCartney who have more of alternative pop-rock sound become popular during the middle part of the decade, arguably keeping the teen pop era alive within the niche of children and teens who watch such networks.
- Pop R&B continues to be popular. Artist such as Usher , Beyonce and Alicia Keys are all popular mainstream R&B artist in the 00's.. The style is sometimes fueled by combination with Rap or hip Hop beats. . Pop R&B, along with Hip Hop , dominates mainstream music in the mid '00s. Neo-soul is also popular during the early part of the decade.
- Pop Country slips in mainstream popularity in the early 2000s, due partly to the public retirement of Garth Brooks . However, the upper part of the Billboard album charts generally has many country albums, including some that go more than double platinum, indicating that the genre has a strong niche in the music industry. The genre grows during the mid 2000's from artists such as Carrie Underwood , who became the first American Idol winner to go into country instead of Pop or R&B .
- Adult Contemporary music, by artists such as Michelle Branch , Natasha Bedingfield , Avril Lavigne , Rob Thomas and James Blunt continues to be popular.
- Dance Music (house, techno, drum'n'bass) becomes mainstream.
- Ethnic music is mainstream for most of the early to mid '00s, especially in the rise of Reggaeton in late 2005 -early 2006 .
- Sales of CD's in 2005 in the US decline drastically from the Teen-pop era of the late 1990's . Some people who grew up listening to 1970's , 1980's , or even 1990's music claim the music industry is going for a younger audience in the 2000's that it has in decades past which might be leading to this drop in record sales. However, Music Industry Executives claim the drop in CD sales is due to Napster , and Ipod .
Europe
- Electronica of 1990s style, such as Trance and Drum 'n' Bass , quintessential
- Electro , as well as music that combines it with House becomes mainstream in the dance music scene in the middle of the decade, replacing the mainstream of more jazzy and Latin influenced sounds from the beginning of the decade
- Return of Indie Rock groups evoking the late 1970s or 80's, such as Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser Chiefs .
- English band Arctic Monkeys , in late 2005/early 2006, take over Britain, gaining prominence through Internet file-sharing. Their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not shot to the top of the British charts, becoming the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK. Their first two singles, I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and When The Sun Goes Down , shoot to the top of the singles charts.
- Teen Pop such as Backstreet Boys continues to be popular, although US-influenced R&B and hip hop music is popular until the middle of the decade.
Latin America/Caribbean
Far East
Film
- In the USA:
- --- Movie Remakes and sequels hit an all-time high, in contrast to purely original scripts. Also, many movies based on old TV shows and novels become more popular in Hollywood.
- --- Depressed ticket sales throughout the decade due to general lack of quality films and decline of the general moviegoing experience, as movie theaters keep ticket prices high and increase the duration of advertisements before movies, in some cases going as long as 30 minutes. Other trends emerge, such as the decreasing cost and increasing size of quality home theater displays along with the availability mail-based movie rental services, most notably Netflix , which offered an unlimited number of DVD rentals for a fixed price per month. Movie executives attempted to place some of the blame on online piracy due to the advent of BitTorrent , however its effect has been disputed, as some claim that those who download these movies would not have paid to see them in the first place.
- --- '' Lord Of The Rings '', '' Harry Potter '', comic book movies, and the new '' Star Wars '' movie sagas dominate the box office. The high profitability of these films arguably has much to do with the lack of investment and quality in newer and more original films in the 2000s as opposed to decades like the 1980s and 1990s .
- --- '' The Matrix '' very influential on special effect styles (ie: 'bullet-time', dramatic effects in slow motion).
- --- "R" rated films are released at their lowest prevalence since the 1960s , reflecting a post- Columbine American society which increasingly lacks tolerance of violent films. While certain exceptions such as '' Kill Bill '' are made in protest of this development and in tribute to the overly violent kung-fu and action films of the 1970s , most action films of the 2000s are largely bloodless.
- --- East Hollywood High School becomes the first public film-oriented charter high school in the world.
- ---'''', '' The Fantastic Four '', '' Batman Begins '', and '' V For Vendetta ''.
- ---Independent films start to emerge as a more popular medium. Major film corporations had or created independent divisions; such as Fox Searchlight and Warner Independent , which saw the popularity of independent ('' Garden State '', '' Napoleon Dynamite '') as well as art-house and foreign film increase.
- ---Pixar produces hit movies such as as '' Finding Nemo '', '' The Incredibles '', and '' Monsters Inc. '', continuing a trend started in 1995 with Toy Story . Both ''Finding Nemo'' and ''The Incredibles'' win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- --- DreamWorks Animation has hits with '' Shrek '', '' Shrek 2 '' (which becomes the highest-grossing animated movie of all time in North America), '' Shark Tale '', and '' Madagascar ''.
- --- Disney abandons traditional 2D animation altogether in 2005 , with '' Home On The Range '' being the last Disney movie with any 2D animation. Disney releases two non-Pixar-produced 3D films ('' Valiant '' in the US and '' Chicken Little '') in 2005. Also, in 2006 Pixar became a part of Disney, furthering the company's transition into the 3D era, although a return to two-dimensional animation films may not be out of the question under the studio's new management. In 2009 , 2-D animation may be the center for almost all animated features in Disney once again.
- ---'''' become huge hits for Disney live-action movies. Both spawning sequels in the near future.
- ---'' Brokeback Mountain '', a movie about two gay shepherds, is considered controversial by some conservative Americans. Director Lee Ang receives Academy Award in 2006. Many parodies appeared on the Internet during early 2006 .
- ---Several documentaries are given widespread cinema release: examples are '' Fahrenheit 9/11 '', '' Super Size Me '' and '' March Of The Penguins ''.
- In Europe:
- ---Hugh growth and popularity over World Cinema , films such as Goodbye Lenin , Être Et Avoir and Downfall become success stories.
Internet
- The Internet becomes a major source of all types of media, from music to movies, thanks to file-sharing P2P programs such as KaZaA and Grokster . The debate continues over the Ethics Of File-sharing .
- As people become more used to the Internet during this decade it begins to be spelled lower-cased, called simply "the internet" or "internet" as opposed to "Internet" or "The Internet" which were used almost exclusively during the 1990s
- The diverse and spontaneous nature of the internet allows an internet culture to form. Online projects such as Hamsterdance , EBaum's World and Homestar Runner become international trends within short periods of time due to word of mouth on and off the web, with little or no promotion required from their creators. Some music acts, such as Arctic Monkeys and Posse of Two became well-known almost entirely from the use of the internet.
- Legal music download services such as ITunes and the re-designed Napster open up a new market of digital downloading and becomes the number 1 music swapping program of all time.
- Popular video shorts of the 2000s include .
- Television and Internet begin to merge as networks start streaming shows online.
- Craigslist.org , a popular online classified site, saps over 50 million dollars a year from newspaper revenues, with a staff of only 16 people in San Francisco .
- Cell Phones gain the ability to access the Internet .
- Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol( and Skype .
- Webcomics by amateur Cartoonists begin to surpass the popularity of traditional print Comic Books and newspaper strips. Flash Movies also become popular.
- Re-cut Trailers become popular in the mid-2000s, largely due to the many parody trailers of Brokeback Mountain during the 2005 - 2006 winter. Popular examples include "Brokeback to the Future", Lazy Brokeback , and the Sleepless in Seattle trailer cut into a horror movie.
- Social networking programs Myspace , Xanga , Facebook , and MyYearbook become extremely popular among teens and twenty-somethings, inspiring others to share and trade personal information via online. These sites, in particular Myspace are critisized by many for safety concerns such as their use by Pedophile s to exploit children.
Video games
- Next Generation Consoles: The first batch of "next-generation" home consoles are released at the turn of the new millennium featuring larger production values, more realistic graphics, and consoles with built-in multimedia such as DVD and a hard drive. Sony Playstation 2 (2000), Nintendo Gamecube (2001), and the Microsoft Xbox (2001) are the three main contenders in the ever raging Console Wars .
- The Sims , released in fall of 2000 for PC, along with its expansions becomes the best selling video game of all time. The Sims 2, released in 2004 become almost as popular.
- Sega in 2001 drops out the home console market after the Dreamcast (1999) fails to regain lost marketshare from the 1990s .
- Nintendo releases the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2001 , a 32-bit handheld system. A redesign of the GBA dubbed Game Boy Advance SP (GBASP) was released in 2003 introducing flip-top design and a frontlit screen. Another even smaller version of the GBA was released as the
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