2000s
This article is about the decade starting at the beginning of 2000 and ending at the end of 2009. For the century or millennium starting in 2000 (or, technically, 2001), see 21st century and 3rd millennium. |
Low-rise jeans and high rising crop top. These two fashion trends are very popular in the early 2000s. |
*
Fashion becomes less
grungy and more excessive, as the wearing of
flannel by people under 30 declines.
* Layered clothing becomes popular, especially with women's shirts; ruffled skirts become a trend as well.
*The
whale tail style (incorporating
Hip-hugger jeans,
crop tops, and high riding
thongs) is popularized by
Britney Spears and
Anna Kournikova in the early to mid 2000s.
*The "Baggy Jean" craze of the
1990s remains commonplace in urban areas. Tighter fitting
Low-rise jeans become popular among younger males and females in bootcuts and flare cuts.
*Coinciding with the low-rise jeans trend,
cleavage (the exposure of
undergarments and the
buttocks) becomes
fashionable among young women.
*The center of the
lower back becomes a
common placement for tattoos among young women.
*
Navel piercing becomes increasingly popular
* 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, as evidenced by the hairstyles of young teen heartthrobs like
Jesse McCartney and
Zac Efron*
Abercrombie & Fitch and
American Eagle clothing are popular among both young men and women
* For girls,
ponchos,
peasant blouses, and
babydoll tops
*
1980s fashion revival: For girls and women large/clunky jewerly, originally popular in the
1980s and early
1990s, return to style circa
2002.
Upturned collars on
tennis shirts 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, striped polo shirts over T-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 2000s. This look may be considered being as the "prep" look for some people.
* Straight
hair on women still remains
fashionable in the 2000s as it did in the 1990s. Wavy and curly hair becomes more widely accepted, especially in the mid-2000s. However, the shoulder-length
hairstyle ala donned Rachel-cut from the
TV show
Friends that dominated the 1990s 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 falls out of style style circa
2004 in most urban areas, but in some rural areas it still remains a major fashion trend.
* 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 around especially in the middle part of
2005.
*
Ugg boots, a boot commonly made with sheepskin in
Australia and
New Zealand for the last 200 years, become popular and fashionable in 2003 -- a trend first made popular on a movie poster for the film
Raising Helen.
*The "
rogue" stereotypes such as the
hip hop and
emo subcultures 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.
* The
Bohemian look was popularized with fashion icons like
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and
Lindsay Lohan in the mid 2000s
* 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" "Chill" "Gay", "Crunk", "Wanksta", "Rad", "Whateva", "That's Hot!", "Totally", "Seriously", "Metro", "Tight", "Ill", "Ditty", "Snap", "Fetch", "Git-R-Dun"," Hell Yeah", "Sick", "Eh-oh", "BOO-YA!", "Pure"," Sweet", "Jokes", "Beyotch", "You're fired", "Pwnage" 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 words "yo", "da bomb", "chill" and "buzz kill" still remains popular in the middle 2000s. Other terms involve the word "Bence".
*
Cell phones become prevalent with teenagers and often a fashion statement as opposed to a preppie toy or a tool primarily for adults and business people.
Payphone use and locations decline dramatically because of this.
*
MP3 players, particularly the
iPod, become very common as they become more powerful and easier to use. By 2006, over 1 billion songs had been downloaded by customers onto their iPods using Apple's music management software
iTunes and the
iTunes Music Store.
*
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).
*
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, becoming mainstream beginning around
1998 but especially later in the decade.
*Teenagers with non-heterosexual
sexual orientations begin to come out earlier in their lives generally to a far more positive response than previous decades.
*Former
1980s heartthrob
Tom Cruise oddly morphs into 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.
*Popular brand names amongst teenagers include
Aeropostale,
Atticus,
Abercrombie and Fitch,
Hollister,
Hurley International,
O'Neill,
Foxy,
Roxy,
Billabong,
Hot Topic and many others. Brands such as
Gap and
Old Navy still remains popular, but these brands are more aimed for adults than younger people. Even brands such as
Abercrombie & Fitch and
American Eagle are targeted for twenty and thirty somethings.
* Blonde highlights become popular in more darker haired people for both girls and guys.
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 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the politics of U.S. president
George W. Bush, there has been a surge of
anti-Americanism, especially in Western Europe.
*From early in the decade, mobile phones are largely seen as 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.
*Formal wear such as
sun dresses and
evening gowns become more popular amongst the younger generations in Europe, especially in the latter part of the decade.
United States and Canada
*
Hip-Hop is the
most popular musical genre with the youth, replacing
rock and roll, but it was starting to have a slight backlash in the mid to late 2000s. Artists such as
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) and
Crunk (
Lil' Jon,
Ying Yang Twins).
*
Pop Rock, although it remains highly popular, is no longer a staple of pop radio in most of the United States, but in the United Kingdom and other countries outside of the United States it is still considered a major genre of music. The most popular style early in the decade (and also during the late
1990s) was
nu metal, featuring acts such as
Linkin Park,
KoЯn,
Papa Roach, and
Limp Bizkit. Around
2002 emo and
pop-punk (
Fall Out Boy,
Good Charlotte,
Dashboard Confessional,
Hawthorne Heights) became popular amidst the waning popularity of nu metal. Around
2004 post-hardcore,
metalcore and
emocore (
From First to Last,
Atreyu,
Underøath), become popular, along with the
Post-punk revival fueled by
1980s nostalgia (
Franz Ferdinand,
The Killers,
Bloc Party).
*
Progressive and
Psychedelic Rock, which was "forgotten" since the 1980's, has gained back some of its popularity. This trend is most fueled by
Latin American group,
The Mars Volta.
*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 criticism 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 Channel" artists such as
Hilary Duff,
Lindsay Lohan,
Aly & AJ,
The Veronicas,
Hope Partlow,
The Cheetah Girls,
B5 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 2000s. 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 earlier part of 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 2000s 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,
Vanessa Carlton,
Kelly Clarkson,
Nick Lachey,
Mariah Carey,
Avril Lavigne,
Rob Thomas and
James Blunt continues to be popular.
*
Dance music (house, techno, trance,
drum 'n' bass) becomes mainstream in America. Dance artists such as
Madonna and
Kylie Minogue continue to become popular throughout the decade.
*Ethnic music, especially in near tropical locations is mainstream for most of the early to mid '00s, especially in the rise of
Reggaeton and Reggae artist
Sean Paul in the mid-2000s.
*
Sales of
CDs in
2005 in the
U.S. decline drastically from the
teen-pop era of the late
1990s-early 2000s. Some people who grew up listening to
1970s,
1980s, or even
1990s music claim the music industry is going for a younger audience in the 2000s 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
mp3 players (such as the
iPod), and increasing popularity and access to music online such as the use of
Napster.
*Fashion of this decade includes: bellbottoms, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s fashion becomes mainstream in America's youth. *New rise of hippy and swing generation, return of the peace necklaces and medallions, tie dye shirts, and the British-American rock band of the 1960s, known as The Beatles, becomes mainstream once more. 1980s fashions and music also becomes largely popular in middle 2000s. 1940s fashion such as evening gowns and wavy hair becomes more popular in the late 2000s.
*Baggy pants and shirts, as part of the "hipster", "gangster" fad, experiences severe backlash, in the mid to late 2000s. *Dark clothes start to experience slight backlash, and brighter colored shirts and pants start to become more mainstream in America's youth, styles that had been supposedly forgotten or considered to be uncool are considered as "hip". Plaid makes a comeback in late 2000s, as does plaid pants.
*The "dirty pop scene" peaked in the early 2000s with artists such as
Willa Ford,
Britney Spears,
Christina Aguilera,
Nelly and it received major backlash after the Janet Jackson case during the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Time. Dirty pop did seem to come back in
2006.
*Bubblegum Pop female artists of the 1990s such as
Mandy Moore,
Aqua,
Britney Spears,
Natalie Imbruglia, and
M2M have vanished and have been replaced by
Girl Pop Rock artists like
Ashlee Simpson,
Avril Lavigne,
Hilary Duff,
Aly & AJ,
JoJo,
Liz Phair,
Gwen Stefani, and
Kelly Clarkson.
Europe
*Rise in
Electronica of
1990s style, such as
trance and drum 'n' bass
*
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 1980s, 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.
*In Germany, music sung in German becomes more mainstream as bands such as
Wir Sind Helden,
Es ist Juli, and
Silbermond become popular.
*
Teen pop such as
Hilary Duff,
Aly & AJ, and the
Backstreet Boys continues to be popular, although US-influenced R&B, hip-hip, and emo music is popular until the middle of the decade.
*
NuPop, a genre of music that combines dance/electronica with alternative pop rock becomes mainstream in Europe for most of the middle part of the decade. NuPop is most widely recognized in the music of
Aly & AJ.
Australia and New Zealand
*Many new
rock and
alternative groups/bands form during the early years of this decade, consisting of 2 or 3 - 7 to 10 members. Instruments are almost always a
guitar,
drums,
bass and sometimes
keyboards, reviving youth interest in these instruments. Groups/bands such as
The Vines and
Jet become very popular amongst others around 2002 - 2003, paving the way for a mass of new groups midway through the decade such as,
Evermore,
Wolfmother and many others. This is speculated to result in a major breakthrough of the genre in Australia later in the decade similar to the
grunge scene in the United States in the early 90's.
*
Rock and
Hip Hop remain the most popular music genre amongst
youth in Australia and New Zealand, particularly Hip Hop, Rap and R&B, although later in the decade these genres loose favour to rock and
alternative.
*
Pop and Rock remain the most widely played genre's on mainstream radio stations. Most popular being the likes of the
Australian Idol contestants,
Delta Goodrem and
The Veronicas*Podcasting becomes popular in the later years of this decade with many radio stations podcasting several sections of their shows.
*Bands such as
The Living End become increasingly popular amongst a new generation of youth, spurring interest in a sort of punk style revival.
*Popular American television show,
The O.C., popularises many alternative Australian and New Zealand alternative rock bands by playing their music during the show. These bands include,
Youth Group and
Evermore.
Latin America/Caribbean
*Rise of
reggaeton hip hop, and
Bachata music
Far East
*
J-pop and
K-pop becomes increasingly influenced by
hip hop music and
R&B*The
Chinese metal scene is disrupted by the
SARS scare in
2003* The
Lord of the Rings trilogy and
King Kong (both by New Zealand director
Peter Jackson),
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.
* 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.
**
The Matrix becomes an influence 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 in
Utah becomes the first public film-oriented charter high school in the world.
*
X-Men sparks the "Comic Book Movie Age." Many big-budget adaptations of various comic book characters are made, primarily by
Marvel Comics and
DC Comics. Some of these comic-book movies, aside from X-Men, include
X2: X-Men United,
X-Men: The Last Stand,
Spider-Man,
Spider-Man 2,
The Fantastic Four,
Batman Begins,
V for Vendetta,
Superman Returns, and the upcoming
Spider-Man 3.
**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
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 and
The Incredibles also wins the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.
**
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.
*
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 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
Ang Lee receives Academy Award in 2006. Many parodies appeared on the
Internet during early
2006.
**The
Napoleon Dynamite craze starts, with "Vote for Pedro" shirts becoming a hot commonity in
2005 and thousands of items relating to the film being sold rapidly. This is thought to have launched
Jon Heder's career as an actor.
**Several documentaries are given widespread cinema release: examples are
Fahrenheit 9/11,
Super Size Me, and
March of the Penguins.
**The increasing popularity and affordability of digital video equipment and computer-based editing software contributes to a boom in micro-budget, independent filmmaking. Hit movies like
Super-Size Me and
Open Water are shot on shoestring budgets with relatively inexpensive digital camcorders.
* In Europe:
**Huge growth and popularity over
world cinema, films such as
Good Bye Lenin!,
Être et avoir, and
Downfall become success stories.
* The
Academy Awards: In the 2000s, "
indies" completely dominate nominations. Actresses win awards for playing "de-glam" roles, often women dealing with serious and deep personal issues, like sexuality, (
Nicole Kidman,
Charlize Theron).
*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
Limewire. 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,
YTMND 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.
Internet phenomena and jokes spread quickly through out mainstream internet and sometimes off-internet culture from sources such as the
Something Awful Forums,
4chan, and
Albino Blacksheep. (A good example of this would be
Chuck Norris Facts.) 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. Napster, even its current version, becomes the number one music swapping enterprise of all time.
*Popular video shorts of the 2000s include
Star Wars Gangsta Rap,
D.R.A.F.T., and the SNL skit
Lazy Sunday, which was controversially removed from
YouTube in early
2006.
*
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(
VoIP) telephones and the
Internet slowly begin to merge: Examples are
Vonage 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 such as
Myspace,
Xanga,
Facebook,
Friendster, 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 skyrocketed in popularity since the late
1990s, especially around the year
1999 and are criticized by many for safety concerns such as their use by
pedophiles to exploit the younger generations. MySpace seems to be improving in safety and security as the decade progresses.
*Informational and educational web sites abruptly decline as the internet becomes more of a place for advertising and other types of media, such as the use of such chat boards including
MySpace.
*The interactivity of the internet becomes more prominent with websites such as
Wikipedia and
YouTube where users can become contributors without a specialized knowledge in
HTML technology.
*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. The
Sony Playstation 2 (2000),
Nintendo GameCube (2001), and the
Microsoft Xbox (2001) are the three main contenders in the
sixth-generation console wars.
*
The Sims, released in fall of
1998 and again in the winter of
2000 for PC, along with its expansions and the help from many companies such as
Electronic Arts,
Maxis, and
Disney becomes the best selling PC game of all time.
The Sims 2, released in
2004, becomes 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
Game Boy micro in
2005. The GBA line is still the best selling handheld system to date.
*Gamers who were kids in the
1980s and
1990s are now adults and continue to play video games. The average age for video game players rises into the mid to late 20s as videogames become mainstream global entertainment.
*The
Grand Theft Auto series sparks a fad of Mature rated videogames based on including gang warfare, drug use, senseless violence and pornography into the gameplay or more commonly just the storyline. The controversy causes mothers, lawmakers and activists (such as
Jack Thompson) to push an agenda banning the sale of Mature rated games to minors.
*
MMORPGs, originating in the early
1990s, become a popular PC trend and virtual online worlds become a reality as games such as
World of Warcraft,
Everquest II,
Final Fantasy XI, and
Eve Online are released. These worlds come complete with their own economies and social organization as directed by the players as a whole.
*Console gaming officially hits the
Internet with
Xbox Live. Introducing widespread use of voice-chat via headset and requiring
broadband Internet connection for "no-lag" gameplay.
*Sequels become the more prominent as popular franchises begin releasing new versions every year along with spin-offs. This flooding of the market is similar to what was happening before the
video game crash of 1983.
*
Nintendo releases the
Nintendo DS in late
2004 featuring dual screens, a touch screen, and built-in mic and Wi-fi. In
2006 the
Nintendo DS lite, a redesign which is smaller with brighter screens, is released.
*
Sony releases the
PSP (PlayStation Portable) in early
2005, a handheld gaming console with multimedia features and sharp graphics.
*During
2005 and
2006 the
seventh generation of home consoles arrive:
Microsoft's
Xbox 360 (2005), the
Sony Playstation 3 (expected 2006 have sharper
HDTV ready graphics, multi-media, wireless controllers, and more integrated online features. The PlayStation 3 will also feature a
Blu-Ray disk drive, while the Wii will feature a completely new controller design (see below).
*
Nintendo announces that the
Wii will feature a remote control style controller feauturing full motion-sensitivity and a built-in speaker.
Sony follows by announcing that the
PS3 will have tilt-sensitive capabilities in its controller.
*Video games like
Halo and
Half-Life 2 with its
Source engine are said to revolutionize the physics aspect of gameplay. They pave the way for other hit
first-person shooters, one of which is
F.E.A.R..
Television in the 2000s showed a steady decline in the amount of live sitcoms and dramas and a rapid increase in
reality shows, like
American Idol. Traditional network news programs have slowly waned in popularity with the increase of 24 hour cable news stations and internet news. Adult oriented animated programming also began a sharp upturn in popularity with shows like
South Park and
Family Guy along with the longtime running cartoon
The Simpsons. Many successful sitcoms from the 1990s also ended in the 2000s such as
Friends (1994-2004) and
Frasier (1993-2004).
Television passed to heavy censorship concerning nudity, sex, and violence in the U.S. after the
Janet Jackson-
Justin Timberlake Superbowl incident happened early in
2004. After a long discussion, the
United States House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the maximum
FCC fine penalty from
USD $27,500 to $500,000 per "indecent" violation. The
United States Senate voted to increase it to $275,000 per incident. The two houses reconciled the differences in fine levels, settling for a fine of $375,000 per violation in
2005. See also:
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy.
*The
World Series (in
2000,
2002 and
2005),
NBA Finals (in
2003 and
2005),
BCS (in 2004) and
Men's NCAA Basketball Championship Game (in 2004) all hit record lows in
Nielsen ratings and/or total viewers in America.
*
Basketball decreases in popularity in the U.S. with the loss of
Michael Jordan, the
Kobe Bryant controversy and the
Pacers-Pistons brawl; a new television deal signed in
2002 relegates most NBA games to cable. Despite this, the emergence of stars such as
LeBron James and
Dwayne Wade (as well as a new collective bargaining agreement signed in
2005) helps the league maintain much of its status.
*
Baseball in the United States undergoes controversy and Congressional scrutiny due to steroids; stars such as
Barry Bonds and
Mark McGwire, ranked #1 and #2 in single-season home runs, are suspected to have used steroids, while others such as
Jason Giambi and
Rafael Palmeiro are confirmed to have been using the drugs. Thanks to two consecutive years of
Boston Red Sox-
New York Yankees American League Championship Series, however, ratings and popularity for the sport (while lower than previous years) still remain high.
*The
National Hockey League virtually disappears from the American sports landscape thanks to a year-long lockout that wiped out an entire season, as well as general apathy towards the sport and a television deal with
OLN that prevented many fans from being able to see games (several NHL telecasts on OLN were outdrawn by
WNBA games on
ESPN2[
1]). In
Canada, the National Hockey League remains extremely popular, helped by the
Calgary Flames run to the Stanley Cup Finals in
2004, and the
Edmonton Oilers playoff run in
2006.
*
NASCAR Racing becomes more
mainstream as
TV ratings for the sport grows in the
U.S.. NASCAR races regularly outdraw NBA, MLB and NHL telecasts by over 200 percent (in fact, NASCAR's average rating in
2005 outdid the combined regular season averages for the NBA and Major League Baseball during that same year). TV networks such as
FOX,
NBC and
TNT air races on a regular basis on Sundays and sometimes Saturday nights. Popular drivers during this period include
Jimmie Johnson,
Matt Kenseth,
Tony Stewart,
Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
Jeff Gordon, and
Kasey Kahne.
*
American Football continues to become more popular;
Superbowl XL becomes the second most watched television event in the US market ever. The
NFL also draws criticism, espacially following the
Super Bowl XXXVIII fiasco, and the
Terrell Owens controversy in the mid 2000s.
*The
Boston Red Sox break the 86 year "curse" by defeating the
St. Louis Cardinals in the
2004 World Series. The following year the
Chicago White Sox beat the
Houston Astros to win the
2005 World Series, winning their first since
1917.
*
Horse racing in the United States enjoys a surge in ratings, thanks to three straight years of
Triple Crown hopefuls (
War Emblem,
Funny Cide and
Smarty Jones in 2002, 2003 and 2004). However, all three horses fail to win the Triple Crown, and the next hopeful (
Barbaro in
2006) is severely injured during the
Preakness.
*
Beach volleyball becomes an increasingly popular sport worldwide, establishing its first generation of superstars and branching out into large inland cities.
*
Football (known as "soccer" to Americans), particularly British, begins to gain popularity amongst North Americans.
* Many British football clubs are being bought by Eastern European millionaires such as
Chelsea by
Roman Abramovich,
Hearts by
Vladimir Romanov and
Portsmouth F.C. by
Milan Mandarić and
Alexandre Gaydamak.
*The
IRB Rugby World Cup increases in size and audience to become The third most watched sporting event in the world after the FIFA World Cup and The Summer Olympics respectively.
*
WADA, The World Anti-doping Agency, introduces a standardised anti-doping code for all sports.
*
P.R. China's sportsmen make continuous improvements in several sports, in preparation for the Beijing (北京)
Olympic Games.
*
Professional wrestling, which had separate golden ages in the
1980s and
1990s, begins to decline in popularity in
North America until about late
2006. Many attribute this decline to the monopoly on the industry held by
World Wrestling Entertainment after the collapse of both
World Championship Wrestling and
Extreme Championship Wrestling in
2001, with WWE acquiring the remains of both companies. However, WWE would revive
ECW as a third brand along side its
RAW and
SmackDown! brands in 2006 due to increased nostalgia. During this period
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling attempts to create an alternative to the WWE product and gains a cult following but does not become a major competitor in the market. The death of main event star
Eddie Guerrero in 2005 prompts WWE to enact a drug testing policy. WWE continues to be popular overseas during this period, which prompts them to increase the number of televised foreign shows.
*In light of the waning popularity of
professional wrestling and
boxing,
mixed martial arts competitions such as the
Ultimate Fighting Championship and
Pride Fighting Championships gain popularity in the
United States,
Japan and
Canada.
*"Sporno" becomes immensely popular, mainly with gay men. 'Sporno' Is described by its coiner Mark Simpson, to be a cross between
sports and
pornography, which is advertised by
soccer star
David Beckham and by the popular French
Rugby calendar series
Dieux du Stade. Sporno is very common with professional wrestling.
The 2000s saw a steep increase in the acceptability of fantastic literature of all types, inspired by the
Harry Potter novels and by the coming-of-age of millions of people who enjoyed the works of such writers as
C. S. Lewis and
J. R. R. Tolkien in their youths.
Neil Gaiman, for instance, one of the decade's most popular writers of speculative fiction, cites Tolkien, Lewis, and
G. K. Chesterton as his three biggest influences growing up.
J. K. Rowling admits to being heavily influenced by Lewis as well. The popularity of Lewis, Tolkien, and Rowling was spurred on by movies which proved to be some of the biggest of the 2000s.
*
The Da Vinci Code, by
Dan Brown*
The Broker, by
John Grisham*
The World is Flat by
Thomas L. Friedman*
Harry Potter series by
J.K. Rowling*
A Series of Unfortunate Events by
Lemony Snicket*
Freakonomics, by
Steven Levitt and
Stephen J. Dubner*
Stephen King completes his
Dark Tower Cycle, a work which took him almost thirty years to finish.
*
The Purpose Driven Life by
Rick Warren*
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by
Susanna Clarke*
The Baroque Cycle by
Neal Stephenson*
American Gods by
Neil Gaiman* The Works of Daniel Quinn
World leaders
State leaders by year:
2000,
2001,
2002,
2003,
2004,
2005,
2006...
Entertainers
*
Paris Hilton*
Jessica Simpson*
Alicia KeysSports figures
*
2000s music groups*
2000s in India*
The 2000s Week-By-Week includes all pop culture: Television, films, radio, music, Hollywood tidbits*
The Zeroes - Instant Nostalgia*
Pop Culture Madness Modern Era Music Charts*
Decades 1920s-2010s
