# Big pop culture landmarks of this decade **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2009, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365 "2009-04-08T06:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/1 "2009-04-08T06:10:40Z")
Hard to believe the first decade of the 2000s will be over in just a few months. I’m trying to think of the big styles, fashions, movies, songs, tv shows, etc, that people are going to remember 20 or 30 years from now. If someone makes the quintessential high school/college “00s” movie in, say, 2030, what will _have_ to be in it? Based on my observations, the Travis Barker/“flatbiller” look; nautical star tattoos, lifted trucks, black baseball caps, etc., will be how they costume a lot of the people. Superhero and fantasy films seem to have been the biggest: Star Wars series, LotR series, Harry Potter series, Spider-Man series, Batman series, X-Men series, Superman, Iron Man, Hulk, Pirates series, Shrek series. Ipods and cell phones really took off. Rap and “alternative” rock don’t seem to be the _only_ choices in popular music anymore, like they were when I was in high school in the '90s. Emo, and underground/independent music seem to be a lot more common. Also, it seems to be ok for guys to listen to really poppy stuff now, like Rihanna and Lil Wayne. When I was in school, whatever you listened to - rock, rap, metal, or punk - had to at least give off the image, to your fellow teenagers, of being “tough”. An essential element of emo, as I understand it, is kind of the opposite of that. Family Guy seems to be the dominant tv show among young people. The Halo, Grand Theft Auto, and Call of Duty series of video games have been extremely popular. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/2 "2009-04-08T06:16:24Z")
Reality shows, definitely. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/3 "2009-04-08T06:44:21Z")
I think the big legacy of the 00s will be that there wasn’t a dominant anything (except for reality shows). I have no idea what a nautical star tattoo is supposed to look like, the only people are see sporting the “flatbiller” look are lame celebrities and it took me a few to realize that “lifted trucks” actually referred to trucks that had big wheels (right?). ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/4 "2009-04-08T10:41:28Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I think the big legacy of the 00s will be that there wasn’t a dominant anything (except for reality shows). Internet broke into the mainstream big time. That in itself has had a huge impact on popular culture. Of course, us cool people were already using it ten years prior. ---
**Author:** ![Flip\_Pancake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f1d935/32.png) [@Flip\_Pancake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flip_Pancake)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/5 "2009-04-08T11:52:12Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > If someone makes the quintessential high school/college “00s” movie in, say, 2030, what will _have_ to be in it? Laptops, and references to Facebook, MySpace, and blogs. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/6 "2009-04-08T13:27:23Z")
Bluetooth earsets. And there will have to be a joke about not knowing whether someone is talking on their Bluetooth or babbling to imaginary conversants. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/7 "2009-04-08T13:39:23Z")
Tramp stamps and piercings. Lowrider pants with the muffin top. Ball caps on crooked. Popped collars had a comeback. Jon Stewart on TV and Green Day on the ipod. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/8 "2009-04-08T14:17:14Z")
Cargo shorts ---
**Author:** ![Flip\_Pancake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f1d935/32.png) [@Flip\_Pancake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flip_Pancake)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/9 "2009-04-08T14:59:27Z")
YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/10 "2009-04-08T15:17:14Z")
Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson movies. I don’t know what the name of the genre is - guy comedies? TV animation. The genre started back in the nineties (or eighties if you go back to the previous TV animation boom) but Adult Swim started in 2001 plus shows like _Family Guy_, _King of the Hill_, _American Dad_, and _Futurama_. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/11 "2009-04-08T15:21:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson movies. I don’t know what the name of the genre is - guy comedies? > > TV animation. The genre started back in the nineties (or eighties if you go back to the previous TV animation boom) but Adult Swim started in 2001 plus shows like _Family Guy_, _King of the Hill_, _American Dad_, and _Futurama_. Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are known as the Frat Pack after their involvement in the movie **Old School**. But aside from American Dad, all of those shows debuted in the 90s, as did the primetime animation boom. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/12 "2009-04-08T15:41:24Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are known as the Frat Pack after their involvement in the movie **Old School**. Nitpick: I’m not disputing that those guys are known by that term, but Ben Stiller had, as far as I can tell, nothing to do with _Old School_. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/13 "2009-04-08T15:54:42Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Nitpick: I’m not disputing that those guys are known by that term, but Ben Stiller had, as far as I can tell, nothing to do with _Old School_. Neither did Owen Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/14 "2009-04-08T15:59:28Z")
The self-destruction of Brittany Spears is a notable, if not important milestone of the decade. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/15 "2009-04-08T16:25:17Z")
The American Idol phenomena is definately a landmark for this decade. And with it’s popularity fading I don’t see it carrying over into the next. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/16 "2009-04-08T16:28:22Z")
Films produced or directed by Judd Apatow, along with similar other films. Also, someone mentioned reality shows, which is good, but I would especially say American Idol. And I would add High School Musical, as well as the children-oriented shows on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/17 "2009-04-08T16:29:24Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Neither did Owen Wilson. Good catch! I have trouble keeping those two straight. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/18 "2009-04-08T16:31:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Films produced or directed by Judd Apatow, along with similar other films. > > Also, someone mentioned reality shows, which is good, but I would especially say American Idol. And I would add High School Musical, as well as the children-oriented shows on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. I was just discussing the Apatow and Apatow-like films with a friend at work earlier today. I think they will be to our decade what John Hughes films were to the Eighties and the Farrely movies were to the Nineties. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/19 "2009-04-08T16:34:41Z")
As far as political and world events that had a lot of reaction in the common days go, I would say: the disputed 2000 election, 9/11, the war in Iraq, and the election of Obama. The reality show boom of the early 2000s, lead by _Survivor_. Game shows were also popular at the time- _Who Wants to be a Millionaire_ premiered in 1999 and a lot of copycats soon followed. > [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Also, someone mentioned reality shows, which is good, but I would especially say American Idol. And I would add High School Musical, as well as the children-oriented shows on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon has always specialized in “children-oriented shows.” But Disney Channel’s becoming a free network and their uber-successes beginning in 2006 with _High School Musical_ and _Hannah Montana_ have certainly become a inexplicable pop-culture phenomenon. Although one character from Nickelodeon has made his way into the pop culture pantheon- SpongeBob. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/20 "2009-04-08T16:34:45Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I think the big legacy of the 00s will be that there wasn’t a dominant anything (except for reality shows). > > I have no idea what a nautical star tattoo is supposed to look like, the only people are see sporting the “flatbiller” look are lame celebrities and it took me a few to realize that “lifted trucks” actually referred to trucks that had big wheels (right?). Is a nautical star the same thing as a compass rose? Googling. [That](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_star) would be a [no](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass_rose). Good to know. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365.md?page=2)