# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/21 "2009-04-08T17:31:07Z")
“Reimagining” old cult movies & TV shows: BSG, Doctor Who, any 1970s horror or sci-fi movie. The proliferation of police procedurals. Even though the original “Law & Order” was already turning into a dinosaur when the new decade began, the real mania for such shows didn’t start until after CSI. Pop Tarts: As exemplified by a certain massively overexposed, but underwhelming young woman named for a prominent continental European city (but shall not be spoken by me!) 9/11 and the Iraq war. Not ‘pop culture’ of course, but it certainly looms large over every aspect of this decade. Men with facial hair. Beards are cooler now than they have been since the early 70s. That (IMO) dreadful streaky-haired look that [Christina Aguilera](http://www.poster.net/aguilera-christina/aguilera-christina-photo-christina-aguilera-6205808.jpg) helped popularize. Yuck! I am counting the minutes until that look goes out of style. Gay couples going the “traditional family” route - getting married & having kids. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/22 "2009-04-08T17:36:08Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Neither did Owen Wilson. Owen Wilson is just Luke Wilson on a bad hair day.😛 ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/23 "2009-04-08T17:55:58Z")
If we’re looking at the whole decade then dominance of fantasy movies (LOTR, Matrix, Pirates) can’t be overlooked. Fantasy and sci fi have been big on TV too this decade. I’d include “Lost” as a fantasy show. and I think Owen Wilson is Luke Wilson on a bad nose day. (sorry). ---
**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, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/24 "2009-04-08T18:07:49Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > 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?). Maybe the flatbiller thing never caught on big back east but it’s huuuuuuuuge out here. Nautical stars, No Fear clothes, hats, and stickers, Volcom, Tapout, Affliction, Metal Mullisha, Famous Stars and Straps, lifted trucks (mostly Fords and Toyotas), etc. Huge. It’s by far the dominant style in the 18 to 25 crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/25 "2009-04-08T18:13:40Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > That (IMO) dreadful streaky-haired look that [Christina Aguilera](http://www.poster.net/aguilera-christina/aguilera-christina-photo-christina-aguilera-6205808.jpg) helped popularize. Yuck! I am counting the minutes until that look goes out of style. Highlighted hair is so ubiquitous that it’s almost unnoticeable. I haven’t counted, but I’d guess that half the women (under 45) I see at the grocery store have prominently streaked hair. It’s not necessarily ugly, but the undigested trendiness of it bothers me. I understand that women don’t want their hair coloring to be solid, because that looks artificial, but in a few years today’s prominently streaked hair is going to seem as ridiculous as beehive wigs. ---
**Author:** ![MentalGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@MentalGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MentalGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/26 "2009-04-08T18:21:06Z")
The Wii. ---
**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, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/27 "2009-04-08T18:24:54Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Maybe the flatbiller thing never caught on big back east but it’s huuuuuuuuge out here. Nautical stars, No Fear clothes, hats, and stickers, Volcom, Tapout, Affliction, Metal Mullisha, Famous Stars and Straps, lifted trucks (mostly Fords and Toyotas), etc. Huge. It’s by far the dominant style in the 18 to 25 crowd. Aside from No Fear clothes (which I had scads of when I was 12 in 1993), I have no idea what you’re talking about… ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/28 "2009-04-08T18:38:57Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > The self-destruction of Brittany Spears is a notable, if not important milestone of the decade. Not just that. Within the 00’s, Britney’s career reached its apex (_Oops… I did it Again_), fell into decline (post-_Britney_), experienced a resurgence (_In the Zone_), completely and utterly bottomed out (_Blackout_), and experienced another big comeback (_Circus_). She’s been news one way or the other for almost the entire decade. Musically, I’d say that “Get Low” by Lil Jon and the East Side Boys was the biggest landmark by far. That song was _everywhere_ from 2003-2005 and has hugely informed pop music since. Other songs I could easily see in an 00’s period piece decades from now are “Golddigger,” “Lose Yourself,” “My Humps,” “Hey Ya!,” “Umbrella,” “Don’t Cha,” “Crazy” (Gnarles Barkly), “Hollaback Girl,” “Sexyback,” “Unwritten,” “Crazy in Love,” “Hot in Here,” “In Da Club,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Since U Been Gone,” “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Fergalicious,” “Crank That,” “Lollipop,” and “Rehab.” ---
**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, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/29 "2009-04-08T18:50:25Z")
Wow. I’m 27 and love music, but reading that list of songs, it shows just how out of touch I am with the mainstream. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Aside from No Fear clothes (which I had scads of when I was 12 in 1993), I have no idea what you’re talking about… I know what Tapout is, but am similarly clueless. I had to look up flatbiller, and am still a little foggy on what exactly it is. ---
**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, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/30 "2009-04-08T19:09:43Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Aside from No Fear clothes (which I had scads of when I was 12 in 1993), I have no idea what you’re talking about… Wow, I guess American youth culture is still more regional than I thought. That style is ubiquitous out here. Since I grew up out east I thought it was weird when No Fear made a comeback a couple years ago. I wonder if it was popular out here the first time around. Flatbillers look like [this](http://www.flatbiller.com/uploaded_images/Mojave-250-0131-781232.jpg) and drive trucks that look like [this](http://www.flatbiller.com/uploaded_images/giant-bro-truck-780674.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/31 "2009-04-08T19:19:33Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Maybe the flatbiller thing never caught on big back east but it’s huuuuuuuuge out here. Nautical stars, No Fear clothes, hats, and stickers, Volcom, Tapout, Affliction, Metal Mullisha, Famous Stars and Straps, lifted trucks (mostly Fords and Toyotas), etc. Huge. It’s by far the dominant style in the 18 to 25 crowd. Waitaminute!! That’s not ironic ‘faux-redneck’! That’s ACTUAL redneck!! You don’t see a lot of that stuff in NYC. There was one year where flat brim trucker hats were everywhere but that didn’t last long. **‘Metrosexual’** seems to be the way to go out here. Speaking which, I would add \*\*American Idol \*\*and \*\*Ryan Seacrest \*\*to the list. I’d also add \*\*24 \*\*and anything else having to do with kicking the crap out of terrorists. Much in the same way the 80s were about kicking the crap out of Russians. Stiller had a cameo in Anchorman and Will Farrel played the villain in Zoolander with Stiller and Owen Wilson. Stiller also played the villain in Dodgeball with Vince Vaugn. It’s not just about Old School. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/32 "2009-04-08T19:27:04Z")
> [@MentalGuy](#): > > The Wii. I was going to come here to say they same thing. What’s sad is that’s one of the only things that come to mind, (others listed). I haven’t been on this Earth for too long, and perhaps I’m associating the whole decade with all the bad shit that’s happened, or that I’ve only ‘experienced’ two others so far, and this is sort of my first ‘go’ as a full adult. With adult concerns. It may be that I’m getting older, but life seems to be getting a lot more boring. I remember my father and mother adapting quite well to the 80’s a 90’s as far as art and entertainment’s concerned, especially when it comes to music. Right now I feel like every new song that comes out these day’s I’ve ‘heard’ in some way before. TV “HDed”… I’m waiting for the “Wii” of TV. Something all together new, (now that we have a ‘perfect’ picture). I can’t go out to see movies because I don’t have the money to spend these days, but nothing’s enticed me to go these days, unlike the 90’s which really drew me in. I don’t know who the latest teen idol is who will eventually let the pressures of fame get to him/her, start drinking and using, get fired from acting gigs/or music gigs, and do a reality TV show as a last result to salvage any value as an entertainer they have left inside of them. I feel lost. Really, really lost. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/33 "2009-04-08T20:04:09Z")
Sports-wise, Steroids in baseball is probably be the biggest sports story of the decade. Basketball has had the rise of a new class of all-stars (Lebron, Wade, Melo, Bosh, etc) Football would be the increase of more thugish off-field behaviour, but coupled with a continued ascention to the top of North American sport. Hockey would be pretty much its decline in popularity. And Mixed Martial Arts is probably the biggest ‘new’ sport to hit the scene this decade. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/34 "2009-04-08T20:13:16Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Hard to believe the first decade of the 2000s will be over in just a few months. And we still haven’t **named** it! I mean, “the 00s” just sounds silly and “the 2000s” would apply to the whole 21st Century. And what are we going to call the coming decade? ---
**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, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/35 "2009-04-08T20:15:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And we still haven’t **named** it! I mean, “the 00s” just sounds silly and “the 2000s” would apply to the whole 21st Century. And what are we going to call the coming decade? The Naughties? ---
**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, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/36 "2009-04-08T20:15:56Z")
The turn of the century? ---
**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, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/37 "2009-04-08T20:23:11Z")
The Greater Depression? No, wait, that will be the next decade. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/38 "2009-04-08T20:28:04Z")
I’d say TV changed pretty drastically this decade. Moving from single-episode plots to complex continuing stories on TV dramas (_The Wire, Lost, The Shield, Damages_) was the biggest thing I noticed (it may have started in the 90s - don’t remember when _The Sopranos_ came out - but it didn’t become ubiquitous until this decade. And _The Sopranos_ itself had plenty of single-episode story arcs). For sitcoms, this decade, for the most part, killed off the laugh track completely, and a couple shows (_Arrested Development, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_) followed the dramas’ lead and went with continuing storylines (or at least subplots). There’s still plenty of archaic dreck (_Two and a Half Men, According to Jim_), but the best comedies of the 2000s can stand as among the best ever. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/39 "2009-04-08T20:29:19Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > and the election of Obama. I honestly don’t think that Obama is going to be on a '00s list. He’ll be a key talking point when talking about the '10s - when his policies start taking shape and coming into fruition (or spiral us into chaos - whichever your political stance dictates). But politically, a discussion of the 2000s will be dominated by Bush and the war on terror. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365/40 "2009-04-08T20:32:44Z")
The Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake Super Bowl appearance was definitely a major pop culture event. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-pop-culture-landmarks-of-this-decade/492365.md?page=3)