Monday, December 29, 2008

Define the 90s and the 00s in three cultural products each

I am going with TV for everything:

The 90s: Buffy, X-Files, Seinfeld
The 00s: Sopranos, The Wire, Arrested Development

This is how I process the sweep of a decade, and it is obviously idiosyncratic. I would be very interested in how other people do it.
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14 comments:

  1. JamesMonday, December 29, 2008 at 12:59:00 PM EST

    I wanna say the 00s has seen the mainstream culture really embrace serialized story-telling in a big way: The Matrix, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Nu Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, DVD box-sets, Lost, Superhero Movie Franchises... And Marvel Studios is taking it on a step with the inter-connectivity idea.

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  2. AnonymousMonday, December 29, 2008 at 2:29:00 PM EST

    90's:

    Nirvana's 'Nevermind'

    Seinfeld

    Pulp Fiction

    00's

    The iPod

    The Office

    Harry Potter (not a personal favorite or anything... but, then again, I kind of think its success best reflects what James is talking about above)

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  3. Kyle HadleyMonday, December 29, 2008 at 4:25:00 PM EST

    90s: Friends, Pulp Fiction, Tupac

    00s: iPods, Harry Potter, Spiderman

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  4. JakeMonday, December 29, 2008 at 4:26:00 PM EST

    90s: Seinfeld, Buffy, uh...OK Computer?

    00s: Wii, Lost, iPod

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  5. sdelatovicMonday, December 29, 2008 at 5:53:00 PM EST

    Also rooted in personal taste:

    90s: Friends, MP3s, Buffy

    00s: Wii, HBO, Twitter

    I don't know when HBO became a force for quality TV in the US, but down here, I've only been able to experience it through DVD box-sets, making it a 00s thing.

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  6. Matt JacobsonMonday, December 29, 2008 at 11:59:00 PM EST

    90's: The letter "X"; Sitcoms; Samuel L. Jackson.

    00's: The letter "i"; Dramedies; Smauel L. Jackson.

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  7. finsof72Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 12:54:00 AM EST

    90s: Fresh Prince, Nirvana, 'Titanic'

    00s: sequels, Ipod, MySpace

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  8. Ping33Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 6:13:00 AM EST

    TV:
    90's:
    Seinfeld, Sex and the City, X-Files
    (Unifying themes: Light, navel-gazing, insubstantial)
    00's:
    24, Lost, How I met Your Mother
    (Unifying themes: confused, scared, nostalgic)

    Music:
    90's:
    Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Arrested Development
    (Themes: self-important, egotistical, importance of the 'Truth' in a phony world)
    00's:
    Kelly Clarkson, Eminem, Outkast
    (Themes: self-referential, Fan driven, commertial)

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  9. PaulTuesday, December 30, 2008 at 10:08:00 AM EST

    Comics:
    '90s - Holo-Foil, Embossed, Die-Cut

    '00s - 2nd Printing, 50/50 Variant, Mega-Event

    Music:
    '90s - Nirvana, Tupac, Garth Brooks

    '00s - Britney Spears, Kanye West, Radiohead

    Television:
    '90s - Sienfeld, X-Files, Star Trek (TNG, DS9, VOY)

    '00s - Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The Office

    Movies:
    '90s - James Cameron (Titanic, T2), Quinten Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy)

    '00s - Kevin Nolan (Momento, Prestige, Dark Knight), Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain), Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up)

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  10. StreeboramaThursday, January 1, 2009 at 3:41:00 AM EST

    90's: Death of Superman
    SPAWN
    The Invisibles

    00's: Planetary
    Captain America 25 - Death of Captain America
    Casanova

    90's: ECW
    Oscar De La Hoya
    Royce Gracie

    00's: WWE
    Floyd Mayweather jr.
    Fedor Emilianenko

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  11. StreeboramaThursday, January 1, 2009 at 3:43:00 AM EST

    90's: Clerks
    Pulp Fiction
    Scream

    00's: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
    Grindhouse
    George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead

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  12. AnonymousThursday, January 1, 2009 at 11:56:00 AM EST

    You know, if we're really being honest with ourselves, isn't the TV show that most defined the '00s 'Survivor'?

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  13. MichaelThursday, January 1, 2009 at 4:38:00 PM EST

    90s

    Nirvana (Music)
    Dead Man (Film)
    X-Files (TV)

    00s

    Radiohead (Music)
    Children of Men (Film)
    The Wire (TV)



    I don't get the opportunity to read comics anymore (time and money), but I was a fan of the X-Men from way back and I just saw the trailer for the Wolverine film. Looks good... I'm actually excited to see it (whereas the Watchmen film has me feeling anxious whether they will rob it of its deconstructive power...)

    Pura Vida!

    Bluegrass Film Society

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  14. Christian O.Friday, January 2, 2009 at 10:54:00 AM EST

    I turned 13 in 2000, so I just classify it as youth and teenage years.

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