2000-2009: The decade in pop culture
As the '00's end, what images will rock on long after the years roll?
Carlos Millan
Issue date: 1/28/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment
The '00s were one of those decades that will be considered transformative (much like the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were connected to the Industrial Revolution) - technologically transformative.
This past decade has forever changed the way we listen to music, watch TV, or even read books. I don't believe the decade will be tagged with the image of an iPod or the blue Facebook banner. Not even the image of a TiVo will dominate the highlight reel in the future about the '00s.
Technology sometimes has a way of defining art and the times itself. A major new genre was created, the viral video, and it would have never existed without YouTube. YouTube has been the most influential publisher of the decade, so I cannot go on saying that technology will not be a part of the remembrance of the decade. It will only be a vessel in which the decade will be remembered.
Any artist or work worth remembering has risked an audience, from Walt Disney to Madonna. It's that willingness to risk alienation that will not let the decade fade away. So, where have we seen this risk-taking?
Television stood out more than any other genre. The new batch of producers and television directors ignored the old framework shows lived in and ignored the old demands that a series should please. They were gunning for something more than ratings. Shows like "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" dominated the TV series like crazy this past decade. Shows like "Arrested Development" and "The Daily Show" leaked out to find an audience of a size that was never expected.
In my opinion, TV is where we will see this decade's signature moment, where we will see a glimpse of what this decade is going to be remembered for.
The boldest gamble of the decade may very well be what I was searching for. I found it, not in any movie or song but in a critically acclaimed show on HBO. One of the decade's defining moments, like I stated earlier, needed to risk its audience. Without any risk, the reward of remembrance is unachieved. This moment had people screaming at their televisions and created confusion throughout the audience. It was a moment that people could not believe had happened to them. It was somewhat nuts, and gathered together every cracked and fragmented feeling the decade had.
This past decade has forever changed the way we listen to music, watch TV, or even read books. I don't believe the decade will be tagged with the image of an iPod or the blue Facebook banner. Not even the image of a TiVo will dominate the highlight reel in the future about the '00s.
Technology sometimes has a way of defining art and the times itself. A major new genre was created, the viral video, and it would have never existed without YouTube. YouTube has been the most influential publisher of the decade, so I cannot go on saying that technology will not be a part of the remembrance of the decade. It will only be a vessel in which the decade will be remembered.
Any artist or work worth remembering has risked an audience, from Walt Disney to Madonna. It's that willingness to risk alienation that will not let the decade fade away. So, where have we seen this risk-taking?
Television stood out more than any other genre. The new batch of producers and television directors ignored the old framework shows lived in and ignored the old demands that a series should please. They were gunning for something more than ratings. Shows like "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" dominated the TV series like crazy this past decade. Shows like "Arrested Development" and "The Daily Show" leaked out to find an audience of a size that was never expected.
In my opinion, TV is where we will see this decade's signature moment, where we will see a glimpse of what this decade is going to be remembered for.
The boldest gamble of the decade may very well be what I was searching for. I found it, not in any movie or song but in a critically acclaimed show on HBO. One of the decade's defining moments, like I stated earlier, needed to risk its audience. Without any risk, the reward of remembrance is unachieved. This moment had people screaming at their televisions and created confusion throughout the audience. It was a moment that people could not believe had happened to them. It was somewhat nuts, and gathered together every cracked and fragmented feeling the decade had.
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