The movies, books, and music that gave the 2000s its identity
by John Mederich

The world’s popular culture was revolutionized during the first ten years of the twenty-first century in various forms of entertainment such as top box office movies and best-selling novels. To get an accurate picture of this decade, one must look at hip-hop music, adventurous films, and fantasy literature as well as other elements of pop culture that emerged with the beginning of the millenium. Each year of the decade has made a unique and significant contribution to the pop culture of the 2000 – 2009 era.

"Gladiator," starring Russell Crow, was the bestselling movie of 2000. Image courtesy of amazon.com

2000: Britney Spears made it to the top of the charts “One More Time” when she brought pop music back into the twenty first century with “Oops!…I Did It Again.” Harry Potter became one of the most famed children’s books leaving its mark on the world as possibly one of the best pieces of literature to ever exist. The New York Times has even called the Harry Potter series “…one of the most successful book publishing sensations of all time.” The year 2000 was a notable year for the film industry as well. While movies such as “Austin Powers” dominated the film industry of the 2000-2009 era, such action packed, “save-the-world” films didn’t captivate the audience of the new decade. According to www.IMDb.com, the Roman Empire and betrayal plot based movie “Gladiator” was ranked the best selling movie of 2000.  The Y2K Scare shook up the digital world. According to the International Y2K Cooperation Center Records, an issue with how dates were programmed into computers emerged and “this flaw could cause computers to read dates as 1900, instead of 2000, resulting in a variety of computer malfunctions.”

The "Harry Potter" saga gained popularity when it started in 2001. Image courtesy of amazon.com

2001: The music industry was blown away by the hit single “Hanging by a Moment” by Lifehouse, securing the alternative rock single’s place at the top of the charts in 2001 according to www.billboard.com. Harry Potter hit the big screen for the first time with the highly anticipated international release of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”  The films of 2001 were not the only thing taking on a darker tone, Fashion took on a darker image in 2001 when black became the primary color of stylish clothing. September 11 had a profound effect on the film industry with the release of movies such as “United 93” and “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which were based on the events surrounding September 11.

2002: The movie world was taken to “middle earth” with the release of “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” in 2002. Jamaican hip hop star Sean Paul brought reggae back into popular music with the release of “Gimme the Light,” which stood atop the music charts. The hit television show “American idol” emerged in 2002 on the FOX network, where top contestants paved their way to musical success. “American Idol’s” season one winner, Kelly Clarkson, released her debut single “A Moment Like This,” which “reached No. 1.” according to the New York Times.   

2003: Once again, the hobbit Frodo Baggins made a return to the box office with the release of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” which was the last film of its trilogy. A new era of popular television emerged in 2003 with the airing of “Family Guy,” which would later be nominated for an “Outstanding Comedy Series” Emmy in 2009. 2003 also marked the beginning of the war on terrorism otherwise referred to as the Iraq War. During President George W. Bush’s administration, the United States focused on removing lethal biological weapons from Iraq, providing food and medicine to the people of Iraq, and also on freeing Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein’s rule during Operation Iraqi Freedom according to www.georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Later in 2005, the search for biological weapons in Iraq ended due to no discovery of any such weapons within Iraq according to www.CNN.com.

The hit comedy "The Office" made its debut in 2004 on NBC. Image courtesy of amazon.com

2004: The big green ogre made it onto the big screen for a second time in 2004 and received much universal applause for its success as a sequel to the original “Shrek.” USA Today has called “Shrek 2” “just as funny, sweet and engaging as the first film.” Bright color became the new trend in fashion in 2004 which stood as a medium between black and basic colors. The social networking world was revolutionized with the release of Facebook in 2004, which received more monthly worldwide users than MySpace according to www.compete.com. The popular television series “The Office” premiered in 2004 and still airs on NBC. The New York Times has claimed that “there are viewers who do not just love ‘The Office,’ they want to marry it and have its children.”

2005: Harry Potter redeemed itself as the victor of the box office with the release of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” in 2005. Once again, the wizard book series had successfully evolved into a big screen movie. Television entertainment grew with the release of the satirical animated series “American Dad!” created by Seth MacFarlane. Mariah Carey kept the decade of pop music success on a roll with her hit R&B singles which have historically topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart according to www.billboard.com. Rihanna released her first album “Music of the Sun,” which earned its way to the top Billboard 200 according to www.billboard.com. The release of “The Da Vinci Code,” a fictional piece of literature, sparked heated religious debates and conspiracy theories, according to www.cbsnews.com. It gained notable attention with the release of a top box office film to go along with it. Although the Da Vinci Code was certainly acclaimed a great success in the literature and film industry, its popularity died down after about three years.

2006: Johnny Depp’s alter ego Jack Sparrow and his companions went above and beyond with the release of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” which was ranked third in worldwide box office sales for the decade according to www.IMDb.com. Although the pirates didn’t wear miniskirts, the rest of the world did in 2006. According to TIME Magazine, the miniskirt and mini dress were new and hip in ’06 in women’s fashion. A teenage pregnancy took a comical turn with the release of the independent film “Juno,” which was described by the Chicago Sun-Times as “very smart, very funny and very touching.”

2007: The pillaging pirates of the Caribbean made it to the top of the box office again in 2007 with the last film of the trilogy, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” 2007 was a great year in terms of literature with the release of the final installment of the fictional Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.” Neon and metallics made their way into fashion trends as mini dresses stayed popular according to www.msnbc.com. Michael Moore’s documentary “Sicko” attracted attention from curious individuals who took an interest in the health care system of the United States compared to that of other nations such as France, Canada, and Britain. Rihanna made a big return in the year 2007 with her hit single “Umbrella,” which featured rap star Jay-Z, and earned the pair a Grammy Award for Best Rap Collaboration. According to the New York Times, “‘Umbrella,’ zoomed to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.” Rihanna’s hit single held its position at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 27 weeks.

President Barack Obama set a new era in American history when he became the first African-American president of the United States. Image courtesy of amazon.com

2008: The caped crusader gave audiences more than justice in 2008 when “The Dark Knight,” the sequel to “Batman Begins,” knocked out its competition. Britney Spears made a comeback with the release of her hit album “Circus” after a few rocky years with her career. The presidential campaign definitely made its mark in the top pop culture moments of 2008 when Barack Obama was elected president, the first African-American to ever hold the post.  Paris Hilton and Britney Spears aired a series of ads on television to gain support for Obama during the election. Saturday Night Live humorously showcased Tina Fey as Sarah Palin in numerous election parodies during the presidential campaign.

2009: The “Boy Who lived” reappeared on the big screen with the release of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which stomped the competition for the top box office position according to www.IMDb.com. The Billboard charts ranked the alternative rock-themed single “Use Somebody,” by Kings of Leon, at the top of the music industry in 2009. This fall, the popular television host Jay Leno concluded his “The Tonight Show” and replaced it with “The Jay Leno Show,” which switched its network scheduling to 9:00 p.m. central from its original 11:00 p.m. central time slot. “New Moon” captivated vampire lovers with its release as a sequel to the vampire romance movie “Twilight.” According to www.mtv.com, the 2009 Video Music Awards saw its share of controversy when Kanye West “cut the teen singer [Taylor Swift] off, grabbing the mic and protesting in support of Beyoncé” when Swift received the award for Best Female Video.

Various forms of music, film, literature, fashion, and television entertainment took a strong hold throughout the first ten years of the twenty-first century and have definitely prepared the world for the evolutions in popular culture that are still to come.