User:MPS/2000s

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This content is from 2000s and was tragically deleted in January of 2007. I tihnk it needs to be reinserted but I don't know where yet. Perhaps I should write an essay called wikipedia: Orphaned content. MPS 21:08, 4 February 2007 (UTC)




This article is about the decade starting at the beginning of 2000 and ending at the end of 2009. For the century or millennium starting in 2001, see 21st century and 3rd millennium.
Millennia: 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium - 4th millennium
Centuries: 20th century - 21st century - 22nd century
Decades: 1970s 1980s 1990s - MPS/2000s - 2010s 2020s 2030s
Years: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

The 2000s decade refers to the years from 2001 to 2010. The 2000s has generally been marked with an escalation of the social issues of the 1990s, which included the increasing awareness of terrorism and the rapid expansion of economic globalization. Communications and telecommunications have advanced drastically, with the widespread proliferation of the Internet and mobile phones, among other things.

Most major political developments in the 2000s revolved around the War on Terrorism, which was triggered by the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Moscow Theatre Siege, and led to the Iraq War. These and other events have dominated the news almost daily, including the many controversies regarding their consequences and justifications. The Iraq War, launched in 2003, has generated extreme controversy around the world, with many questioning its justification or questioning the United States' motives. Tensions have escalated in the Middle East regarding the War in Iraq, the Iranian nuclear crisis, Israel's month-long war against Hezbollah, and the election of Hamas in Israeli-occupied Palestine. North Korea has generated a nuclear crisis of its own by withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its reporting of a successful nuclear test. Saddam Hussein was executed by Iraqi officials for crimes against Humanity.

Economic developments have largely focused on the explosion of Asia's economic and political potential, with China experiencing immense economic growth, moving toward the status of a regional power and billion-consumer market. India, along with many other developing countries, has seen a rapid increase in its economy, accelerated by increased technological integration with the economies of more developed countries[1]. A trend connecting economic and political events in North America, Asia and the Middle East is the rapidly increasing demand for fossil fuels, which, along with fewer new petroleum finds, greater extraction costs and political turmoil, saw the price of gas and oil soar nearly 300% between 2000 and 2005.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Names of the decade

In contrast to the decades from 1920 to 1999, which are called "The Twenties," "The Thirties" and the like, the '00s have had no universally-accepted name. Some refer to the decade as the "two thousands," but many find that usage awkward and incorrect for a number of reasons—most notably the fact that the "two thousands" can also be seen as pertaining to the 21st century, or even the entire millennium. Written in numeral form, the decade can be written either as the "2000s" or as the "'00s". But looking for a name that has the same "feel" as 'The Nineties' or 'The Fifties' has been problematic, especially in the United States.

In the rest of the English-speaking world "The Noughties" and "The Noughts" have come to be the most widely recognized and accepted terms. [2] The term "Noughties" has been adopted by the BBC, [3] and while the term may not be universal, there is no other term so widely recognized. Probably the only reason that the term Noughties has not been completely accepted world wide is the fact that, in the United States (where usage of naught or nought to mean zero has never been ubiquitous), there is some confusion by those who assume erroneously that the term has something to do with the adjective naughty.

Other proposed names have been almost innumerable, and include, "the zeroes", "double zeroes", the "aughts" (which gained some popularity in the early 20th century), "double-aughts", "oh's", "double oh's", "oh-oh's" "aughties", "oughties", "2K's", "uh-ohs", "zoogs", and "ozies". But these other suggestions usually represent the wishes of individuals, and do not generally represent any burgeoning consensus.

The United Nations General Assembly declared the decade of 2000-2009 as the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World." [4]

[edit] Events and trends

[edit] War, peace and politics

September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City: View of the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty
September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City: View of the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty

[edit] Economics

  • Globalization: Transnational companies become more pervasive, and anti-globalization protests occur frequently during meetings of IMF and WTO, especially in the early 2000s.
  • The euro becomes legal tender in twelve European Union countries in 2002. It is the largest monetary union in history. The euro eases trade in the Eurozone.
  • The NASDAQ, the American Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange closed for six days after the September 11th, 2001 attacks the longest close since the Great Depression in 1929.
  • Major downturn in the value of dot-com shares, with occasional exceptions (Google's IPO on August 13, 2004). The Internet itself continues to grow as a business and advertising medium, with steady increases in online shopping and banking activities. Other successful firms include Amazon.com and eBay.
  • The US dominance over the world economy continues, but economically rising nations and organizations like China and India show signs of becoming contending world powers.
  • Significant oil price rises. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline opens on 25 May 2005, potentially removing the dependence of the United States and other Western nations on Middle Eastern oil.
  • Enron and other major accounting and corporate governance scandals prompt reviews of corporate government legislation worldwide (eg Sarbanes-Oxley Act)
  • The 1990s stock market boom ends in Mid-March to Early September of 2000-2001, due to 9/11 and the tech-bubble burst.
  • Post-9/11 Recession from 2001-2002. The Dow Jones average would sink to the 7000 level during July 2002. Continuing stagnation in US and global monthly jobs growth afterwards. A recovery in US GDP growth begins after May 2003, but with continuing weakness on many indicators as of 2006.
  • American automobile companies General Motors and Ford lose market share to Japanese Makes such as Toyota and Honda in the US. This trend of General Motors and Ford losing market share to Honda and Toyota started around 1998 in the US and still continues in 2006.
  • By 2006, the U.S. economy had reached new heights, with the stock market breaking records, home prices rising and flattening study, and interest rates curbed. Gas prices lowered out by September of 2006, further fueling economic prospects.
  • The Dow Jones surpasses 12,000 for the first time in history, in mid-2006.

[edit] Technology

  • A huge jump in broadband internet usage, from 6% of U.S. internet users in June, 2000 to what one study predicts will be 62% by 2010 (although signs now show that broadband internet usage, continuing in its current trend, will be well over 90% by 2010 in the US).
  • Boom in music downloading and the use of data compression to quickly transfer music over the Internet, with a corresponding rise of portable digital audio players typified by Apple Computer's iPod. Digital music sales rise, accounting for 6% of all music sales in 2005.
  • Digital cameras become very popular due to rapid decreases in size and cost while photo resolution steadily increases. Sales of film reel cameras diminish greatly as a result.
  • Google and Yahoo search engines increases trafficability of the internet and "to Google" becomes a verb.
  • The Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster occurred in February 2003.
  • Due to an increase in ability to store data, USB flash drives rapidly replace zip disks and 3.5-inch diskettes.
  • Graphic cards become powerful enough to render ultra-high-resolution (e.g. 1920x1200) scenes in real time with substantial detail and texture.
  • Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 become the ubiquitous industry standard in personal computer software. Open source and free software continues to be a notable but minority interest, with versions of Linux gaining in popularity, as well as the Mozilla Firefox web browser and the OpenOffice.org document editor.
  • Flat panel displays begin displacing cathode ray tubes.
  • Major advances in Hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, Ford Escape, and the Honda Insight.
  • Greater interest in future energy development due to global warming theory and the potential exhaustion of crude oil.
  • Blogs, portals, and wikis become common electronic dissemination methods for professionals, amateurs, and businesses to conduct knowledge management.
  • Wikipedia began and grew rapidly, becoming the largest encyclopedia and most well known wiki in the world.
  • DVDs, and subsequently HD DVDs and BDs, replace VCR technology as the common standard in American homes and at video stores, although inexpensive VCRs and videocassettes can still be found at some thrift stores and discount stores.
  • Due to the major success of broadband Internet connections, Voice over IP begins to gain popularity as a replacement for traditional telephone lines. Major telecommunications carriers begin converting their networks from TDM to VoIP.
  • Wireless networks are becoming ever more commonplace in homes, education institutes and urban public spaces.
  • Corrective eye surgery becomes popular as costs and potential risk decreases and results further improve.
  • OLED (Organic light-emitting diode) technology revolutionizes display technology, making it possible to "print" screens on everyday objects.
  • GPS (Global Positioning System) becomes very popular especially in the tracking of items or people, and the use in cars. Games that utilize the system, such as geocaching, emerge and become popular.
  • RFID (Radio Frequency ID) becomes widely used in retail giants such as Wal-Mart, as a way to track items and automate stocking and keeping track of items.
  • DVRs (Digital Video Recorders), typified by TiVo, allow consumers to modify content they watch on TV, and to record TV programs and watch them later, leading to problems as consumers can fast-forward through commercials, making them useless and saving TV show for later viewing, causing a downfall of TV viewing.
  • Self-serve kiosks become very widely available, used for all kinds of shopping, airplane boarding passes, hotel check-ins, fast food, banking, and car rental. ATMs become nearly universal in much of the First World and very common even in poorer countries and their rural areas.
  • Internet usage surpasses TV viewing in 2004. Satellite TV loses its ratings as network television ratings gradually increase.
  • Emerging use of robotics, especially telerobotics in medicine, particularly for surgery.
  • Many more computers and other technologies incorporated into vehicles such as Xenon HID headlights, GPS, DVD players, self-diagnosing systems, advanced pre-collision safety systems, memory systems for car settings, back-up sensors and cameras, in-car media systems, MP3 player compatibility, USB drive compatibility, keyless start and entry, satellite radio, voice-activation, cellphone connectivity, adaptive headlights, HUD (Head-Up-Display), infrared cameras, and Onstar (on GM models).
  • Peer-to-peer technology use: internet telephony (Skype), file-sharing.
  • The entire videogame industry's profits surpassed the movie industry's in 2004.
  • The tech bubble burst for the most part in late 2000 and after three years of negative growth the market began its rebound in 2003 and has continued to see moderate growth through 2006.
  • Videophones are cheap and abundant, yet even by mid-decade, they had not received much attention.
  • Most cellphone carriers offer video viewing services, internet services, and some offer full music downloads, such as Sprint in 2005. This leads to an almost saturation of cell phone ownership among the public and a sharp decline in the use and locations of payphones.
  • Home automation and home robotics advance in North America; iRobot's "Roomba" is the most successful domestic robot and has sold 1.5 million units. (Others of interest include: Robomower, and Scooba as of May 2006)
  • Photovoltaics increase in popularity
  • Smartboards in schools gain acceptance and are adopted rapidly during the middle years of the decade.
  • An increase in online DVD rental services such as Netflix.

[edit] Science

[edit] Culture and religion

[edit] Other

The coronavirus suggested as a causative agent of SARS.
The coronavirus suggested as a causative agent of SARS.

[edit] Trends and fashion

[edit] Fashion

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Main article: 2000s in American Fashion
Low-rise jeans and high rising crop top. These two fashion trends are very popular in the early 2000s.
Low-rise jeans and high rising crop top. These two fashion trends are very popular in the early 2000s.
Britney Spears is credited with popularizing low-rise jeans, crop tops, lower back tattoos, navel piercing, and the whale tail in the early 2000s
Britney Spears is credited with popularizing low-rise jeans, crop tops, lower back tattoos, navel piercing, and the whale tail in the early 2000s
  • Fashion becomes less grungy and more excessive.
  • The wearing of G-strings among young woman, popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, becomes less popular by 2005. However, by 2006 and early 2007 they are increasingly popular for youth and those who do not wear them are considered to be wearing "Granny-panties."
  • The center of the lower back becomes a common placement for tattoos among young women.
  • The "Baggy Jeans" craze of the 1990s (mostly with young males) remains commonplace in the beginning part of the decade, but becomes less popular circa 2002. Tighter fitting jeans become more popular and mainstream.
  • Longer hair among young males becomes much more mainstream, and is no longer considered just a "skater"/alternative look.
  • 1980s fashion revival: For girls and women large/chunky jewellery, originally popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, return to style circa 2002. Leggings worn with shirts and/or mini-skirt became a trend circa 2005. Upturned collars on tennis shirts become popular among the youth as well. Some boys begin to wear pink, and the mohawk makes a comeback, becoming more mainstream and less of an alternative trend, as it was during the 1990s. Wearing high-heeled boots, specifically tucking one's slacks into them, becomes a popular trend among young women. Layered clothing becomes popular, especially with women's shirts; ruffled skirts also become a trend.
  • Pinstriped button up shirts, striped polo shirts over T-shirts, blazers, and layers of brightly colored sweaters are popular styles of fashion among young males. The trend was made popular by artists such as Usher and Kanye West in the mid 2000s. This look may be considered being an alternative form of the "prep" look
  • While straight hair on women still remains fashionable in the 2000s, as it did in the 1990s, wavy and curly hair becomes more widely accepted (especially in the mid-2000s).
  • Trucker hats, usually made by the Von Dutch company and commonly worn by celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher, become popular in 2003. The trend, however, falls out of favor circa 2005.
  • Ugg boots, a boot commonly made with sheepskin in Australia and New Zealand, become popular and fashionable in 2003.
  • Wearing baseball caps backwards, common during the 1990s, becomes less prevalent, with many wearing them sideways or forwards.
  • The Bohemian look, popularized by celebrities such as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Lindsay Lohan in the mid 2000s, becomes mainsream.
  • As a reaction to the ongoing War on Terrorism, many fashion designers attempt to introduce a more dressed, romantic and conservative notion to their designs, due to people of the 2000s perceiving unrestful and war-ridden times around the globe. By 2004 or 2005, trends move away from focus on "sexy" to "romantic" or "proper". The styles closely resemble adult fashion of the 1940s to 1970s, but with a slimmer silhouette. Clothing such as thongs and low-rise jeans fall out of favor, while high-waist jeans becomes increasingly popular, along with knitwear, tweed, cardigans, skirts, trench coats, pea coats, blazers, ties and other clothing signalling a more graceful approach than the more sexy and bohemian look during the earlier parts of the decade.
  • Fad diets such as Atkins and low carb diets are popular during the early '00s, but fall out of favor circa 2004 in favor of diets heavy in whole grain foods.
  • Slang words and catch phrases used often in 2000s America include "retarded", "gay", "crunk", "Bob Saget!" "Ballin!" "like," "blonde" "wanksta", "whateva", "totally", "bringing SexyBack", "seriously", "tight", "snap", "Git-R-Done", "hell yeah", "sick", "sweet", "beyotch", "you're fired","straight", "spiffy", "far out", "peace", "Rock on!", "let it be", "take a slow ride man", "you gonna hit that", "you cool man", "pwnage", "emo", "noob", "Über", "leet", and "word up". Many of them have roots from the 1980s and 1990s, such as the word "totally". 1990s hip-hop slang such as the words "yo", "homie", and "chill" still remains popular in the middle 2000s. A lot of slang from gaming and the internet that were less well-known become popular, such as "Noob", "Pwn" and "Owned". Also, Internet slang becomes more mainstream and even more popular across the Internet as use of social networking sites and instant messaging grows dramatically. These include "omg", "brb", "lol", "rotflol", "wtf?", Leetspeak, and their variants, as well as abbreviations for many different phrases.
  • Owning or having a cell phone becomes prevalent among teenagers and preteens from many different economic and social classes as opposed to the 1980s and 1990s, when they were seen mainly as a symbol of someone with great wealth. Payphone use declined dramatically because of this. In 2006, 2007 the Razr by numerous companies is most popular among youth and adults alike. T-Mobile Sidekicks are popular yet unaffordable for many.
  • MP3 players, particularly the iPod (introduced in 2001), become very common as they become more powerful and easier to use. By 2006, over 1 billion songs had been downloaded by customers onto their iPods using Apple's music management software iTunes and the iTunes Music Store.
  • Generation Y supplants Gen X as current youth generation.
  • Poker becomes a craze, as many Americans are enticed by online poker rooms and games with their friends and neighbors. The World Series of Poker aired on ESPN becomes a huge success.
  • Argyle is more commonly worn in the US.

[edit] Europe

  • In Eastern Germany and other ex-Communist countries there was for a short time a growth in nostalgia for former Communist times (Ostalgie) (2002).
  • Because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the politics of U.S. president George W. Bush, there has been a surge of anti-Americanism, especially in Western Europe.
  • From early in the decade, mobile phones are largely seen as a necessary accessory, even for the majority of children as young as 10 years old. Ownership approaches 100% of the population in most Western European countries.
  • Fashion and cosmetic surgery become more mainstream; an increase in interest is most notable in men, influenced by fashion-conscious celebrities such as David Beckham.
  • Chav culture in the United Kingdom becomes a significant fashion/lifestyle choice, especially amongst those in the working class.
  • Formal wear such as sun dresses and evening gowns become more popular amongst the younger generations in Europe, especially in the latter part of the decade.
  • Clothing origially from the 1980s become popular, including chunky plastic jewelery, leggings (known as footless tights), ankle boots, legwarmers, 50s colours and patterns (like polka dots) and the stiletto heel.

[edit] Music

In the world as a whole music genres like Hip-Hop, R&B and Rock are the most popular in this decade.

[edit] United States and Canada

  • Pop country slips in mainstream popularity in the early 2000s, due partly to the public retirement of Garth Brooks. However, the upper part of the Billboard album charts generally has many country albums, including some that go more than double platinum, indicating that the genre has a strong niche in the music industry. The genre grows during the mid 2000s from artists such as Carrie Underwood, who became the first American Idol winner to go into country instead of Pop or R&B. Artists that were popular during the decade were mostly artists who were already successful in the 90s, but the artists include: Dixie Chicks, Toby Keith, Gretchen Wilson, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Kenny Chesney among others.
  • Dance music (house, techno, trance, drum 'n' bass) becomes mainstream in America. A number of little-known House and Trance songs appear in the popular video game Dance Dance Revolution as Dance artists such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue continue to become popular throughout the decade. Many dance remixes of past euro-dance or balad hits from the past appear between 2004-2006 such as the 2004 hit Call On Me by Eric Prydz, Fading Like A Flower by Dancing Deejays or Everywhere from Bonnie Bailey. These past hits have been enchanced with modern beats to be able to fit in mainstreem and also to be played in parties and night clubs.
  • Ethnic music, especially in near tropical locations is mainstream for most of the early to mid '00s, especially in the rise of Reggaeton and Reggae artist Sean Paul in the mid-2000s. In 2005-2006 Diplo brings Baile Funk to mainstream dance culture from Brazil. The rise of Matisyahu, a Hasidic Jewish reggae artist who rose to semi-stardom beginning in 2004, created a marked interest in reggae among average American music-lovers.[citation needed]
  • Sales of CDs in 2005 in the U.S. decline drastically from the teen-pop era of the late 1990s-early 2000s. Some people who grew up listening to 1970s, 1980s, or even 1990s music claim the music industry is going for a younger audience in the 2000s that it has in decades past which might be leading to this drop in record sales. However, music industry executives claim the drop in CD sales is due to mp3 players (such as the iPod), and increasing popularity and access to music online such as the use of Napster.
  • Children's music rises significantly in sales [7], with acts such as The Wiggles becoming successful.

[edit] Europe

  • Rise in Electronica of 1990s style, such as trance and drum 'n' bass
  • Electro, as well as music that combines it with House becomes mainstream in the dance music scene in the middle of the decade, replacing the mainstream of more jazzy and Latin influenced sounds from the beginning of the decade
  • Post-Britpop bands such as Coldplay, Keane and Snow Patrol top the album charts during the decade.
  • Boybands do not exactly die out, but they evolve into teen pop-rock/pop punk acts, with artists such as Busted.
  • Animated musicians become popular, with the likes of Crazy Frog, Gorillaz, and Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil.
  • Return of indie rock groups evoking the late 1970s or 1980s, such as Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser Chiefs.
  • In Germany, music sung in German becomes more mainstream as bands such as Wir Sind Helden, Es ist Juli, Rosenstolz and Silbermond become popular.
  • Teen pop such as Hilary Duff, Aly & AJ, and the Backstreet Boys continues to be popular, although US-influenced R&B, hip-hop, and emo music is popular during the middle of the decade.
  • Grunge Revival with new bands like Nine Black Alps or older bands like Pearl Jam
  • Pop The musical style of the 1970s and 1980s begins to influence pop music in the middle of the decade, as seen in Rihanna's hit S.O.S. (a sampling of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love), as well as in Jessica Simpson's album A Public Affair, which is a mix of 1970s-influenced music (A Public Affair (song)) and 1980s music (Simpson's cover of You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)). Madonna released an non-stop dance album in mid-2000s, Confessions on a Dance Floor, with songs reminiscent of ABBA, Saturday Night Fever, and even some of her earliest work in the 1980s ,Jamelia "Beware Of The Dog" released in 2007 contains a sample from "Personal Jesus" of Depeche Mode

[edit] Australia and New Zealand

  • Many new rock and alternative groups/bands form during the early years of this decade, consisting of 2 or 3 - 7 to 10 members. Instruments are almost always a guitar, drums, bass and sometimes keyboards, reviving youth interest in these instruments. Groups/bands such as The Vines and Jet become very popular amongst others around 2002 - 2003, paving the way for a mass of new groups midway through the decade such as, Evermore, Wolfmother and many others. This is speculated to result in a major breakthrough of the genre in Australia later in the decade similar to the grunge scene in the United States in the early 90s.
  • Rock and Hip Hop remain the most popular music genre amongst youth in Australia and New Zealand, particularly Hip Hop, Rap and R&B, although later in the decade these genres lose favour to rock and alternative.
  • Podcasting becomes popular in the later years of this decade with many radio stations podcasting several sections of their shows.
  • Bands such as The Living End become increasingly popular amongst a new generation of youth, spurring interest in a sort of punk style revival.
  • Popular American television show, The O.C., popularises many alternative Australian and New Zealand alternative rock bands by playing their music during the show. These bands include, Youth Group and Evermore.

[edit] Latin America/Caribbean

[edit] Far East

[edit] Film

  • In the USA:
    • Movie remakes and sequels hit an all-time high, in contrast to purely original scripts. Also, many movies based on old TV shows and novels become more popular in Hollywood.
    • Depressed ticket sales throughout the decade due to general lack of quality films and decline of the general moviegoing experience, as movie theaters keep ticket prices high and increase the duration of advertisements before movies, in some cases going as long as 30 minutes. Other trends emerge, such as the decreasing cost and increasing size of quality home theater displays along with the availability mail-based movie rental services, most notably Netflix, which offered an unlimited number of DVD rentals for a fixed price per month. Movie executives attempted to place some of the blame on online piracy due to the advent of BitTorrent, however its effect has been disputed, as some claim that those who download these movies would not have paid to see them in the first place.[citation needed]
    • The Matrix becomes an influence on special effect styles (ie: 'bullet-time', dramatic effects in slow motion).
    • "R" rated films are released at their lowest prevalence since the 1960s, reflecting a post-Columbine American society which increasingly lacks tolerance of violent films. While certain exceptions such as Kill Bill are made in protest of this development and in tribute to the overly violent kung-fu and action films of the 1970s, most action films of the 2000s are largely bloodless. However, in the middle of the decade, ultraviolent horror films start making a comeback, as seen with the Saw series, Hostel and Cabin Fever.
    • East Hollywood High School in Utah becomes the first public film-oriented charter high school in the world.[citation needed]
    • X-Men sparks the "Comic Book Movie Age." Many big-budget adaptations of various comic book characters are made, primarily by Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Some of these comic-book movies, aside from X-Men, include X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, The Fantastic Four, Batman Begins, V for Vendetta, Superman Returns, and the upcoming Spider-Man 3.
    • 'Reboots' of long running or successful film franchises such as the Batman (Batman Begins), Superman (Superman Returns), and the James Bond (Casino Royale) series become popular.
    • Independent films start to emerge as a more popular medium. Major film corporations had or created independent divisions, such as Fox Searchlight and Warner Independent, which saw the popularity of independent (Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, Donnie Darko) as well as art-house and foreign film increase.
    • Pixar produces hit movies such as Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Monsters Inc., continuing a trend started in 1995 with Toy Story. Both Finding Nemo and The Incredibles win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and The Incredibles also wins the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.
    • DreamWorks Animation has hits with Shrek, Shrek 2 (which becomes the highest-grossing animated movie of all time in North America), Shark Tale, and Madagascar.
    • Disney abandons traditional 2D animation altogether in 2005, with Home on the Range being the last Disney movie with any 2D animation. Disney releases two non-Pixar-produced 3D films (Valiant in the US and Chicken Little) in 2005. Also, in 2006, Pixar became a part of Disney, furthering the company's transition into the 3D era, although a return to two-dimensional animation films may not be out of the question under the studio's new management.
    • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, become huge hits for Disney live-action movies. The sequel to the former has already premiered, breaking box-office records, and a third movie is on its way and a sequel to the latter is set to release May 2008.
    • Brokeback Mountain, a movie about two gay cowboys, is considered controversial by some conservative Americans. Director Ang Lee receives Academy Award in 2006. Many parodies appeared on the Internet during early 2006.
    • The Napoleon Dynamite craze starts, with "Vote for Pedro" shirts becoming a hot commodity in 2005 and thousands of items relating to the film being sold rapidly. This launched Jon Heder's career as an actor.
    • The retro-1980s high school psychological thriller Donnie Darko is frequently quoted and becomes a common topic of discussion among young people due to its scientific paradoxes, philosophical implications and nonlinear storyline.
    • Several documentaries, many of them strongly politically opinionated, are given widespread cinema release: examples are Fahrenheit 9/11, Super Size Me, and March of the Penguins.
    • The increasing popularity and affordability of digital video equipment and computer-based editing software contributes to a boom in micro-budget, independent filmmaking. Hit movies like Super-Size Me and Open Water are shot on shoestring budgets with relatively inexpensive digital camcorders.
    • The hugely successful Borat, starring Jewish British actor Sacha Baron Cohen duped average Americans into revealing their underlying racial tendencies. The film sparked a national debate on the merits of gross-out comedy and the dangers of non-politically correct humor.
    • Spirited Away is the first anime movie to win an Oscar, and begins a trend in which at least one major large-budget anime film is shown in US theaters each year.
    • Columbia and Warner Bros produce Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[edit] Internet

  • The Internet becomes a major source of all types of media, from music to movies, thanks to file-sharing P2P programs such as KaZaA and Limewire. The debate continues over the ethics of file-sharing.
  • As people become more used to the Internet during this decade it begins to be spelled lower-cased, called simply "the internet" or "internet" as opposed to "Internet" or "The Internet" which were used almost exclusively during the 1990s. Similarly "E-mail" became "email" and "Web sites" became "websites".
  • The diverse and spontaneous nature of the internet allows an internet culture to form. Online projects such as hamsterdance, YTMND and Homestar Runner become international trends within short periods of time due to word of mouth on and off the web, with little or no promotion required from their creators. Internet phenomena and jokes spread quickly through out mainstream internet and sometimes off-internet culture from sources such as the Something Awful Forums, 4chan, and Albino Blacksheep. (A good example of this would be Chuck Norris Facts.) Some music acts, such as Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen became well-known almost entirely from the use of the internet.
  • Legal music download services such as iTunes and the re-designed Napster open up a new market of digital downloading. Napster, even its current version, becomes the number one music swapping enterprise of all time.
  • Popular video shorts of the 2000s include Star Wars Gangsta Rap, D.R.A.F.T., and the SNL skit Lazy Sunday, which was controversially removed from YouTube in early 2006.
  • The film Snakes on a Plane, starring Samuel L. Jackson, becomes an Internet phenomenon prior its August 18, 2006 release.
  • Television and Internet begin to merge as networks start streaming shows online.
  • Craigslist.org, a popular online classified site, saps over 50 million dollars a year from newspaper revenues, with a staff of only 16 people in San Francisco.
  • Cell phones gain the ability to access the Internet.
  • Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol(VoIP) telephones and the Internet slowly begin to merge: Examples are Vonage and Skype.
  • Webcomics by amateur cartoonists begin to surpass the popularity of traditional print comic books and newspaper strips. Flash movies and Fan Fiction also become popular.
  • Re-cut trailers become popular in the mid-2000s, largely due to the many parody trailers of Brokeback Mountain during the 2005-2006 winter. Popular examples include "Brokeback to the Future", , and the Sleepless in Seattle trailer cut into a horror movie.
  • Social networking programs such as MySpace, Xanga, Facebook, Friendster, and MyYearbook become extremely popular among teens and twenty-somethings inspiring others to share and trade personal information via online. These sites are criticized by many for safety concerns such as their use by pedophiles to exploit the younger generations. MySpace seems to be improving in safety and security as the decade progresses.
  • Informational and educational web sites abruptly decline as the internet becomes more of a place for advertising and other types of media, such as the use of such chat boards including MySpace and Facebook.
  • The interactivity of the internet becomes more prominent with websites such as Wikipedia, YouTube and somewhat MySpace where users can become contributors without a specialized knowledge in HTML technology.

[edit] Video games

  • Gamers who were kids in the 1980s and 1990s are now adults and continue to play video games. The average age for video game players rises into the mid to late 20s as videogames become mainstream global entertainment.
  • The first batch of "next-generation" home consoles are released at the turn of the new millennium featuring larger production values, more realistic graphics, and consoles with built-in multimedia such as DVD and a hard drive. The Sony Playstation 2 (2000), Nintendo GameCube (2001), and the Microsoft Xbox (2001) are the three main contenders in the sixth-generation console wars. The PS2 becomes the best-selling video game console of all time, while Nintendo drops to last. Notable games and series for said systems are the Kingdom Hearts series and the Guitar Hero series for the Playstation 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee and the Mario Party series for the Gamecube, and the Halo series for the Xbox.
  • The Sims (2000), along with its numerous expansions and the help from many companies, such as Electronic Arts, Maxis, and Disney, becomes the best-selling PC game of all time. The Sims 2 (2004) becomes almost as popular.
  • Sega in 2001 drops out of the home console market after the Dreamcast (1999) fails to regain lost marketshare from the 1990s.
  • Nintendo releases the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2001, a 32-bit handheld system. A redesign of the GBA dubbed Game Boy Advance SP (GBASP) was released in 2003 introducing flip-top design and a frontlit screen. Another even smaller version of the GBA was released as the Game Boy Micro in 2005. The Game Boy line remains the best-selling handheld console line, despite increased competition from other companies.
  • The Grand Theft Auto series sparks a fad of Mature-rated video games based on including gang warfare, drug use, and perceived "senseless violence" into the gameplay. The Hot Coffee controversy, when a sex mini-game was discovered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, caused widespread controversy and have fueled efforts to ban the sale of Mature-rated games to minors. The effort has been spearheaded by mothers, lawmakers, and activists (such as Jack Thompson), although all such efforts to pass any laws concerning this have been firmly struck down.
  • MMORPGs, originating in the mid-to-late 1990s, become a popular PC trend and virtual online worlds become a reality as games such as EVE Online (2003), Final Fantasy XI (2003), Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (2003), World of Warcraft (2004), and Everquest II (2004) are released. These worlds come complete with their own economies and social organization as directed by the players as a whole. The persistent online worlds allow the games to remain popular for many years. World of Warcraft remains one of the most popular games in PC gaming.
  • Console gaming officially hits the Internet with Xbox Live, introducing widespread use of voice-chat via headset and requiring broadband Internet connection for "no-lag" gameplay.
  • Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS in late 2004 featuring dual screens, a touch screen, and built-in mic and Wi-fi. In 2006 the Nintendo DS lite, a redesign which is smaller with brighter screens, is released. Sony releases the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in early 2005, a handheld gaming console with many multimedia features and sharp graphics. The PSP, despite its variety of features, falls behind the DS in sales, allowing Nintendo to retain a firm hold on the handheld market.
  • During 2005 and 2006 the seventh generation of home consoles arrive: Microsoft's Xbox 360 (2005), the Sony Playstation 3 (2006), and the Nintendo Wii (2006) have sharper HDTV-ready graphics (though Wii supports 480p max), multi-media, wireless controllers, and more integrated online features. The PlayStation 3 also features a Blu-ray Disc drive, while the Wii features a completely new controller design (see below).
  • Nintendo's Wii (2006) features a remote control-style wireless controller with full motion sensitivity and a built-in speaker. This is the first major design in controllers since the launch of the video game market. In response, Sony released the PlayStation 3 with tilt-sensitive controllers.
  • Video games like Halo (2001) and Half-Life 2 (2004) with its Source engine revolutionize the physics aspect of gameplay. Red Faction in 2001 became among the first games to feature destructible environments on any level. Age of Empires III (2005) becomes the first real-time strategy (RTS) game to use the Havok Physics engine and thus feature realistic physics. Company of Heroes, an RTS released in 2006, was the first game of any genre to feature fully-destructible environments. Crysis, expected to be released in 2007, will push physics technology one step further, featuring an environment that can be affected in nearly every way by its surroundings.
  • 3d games become the staple of the video-game industry, with 2d games nearly fading from the market. Partially 3d and fully 2d games were still common in the industry early in the decade, but these have now become rare as developers look almost exclusively for fully 3d games to satisfy the increasing demand for them in the market.
  • Sequels and spin-offs began to dominate the video game industry early in the decade and led to the decline in the number of successful original titles. The Grand Theft Auto series has become among the most popular franchises, beginning with Grand Theft Auto III in 2001. It has since spawned 2 sequels, with a third slated for 2007. All of the GTA games have been best-sellers. In 2004, both Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 were released as sequels to some of the most popular franchises in video game history, while Halo, released in 2001, has spawned another best-selling franchise. A third and final installment is slated for 2007. It was followed up by Halo 2, which was also released in 2004. The Final Fantasy and Zelda series remain among the most popular.
  • Dance Dance Revolution is released in Japan and later the United States, where it becomes immensely popular among teenagers. .

[edit] Popular video games of the 2000s

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

[edit] Television

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Main article: Television in the 2000s

Television in the 2000s saw the increase in popularity of reality shows, such as Survivor (2000-present) and Big Brother (2000-present). The decade has since seen a steady decline in the number of sitcoms and an increase in reality shows, such as American Idol (2002-present), crime and medical shows, such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-present) and Grey's Anatomy (2005-present), and action/drama shows, including 24 (2001-present) and Lost (2004-present). The reality TV surge in the early part of the decade began to wane towards the middle of the decade, although reality TV continued to be popular. Traditional network news programs have slowly waned in popularity with the increase of 24-hour cable news stations and Internet news. Adult-oriented animated programming also began a sharp upturn in popularity with shows like South Park (1997-present) and Family Guy (1999-2002; 2005-present) along with the longtime running cartoon The Simpsons (1989-present). Many successful sitcoms from the 1990s ended in the 2000s, such as Frasier (1993-2004), Friends (1994-2004), Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005), and That '70s Show (1998-2006). Among the most popular sitcoms that began in this decade include Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006), Yes, Dear (2000-2006), and Grounded for Life (2001-2005). There are few other sitcoms that have gained widespread popularity this decade.

Television saw heavy censorship concerning nudity, sex, and violence in the U.S. after the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake Super Bowl incident occurred early in 2004. The United States House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the maximum FCC fine penalty from USD $27,500 to $500,000 per violation. The United States Senate voted to increase it to $275,000 per incident. The two houses of Congress reconciled the differences in fine levels, deciding on a fine of $375,000 per violation in 2005.

See also: Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy

[edit] Sports

[edit] Books and literature

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

The 2000s saw a steep increase in the acceptability of literature of all types, inspired by the Harry Potter novels and by the coming-of-age of millions of people who enjoyed the works of such writers as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien in their youths. Neil Gaiman, for instance, one of the decade's most popular writers of speculative fiction, cites Tolkien, Lewis, and G. K. Chesterton as his three biggest influences growing up. J. K. Rowling admits to being heavily influenced by Lewis as well. Philip Pullman's gritty young adult His Dark Materials trilogy, written and published in the late 1990s, increased in popularity and was more widely read during the 2000s. The popularity of Lewis, Tolkien, Pullman, and Rowling was spurred on by movies which proved to be some of the biggest of the 2000s. The 2000s also saw the popularization of manga, or Japanese comics, among international audiences, particularly in English-speaking nations.

Popular and influential books of the 2000s include:

[edit] People

[edit] World leaders

v • d • e
World Leaders in the 2000s

President Hamid Karzai (Afghanistan) | President Néstor Kirchner (Argentina) | Prime Minister John Howard (Australia) | Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel (Austria) | Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium) | President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil) | President Hugo Banzer Suarez (Bolivia} | President Jorge Quiroga Ramirez (Bolivia) | President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada Bolivia) | President Carlos Mesa Gisbert (Bolivia) | President Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé (Bolivia) | President Evo Morales (Bolivia) | Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (Canada) | Prime Minister Paul Martin (Canada) | Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Canada) | President Ricardo Lagos (Chile) | President Michelle Bachelet (Chile) | President Jiang Zemin (China) | President Hu Jintao (China) | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (Convention on the Future of Europe) | President Alvaro Uribe (Colombia) | President Stjepan Mesić (Croatia) | Prime Minister Ivica Račan (Croatia) | Prime Minister Ivo Sanader (Croatia) | Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (Denmark) | Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Denmark) | President Hosni Mubarak (Egypt) | President Tarja Halonen (Finland) | Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen (Finland)| Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki (Finland) | Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Finland) | President Jacques Chirac (France) | Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (Germany) | Chancellor Angela Merkel (Germany) | Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (India) | Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh (India) | President Megawati Sukarnoputri (Indonesia) | President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Indonesia) | President Mohammad Khatami (Iran) | President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran) | President Saddam Hussein (Iraq) | President Ghazi al-Yawer (Iraq) | President Jalal Talabani (Iraq) | Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (Ireland) | President Mary McAleese (Ireland) | Prime Minister Ehud Barak (Israel) | Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (Israel) | Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Israel) | Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Italy) | President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (Italy) | Emperor Akihito (Japan) | Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro (Japan) | President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi (Kenya)[9] | President Mwai Kibaki (Kenya)[10] | President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (Latvia) | President Vicente Fox Quesada (Mexico) | Queen Beatrix (The Netherlands) | Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (The Netherlands) | Prime Minister Helen Clark (New Zealand) | President Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) | President Pervez Musharraf (Pakistan) | President Yasser Arafat (Palestinian Authority) | Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority) | President Joseph Ejercito Estrada (Philippines) | President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Philippines) | President Jorge Sampaio (Portugal) | President Aníbal Cavaco Silva (Portugal) | Prime Minister António Guterres (Portugal) | Prime Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso (Portugal) | Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes (Portugal) | Prime Minister José Sócrates (Portugal) | President Ion Iliescu (Romania) | President Traian Băsescu (Romania) | President Vladimir Putin (Russia) | King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz (Saudi Arabia) | Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić (Serbia) | Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (Singapore) | Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (Singapore) | Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek (Slovenia) | Prime Minister Anton Rop (Slovenia) | Prime Minister Janez Janša (Slovenia) | President Thabo Mbeki (South Africa) | President José María Aznar (Spain) | President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (Spain) | Prime Minister Göran Persson (Sweden) | Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (Sweden) | President Joseph Deiss (Switzerland) | President Ahmet Necdet Sezer (Turkey) | Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit (Turkey) | Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey) | President Chen Shui-bian (Republic of China on Taiwan) | President Viktor Yushenko (Ukraine) | Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom, et. al.) | Prime Minister Tony Blair (United Kingdom) | President Bill Clinton (United States) | President George W. Bush (United States) | Pope John Paul II (Vatican City) († 2005) | Pope Benedict XVI (Vatican City) | President Hugo Chávez (Venezuela) | Secretary General Kofi Annan (United Nations) |

State leaders by year: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006...

[edit] Entertainers

[edit] Musical artists

[edit] Actors/Actresses

[edit] Actor/Singer

[edit] Comedians

[edit] Other

[edit] Sports figures

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Baseball

[edit] Basketball

[edit] Cricket

[edit] Cycling

[edit] Figure Skating

[edit] Football (Australian)

[edit] Football (American)

[edit] Football (Association, Soccer)

[edit] Golf

Men:

Women:

[edit] Ice Hockey

[edit] Motorsports

[edit] Rugby Union

[edit] Swimming and Diving

[edit] Tennis

Men:

Women:

[edit] Volleyball

[edit] See also

Look up MPS/2000s in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] External links