Believe it or not, another decade has come and gone. To some it might just be another 10-year span, but these years defined a generation’s adolescence. And what a defining age it was, with more cultural, social and political changes than one can remember.

In a decade plagued with destructive hurricanes, a failing economy and the largest terrorist attack to hit American soil, Americans endured. Of course, if this decade is to be remembered for anything, it should be remembered as the decade that stood in defiance of those that preceded it – a time where overarching change manifested itself within society.

One of the single greatest changes in America’s social and political landscape was Barack Obama’s election as the nation’s first African-American president. The 2008 election marked other cultural benchmarks, with the integration of aggressive celebrity involvement and social networking to inspire the youth to vote.

In a study conducted by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, an estimated 23 million Americans under the age of 30 voted in the 2008 presidential election, an 11 percent increase from the 2000 election. It was the youth generation that stood up and took action in determining the nation’s future.

Of course, Obama’s rise wasn’t the only change this decade bared witness to.

No one would have thought that comedian Jon Stewart would succeed the late Walter Cronkite as the ‘most trusted man in America.’ While it might be hard to believe, Stewart was voted as the top newscaster in a Time poll this past summer. Edging out Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, it goes to show that common conventions have been cast to the wind.

While it’s easy to get entangled in the larger aspects that defined the boldness of the past 10 years, it was the smaller aspects that marked the decade as an era of change. After 86 years without a World Series Championship, the Boston Red Sox rebelled against all odds and brought glory back to Boston with two championships within a four-year period.

Even Hollywood was turned on its head with the invasion of the comic book industry. More than 30 films based on comic book superheroes appeared within the past 10 years. According to boxofficemojo.com, four of the 10 highest-grossing opening weekends within the past 10 years were also movies based on comic book characters. Just last year, ‘The Dark Knight’ claimed the spot as the second highest-grossing movie of all time, only succeeded by ‘Titanic.’ Clearly, this decade was looking for the most fantastical means of escapism out there.

The new decade seems prepared and poised to further reset the status quo and usher in new waves of difference.

Compiled by Flash Steinbeiser, asst. copy editor, ansteinb@syr.edu

In the toughest of times, cinema seems to be permanently enlisted to the issues of its era. In the midst of the Great Depression, extravagant musicals arrived to charm the socks off the sockless (’42nd Street,’ ‘Top Hat’), and the devastation of World War II was counteracted by the likes of ‘Casablanca’ (1942) and ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ (1943).

The first decade of the new millennium immediately dispensed new challenges, and once again, the cinema responded. Only this time it was by tackling tribulations head on, and with unwavering poise.

In the wake of Sept.11, filmmakers did not shy away from the still gathering debris, but rather suited up for battle. In 2002, filmmakers banded together to make ’11’9”01-September 11′ (Sean Penn being the U.S. representative). Oliver Stone admirably portrayed the heroism of that fated day in ‘World Trade Center’ (2006), and Paul Greengrass’s ‘United 93’ (2006) stands as one of the finest achievements of the decade.

The subsequent war offered power for similar film expression, as the focus of cinema related to the war became prevalent. This includes the Bush administration (‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’ 2004), privacy-breaching surveillance (Michael Haneke’s masterpiece, ‘Cache,’ 2005), and the politics of oil (‘Syriana,’ 2005.) The Iraq War film further matured this year when Kathryn Bigelow’s acclaimed action drama, ‘The Hurt Locker,’ broke through, while Oren Moverman’s superior, spellbinding drama, ‘The Messenger,’ continues to draw raves.

The result of these building cataclysms is a new, ennobled cinema similar to Italian Neorealism, minimalist works grounded in the vulnerability of the human condition. Referred to as ‘Neo-Neo Realism’ by The New York Times film critic A.O. Scott, it has proven to be perhaps the defining cinematic movement of the decade. Under the umbrella of Neo-Neo Realism falls one of the best films of the decade, Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Wendy and Lucy’ (2008), alongside invaluable humanist works such as Anna Boden and Lance Hammer’s ‘Ballast’ (2008) and Ramin Bahrani’s ‘Goodbye Solo’ (2008.)

The tragedies of this decade will not soon be forgotten; just as the films that helped us to better understand them will inevitably achieve immortality. For as adversity after adversity threatened to break down society, the cinema responded, with resounding, poetic force.

– Compiled by Sam Littman, staff writer, smlittma@syr.edu

There has always been a division in fashion between high- and low-class brands. In France during the Middle Ages, it was forbidden for people of lower classes to wear the styles of the aristocracy. While there has been a revitalization of many styles during this decade – high-waist skirts, skinny-leg jeans and ballet flats – the biggest change is that high fashion is now available to the masses. The saying goes that fashion recycles from the past, but this trend is totally new.

In 2002, H&M had its first upscale design collaboration with legendary Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld. H&M then went on to collaborate with Roberto Cavalli, Marimekko, Victor & Rolf, Madonna, Stella McCartney, and now Jimmy Cho, to provide high-end lines at more reasonable prices.

But H&M wasn’t the only store to make this bold move. In 2009, Target began to follow the looks-for-less trend as well, partnering with couture designers Anna Sui and Alexander McQueen. Payless did the same and now you can find Christian Siriano, Lela Rose or Alice + Olivia shoes there.

But prices aren’t the only aspect of fashion that was forever changed during this decade: Women have furthered their fashion options during the past 10 years, adopting many styles that were once considered menswear. The most obvious is the boyfriend jean, but there are also many other emerging styles, including thigh-high boots, leggings, shoulder pads and bubble skirts that were once reserved for men.

Women have had it made this decade with more and cheaper options offered in the last 10 years. Maybe men can look forward to their own fashion revolution in the 2010s.

– Compiled by Amity Paye, asst. feature editor, ampaye@syr.edu

The Soloist

The ‘2000s was an interesting decade for music. It started off with coordinated, close-knit groups of pop stars dancing their way to the top of the charts, but by the time 2004 hit, all these groups started splitting off with one group member emerging as the superstar.

In 2000 and 2001, ‘NSync and Destiny’s Child were running the billboards in terms of groups that were rocking the microphone. Justin and the boys were riding the wave of ‘No Strings Attached’ and Destiny’s Child had just trimmed itself down to a delightful trio, singing about their survival tactics.

With priceless songs like ‘Crazy in Love,’ ‘Irreplaceable’ and ‘Single Ladies,’ Beyonce will go down in history for more than just being the front woman of another female trio. Justin dumped the pop sound for something sexier: R&B. Collaborating with the likes of Pharrell, Timbaland and Snoop Dogg, Justin’s music made the transition from eighth grade dances, to baby-making music.

Autotune

One word: T-Pain. What does his natural voice even sound like? Eh, who cares? The style of masking his voice behind computer-generated sounds created a new style of music that isn’t necessarily good, but sure is entertaining. Artists, from Britney Spears to Jason Derulo, have utilized this technique, and though other musicians such as Jay-Z and Nas have criticized it as not being real music, it has definitely left an impression.

Hip-hop invasion

Yes, hip-hop has been around since the late 70s, but it was everywhere this decade. Rappers went from being people with good word play to business entrepreneurs. Jay-Z owns part of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, and who could forget how every rapper created individual drink brands? On the actual music side, hip-hop artists were increasingly featured on pop songs and country songs alike (Taylor Swift and T-Pain anyone?). It was the decade of musical convergence, as Jay-Z made a collaboration album with alternative-rock band Linkin’ Park and now, on Weezer’s most recent album, ‘Raditiude,’ even Weezy himself makes an appearance.

-Compiled by Kelly Outram, feature editor, kaoutram@syr.edu

The iLife

In October 2001, the iPod took the nation by storm. The product was bigger than today?s sixth-generation iPod and cost almost twice as much, but at the time the invention amazed consumers.

Since the iPod’s emergence, there have been new versions each year, including the iPod Nano, iPod Touch and iPod Shuffle. The world shifted from choosing individual CDs to having an entire collection at its fingertips.

Other companies tried to compete with Apple by making their own mp3 players, but none faired as well. The iPod has outdone all the rest. Even during recent years when word of the Zune mp3 player was getting big, it wasn’t an equal contender in sales.

The iPod also caused a ripple effect of features for mp3 players. Built-in speakers, FM radio receivers and voice recorders are among the add-ons, in addition to an entire market for iPod-exclusive products. These include speakers, radio adapters and specialized headphones.

Today’s college students are the iPod generation. They wait for new, and more advanced, products to come out, and don’t realize how greatly the iPod has revolutionized the music industry for the 21st century.

Apple’s updated technology has not stopped in the last nine years. The iPhone now has all the capabilities of the iPod, plus the functions of a cell phone, and there’s no telling how far Apple will go to keep consumers purchasing the goods.

-Compiled by Rebecca Toback, staff writer, rltoback@syr.edu

Published on December 13, 2009 at 12:00 pm