I’m just not understanding it, like is it the music, movies, pop culture or politics ?

I think it's just the right age for a revival. The music hasn't aged well and nobody on any side of the political spectrum likes Neocons anymore.

Also, I've noticed a lot of Zoomers think anything before 2008 is the "early 2000s."

I think it's just the right age for a revival. The music hasn't aged well and nobody on any side of the political spectrum likes Neocons anymore.

Also, I've noticed a lot of Zoomers think anything before 2008 is the "early 2000s."


I keep saying this but people keep acting like it’s something set in stone

Wait, the 00s are being glorified now?  Are hipsters making a comeback?  Is emo making a comeback?  Are we going to get indie romcom remakes/homages?

That's strange, because I seem to recall everybody hating the 00s at the time.

I guess the 20-year pop culture cycle is working its way into the new millennium now.

Actually, nearly every time period I've lived through has been like that.  At the time (whether it was the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, and now the 20s), everybody says they hate it or that it sucks.  Then about 20 years later, people start to say how great that time was and how they wish they could go back to it.  The older people wax nostalgic and the young people wish they could've lived through those times.

Now when I think about it, I shouldn't be surprised.  After all, George W Bush is being rehabilitated.  Neoliberals love him now (*BARF*).  It's like how Reagan today is seen as this saintly figure whereas, back in the day, half the country hated him (well, maybe more like 40%, but you get the idea).  In reality, he was just as polarizing a figure as any other politician.

In any case, I didn't care much for the 00s, culturally or politically, especially the early part with all the post 9/11 flag waving.  Even the 80s were never that ridiculously jingoistic.  I remember seeing "Freedom Toast" (or was it "Liberty Toast"?) on the menu in a Chicago restaurant in 2004, and I made a deliberate point of ordering "French Toast".  I bet most people today don't even remember the reason for all the fuss.  This was also the time of conservative online cancel culture.  Yes, kiddies, you heard that correctly: online cancel culture started with the neocon right, not the social justice warrior left.

The only positive thing about the decade was that it was a good time for indie and foreign films.

Wait, the 00s are being glorified now?  Are hipsters making a comeback?  Is emo making a comeback?  Are we going to get indie romcom remakes/homages?

That's strange, because I seem to recall everybody hating the 00s at the time.

I guess the 20-year pop culture cycle is working its way into the new millennium now.

Actually, nearly every time period I've lived through has been like that.  At the time (whether it was the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, and now the 20s), everybody says they hate it or that it sucks.  Then about 20 years later, people start to say how great that time was and how they wish they could go back to it.  The older people wax nostalgic and the young people wish they could've lived through those times.

Now when I think about it, I shouldn't be surprised.  After all, George W Bush is being rehabilitated.  Neoliberals love him now (*BARF*).  It's like how Reagan today is seen as this saintly figure whereas, back in the day, half the country hated him (well, maybe more like 40%, but you get the idea).  In reality, he was just as polarizing a figure as any other politician.

In any case, I didn't care much for the 00s, culturally or politically, especially the early part with all the post 9/11 flag waving.  Even the 80s were never that ridiculously jingoistic.  I remember seeing "Freedom Toast" (or was it "Liberty Toast"?) on the menu in a Chicago restaurant in 2004, and I made a deliberate point of ordering "French Toast".  I bet most people today don't even remember the reason for all the fuss.  This was also the time of conservative online cancel culture.  Yes, kiddies, you heard that correctly: online cancel culture started with the neocon right, not the social justice warrior left.

The only positive thing about the decade was that it was a good time for indie and foreign films.


I agree with much of this. One thing I disagree with is in your list of years everybody hated while it was happening you included the 1960s. The YOUTH of the 60s loved it (unless you got drafted and went to Vietnam) It was the "establishment", the "old people" who hated it.  The way I would put it is that in every era people say the times are "hectic" and "complicated", and "times used to be simpler", but if you go back and read things from those previous "simpler" times they were saying the same thing! That THEY live in "complicated" times and it used to be simpler. I've tracked this all this way back to the 1800s!

I forgot about "freedom toast" but I certainly remember "freedom fries". What a joke.

Before I even read you post I had been thinking how cancel culture actually began with the RIGHT. The Dixie Chicks are a perfect example. They never recovered after their criticism of George W. Bush, and they still have not recovered. Their careers were destroyed. But somewhere along the way it flip flopped and the SJW left took over cancel culture completely.  The right wing doesn't do it anymore. Another thing that flipflopped in this manner is conspiracy theories. In earlier times, conspiracy theories were the territory of "moonbats" and "hippies" and "lefties". Somewhere along the way they became entirely the property of the right wing. Q Anon and such.

Because it was an awesome era to grow up in.

I’m just not understanding it, like is it the music, movies, pop culture or politics ?

Why does it matter? People were nostalgic for the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. You might not be nostalgic for it but others will.

Probably because American Pop Culture in the Early-2000’s was so much better and much more diverse in so many millennials and generation Zers’ eyes and a lot of people that grew up in that time period that remember it very well have been long old enough to be nostalgic for it and those years are long enough ago for us to be nostalgic about it.

Because the very very beginning, 2000-Middle of 2002 was apart of that New Millennium/Y2K era, simply an extension of the late 90's.


I can tell you first hand, 2nd half of 2002, 2003, and arguably 2004 if you could that as early 2000's, sucked.

2000 was such a great year, better than most years of the 90's(arguably all of the 90's) and gave us such optimism of what the 2000's would be like, then 9/11 ended up changing what the decade should of been.

Because the very very beginning, 2000-Middle of 2002 was apart of that New Millennium/Y2K era, simply an extension of the late 90's.


I can tell you first hand, 2nd half of 2002, 2003, and arguably 2004 if you could that as early 2000's, sucked.

2000 was such a great year, better than most years of the 90's(arguably all of the 90's) and gave us such optimism of what the 2000's would be like, then 9/11 ended up changing what the decade should of been.


I thought have the stuff that started in the late 90s were actually 2000s trends like Britney Spears for one despite what 9/11 did. That grunge/gangsta rap/New Jack Swing attitude seemed long gone by then

Early 00s nostalgia has gotten really stale now. It's been big for like 7 years.

I thought have the stuff that started in the late 90s were actually 2000s trends like Britney Spears for one despite what 9/11 did. That grunge/gangsta rap/New Jack Swing attitude seemed long gone by then


Y2K trends started around 1998, then Britney Spears came out of nowhere in late 1998/early 1999(I always say 1999 as that's when I remember Carson introducing her on TRL, but the memory may be from 1998 so I could be mistaken)

And ended in the beginning of 2002.

The Y2K portion is distinct from any other period of the 90's & 2000's, it's a completely separate era categorized by futuristic apparel, big push of the internet, anyone who still had MS-DOS transitioning to a modern PC with graphical interface like Windows or Apple, Boy Bands, peak Britney, Rock's peak popularity during the Attitude era etc

Also Early 2000's is the last time before the Web 2.0 era.

Early 00s nostalgia has gotten really stale now. It's been big for like 7 years.


The bitchy attitude of the decade was annoying

The bitchy attitude of the decade was annoying


Of the 00s?

When people say "early 2000's" I think they're referring to the Y2K portion/continuation of late 90's in 2000, 2001 and first half of 2002, instead of latter half of 2002, 2003 and early 2004(if someone considers 2004 early 2000's culture.)

When people say "early 2000's" I think they're referring to the Y2K portion/continuation of late 90's in 2000, 2001 and first half of 2002, instead of latter half of 2002, 2003 and early 2004(if someone considers 2004 early 2000's culture.)


There wasn't much of a "mid 2000's" culture wise, except for the brief period from mid-2004 to mid-2005 which happens to be my favorite part of the decade along with 2000 and 2008. I remember it for Napoleon Dynamite, Lost, rise of MySpace, Nintendo DS, PSP, Polar Express, reggaetons, crunk, and emo. From late 2005 towards 2006 it started shifting to late 2000's culture.

There wasn't much of a "mid 2000's" culture wise, except for the brief period from mid-2004 to mid-2005 which happens to be my favorite part of the decade along with 2000 and 2008. I remember it for Napoleon Dynamite, Lost, rise of MySpace, Nintendo DS, PSP, Polar Express, reggaetons, crunk, and emo. From late 2005 towards 2006 it started shifting to late 2000's culture.


Most of that lasted until early 2008.