I'm sure everyone has their take on the saddest decade, So what is yours?  ???

The 1930s, easily, though 1919, the 2001-2002 school year, and first half of the 1940s were pretty bleak periods, as well.

1910s. No sound in movies. That's really depressing!  :D

Basically, the 1930s and early-mid 1940s were the most cruel decades in any of the 20th century, thanks to the Great Depression and the Second World War. It's just really bad since it was depressing having millions of Europeans lose their lives during that time. Hell, the world was almost fudgeed up by having the Nazis planning to get rid of every non-Aryan in Europe, and if they would succeed, the world.

1910s. No sound in movies. That's really depressing!  :D


How is that sad? It's not like everybody was entertained through movies back in the 1910s. They did lots of stuff that they thought was fun back then.

Basically, the 1930s and early-mid 1940s were the most cruel decades in any of the 20th century, thanks to the Great Depression and the Second World War. It's just really bad since it was depressing having millions of Europeans lose their lives during that time. Hell, the world was almost fudgeed up by having the Nazis planning to get rid of every non-Aryan in Europe, and if they would succeed, the world.


I bet people thought the world was going to end during the 30s and 40s.

1929-1945. Wow, what a dark time.

1910s. No sound in movies. That's really depressing!  :D
Movies in the 1910's had piano or strings accompaniment to add emotion to the moving pictures. Originally the piano was introduce to cover the clacking sound for the noisy projector. 

I bet people thought the world was going to end during the 30s and 40s.

1929-1945. Wow, what a dark time.
Especially in Germany, with an unsettled political uncertainty and rising inflation.

I think I will say the early 2000's.

Movies in the 1910's had piano or strings accompaniment to add emotion to the moving pictures. Originally the piano was introduce to cover the clacking sound for the noisy projector.


Oh.  :o

I think I will say the early 2000's.


What's the saddest part of that time for you?

What's the saddest part of that time for you?


definitely 2001. :(

definitely 2001. :(


Yeah, there was 9/11/01 that year, the world trade center attacks.

Also, there was a recession starting that spring!

I think after the 2010's have been somewhat sad. :(

I think after the 2010's have been somewhat sad. :(


I think this is just over-emotionalizing the present. The 2010s are almost certainly not a sad or dark as the 2000s so far. Sure, every decade has its problems, but given the technology of this decade (even compared to the 1990s), most of what the media is doing is vying for ratings rather than being critical, with a few exceptions.

Now the 1930s is the epitome of sad. Beginning with the worst economic depression in at least the last 150 years,  the "dirty thirties" was a great struggle that ended with WWII, with various problems (Dust Bowl, Nazi Germany, shantytowns, hobos, the Holocaust, According to one newspaper editor, it proved to be the saddest chapter in American immigration history, as during that decade, immigration was at a 100-year low.

I think I will say the early 2000's.


I don't think the early 2000s were that bad. Sure, we had 9/11, but it's not like it traumatized everyone like it was the Holocaust or something. Hell, we even had the golden age of HBO original programming in the early and mid 2000s. So, it was kinda awesome in the early 2000s.

WW2, but the present is catching up.

I think this is just over-emotionalizing the present. The 2010s are almost certainly not a sad or dark as the 2000s so far.

You thought the 2000s were THAT sad? ???  Geez!

You thought the 2000s were THAT sad? ???  Geez!


Well, maybe he found the 2000s to be unpleasant to him due to 9/11 or something else. Same with how I find the 2010s a boring decade with terrible pop culture and such.

Well, maybe he found the 2000s to be unpleasant to him due to 9/11 or something else. Same with how I find the 2010s a boring decade with terrible pop culture and such.


???... I don't get what you mean. I actually think music is getting better. In 2012 I would have surely agreed with you, but now I think there's definitely a lot of promise bubbling up from under the surface and now people are starting to get tired of the current trends and we are getting the very first hints of something new.

???... I don't get what you mean. I actually think music is getting better. In 2012 I would have surely agreed with you, but now I think there's definitely a lot of promise bubbling up from under the surface and now people are starting to get tired of the current trends and we are getting the very first hints of something new.


Oh. Maybe it's just that I don't like the pop culture of this decade. It's always just the same crap that keeps popping up from rappers and pop artists. I don't find it to be appealing in my opinion.

Well, maybe he found the 2000s to be unpleasant to him due to 9/11 or something else. Same with how I find the 2010s a boring decade with terrible pop culture and such.


I would agree with him.

Basically, the 1930s and early-mid 1940s were the most cruel decades in any of the 20th century, thanks to the Great Depression and the Second World War. It's just really bad since it was depressing having millions of Europeans lose their lives during that time. Hell, the world was almost fudgeed up by having the Nazis planning to get rid of every non-Aryan in Europe, and if they would succeed, the world.

Well, WWII sure wouldn't have been fun, plus society was much different. The 30's I'd say was worse if you were American. I didn't live in those times though and going by what I know, these times are pretty dark.

Well, WWII sure wouldn't have been fun, plus society was much different. The 30's I'd say was worse if you were American. I didn't live in those times though and going by what I know, these times are pretty dark.


Wasn't the Great Depression effective for the whole world? Even outside America, countries like Germany were suffering through horrible political figures that took over the country (e.g. Hitler).

1930s. Watching Ken Burns' The Dust Bowl. Some horrific stuff going on.


Cat

The 1930's are the obvious answer, but just to shake things up a bit, I'll focus on more modern times and say the 1970's. I mean, for goodness sake you had Vietnam, Watergate, the Oil Embargo, gas lines, Stagflation, Malaise, Gerald Ford getting shot at like fifty times, the meat shortage, sky-high crime rates, and the Iranian hostage crisis, just to name a few. Looking back, it's no wonder that a more fun, uplifting kind of music like Disco became so popular at the time.

Also, the 2000's really deserve some special mention, too. You had the worst terrorist attack in history, two of the world's worst ever natural disasters, and the worst financial crash since 1929 all happening in the same seven year stretch!

I say now with the way every time I turn around there's a school shooting or a cop killing an unarmed (usually black) person.
It's sad that each time I walk down to the corner store to get a soda I'm worried I won't make it back. Not because of some man snatching me, but because a guy with a badge wants to fling his weight around.

The 1930's are the obvious answer, but just to shake things up a bit, I'll focus on more modern times and say the 1970's. I mean, for goodness sake you had Vietnam, Watergate, the Oil Embargo, gas lines, Stagflation, Malaise, Gerald Ford getting shot at like fifty times, the meat shortage, sky-high crime rates, and the Iranian hostage crisis, just to name a few. Looking back, it's no wonder that a more fun, uplifting kind of music like Disco became so popular at the time.

Also, the 2000's really deserve some special mention, too. You had the worst terrorist attack in history, two of the world's worst ever natural disasters, and the worst financial crash since 1929 all happening in the same seven year stretch!



It is really hard to judge things this close but I think history will probably say that the 2000s would probably be the sadder than the 1970s. You already mentioned 9/11, and the financial meltdown of 2008, you didn't mention that we were in 2 wars-that we are STILL fighting, the rise of mass shootings (which is still rising).

This present decade could be a contender, too. Trying to deal with the poor economy because of 2008, mass shootings, still fighting the wars in Afghanistan & Iraq and now you have ISIS, and then there are two things that could actually destroy our democracy; gerrymandering Congressional districts in 2010, & Citizens United decision in 2010. You also have the Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act so it is easier for states to disenfranchise voters. And because of the gerrymandering of Congressional districts, Congress has become very dysfunctional. They shut down the government when they don't get their way and they don't pay the political price because their district is so gerrymandered they don't have to worry about a challenger.



Cat   

The 470s because Rome finally officially fell!  ;D  ;D

I say now with the way every time I turn around there's a school shooting or a cop killing an unarmed (usually black) person.
It's sad that each time I walk down to the corner store to get a soda I'm worried I won't make it back. Not because of some man snatching me, but because a guy with a badge wants to fling his weight around.


I know Tiff, I've been seeing it in the news a lot lately.

I want to say this decade with all of the mass shootings going on lately but what is your take?

I want to say this decade with all of the mass shooting going on lately but what is your take?


The 1930s had all those mafia shootings.

There seemed to be a general melancholy to the 1970s, for better or for worse.

The 1930s had all those mafia shootings.
...and the commencement of World War 2?

There seemed to be a general melancholy to the 1970s, for better or for worse.


I'm not sure if it was melancholy as much as a seriousness. This is evident, for example, if you watch old talk shows from the era that are being rerun now. People being interviewed are deadly earnest.  This very specifically changed when the David Letterman Show came along in the 80s and everything was played for laughs, everything was a bit. All talk shows then became that way.

1910s. No sound in movies. That's really depressing!  :D


People weren't sad or depressed that there was no sound in movies because they didn't know what movies with sound were. It hadn't happened yet. That would be like people in the 50s being sad that they didn't have smart phones. This is called "presentism" where people judge the past by the standards of today. I see this all the time now. To understand the past you have to embody the context that people were in at the time.

A lot of people here think the 30s, but I'd actually say the 1910s. A world war wiped out an entire generation of youth in Europe, the Titanic sank, the movie industry hadn't been fully developed yet, and a plague (Spanish flu) claimed the lives of millions all over the world. Seriously what decade could be any worse than that?

People weren't sad or depressed that there was no sound in movies because they didn't know what movies with sound were. It hadn't happened yet. That would be like people in the 50s being sad that they didn't have smart phones. This is called "presentism" where people judge the past by the standards of today. I see this all the time now. To understand the past you have to embody the context that people were in at the time.


I was joking. But I like your explanation of things.  8)

I was joking. But I like your explanation of things.  8)


I figured you were joking, but I thought it was worth explaining/discussing "presentism" anyway. Too many people don't realize they are doing it.

40s. Imagine the feeling is JUST getting out of the great depression, but then getting into another World War AND the Cold War. Along with things like Holocaust happening among with some other economical and political matters that multiple parts of the world were experiencing at once.

Nothing will ever really beat the 30s-early 40s. Watching live footage of back makes my heart wrench every time, especially from Europe in the mid 30s deeply affected by the depression and knowing that the worst for them still has to come in the next 10 years...

1930s because the great depression
1940s because of WW2
1910s because WW1

2010s is the worst, saddest and darkest decade in the history of mankind because I don't like the Billboard Hot 100.

A lot of people here think the 30s, but I'd actually say the 1910s. A world war wiped out an entire generation of youth in Europe, the Titanic sank, the movie industry hadn't been fully developed yet, and a plague (Spanish flu) claimed the lives of millions all over the world. Seriously what decade could be any worse than that?


Good point about that. In general, with the exception of the 1920s (and maybe 1900s), the first half of the 20th century was just awful  8-P

Good point about that. In general, with the exception of the 1920s (and maybe 1900s), the first half of the 20th century was just awful  8-P


The 1900s and 1920s were awful too.
In the 1900s, you still had to travel by horse and buggy.
In the 1920s, you had Prohibiton and the rise of mobs.

The 1900s and 1920s were awful too.
In the 1900s, you still had to travel by horse and buggy.


Those were the good ole days. Then cars came along and made us all fat, lazy and stupid. (jk)


In the 1920s, you had Prohibiton and the rise of mobs.


That's true but you could just go to the speakeasy like everyone else did :P

A lot of people here think the 30s, but I'd actually say the 1910s. A world war wiped out an entire generation of youth in Europe, the Titanic sank, the movie industry hadn't been fully developed yet, and a plague (Spanish flu) claimed the lives of millions all over the world. Seriously what decade could be any worse than that?

And let's not forget racial discrimination and unlawful lynchings.