Year: 2001

A year that really does have a bright side

I find it rather unfortunate that the year 2001 will constantly get shunned with the simple “that’s the year 9/11 happened” because if people actually took the time to look beyond the obviously impacting event (which happened when two-thirds of the year was already over anyway), they might find that the year was actually not that bad – in fact, in countless ways it was very good and I hope to explain why. Last year I made a year 2000 article that has enjoyed good reception. So this year, I figured that it shouldn’t hurt to look at the bright side of the year that was…

2001 by comparison to other years was a pretty average year of music, at least in my honest opinion. But in other forms of entertainment, it truly does deserve some credit. This year wasn’t without it’s big releases with the first films of The Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter both premiering at the end but it also saw the beginning of another great series that continues to this day…

Love it or hate it, a sixth film for the series is expected for release later in 2013. It has grown to be far more than just a cult classic, there was even a film made in Tokyo. The viewing pleasure doesn’t just stop there however. For a fan of reality competitions, 2001 was simply put – a golden year. Joining the reality competition catalogue this year…Fear Factor and The Amazing Race.

Whether it was performing a road block in Paris, or lying in a coffin of worms with the possibility of having to eat them, these two are outstanding examples of shows that contributed to the reality show explosion of the early 2000s. The Amazing Race is set up for another adventure this year, virtually twelve years later and although Fear Factor stopped after six seasons, it recently enjoyed a revival season. Next up, an honorable mention for a computer game that is simple enough in design and gameplay, yet can turn incredibly addictive.

I’m not sure how well known Pocket Tanks is, but for those who have played it – it was a hit! In basic terms, you and an opponent battle in a terrain with various weapons and you have to attack the enemy tank to score the most points. I can say with confidence that the game is a lot better than the graphics may suggest. If you’ve read my first article, you will know that I think 2001 would have a hard act to follow. This year was far from a disappointment though. In fact, one of the world’s most popular websites was launched this year. Today, this website has well over four million articles written in the English language alone.

Even though Retrojunk apparently doesn’t exist according to the free encyclopedia, the creation is just too brilliant to not include here. In fact, you can use Wikipedia to read about items that I have mentioned here if you wish to learn more. Since I'm on the topic of computers, I'll also quickly point out that Windows XP was made available this year.

So…I’m glad I took part in this fantastic year and the older it gets, the better it seems. That’s the opinion I hold regardless of 9/11. Similar to my previous article, I’d appreciate comments on what others enjoyed or anything you think I should’ve covered that I might have missed.

Comments

2001 was a great year for me, I just didn't know it at the time.

I remember the dramatic day when the Twin Towers fell on 9-11, i was motivated and yet rushed to my mother's bedroom; she already had the tv on and watching the terrorist attack. I was shocked that New York was under-fire.

2001 wasn't that bad. I'm, saying this as someone who's mother died on December 29th, 2001. I was only 17 years old. 2001 is also the year my first gf broke up with me. A girl I had been with almost everyday from 1997-2001 suddenly just left my life in march 2001. 9/11 happened in 2001 and I don't think our country ever recovered. Even with all the bad times that started in 2001, I don't think it was a bad year. As time goes by, I'm even getting nostalgia for parts of the 2000's. I think this decade will be even worse

So far, I'm kind of neutral on this topic. One thing you should note is that Wikipedia is not a very reliable source, as anyone can edit it, and false information is dispersed much throughout the encyclopedia.

There are also references at the bottom of most pages.

True, but that is quite irrelevant here, as a great amount of information is unsourced. Also, a great deal of those references are unreliable, even though Wikipedia considers them to be reliable.

Wow. An article about 2001 on RetroJunk.

Battle tanks looks a lot like an even older game, Scorched Earth. I miss Windows XP.

I had no idea Wikipedia was created in 2001.

call me an asshole but i honestly believe that besides some of the cool technology the 2000 era is when things took a sharp turn for the worse. like cartoons,music,t.v.,movies etc... that doesnt mean everything but i do believe most things. reality t.v. was born. rap turned into pop and so on. good news is that i do see little hints that originality and creativity might just be on the rise. very small hints though. in short i feel that the 2000 era is the worst one ive lived through. being born in '82

Everyone is going to see things a different way. I do agree that far too much animation, mainstream music and film was poor standard, with only a selection of good material although when I say that, I'm mainly only thinking of about 2005 onwards. I believe that there was plenty of good music in the 2000s if you weren't limiting yourself to what made the Billboard Hot 100. In my opinion, the first half of the 2000s was the best era for television (and that inlcudes reality competitions like Survivor and Fear Factor), and this is coming from someone who enjoyed watching television in the 1990s also. In short, the dominant mainstream cultures of the late 2000s I would consider poor, but that's almost about it.

I like it. Maybe a bit more content would've been nice BUT very brave and very bold doing 2001 on a 'retro' site. In my honest opinion, I think 2001 just manages to squeeze in in terms of 'retro'. 12 years is older than 1999 was in 2010 so I don't think it is controversial to do one as recent as 2001. Like I said though, doing 2001 was a bold move. Thumbs up.

2001 was just a little bit worse than 2000, and the most uninteresting year of between 2000-2004.

A lot of overhyped music, movies were pretty dominant. Just real bad stuff defined this year. From limp bizkit, faux-rap to overplayed pop hits. In terms of film we had some okay movies, but many bland action/flashy CGI movies dominated.

This year could be considered the precursor of the death of the analog as well ; vhs and cassette tapes were still selling but the same need was no longer there anymore. Could also be the start of the start of the decline popular need of the Cd towards the end of this year as well. Although Cds till 2004 were strong and still doing well today.

Yes there were some underground and good music just as much as any year in the early 2000s. You did have some shows that still had more of a 1990s vibe to them compared to 2005 and on.