History Main / TheTwentiethCentury

* TheGreatDepression[[note]]Also known as the "Flirty Thirties" or the "Dirty Thirties"[[/note]]: (October 1929 - December 1941) Parties were over with a crash and the worst [[WarWasBeginning has begun]]. More gangsters, the dust bowl, [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt the New Deal]], the rise of American labour movents. ThoseWackyNazis, UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar and [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin's]] purges aside, expect for [[BubsyBerkelyNumber elaborate musical sequences]] with Creator/{{Busby|Berkeley}}, and ScrewballComedy [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood sound]][[{{Musical}} films]] with Creator/{{Ginger|Rogers}} and Creator/{{Fred|Astaire}}, [[UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra raunchy pre-code flicks]], gangsters like Creator/JamesCagney, comedians like [[Film/TheThreeStooges The Stooges]] and [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers The Marxes]], and bombshells like Creator/JeanHarlow in a [[SexyBacklessOutfit sexy satin slip]].

* TheGreatDepression[[note]]Also known as the "Flirty Thirties" or the "Dirty Thirties"[[/note]]: (October 1929 - December 1941) Parties were over with a crash and the worst [[WarWasBeginning has begun]]. More gangsters, the dust bowl, [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt the New Deal]], the rise of American labour movents. ThoseWackyNazis, UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar and [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin's]] purges aside, expect for [[BubsyBerkelyNumber elaborate musical sequences]] with Creator/{{Busby|Berkeley}}, and ScrewballComedy [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood sound]][[{{Musical}} films]] with [[Creator/{{Ginger|Rogers}} and Creator/{{Fred|Astaire}}, [[UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra raunchy pre-code flicks]], gangsters like Creator/JamesCagney, comedians like [[Film/TheThreeStooges The Stooges]] and [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers The Marxes]], and bombshells like Creator/JeanHarlow in a [[SexyBacklessOutfit sexy satin slip]].

* TheGreatDepression[[note]]Also known as the "Flirty Thirties" or the "Dirty Thirties"[[/note]]: (October 1929 - December 1941) Parties were over with a crash and the worst [[WarWasBeginning has begun]]. More gangsters, the dust bowl, [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt the New Deal]], the rise of American labour movents. ThoseWackyNazis, UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar and [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin's]] purges aside, expect for ScrewballComedy [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood sound]][[{{Musical}} films]] with [[Creator/BusbyBerkeley Bugsy]], [[GingerRogers Ginger]] and [[Creator/FredAstaire Fred]], [[UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra raunchy pre-code flicks]], gangsters like Creator/JamesCagney, comedians like [[Film/TheThreeStooges The Stooges]] and [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers The Marxes]], and bombshells like Creator/JeanHarlow in a [[SexyBacklessOutfit sexy satin slip]].

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarI: (Summer 1914 - 1919) The war that supposed to "end all wars", until its sequel came up. Archduke Franz Ferdinand shot, trench warfare, the [[OttomanEmpire fall]] [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic of]] [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany various]] [[TsarTsarAutocrats empires]], [[BalkanizeMe map redrawings]], rise of ethnic nationalism, independence movements, UsefulNotes/RedOctober, unresolved conflicts and loose ends, accompanied by the rise of modern and postmodern art movements [[note]]formalism, surrealism, dadaism, futurism[[/note]], [[StiffUpperLip English war poetry]], BeigeProse and Creator/CharlieChaplin.

* TheEdwardianEra, Also known as the "La Belle Époque"[[note]]Not only in France but across the world because it recieved a lot of NostalgiaFilter after the world wars[[/note]]: (1901 - June 1914, though it may extend until 1918 or 1919) [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor King Edward VII]] on the Throne, rich white people, rich economy, high endeavours, ragtime, silent movies, [[GorgeousPeriodDress elaborate dresses]] with [[OfCorsetsSexy S-bend corsets]], Gibson Girls, suffragettes, UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt, [[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein the Theory of Relativity]], [[UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud Freudian psychology]] [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors China under new management]], [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russia]] and [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]] [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar at war]], [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution Mexico in flames]], the Congo-gate scandals, weird and wacky [[ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines flying machines]], "horseless carriages", motion pictures and other inventions, and the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic. Once used as a [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgic setting]] until the 1960s.

The century was characterized by increasingly tangled geopolitical connections on a global scale as a result of the development of transport and communication, and this led to an era of rapid, shocking and sudden changes in governments, society, culture, science and technology. So much of this transformation that the world of the [=1990s=] would feel different to the world of the [=1910s=]. The idea that every decade had to have its own aesthetics was more or less invented in the 20th Century, which was chronicled in the arts of photography, motion picture and television. Art formerly seen to be as separate from science came to depend on the latter for its technology, most notably in the rise of cinema (what is called "the art of the 20th century") and popular music which depended on radio, sound-recording equipment, portable media [[note]][=LPs=], records, cassettes and [=CDs=][[/note]], and music videos for their commercial viability.

Yet despite this, the century was remembered by most for being the most violent, most brutal and the bloodiest in recorded history. It was marked by the two bloodiest world wars, by genocides, by famines, the use of chemical weapons, and later city-destroying nuclear weapons; a huge dissonance among developed and undeveloped nations; a situation on overpopulation; [[GaiasLament great environmental crises]] and an awereness in climate change; and the growth and spread of political movements such as fascism, socialism, and democracy that overthrew the old systems, that created governments with varying results.

More importantly the greater entanglement, flourishing of information and greater complexity of life and society is making it harder for people to make sense of the world. Indeed the message of the 20th Century, even to those who passed their childhood in the final decade, was that "the world got better and nobody's happy about it".

Note that while decades technically end once 10 years pass, there is enough of a cultural bleed in between decades that they may not truly end or begin until a few years later than the end date of the previous decade. Culturally, the century started with the death of UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria and ended with [[TurnOfTheMillennium Y2K]] or 9/11. Or alternatively, [[BookEnds it started and ended]] with [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne the affair]] [[UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars around the Balkans]].

* TheNineties[[note]]Also known as the "Nihilistic Nineties"[[/note]]: (1989/91 - January 2000 for many, and [[WhamEpisode September]] [[TheWarOnTerror 2001]] for others - with some even arguing that it didn't really "end" until as late as 2006) TheGreatPoliticsMessUp, [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Weast]] UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia, UCool Britannia, the rise of the EU, UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars, UsefulNotes/BillClinton, TheInternet, AlternativeRock with the [[Music/{{Nirvana}} fragrance of teen spirit]], fresh HipHop "[[Music/VanillaIce Yo, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby]]", HouseMusic, teenage angst, upbeat parties and concerts, flannel shirts, loose sagging pants, [[MustHaveCaffeine coffeeshops]], Creator/JenniferAniston's [[NinetiesHair signature haircut]], anthropomorphic {{mascot|WithAttitude}}s, [[Series/{{Friends}} The One With]] [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} The Yellow Mouse]], {{Boy Band}}s, the Music/SpiceGirls, Music/BritneySpears, the Lambada, the Macarena, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick TV shows and games you grew on this decade and are now a victim of Rule34 internet memes and parodies.]] [[note]][--[[RuleOfThree Mynd you, Rüle 34 picthers of møøse Kan be pretti nasti...]]--][[/note]]

The century was characterized by increasingly tangled geopolitical connections on a global scale as a result of the development of transport and communication, and this led to an era of rapid, shocking and sudden changes in governments, society, culture, science and technology. A symbol of these transformations is the fact that each decade seemed to distinguish from the earlier one, with the idea of a single static culture becoming a thing of the past; so complete was this transformation that the world of the [=1990s=] with their computers, cordless phones, satellite television, and frequent flyer miles would feel different to the world of the [=1910s=]. The idea that every decade had to have its emblematic representative moments, icons, and works of art was more or less invented in the 20th Century, albeit with some precedents in earlier periods, which explained the rate of transformation of this century, which was chronicled moreover in the arts of photography, motion picture and television. Art formerly seen to be as separate from science came to depend on the latter for its technology, most notably in the rise of cinema (what is called "the art of the 20th century") and popular music which depended on radio, sound-recording equipment, portable media [[note]][=LPs=], records, cassettes and [=CDs=][[/note]], and music videos for their commercial viability.

The social transformation was equally profound and far-reaching, it was the century that saw the greatest advances and gains, such as women's rights, with women entering in the workforce, and finding avenues to marry/divorce/raise children on their own; widespread decolonization, the end of the 19th Century empires, and the rise of a global community of nations; anti-racism as a central pillar of acceptable civilization; the possibility for vast numbers of people to travel the globe via commercial air transport; great permissiveness with sexuality expressed more freely than centuries before it, not only among the lower-classes (as across history) but even in the middle and higher classes; [[PrecisionFStrike profanity]] in serious literature such as Creator/JamesJoyce's ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}''; and towards the end of the century, the acceptance and debate of LGBT rights becoming a public movement (beginning in UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany at the start of the century and flourishing in the Anglophone by the end of the century).

* TheEdwardianEra, Also known as the "La Belle Époque"[[note]]Not only in France but across the world because it recieved a lot of NostalgiaFilter after the world wars[[/note]]: (1901 - June 1914, though it may extend until 1918 or 1919) [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor King Edward VII]] on the Throne, rich white people, rich economy, high endeavours, ragtime, silent movies, [[GorgeousPeriodDress elaborate dresses]] with [[OfCorsetsSexy S-bend corsets]], Gibson Girls, suffragettes, UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt, [[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein the Theory of Relativity]], [[UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud Freudian psychology]] [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors China under new management]], [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russia]] and [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]] [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar at war]], [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution Mexico in flames]], the Congo-gate scandals, weird and wacky [[ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines flying machines]], "horseless carriages", motion pictures and other inventions, and the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic. Once used as a [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgic setting]] until the 1950s.

* TheForties (September 1939 - 1949/50): a turbulent time, a mark of transition. All the while it's [[DanceSensation swing]][[{{Jazz}} time]] for soldiers with {{Glamorous Wartime Singer}}s in Technicolor and [[{{Jazz}} bebop]] for [[HardBoiledDetective badass private eyes]] with FemmeFatale stunners in [[FilmNoir noir]].

* TheEdwardianEra, Also known as the "La Belle Époque"[[note]]Not only in France but across the world because it recieved a lot of NostalgiaFilter after the world wars[[/note]]: (1901 - June 1914, though it may extend until 1918) [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor King Edward VII]] on the Throne, rich white people, rich economy, high endeavours, ragtime, silent movies, [[GorgeousPeriodDress elaborate dresses]] with [[OfCorsetsSexy S-bend corsets]], Gibson Girls, suffragettes, UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt, [[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein the Theory of Relativity]], [[UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud Freudian psychology]] [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors China under new management]], [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russia]] and [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]] [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar at war]], [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution Mexico in flames]], the Congo-gate scandals, weird and wacky [[ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines flying machines]], "horseless carriages", motion pictures and other inventions, and the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic. Once used as a [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgic setting]] until the 1950s.

* TheRoaringTwenties[[note]]Also known as the "Jazz Age" by artists, or the "Golden Twenties" in Europe[[/note]]: (1918/19 - October 1929, although the decade culturally ended between 1933/35) Bootleg + [[TheFlapper Flappers]] + {{Jazz}} x Booming Economy = [[ItsPronouncedTroPay par-tayz]]. Also with gangsters, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfHollywood silent films]] and [[UsefulNotes/RiseOfTheTalkies talkies]], radio, UsefulNotes/CocoChanel, stylistic and futuristic Cubism, Bauhaus and ''[[ArtDeco Arts]] [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench Decoratifs]]'', [[UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic Weimar]] [[UsefulNotes/GermanPeculiarities culture]] [[note]]Berlin cabaret, GermanExpressionism, Creator/BertoltBrecht and Music/KurtWeill, Creator/SergeiEisenstein[[/note]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheSovietTwenties Soviet Montage]], gin tubs, gangsters, and "[[JiveTurkey 23 Skidooin' bees knees seeing a man about a dog]]",

* TheRoaringTwenties[[note]]Also known as the "Jazz Age" by artists, or the "Golden Twenties" in Europe[[/note]]: (1918/19 - October 1929, although the decade culturally ended between 1933/35) Bootleg + [[TheFlapper Flappers]] + {{Jazz}} x Booming Economy = [[ItsPronouncedTroPay par-tayz]]. Also with gangsters, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfHollywood silent films]] and [[UsefulNotes/RiseOfTheTalkies talkies]], radio, UsefulNotes/CocoChanel, stylistic and futuristic Cubism, Bauhaus and ''[[ArtDeco Arts]] [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench Decoratifs]]'', [[UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic Weimar]] [[UsefulNotes/GermanPeculiarities culture]] [[note]]Berlin cabaret, GermanExpressionism, Creator/BertoltBrecht and Music/KurtWeill, Creator/SergeiEisenstein[[/note]] and [[TheSovietTwenties Soviet Montage]], gin tubs, gangsters, and "[[JiveTurkey 23 Skidooin' bees knees seeing a man about a dog]]",

* TheSeventies[[note]]Also known as the "Saucy Seventies" or the "Sordid Seventies"[[/note]]: (1968/69 - 1981/83, some would say it ended as early as 1979 with the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Disco Demotion Night) [[GratuitousDiscoSequence Disco, disco and more disco]], dance because it never [[DeaderThanDisco dies]]!!! Also [[SeventiesHair big sideburns]], [[FunnyAfro afros]], [[PornStache hot mustaches and beards]], [[Film/{{Jaws}} blockbuster]] [[Franchise/StarWars movies]], [[Creator/BruceLee kung fu]] [[EverybodyWasKungFuFighting fighting]], [[RunningGag disco]], polyester, {{glam rock}}, [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons roleplaying]], the [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Time Warp]], gas crisis, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment disco]], rebellions, revolutions, spiritual discoveries, environmental awareness, lava lamps, {{punk}}, [[AbsoluteCleavage very low necklines]], [[VaporWear women without bras]], VideoGame/{{Pong}}, {{heavy metal}}, [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers economic malaise]] and {{Disco}}. Also, [[MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail møøse...]][[note]]We're sorry for that. Those responsible for writing this index have been sacked.[[/note]]

* TheFifties[[note]]Also known as the "Fabulous Fifties" or the "Frivoulous Fifties"[[/note]]: (1945/47 - 1961/November 1963) [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Hot War]] was over, UsefulNotes/ColdWar has begun, Germany and Korea [[UsefulNotes/WestGermany split]] [[UsefulNotes/EastGermany in]] [[TheKoreanWar two]], [[NukeEm nuclear]] and [[DirtyCommunists communist]]/[[CapitalismIsBad capitalist]] fear, the [[UsefulNotes/NikitaKhrushchev Khrushchev Thaw]], 1920s [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgia]], [[{{Housewife}} housewives]] with aprons and elaborate dresses, [[StandardFiftiesFather your standard father]], family moments, Baby Boomers, RockAndRoll, [[GreaserDelinquents greasers]] with [[FiftiesHair suave pompadours]], [[TeensAreMonsters rebellious teenagers]], television, [[UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem a turbulent Hollywood]] with Creator/MarilynMonroe [[MarilynManeuver on the vents]], and [[Creator/AkiraKurosawa a wave]] [[Creator/IngmarBergman of avant-garde]] [[UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave foreign directors]], and SCIENCE! A rather affectionate, if not parodied, nostalgic setting.

* TheGreatDepression[[note]]Also known as the "Flirty Thirties" or the "Dirty Thirties"[[/note]]: (October 1929 - December 1941) Parties were over with a crash and the worst [[WarWasBeginning has begun]]. More gangsters, the dust bowl, [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt the New Deal]], the rise of American labour movents. ThoseWackyNazis, UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar and [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin's]] purges aside, expect for ScrewballComedy [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood sound]][[{{Musical}} films]] with [[Creator/BusbyBerkeley Bugsy]], [[GingerRogers Ginger]] and [[Creator/FredAstaire Fred]], [[UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra raunchy pre-code flicks]], gangsters like JamesCagney, comedians like [[Film/TheThreeStooges The Stooges]] and [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers The Marxes]], and bombshells like Creator/JeanHarlow in a [[SexyBacklessOutfit sexy satin slip]].

* TheRoaringTwenties[[note]]Also known as the "Jazz Age" by artists, or the "Golden Twenties" in Europe[[/note]]: (1918/19 - October 1929, although the decade culturally ended between 1933/35) Bootleg + [[TheFlapper Flappers]] + {{Jazz}} x Booming Economy = [[ItsPronouncedTroPay par-tayz]]. Also with gangsters, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfHollywood silent films]] and [[UsefulNotes/RiseOfTheTalkies talkies]], radio, UsefulNotes/CocoChanel, stylistic and futuristic Cubism, Bauhaus and ''[[ArtDeco Arts]] [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench Decoratifs]]'', [[WeimarRepublic Weimar]] [[GermanPeculiarities culture]] [[note]]Berlin cabaret, GermanExpressionism, Creator/BertoltBrecht and Music/KurtWeill, Creator/SergeiEisenstein[[/note]] and [[TheSovietTwenties Soviet Montage]], gin tubs, gangsters, and "[[JiveTurkey 23 Skidooin' bees knees seeing a man about a dog]]",

* TheEighties[[note]]Also known as the "Elegant Eighties" or the "Excessive Eighties"[[/note]]: (1977/82 - 1991/93) [[BiggerIsBetter Everything's BIG]]!!! [[EightiesHair BIG HAIR]], [[ShouldersOfDoom BIG POWER SUITS WITH BIG SHOULDERS]], BIG ECONOMY, [[Film/WallStreet BIG DEBAUCHERY]], [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan BIG]] [[UsefulNotes/MikhailGorbachev POLITICS]], [[UsefulNotes/TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood BIG MOVIES]], BIG [[PublicServiceAnnouncement PUBLIC]] [[DrugsAreBad SERVICE]] [[TooSmartForStrangers ANNOUNCEMENTS]], [[{{Cyberpunk}} BIG TECHNOLOGY]], BIG BRICK CELLPHONES, [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} BIG]] [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld JAPANESE]] [[{{Anime}} IMPORTS]], [[NostalgiaFilter BIG RETRO CRAZE]], [[Creator/{{MTV}} BIG]] [[NewWave NEW]] [[HipHop MUSIC]], BIG CELEBRITIES, BIG {{RUNNING GAG}}S, '''BIG'''!!! Totally a [[TotallyRadical de-fin-IT-elly radically BIG]] nostalgic setting. And [[RunningGag BIG MØØSE...]] [[note]]We apologize again for that. Those responsible for sacking the index writers have been sacked.[[/note]]

* TheEdwardianEra, Also known as the "La Belle Époque"[[note]]Not only in France but across the world because it recieved a lot of NostalgiaFilter after the world wars[[/note]]: (1901 - June 1914, though it may extend until 1918) [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor King Edward VII]] on the Throne, rich white people, rich economy, high endeavours, ragtime, silent movies, [[GorgeousPeriodDress elaborate dresses]] with [[OfCorsetsSexy S-bend corsets]], Gibson Girls, suffragettes, UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt, [[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein the Theory of Relativity]], [[UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud Freudian psychology]] [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors China under new management]], [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russia]] and [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]] [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar at war]], [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution Mexico in flames]], the Congo-gate scandals, weird and wacky [[FlyingMachine flying machines]], "horseless carriages", motion pictures and other inventions, and the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic. Once used as an endevarous [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgic setting]] until the 1950s.

The Twentieth Century: A Century that witnessed changes in technology, society, culture and attitudes in more ways and more circumstances than any other century before it. The historian Eric Hobsbawm who labelled it ''The Age of Extremes'' considers it "A Short 20th Century" (comprising 77 years between 1914-1991) that really began and ended with the rise and fall of the [=USSR=], while others argue that it began with UsefulNotes/WorldWarI ("The Seminal Tragedy") and more or less continued into the TurnOfTheMillennium until 9/11. The century was characterized by increasingly tangled geopolitical connections on a global scale as a result of the development of transport and communication, and this led to an era of rapid, shocking and sudden changes in governments, society, culture, science and technology. A symbol of these transformations is the fact that each decade seemed to distinguish from the earlier one, with the idea of a single static culture becoming a thing of the past. The idea that every decade had to have its emblematic representative moments, icons, works of art was more or less invented in the 20th Century, albeit with some precedents in earlier periods, which explained the rate of transformation of this century, which was chronicled moreover in the arts of photography, motion picture and television.

The century was characterized by a total transformation of society, and some would argue consciousness itself, by science and technology. So complete was this transformation that the world of the [=1990s=] with their computers, cordless phones, satellite television, and frequent flyer miles would feel different to the world of the [=1910s=]. Art formerly seen to be as separate from science came to depend on the latter for its technology, most notably in the rise of cinema (what is called "the art of the 20th century") and popular music which depended on radio, sound-recording equipment, portable media [[note]][=LPs=], records, cassettes and [=CDs=][[/note]], and music videos for their commercial viability.

* TheNineties[[note]]Also known as the "Nihilistic Nineties"[[/note]]: (1989/91 - January 2000 for many, and [[WhamEpisode September]] [[TheWarOnTerror 2001]] for others - with some even arguing that it didn't really "end" until as late as 2006) TheGreatPoliticsMessUp, [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Weast]] UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia, Cool Britannia, the rise of the EU, UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars, TheInternet, AlternativeRock with the [[Music/{{Nirvana}} fragrance of teen spirit]], early HipHop "[[Music/VanillaIce Yo, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby]]", HouseMusic, teenage angst, upbeat parties and concerts, flannel shirts, loose sagging pants, coffeeshops, Creator/JenniferAniston's [[NinetiesHair signature haircut]], [[Series/{{Friends}} The One With]] [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} the yellow mouse]], Boy Bands, the Music/SpiceGirls, Music/BritneySpears, the Lambada, the Macarena, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick TV shows and games you grew on this decade and are now a victim of Rule34 internet memes and parodies.]] [[note]][--[[RuleOfThree Mynd you, Rüle 34 picthers of møøse Kan be pretti nasti...]]--][[/note]]

The social transformation was equally profound and far-reaching, it was the century that saw the greatest advances and gains, such as women's rights, with women entering in the workforce, and finding avenues to marry/divorce/raise children on their own; widespread decolonization, the end of the 19th Century empires, and the rise of a global community of nations; anti-racism as a central pillar of acceptable civilization; the possibility for vast numbers of people to travel the globe via commercial air transport, leading to people from far-flung regions landing and exploring nations that they otherwise would not have had contact with; great permissiveness with sexuality expressed more freely than centuries before it, not only among the lower-classes (as across history) but even in the middle and higher classes; [[PrecisionFStrike profanity]] in serious literature such as Creator/JamesJoyce's ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}''; and towards the end of the century, the acceptance and debate of LGBT rights becoming a public movement (beginning in UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany at the start of the century and flourishing in the Anglophone by the end of the century).

Yet despite this, the century was remembered by most for being the most violent, most brutal and the bloodiest in recorded history. It was marked by the two bloodiest wars in human history, by genocides, by famines, the use of chemical weapons, and later city-destroying nuclear weapons; a huge dissonance among developed and undeveloped nations; a situation on overpopulation; [[GaiasLament great environmental crises]] and an awereness in climate change; and the growth and spread of political movements such as fascism, socialism, and democracy that overthrew the old systems, that created governments with varying results.

The social transformation was equally profound and far-reaching, it was the century that saw the greatest advances and gains, such as women's rights, with women entering in the workforce, and finding avenues to marry/divorce/raise children on their own; widespread decolonization, the end of the 19th Century empires, and the rise of a global community of nations; anti-racism as a central pillar of acceptable civilization; the possibility for vast numbers of people to travel the globe via commercial air transport, leading to people from far-flung regions landing and exploring nations that they otherwise would not have had contact with; great permissiveness with sexuality expressed more freely than centuries before it, not only among the lower-classes (as across history) but even in the middle and higher classes; [[PrecisionFStrike Profanity]] in serious literature such as Creator/JamesJoyce's ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}''; and towards the end of the century, the acceptance and debate of LGBT rights becoming a public movement (beginning in UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany at the start of the century and flourishing in the Anglophone by the end of the century).

Yet despite this, the century was remembered by most for being the most violent, most brutal and the bloodiest in recorded history. It was marked by the two bloodiest wars in human history, by genocides, by famines, the use of chemical weapons, and later city-destroying nuclear weapons that had the paradoxical effect of making conventional warfare between "great" powers a thing of the past and restoring for a brief window the era of the "small wars" of the latter half of the 19th Century. The great technological and scientific advancements was primarily contained in the advanced nations, gave dissonance among developed and undeveloped nations, with the major difference being that the greater communication tools no longer isolated the latter from knowing that the GrassIsGreener, spreading a consciousness of backwardness that stoked much resentment and continues to do so in the century afterwards. The global population also ballooned by the end of the decade creating malaise about the scarcity of land, resources, income and the ability of organizations to effectively help this. Related to this is the great environmental crisis and climate change that reared its head by the end of the decade, with GaiasVengeance looming around the corner as the fine print for the [[DealWithTheDevil faustian contract]] signed by mankind with nature for the improvement of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While at the same time the century saw the growth and spread of democracy and equality, with universal suffrage (formerly considered a radical pipe dream on the extreme left) enshrined in law in the developed nations, most of the world still exists in unfree governments, under dictatorships, and the distinctly 20th Century phenomenon of the PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny.

* TheSixties[[note]]Also known as the "Swingin' Sixties"[[/note]]: (1957/63 - 1973/74, although you could say it ended as late as 1976) UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace, [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy The Kennedys]], The CivilRightsMovement, The [[VelvetRevolution Prague Spring]], The [[MinidressOfPower Miniskirts]], Music/TheBeatles, UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion, The [[NewAgeRetroHippie Hippies]], The UsefulNotes/NewHollywood, Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly, The [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey Space Odyssey]], Film/TheGraduate, The [[PsychedelicRock Psychedelia]], The Free Love Sex, The Mindbending Drugs, [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll The Rockin' Roll, man]], The Wierdness, The Wonders,... [[OverlyLongGag The]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Articles]]...

The Twentieth Century witnessed changes in technology, society, culture and attitudes in more ways and more circumstances than any other century before it. The historian Eric Hobsbawm who labelled it ''The Age of Extremes'' considers it "A Short 20th Century" (comprising 77 years between 1914-1991) that really began and ended with the rise and fall of the [=USSR=], while others argue that it began with UsefulNotes/WorldWarI ("The Seminal Tragedy") and more or less continued into the TurnOfTheMillennium until 9/11. The century was characterized by increasingly tangled geopolitical connections on a global scale as a result of the development of transport and communication, and this led to an era of rapid, shocking and sudden changes in governments, society, culture, science and technology. A symbol of these transformations is the fact that each decade seemed to distinguish from the earlier one, with the idea of a single static culture becoming a thing of the past. The idea that every decade had to have its emblematic representative moments, icons, works of art was more or less invented in the 20th Century, albeit with some precedents in earlier periods, which explained the rate of transformation of this century, which was chronicled moreover in the arts of photography, motion picture and television.

The century was characterized by a total transformation of society, and some would argue consciousness itself, by science and technology. So complete was this transformation that the people of the [=1990s=] with their computers, cordless phones, satellite television, and frequent flyer miles would perhaps feel like people from another planet to the individuals of the [=1910s=]. Art formerly seen to be as separate from science came to depend on the latter for its technology, most notably in the rise of cinema (what is called "the art of the 20th century") and popular music which depended on radio, sound-recording equipment, as well as [=LPs=], records, cassettes and [=CDs=], and music videos for their commercial viability. The social transformation was equally profound and far-reaching, it was the century that saw the greatest advances and gains for women's rights than any other in human history, with women entering, and despite pushback, ''staying'' in the workforce, and finding avenues to marry/divorce/raise children on their own. It was also the century that saw widespread decolonization, the end of the the 19th Century empires, and the rise of a global community of nations. It was the era which saw anti-racism become a central pillar of acceptable civilization. The other emblematic symbol of the century was migration, it became possible for vast numbers of people to travel the globe via commercial air transport, leading to people from far-flung regions landing and exploring nations that they otherwise would not have had contact with. The most visible symbol of the 20th Century was the great permissiveness with sexuality discussed with greater frankness and fewer public euphemisms than centuries preceding it, and not only among the lower-classes (as across history) but even in the middle and higher classes. The [[PrecisionFStrike F-word]] came to be used not only in cheap pulp but in serious literature such as Creator/JamesJoyce's ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}''. Towards the end of the century, you had the acceptance and debate of LGBT rights which became a public movement in this century (beginning in UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany at the start of the century and flourishing in the Anglophone by the end of the century).

Yet despite this, the century was remembered by most for being the most violent, most brutal and the bloodiest in recorded history. It was marked by the two bloodiest wars in human history, by genocides, by famines, the use of chemical weapons, and later city-destroying nuclear weapons that had the paradoxical effect of making conventional warfare between "great" powers a thing of the past and restoring for a brief window the era of the "small wars" of the latter half of the 19th Century. The great technological and scientific advancements was primarily contained in the advanced nations, leading to an imbalance between the progressive developed world and the undeveloped world, with the major difference being that the greater communication tools no longer isolated the latter from knowing that the GrassIsGreener, spreading a consciousness of backwardness that stoked much resentment and continues to do so in the century afterwards. The global population also ballooned by the end of the decade creating malaise about the scarcity of land, resources, income and the ability of organizations to effectively help this. Related to this is the great crisis of the environment and climate change that reared its head by the end of the decade, with GaiasVengeance looming around the corner as the fine print for the [[DealWithTheDevil faustian contract]] signed by mankind with nature for the improvement of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While at the same time the century saw the growth and spread of democracy and equality, with universal suffrage (formerly considered a radical pipe dream on the extreme left) enshrined in law in the developed nations, most of the world still exists in unfree governments, under dictatorships, and the distinctly 20th Century phenomenon of the PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny.

* TheRoaringTwenties[[note]]Also known as the "Jazz Age" by artists, or the "Golden Twenties" in Europe[[/note]]: (1918/19 - October 1929, although the decade culturally ended between 1933/35) Bootleg + [[TheFlapper Flappers]] + {{Jazz}} x Booming Economy = [[ItsPronouncedTroPay par-tayz]]. Also with gangsters, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfHollywood silent films]] and [[UsefulNotes/RiseOfTheTalkies talkies]], radio, UsefulNotes/CocoChanel, stylistic and futuristic Cubism, Bauhaus and ''[[ArtDeco Arts]] [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench Decoratifs]]'', [[WeimarRepublic Weimar]] [[GermanPeculiarities culture]] [[note]]Berlin cabaret, GermanExpressionism, Creator/BertoltBrecht and Music/KurtWeill, Creator/SergeiEisenstein[[/note]] and [[TheSovietTwenties Soviet Montage]], gin tubs, and "[[JiveTurkey 23 Skidooin' bees knees seeing a man about a dog]]",

* TheSeventies[[note]]Also known as the "Saucy Seventies" or the "Sordid Seventies"[[/note]]: (1968/69 - 1981/83, some would say it ended as early as 1979 with the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Disco Demotion Night) [[GratuitousDiscoSequence Disco, disco and more disco]], dance because it never [[DeaderThanDisco dies]]!!! Also [[SeventiesHair big sideburns]], [[FunnyAfro afros]], [[PornStache hot mustaches and beards]], [[Film/{{Jaws}} blockbuster]] [[Franchise/StarWars movies]], [[Creator/BruceLee kung fu]] [[EverybodyWasKungFuFighting fighting]], [[RunningGag disco]], polyester, {{glam rock}}, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment disco]], [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons roleplaying]], the [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Time Warp]], rebellions, revolutions, spiritual discoveries, lava lamps, {{punk}}, [[AbsoluteCleavage very low necklines]], [[VaporWear women without bras]], VideoGame/{{Pong}}, {{heavy metal}}, [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers economic malaise]] and {{Disco}}. Also, [[MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail møøse...]][[note]]We're sorry for that. Those responsible for writing this index have been sacked.[[/note]]
* TheEighties[[note]]Also known as the "Elegant Eighties" or the "Excessive Eighties"[[/note]]: (1977/82 - 1991/93) [[BiggerIsBetter Everything's BIG]]!!! [[EightiesHair BIG HAIR]], [[ShouldersOfDoom BIG POWER SUITS WITH BIG SHOULDERS]], BIG ECONOMY, [[Film/WallStreet BIG DEBAUCHERY]], [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan BIG]] [[UsefulNotes/MikhailGorbachev POLITICS]], BIG MOVIES, [[{{Cyberpunk}} BIG TECHNOLOGY]], BIG BRICK CELLPHONES, [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} BIG]] [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld JAPANESE]] [[{{Anime}} IMPORTS]], [[NostalgiaFilter BIG RETRO CRAZE]], [[Creator/{{MTV}} BIG MUSIC]], BIG CELEBRITIES, BIG {{RUNNING GAG}}S, '''BIG'''!!! Totally a [[TotallyRadical de-fin-IT-elly radically BIG]] nostalgic setting. And [[RunningGag BIG MØØSE...]] [[note]]We apologize again for that. Those responsible for sacking the index writers have been sacked.[[/note]]
* TheNineties[[note]]Also known as the "Nihilistic Nineties"[[/note]]: (1989/91 - January 2000 for many, and [[WhamEpisode September]] [[TheWarOnTerror 2001]] for others - with some even arguing that it didn't really "end" until as late as 2006) TheGreatPoliticsMessUp, [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Weast]] UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia, Cool Britannia, the rise of the EU, UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars, TheInternet, AlternativeRock with the [[Music/{{Nirvana}} fragrance of teen spirit]], early HipHop "[[Music/VanillaIce Yo, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby]]", HouseMusic, teenage angst, upbeat parties and concerts, flannel shirts, loose sagging pants, coffeeshops, Creator/JenniferAniston's signature haircut, [[Series/{{Friends}} The One With]] [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} the yellow mouse]], Boy Bands, the Music/SpiceGirls, Music/BritneySpears, the Lambada, the Macarena, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick TV shows and games you grew on this decade and are now a victim of Rule34 internet memes and parodies.]] [[note]][--[[RuleOfThree Mynd you, Rüle 34 picthers of møøse Kan be pretti nasti...]]--][[/note]]

* TheFifties[[note]]Also known as the "Fabulous Fifties" or the "Frivoulous Fifties"[[/note]]: (1945/47 - 1961/November 1963) [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Hot War]] was over, UsefulNotes/ColdWar has begun, Germany and Korea [[WestGermany split]] [[EastGermany in]] [[TheKoreanWar two]], [[NukeEm nuclear]] and [[DirtyCommunists communist]]/[[CapitalismIsBad capitalist]] fear, the [[UsefulNotes/NikitaKhrushchev Khrushchev Thaw]], 1920s [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgia]], [[{{Housewife}} housewives]] with aprons and elaborate dresses, [[StandardFiftiesFather your standard father]], family moments, Baby Boomers, RockAndRoll, [[GreaserDelinquents greasers]] with [[FiftiesHair suave pompadours]], [[TeensAreMonsters rebellious teenagers]], television, [[UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem a turbulent Hollywood]] with Creator/MarilynMonroe [[MarilynManeuver on the vents]], and [[Creator/AkiraKurosawa a wave]] [[Creator/IngmarBergman of avant-garde]] [[UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave foreign directors]], and SCIENCE! A rather affectionate, if not parodied, nostalgic setting.

* TheSixties[[note]]Also known as the "Swingin' Sixties"[[/note]]: (1957/63 - 1973/74, although you could say it ended as late as 1976) UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace, [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy The Kennedys]], The CivilRightsMovement, The [[VelvetRevolution Prague Spring]], The [[MinidressOfPower Miniskirts]], Music/TheBeatles, TheBritishInvasion, The [[NewAgeRetroHippie Hippies]], The UsefulNotes/NewHollywood, Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly, The [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey Space Odyssey]], Film/TheGraduate, The [[PsychedelicRock Psychedelia]], The Free Love Sex, The Mindbending Drugs, [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll The Rockin' Roll, man]], The Wierdness, The Wonders,... [[OverlyLongGag The]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Articles]]...

* TheSixties[[note]]Also known as the "Swingin' Sixties"[[/note]]: (1957/63 - 1973/74, although you could say it ended as late as 1976) UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace, [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy The Kennedys]], The CivilRightsMovement, The [[VelvetRevolution Prague Spring]], The [[MinidressOfPower Miniskirts]], Music/TheBeatles, TheBritishInvasion, The [[NewAgeRetroHippie Hippies]], The UsefulNotes/NewHollywood, Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly, The [[Film/ASpaceOdyssey Space Odyssey]], Film/TheGraduate, The [[PsychedelicRock Psychedelia]], The Free Love Sex, The Mindbending Drugs, [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll The Rockin' Roll, man]], The Wierdness, The Wonders,... [[OverlyLongGag The]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Articles]]...

* TheNineties[[note]]Also known as the "Nihilistic Nineties"[[/note]]: (1989/91 - January 2000 for many, and [[WhamEpisode September]] [[TheWarOnTerror 2001]] for others - with some even arguing that it didn't really "end" until as late as 2006) TheGreatPoliticsMessUp, [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Weast]] UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, TheNewRussia, Cool Britannia, the rise of the EU, UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars, TheInternet, AlternativeRock with the [[Music/{{Nirvana}} fragrance of teen spirit]], early HipHop "[[Music/VanillaIce Yo, Vanilla Ice Ice Baby]]", HouseMusic, teenage angst, upbeat parties and concerts, flannel shirts, loose sagging pants, coffeeshops, Creator/JenniferAniston's signature haircut, [[Series/{{Friends}} The One With]] [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} the yellow mouse]], Boy Bands, the Music/SpiceGirls, Music/BritneySpears, the Lambada, the Macarena, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick TV shows and games you grew on this decade and are now a victim of Rule34 internet memes and parodies.]] [[note]][--[[RuleOfThree Mynd you, Rüle 34 picthers of møøse Kan be pretti nasti...]]--][[/note]]

-->-- '''Music/TheKinks''', ''20th Century Man''.

Yet despite this, the century was remembered by most for being the most violent, most brutal and the bloodiest in recorded history. It was marked by the two bloodiest wars in human history, by genocides, by famines, the use of chemical weapons, and later city-destroying nuclear weapons that had the paradoxical effect of making conventional warfare between "great" powers a thing of the past and restoring for a brief window the era of the "small wars" of the latter half of the 19th Century. The great technological and scientific advancements was primarily contrasted in the advanced nations, leading to an imbalance between the progressive developed world and the undeveloped world, with the major difference being that the greater communication tools no longer isolated the latter from knowing that the GrassIsGreener, spreading a consciousness of backwardness that stoked much resentment and continues to do so in the century afterwards. The global population also ballooned by the end of the decade creating malaise about the scarcity of land, resources, income and the ability of organizations to effectively help this. Related to this is the great crisis of the environment and climate change that reared its head by the end of the decade, with GaiasVengeance looming around the corner as the fine print for the [[DealWithTheDevil faustian contract]] signed by mankind with nature for the improvement of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While at the same time the century saw the growth and spread of democracy and equality, with universal suffrage (formerly considered a radical pipe dream on the extreme left) enshrined in law in the developed nations, most of the world still exists in unfree governments, under dictatorships, and the distinctly 20th Century phenomenon of the PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny.