Name this era
January 27, 2009 11:30 AM Subscribe
In the future, what will we call this time?
I am sure that historians of the future will have a specific name for the waning months of 2008 that include the various financial crises and the election of President Obama. We've got the Age of Flight, the Great Depression, the Roaring 20s, Summer of Love, Day of Infamy, etc.
Maybe Metafilter can beat them to the punch. What should we call it?
I am sure that historians of the future will have a specific name for the waning months of 2008 that include the various financial crises and the election of President Obama. We've got the Age of Flight, the Great Depression, the Roaring 20s, Summer of Love, Day of Infamy, etc.
Maybe Metafilter can beat them to the punch. What should we call it?
This post was deleted for the following reason: Chatfilter. -- cortex
the .'s
posted by ezekieldas at 11:43 AM on January 27, 2009
posted by ezekieldas at 11:43 AM on January 27, 2009
I have a feeling this question will get deleted as it was specifically framed as chatfilter. But I think in the US, there's a real possibility the 00s will be remembered as the Bush Era, as "the zeroes" or "aughts", or any reference to the 00s has not remotely caught on. So people will use a convenient substitute.
posted by crapmatic at 11:43 AM on January 27, 2009
posted by crapmatic at 11:43 AM on January 27, 2009
I am sure that historians of the future will have a specific name for the waning months of 2008 that include the various financial crises and the election of President Obama.
I am not. However, lets say you're right, what's wrong with The Financial Crisis of 2008?
posted by ob at 11:45 AM on January 27, 2009
I am not. However, lets say you're right, what's wrong with The Financial Crisis of 2008?
posted by ob at 11:45 AM on January 27, 2009
(ok, I'm now catching on that you're looking for something that would be remembered 100 years from now... I don't know, Internet Era?)
posted by crapmatic at 11:47 AM on January 27, 2009
posted by crapmatic at 11:47 AM on January 27, 2009
"In the years preceding the rise of the Lava People..."
posted by bondcliff at 11:48 AM on January 27, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 11:48 AM on January 27, 2009 [2 favorites]
NPR did a semi-serious story on this topic yesterday. Listen or read up here.
posted by Benjy at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2009
posted by Benjy at 11:51 AM on January 27, 2009
They hadn't finished sweeping up the millennial confetti when I realized that we were not prepared with a universally agreed upon way of referring to the decade ahead of us.
I always say "the Aughties" - as a counterpart to "the Eighties" - but it doesn't seem to have taken root.
posted by Joe Beese at 11:52 AM on January 27, 2009
I always say "the Aughties" - as a counterpart to "the Eighties" - but it doesn't seem to have taken root.
posted by Joe Beese at 11:52 AM on January 27, 2009
I always say "the Aughties"
Me too, with similarly no luck. I long for the day when can tell my great grandchildren that "I remember back in aught-five, or maybe aught-six before we even had the iPhone..."
posted by Pollomacho at 11:55 AM on January 27, 2009
Me too, with similarly no luck. I long for the day when can tell my great grandchildren that "I remember back in aught-five, or maybe aught-six before we even had the iPhone..."
posted by Pollomacho at 11:55 AM on January 27, 2009
Teh Big Suck
posted by studentbaker at 11:55 AM on January 27, 2009
posted by studentbaker at 11:55 AM on January 27, 2009
The Beginning of the End of American Hegemony? End of Empire?
posted by jasper411 at 11:55 AM on January 27, 2009
posted by jasper411 at 11:55 AM on January 27, 2009
I'm kind of partial to "the Naughties".
posted by drinkcoffee at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2009
posted by drinkcoffee at 11:58 AM on January 27, 2009
To help bring out the sober points of the question (to assist in counter-CF), crapmatic is correct in the reference to the numerical decade being referred to as the "aughts" --yet 1901 was "the turn of the century." So we could end up with aughts, another "turn," or The Light of The Millennium.
It depends on perspective too. Think in terms of numerous decades, a century or so before a name sticks. Unless we develop something radical sometime soon, I think the past 10 years will just get filed under "Digital Age."
One of my half-baked theories is that within a century we'll refer to this financial crisis, the terrorism, etc. as the Awakening of Globalization (or something even more New-Agey) than that.
posted by ezekieldas at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2009
It depends on perspective too. Think in terms of numerous decades, a century or so before a name sticks. Unless we develop something radical sometime soon, I think the past 10 years will just get filed under "Digital Age."
One of my half-baked theories is that within a century we'll refer to this financial crisis, the terrorism, etc. as the Awakening of Globalization (or something even more New-Agey) than that.
posted by ezekieldas at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2009
I always say "the Aughties"
What they really need is a corporate sponsorship
posted by grobstein at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2009
What they really need is a corporate sponsorship
posted by grobstein at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2009
Anyone else remember some crappy website that tried to sell the idea of calling it the "naughty aughties" back in, oh, ninety and nine? It had an annoying sort of wacky anachronistic vibe with people wearing, I don't know, fez's and satin smoking robes and stuff? Remember that?
Anyway, I propose we call this "the end times", regardless of what comes next.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2009
Anyway, I propose we call this "the end times", regardless of what comes next.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:00 PM on January 27, 2009
nthing "the Naughties" for the calendar period. It also serves double duty as an indictment of some of our excesses.
posted by socratic at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2009
posted by socratic at 12:05 PM on January 27, 2009
Wikipedia's embryonic, pre-SkyNet period?
posted by benzenedream at 12:07 PM on January 27, 2009
posted by benzenedream at 12:07 PM on January 27, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by katillathehun at 11:35 AM on January 27, 2009 [6 favorites]