History Main / PopularHistory

Everyone in [[TheEighties 1985]] will sport ''Series/MiamiVice''-type pastel clothes and mullet or big gel-heavy hairstyles if they are men, [[EightiesHair big hair]], [[UncannyValleyMakeup lots of make-up]] and [[LadyInAPowerSuit power suits]] if they are women, and early Music/{{Madonna}} or Debbie Gibson-type outfits if they are teenage girls. The kids will be playing on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] video game systems 24/7 on big CRT [=TVs=] and watching VHS tapes (if not watching celebrity-endorsed {{Saturday morning cartoon}}s), and their parents decry everything new as the work of Satan while pledging allegiance to [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reaganomics]] and fearing Communism and nuclear war, and teenagers will be parading down the street in the most garish pastel-neon colors possible, listening to Music/MichaelJackson and Music/TwistedSister on their Sony Walkmen or boombox and doing the {{moonwalk|Dance}} the moment they see a red and white Pepsi can, while sneaking out to HouseMusic events in underground raves to take Ecstasy and dance all night.

Everyone in [[TheNineties 1996]] will wear flannel shirts, baggy acid wash jeans, [[Creator/JenniferAniston Rachels]], hi-tops, or [[NinetiesHair angst-ridden moptops]], with baseball caps worn backwards, while listening to grunge like Music/{{Nirvana}} or rap like Music/TupacShakur [=CDs=] on the boombox and inserting floppy disks while listening to the squeals of their 28.8 modems as they drink their triple shot latte on the go. Adults will joke on the street about Creator/WoodyAllen and Michael Jackson touching little kids and UsefulNotes/BillClinton getting sucked off in the Oval office, while kids have brawls on the playground over [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars whether or not]] [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis does]] [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem what Nintendon't]]. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is constantly up in flames from police brutality to Black communities, and nobody could care less because everyone's glued to their TV screens to see if football star Creator/OJSimpson's gonna get what's coming to him, while the news tickers scroll about [[UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars the affair around the Balkans]].

Everyone in [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2007]] will either be wearing leather jackets, ripped jeans, and ironic {{hipster}} trucker hats for men, or yoga pants, tube tops, and jelly bands for women who constantly binge-watch UsefulNotes/{{Nascar}}, Series/TheBiggestLoser, and Series/AmericanIdol, while being completely oblivious to [[UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror their soldiers being blown up in Afghanistan, and abusing prisoners in Iraq]], but are still paranoid and hateful of everything non-Christian including homosexuals, anyone with brown skin, and Literature/HarryPotter. Teens meanwhile are hooked onto Website/MySpace, and illegally downloading music by Music/TaylorSwift, Music/BackstreetBoys, and Music/{{Nickelback}} onto their iPods and flip phones ''that fit in your pocket!'', whereas the kids tune in their [=TVs=] to Creator/{{Toonami}} and play either family-friendly sport simulators on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} game system, or gritty first person shooters to spit out various sexist slurs through Platform/XboxLive.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', set in 1986, was one huge homage to TheEighties and its media and culture, and it does feature elements from all over the decade - several songs on the radio which was full of NothingButHits were well past their prime at that point, as were some phenomena parodied on commercials and talk shows - for example, the Degenatron is a primitive video game console clearly parodying the pre-crash [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfVideoGames second generation of video games]], when by 1986 the [[UsefulNotes/The8bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames third generation]] was in full force with far more advanced technology than "bouncing squares".

For instance, every man in [[TheEdwardianEra 1912]], the Edwardian Era, would have been in [[UpperClassWit high spirits]] sporting their [[SharpDressedMan sharp tailored suits]] with their [[TheSuffragette suffragette wives]] in large-feathered hats and willowy, exotic dresses that [[OldTimeyAnkleTaboo scandalously show the ankles]] as they ride their [[CoolCar newfangled horseless carriages]] to the Ragtime piano shows and tango balls and see exhibitions of exotic places, cubist pieces, [[ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines flying machines made of wood and canvas]], moving pictures, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking affordable black and white photography]], while lamenting the tragic sinking of the [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]] and scoffing off [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the affair around the Balkans]].

Everyone in [[TheGreatDepression The Dirty Thirties in 1936]] will be a [[TheTeetotaler teetotalling]], dirt-poor poverty-stricken American [[DownOnTheFarm farmer]] in the dustbowl, or a migrant family going west in a truck to look for work, or a [[{{Ruritania}} Eastern European]] peasant under the steel-capped boot of ThoseWackyNazis, the DirtyCommunists, or fascist flunkies. Or if one is lucky enough to escape the Dust Bowl or the Totalitarian Wasteland, he would have been in the US watching movie stars in sharp tailfin suits tapdancing and singing [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood on the talking silver screen]] with glamorous platinum blonde leading ladies wearing satin dresses lined with [[FluffyFashionFeathers feathers]] and [[PrettyInMink fur]] all the while [[SexyBacklessOutfit flashing her flawless back]] as they dance around the moonlight gleaming through the [[{{Surrealism}} trippy, surrealistic]] [[ArtDeco streamlined]] landscape.

Everyone in [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2007]] will either be wearing leather jackets, ripped jeans, and ironic {{hipster}} trucker hats for men, or yoga pants, tube tops, and jelly bands for women who constantly binge-watch UsefulNotes/{{Nascar}}, Series/TheBiggestLoser, and Series/AmericanIdol, while being completely oblivious to [[UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror their soldiers being blown up in Afghanistan, and abusing prisoners in Iraq]], but are still paranoid and hateful of everything non-Christian including homosexuals, anyone with brown skin, and Literature/HarryPotter. Teens meanwhile are hooked onto Website/MySpace, and illegally downloading music by Music/TaylorSwift, Music/BackstreetBoys, and Music/{{Nickelback}} onto their iPods and flip phones ''that fit in your pocket!'', whereas the kids tune in their [=TVs=] to Creator/{{Toonami}} and play either family-friendly sport simulators on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} game system, or gritty first person shooters to spit out various sexist slurs through UsefulNotes/XboxLive.

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Film ]]

Everyone in [[TheSeventies 1977]] will either be wearing platform shoes, a polyester leisure suit, an [[AfroAsskicker afro]] with [[SeventiesHair sideburns]], and will be going to the {{disco}} to take Qualuudes and cocaine and hook up in with a stranger (or three) in the disco bathroom, or if they're into PunkRock, wearing torn jeans, Doc Martens or Converse running shoes, ripped band t-shirts, leather jacket and DelinquentHair and going to pogo and slamdance to Music/TheClash or the [[Music/SexPistols Pistols]]. And if they're not doing that, they're usually sniffing glue or protesting in the streets over [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]] or Margaret Thatcher.

Everyone in [[TheEighties 1985]] will sport ''Series/MiamiVice''-type pastel clothes and mullet or big gel-heavy hairstyles if they are men, [[EightiesHair big hair]], [[UncannyValleyMakeup lots of make-up]] and [[LadyInAPowerSuit power suits]] if they are women, and early Music/{{Madonna}} or Debbie Gibson-type outfits if they are teenage girls. The kids will be playing on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] video game systems 24/7 on big CRT TVs and watching VHS tapes (if not watching celebrity-endorsed {{Saturday morning cartoon}}s), and their parents decry everything new as the work of Satan while pledging allegiance to [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reaganomics]] and fearing Communism and nuclear war, and teenagers will be parading down the street in the most garish pastel-neon colors possible, listening to Music/MichaelJackson and Music/TwistedSister on their Sony Walkmen or boombox and doing the {{moonwalk|Dance}} the moment they see a red and white Pepsi can, while sneaking out to HouseMusic events in underground raves to take Ecstasy and dance all night.

Popular History is when a show or movie set in a previous decade focuses on certain elements of the era's pop culture to an implausible degree, often mixing and matching things from different points in the decade and acting as if they existed at the same time, regardless of whether these elements came before or after the year the work's set (for example, ''Film/TheWeddingSinger'' is explicitly set in 1985 yet is more of a collage of various elements across the entirety of the [[TheEighties 1980s]]).

For instance, every man in [[TheEdwardianEra 1912]] would have been in [[UpperClassWit high spirits]] sporting their [[SharpDressedMan sharp tailored suits]] with their [[TheSuffragette suffragette wives]] in large-feathered hats and willowy, exotic dresses that [[OldTimeyAnkleTaboo scandalously show the ankles]] as they ride their [[CoolCar horseless carriages]] to the ritzy Ragtime piano showd and tango balls and exhibitions of exotic places, cubist pieces, [[ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines flying machines made of wood and canvas]], moving pictures, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking affordable black and white photography]], while lamenting the sinking of the [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]] and scoffing off [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the affair around the Balkans]].

Every [[TheFlapper gal]] in [[TheRoaringTwenties 1926]] would have [[TwentiesBobHaircut cut her hair]] beneath her tight-fitting hat, wearing [[PrettyInMink fur-trimmed coats]] that blend in with her outrageously loose knee-length dress and beaded necklace, flashing her rayon stockings with painted knees, and donning heavy makeup while [[WomenDrivers badly driving a roadster]] with her tough-faced [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster gangster boyfriend]] at her side, drinking [[HillbillyMoonshiner overproof moonshine]] from a flask and crying her heart out for stars like exotic Creator/RudolphValentino or funnyman Creator/BusterKeaton.

Everyone in [[TheGreatDepression The Dirty Thirties in 1936]] will be a [[TheTeetotaler teetotalling]], dirt-poor poverty-stricken American [[DownOnTheFarm farmer]] in the dustbowl or a [[{{Ruritania}} European]] peasant under the steel-capped boot of ThoseWackyNazis, the DirtyCommunists, or fascist flunkies. Or if one is lucky enough to escape the Dust Bowl or the Totalitarian Wasteland, he would have watched movie stars in sharp tailfin suits tapdancing and singing [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood on the talking silver screen]] with his platinum blonde leading lady wearing satin dresses lined with [[FluffyFashionFeathers feathers]] and [[PrettyInMink fur]] all the while [[SexyBacklessOutfit flashing her flawless back]] as they dance around the moonlight gleaming through the [[{{Surrealism}} trippy]] [[ArtDeco streamlined]] landscape.

Everyone in [[TheForties 1942]] would have [[ShouldersOfDoom shoulder pads]] in their suits, dresses, coats, uniforms, and even underwear, donning updo hairstyles with fancy hats decorated with fruit, and dancing [[{{Jazz}} swing]] in a conga line while distributing war bonds. As well, they'll either be serving in the military in Europe or Asia or helping the war effort at home by working in a factory or as a nurse in a war hospital. Grandpa works as an air raid warden.

Every woman in [[TheFifties 1955]] would either wear sleek cherry-red tailored suits, long tight skirts and spike heels and [[RedScare be fearing communism]], watching [[BMovie B-Movies]] and hanging out at the local MaltShop, or wearing {{pink|MeansFeminine}}, fancy polka-dot dresses with a cute poodle on their skirts while watching hip-gyrating Music/{{Elvis|Presley}} on television; and men in either tailored lounge suits and trenchcoats, or NiceGuy polo shirts with bowties and khakis running on suspenders, or [[HellBentForLeather black leather jackets]], tight blue jeans and black boots with matching [[DelinquentHair shiny black]] [[FiftiesHair pompadours]] while riding on their [[CoolBike custom made bikes]].

Everyone in [[TheSixties 1968]] will be innlong hair, beads and sandals, living on a commune, wearing [[NewAgeRetroHippie groovy tie-dye shirts]], [[TheStoner smoking pot and dropping acid]] and going to see the [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand Stones]] or Music/TheDoors while protesting Jim Crow laws and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and men are waving their burning draft cards as women waving their burning bra.

Everyone in [[TheSeventies 1977]] will either be wearing platform shoes, a polyester leisure suit, an [[AfroAsskicker afro]] with [[SeventiesHair sideburns]], and will be going to the {{disco}} to take Qualuudes and cocaine and hook up in with a stranger (or three) in the disco bathroom, or if they're into PunkRock, wearing torn jeans, Doc Martens or Converse running , ripped band shirt, leather jacket and DelinquentHair and going to pogo and slamdance to Music/TheClash or the [[Music/SexPistols Pistols]]. And if they're not doing that, they're usually sniffing glue or protesting in the streets over [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]] or Margaret Thatcher.

!!!1930s
Everyone in [[TheGreatDepression The Dirty Thirties]] will be a [[TheTeetotaler teetotalling]], dirt-poor poverty-stricken American [[DownOnTheFarm farmer]] in the dustbowl or a [[{{Ruritania}} European]] peasant under the steel-capped boot of ThoseWackyNazis, the DirtyCommunists, or fascist flunkies. Or if one is lucky enough to escape the Dust Bowl or the Totalitarian Wasteland, he would have watched movie stars in sharp tailfin suits tapdancing and singing [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood on the talking silver screen]] with his platinum blonde leading lady wearing satin dresses lined with [[FluffyFashionFeathers feathers]] and [[PrettyInMink fur]] all the while [[SexyBacklessOutfit flashing her flawless back]] as they dance around the moonlight gleaming through the [[{{Surrealism}} trippy]] [[ArtDeco streamlined]] landscape.

Everyone in [[TheForties 1942]] would have [[ShouldersOfDoom shoulder pads]] in their suits, dresses, coats, uniforms, and even underwear, donning updo hairstyles with fancy hats decorated with fruit, and dancing [[{{Jazz}} swing]] in a conga line while distributing war bonds. As well, they'll either be serving in the military or helping thecwar effort at home by working in a factory or war hospital.
!!!1950s

!!!1960s
Everyone in [[TheSixties 1968]] will be wearing [[NewAgeRetroHippie tie-dye shirts]], [[TheStoner smoking pot]] and going to see the [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand Stones]] or Music/TheDoors while protesting Jim Crow laws and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar while waving her burning bra. For the uptight squares, every man would wear a colourful vintage three-piece suit to contrast Music/TheBeatles style [[SixtiesHair moptop]] and every woman would have a [[BeehiveHairdo giant bouffant]] to go with her pastel-colored space-agey minidress and go-go boots as they ride on a Vespa scooter and listen to Bossa Nova.
!!!1970s
Everyone in [[TheSeventies 1977]] will either be wearing platform shoes, a polyester leisure suit, an [[AfroAsskicker afro]] with [[SeventiesHair sideburns]], and will be going to the {{disco}}, or wearing torn jeans, Doc Martens or converse, ripped shirt, leather jacket and DelinquentHair and going to pogo and slamdance to Music/TheClash or the [[Music/SexPistols Pistols]]. And if they're not doing that, they're usually protesting in the streets over [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]] or Margaret Thatcher.
!!!1980s
Everyone in [[TheEighties 1985]] will sport ''Series/MiamiVice''-type pastel clothes and mullet hairstyles if they are men, [[EightiesHair big hair]], [[UncannyValleyMakeup lots of make-up]] and [[LadyInAPowerSuit power suits]] if they are women, and early Music/{{Madonna}} or Debbie Gibson-type outfits if they are teenage girls. The kids will be playing on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] 24/7 (if not watching celebrity-endorsed {{Saturday morning cartoon}}s), and their parents decry everything new as the work of Satan while pledging allegiance to [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reaganomics]] and fearing Communism and nuclear war, and teenagers will be parading down the street in the most garish pastel-neon colors possible, listening to Music/MichaelJackson and Music/TwistedSister on their Sony Walkmen or boombox and doing the {{moonwalk|Dance}} the moment they see a red and white Pepsi can.
!!!1990s

!!!2000s

!!!1920s

!!!1910s

Popular History is when a show or movie set in a previous decade focuses on certain elements of the era's pop culture to an implausible degree, often mixing and matching things from different points in the decade and acting as if they existed at the same time, regardless of whether these elements came before or after the year the work's set (for example, ''Film/TheWeddingSinger'' is explicitly set in 1985 yet is more of a collage of various elements across the entirety of the 1980s).

For instance, every man in [[TheEdwardianEra 1912]] would have been in [[UpperClassWit high spirits]] sporting their [[SharpDressedMan sharp tailored suits]] with their [[TheSuffragette suffragette wives]] in large-feathered hats and willowy, exotic dresses that [[OldTimeyAnkleTaboo scandalously show the ankles]] as they ride their [[CoolCar horseless carriages]] to the ritzy Ragtime-tuned tango balls and exhibitions of exotic places, cubist pieces, [[ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines flying machines]], moving pictures, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking affordable photography]], while lamenting the sinking of the [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]] and scoffing off [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the affair around the Balkans]].

Every [[TheFlapper gal]] in [[TheRoaringTwenties 1926]] would have [[TwentiesBobHaircut cut her hair]] beneath her tight-fitting hat, wearing [[PrettyInMink fur-trimmed coats]] that blend in with her outrageously loose knee-length dress and beaded necklace, flashing her rayon stockings with painted knees, and donning heavy makeup while [[WomenDrivers badly driving a Cardillac]] with her tough-faced [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster gangster boyfriend]] at her side and crying her heart out for Creator/RudolphValentino or Creator/BusterKeaton.

Everyone in [[TheGreatDepression 1936]] will be a [[TheTeetotaler teetotalling]], dirt-poor poverty-stricken American [[DownOnTheFarm farmer]] in the dustbowl or a [[{{Ruritania}} European]] peasant under the steel-capped boot of ThoseWackyNazis, the DirtyCommunists, or fascist flunkies. Or if one is lucky enough to escape the Dust Bowl or the Totalitarian Wasteland, he would have worn sharp tailfin suits tapdancing and singing [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood on the talking silver screen]] with his platinum blonde leading lady wearing satin dresses lined with [[FluffyFashionFeathers feathers]] and [[PrettyInMink fur]] all the while [[SexyBacklessOutfit flashing her flawless back]] as they dance around the moonlight gleaming through the [[{{Surrealism}} trippy]] [[ArtDeco streamlined]] landscape.

Everyone in [[TheForties 1942]] would have [[ShouldersOfDoom shoulder pads]] in their suits, dresses, coats, uniforms, and even underwear, donning updo hairstyles with fancy hats decorated with fruit, and dancing [[{{Jazz}} swing]] in a conga line while distributing war bonds.

Every woman in [[TheFifties 1955]] would either wear sleek cherry-red tailored suits, long tight skirts and spike heels and [[RedScare be fearing communism]], watching [[BMovie B-Movies]] and hanging out at the local MaltShop, or wearing {{pink|MeansFeminine}}, fancy polka-dot dresses with a cute poodle on their skirts while watching Music/{{Elvis|Presley}} on television; and men in either tailored lounge suits and trenchcoats, or NiceGuy polo shirts with bowties and khakis running on suspenders, or [[HellBentForLeather black leather jackets]], tight blue jeans and black boots with matching [[DelinquentHair shiny black]] [[FiftiesHair pompadours]] while riding on their [[CoolBike custom made bikes]].

Everyone in [[TheSixties 1968]] will be wearing [[NewAgeRetroHippie tie-dye shirts]], [[TheStoner smoking pot]] and going to see the [[Music/TheRollingStonesBand Stones]] or Music/TheDoors while protesting Jim Crow laws and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. For the uptights, every man would wear a colourful vintage three-piece suit to contrast Music/TheBeatles style [[SixtiesHair moptop]] and every woman would have a [[BeehiveHairdo giant bouffant]] to go with her pastel-colored space-agey minidress and go-go boots as they ride on a Vespa scooter while waving her burning bra.

Everyone in [[TheSeventies 1977]] will either be wearing platform shoes, a polyester leisure suit, an [[AfroAsskicker afro]] with [[SeventiesHair sideburns]], and will be going to the {{disco}}, or wearing torn jeans, Doc Martens or converse, ripped shirt, leather Jacket and going to pogo to Music/TheClash or the [[Music/SexPistols Pistols]]. And if they're not doing that, they're usually protesting in the streets over [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]].

Everyone in [[TheEighties 1985]] will sport ''Series/MiamiVice''-type pastel clothes and mullet hairstyles if they are men, [[EightiesHair big hair]], [[UncannyValleyMakeup lots of make-up]] and [[LadyInAPowerSuit power suits]] if they are women, and early Music/{{Madonna}} or Debbie Gibson-type outfits if they are teenage girls. The kids will be playing on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] 24/7 (if not watching celebrity-endorsed {{Saturday morning cartoon}}s), and their parents decry everything new as the work of Satan while pledging allegiance to [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reaganomics]] and fearing Communism and nuclear war, and teenagers will be parading down the street in the most garish pastel-neon colors possible, listening to Music/MichaelJackson and Music/TwistedSister on their Walkmen and doing the {{moonwalk|Dance}} the moment they see a red and white Pepsi can.

Everyone in [[TheNineties 1996]] will wear flannel shirts, baggy jeans, [[Creator/JenniferAniston Rachels]], hi-tops, or [[NinetiesHair angst-ridden moptops]], with baseball caps worn backwards, while listening to Music/{{Nirvana}} or Music/TupacShakur [=CDs=] on the boombox and inserting floppy disks while listening to the squeals of their 28.8 modems as they drink their triple shot latte on the go. Adults will joke on the street about Creator/WoodyAllen and Michael Jackson touching little kids and UsefulNotes/BillClinton getting sucked off in the Oval office, while kids have brawls on the playground over [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars whether or not]] [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis does]] [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem what Nintendon't]]. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is constantly up in flames, and nobody could care less because everyone's glued to their TV screens to see if Creator/OJSimpson's gonna get what's coming to him, while the news tickers scroll about [[UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars the affair around the Balkans]].

Everyone in [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2007]] will either be wearing leather jackets, ripped jeans, and trucker hats for men, or yoga pants, tube tops, and jelly bands for women who constantly binge-watch UsefulNotes/{{Nascar}}, Series/TheBiggestLoser, and Series/AmericanIdol, while being completely oblivious to [[UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror their troopers being blown up in Afghanistan, and abusing prisoners in Iraq]], but are still paranoid and hateful of everything non-Christian including homosexuals, anyone with brown skin, and Literature/HarryPotter. Teens meanwhile are hooked onto Website/MySpace, and illegally downloading music by Music/TaylorSwift, Music/BackstreetBoys, and Music/{{Nickelback}} onto their iPods and flip phones, whereas the kids tune in their [=TVs=] to Creator/{{Toonami}} and play either family-friendly sport simulators on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, or gritty first person shooters to spit out various sexist slurs through UsefulNotes/XboxLive.

This is especially painful when you consider that the writers generally lived through the era being depicted.

Sometimes, a movie about the period that's considered "[[RealityIsUnrealistic not enough]]" will hit a lot closer to home. In general, a decade never comes into its own right away, with the early years oftentimes having considerable holdovers from the last few years of the preceding decades. The early and even mid-1980s, for instance, had a lot of late '70s styles hanging around; the perm or wavy haircut was very common around the mid-1980s (the Cobra Kai guys all had this cut in ''Film/{{The Karate Kid|1984}}''), but you never see it being used when people recreate the '80s, probably because it "[[TheCoconutEffect doesn't look '80s enough]]". The general misconception of decades being entirely encapsulated by their stereotypes is so prevalent that a common complaint whenever a new one starts is that it feels exactly the same as last year; it's not until the new decade becomes the old one that people look back and realize how much changed in just ten years. In a similar vein, some trends associated with a given decade may begin just before it starts, such as boxy cars or NewWaveMusic associated with the '80s - which actually began in the late '70s. Trends simply don't care about numbers on the calendar.

Everyone in [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2007]] will either be wearing leather jackets, ripped jeans, and trucker hats for men, or yoga pants, tube tops, and jelly bands for women who constantly binge-watch UsefulNotes/{{Nascar}}, Series/TheBiggestLoser, and Series/AmericanIdol, while being completely oblivious to [[UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror their troopers being blown up in Afghanistan, and abusing prisoners in Iraq]], but are still paranoid and hateful of everything non-Christian including homosexuals, anyone with brown skin, and Literature/HarryPotter. Teens meanwhile are hooked onto Website/MySpace, and illegally downloading music by Music/TaylorSwift, Music/BackstreetBoys, and Music/NickelBack onto their iPods and flip phones, whereas the kids tune in their [=TVs=] to Creator/{{Toonami}} and play either family-friendly sport simulators on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, or gritty first person shooters to spit out various sexist slurs through UsefulNotes/XboxLive.

* ''Film/ForrestGump'' had plenty of this, with the titular main character just ''happening'' to bump into the biggest figures and events in history and pop culture throughout his life, in some cases even instigating them. The most prominent example of this is in one scene where Gump gets invited to meet with UsefulNotes/RichardNixon. Nixon decides to gift Gump a stay at a luxury hotel nearby, only for Gump to have to file a complaint to the staff the next night because he was being bothered by some people apparently playing around with flashlights in a window visible from his own. At the end of the scene, we're shown the name of the hotel: [[{{Scandalgate}} Watergate]].

Everyone in [[TheSixties 1968]] will be wearing [[NewAgeRetroHippie tie-dye shirts]], [[TheStoner smoking pot]] and going to see the [[Music/TheRollingStones Stones]] or Music/TheDoors while protesting Jim Crow laws and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. For the uptights, every man would wear a colourful vintage three-piece suit to contrast Music/TheBeatles style [[SixtiesHair moptop]] and every woman would have a [[BeehiveHairdo giant bouffant]] to go with her pastel-colored space-agey minidress and go-go boots as they ride on a Vespa scooter while waving her burning bra.

Everyone in [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2007]] are either wearing leather jackets, ripped jeans, and trucker hats for men, or yoga pants, tube tops, and jelly bands for women. Adults are constantly binge-watching UsefulNotes/{{Nascar}}, Series/TheBiggestLoser, and Series/AmericanIdol, while being completely oblivious to [[UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror their troopers being blown up in Afghanistan, and abusing prisoners in Iraq]], but are still paranoid and hateful of everything non-Christian including homosexuals, anyone with brown skin, and Literature/HarryPotter. Teens meanwhile are hooked onto Website/MySpace, and illegally downloading music by Music/TaylorSwift, Music/BackstreetBoys, and Music/NickelBack onto their iPods and flip phones, whereas the kids tune in their [=TVs=] to Creator/{{Toonami}} and play either family-friendly sport simulators on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, or gritty first person shooters to spit out various sexist slurs through UsefulNotes/XboxLive.