Modern Edge

[SirenSon117]

So for my main WIP I've mentioned in other posts that it's setting has an early 2000's style to it. The characters also include a 2000's style in their designs, at least if I could draw they would. I've been influenced specifically by the style of Tetsuya Normura and Tite Kubo who both were inspired by the Shibuya youth culture at the time. There are two problems with this. First, I'm Gen Z so while I was technically alive in the 2000's I don't what it was like to really live in that time period. I didn't even have cable growing up so no Cartoon Network. I've had to play catch-up as an anime fan with the shows everyone else grew up with, like Naruto, Soul Eater, and others. I would like your guy's help on getting an image in my head of what being a young adult in the 2000's was like, if you can. Second, my setting is urban fantasy but it's reversed from the normal way urban fantasy settings are constructed. Instead of the real world with fantasy elements it's a fantasy world with elements of our world in it. Heck, there is even a school of magic built around computers and digital information. Because of this many of the cultural things that shaped the 2000's can't really happen. 9/11 never happened because Islam doesn't exist and most of the religions that do exist in my settings share enough in common to not develop such extreme feelings of rivalry towards each other. Harry Potter, Twilight, and other such works don't exist because Magic is real and that makes it so that the fantasy genre wouldn't exist. Stories about magic are redundant and worthless in a world where magic is part of everyone's daily life. The emo and goth subcultures exists, but is essentially teenagers mimicking demons and vampires, which do exist and are treated, for better or for worse, as dangerous monsters. Kitsune are literally people with fox ears and tails, so the furry culture wouldn't develop for the same reason the fantasy genre got stunted. Democracy only exists in the politically corrupt Elven nation, so there's no real reason for something like the patriot act. Heck, the God-Empress of Humanity is notoriously lazzes-faire(forgive me for misspelling that) thanks to her depression, it would be out of character for her to sign something akin to the patriot act into law. The nobility might try to screw with it though, so that particular point is kinda iffy. Anyways, hopefully you guys can help me out with this dilemma. I could really use some advice from people who have lived through this decade that I am so fond of.

 

[WooHooMan]

Well, gangsta rap and its associated subculture was king. Edgy humor was all the rage. There was a lot of nostalgia for the 60s and 80s going on. Reality tv was a dominant force in entertainment. And there was a prevailing idea that society was unsecure/unstable and WW3 could break-out at any moment. The beginnings of social media meant that people could just go buck wild with their narcissism and the youth at the time were disparagingly called the “me generation” or the “iGeneration” in reference to both their ego and obsession with trendy technology.

Cartoons and anime weren’t especially big at the time so I don’t see how getting on the up and up with those subcultures would do you any good.

Overall, I remember it as a pretty crappy decade.

 

[CupofJoe]

The music was good in places [Amy Winehouse and Green Day spring to mind]. Oddly I felt far more secure after the fall of the soviet block than I had in the years before. It was 9/11 that ended that and made people skittish. After that, there was the rise of the Internet. Add in the Rise of China and the stagnation of Japan.
If you are knocking only Islam out of the mix for your world, then you are going to have to think what might have happened to change world history in the 1400 years since it didn't start. If you don't want religion to play a major part in the story, then just ignore all of them.

 

[Nirak]

People write all the time about things that are "mundane" and all around them, so I don't see why they couldn't write about magic, even if it's not a genre. Although fantasy is basically anything that can't be explained by known laws & rules, so there could still be fantasy - it could be magic set on other worlds where the rules are different for their magic (after all that's what most fantasy is now - different magic systems in each world), or it could be their version of "urban fantasy" where they imagine their world only slightly different, or it could be writings around things that don't exist in your setting but people imagine them (like certain mythical beasts, ghosts, etc.), or even people writing about different situations with their religious figures. People are always making things up and imagining, so I don't think that would change. Although to your point, it's probably not worth mentioning that genre because you'll be spending enough time setting up your own rules!

What I'm trying to say is that some things about people stay consistent, even if when the setting changes. If you don't have religion, there could still be factions that hate each other and might build up to cause a society-changing event. People tend to separate into factions. The God-Empress COULD sign something like the Patriot Act, or the rest of the governing body could (even dictators have generals and aides and people who help run their governments who I would think would have to step in if their leader was not taking actions) - it may not be the exact letter of the same law, but something that would accomplish the same thing in your setting. People tend to have patterns, history repeats, even if it's not an exact replica, the same things may play out through your setting that happened at that time.

As for what culture was like at the time, where and who? It would be different depending on what country and who in that country you're talking about, and even what age of "young adult." Are you thinking 16, or 25? The experience of a high school student in New York in 2000 would be different from someone who just graduated college in Tokyo. I was watching anime at that time, but it certainly wasn't mainstream, so that kind of cultural influence would depend on your characters and the location you put them in.

It's an interesting challenge - good luck!

 

[SirenSon117]

The music was good in places [Amy Winehouse and Green Day spring to mind]. Oddly I felt far more secure after the fall of the soviet block than I had in the years before. It was 9/11 that ended that and made people skittish. After that, there was the rise of the Internet. Add in the Rise of China and the stagnation of Japan.
If you are knocking only Islam out of the mix for your world, then you are going to have to think what might have happened to change world history in the 1400 years since it didn't start. If you don't want religion to play a major part in the story, then just ignore all of them.

No real-world religions exist in my setting. All faiths are in the process of being fleshed out. The world is original too so no worries about differences in history. "Fantasy world with elements of the real" is my goal.

 

[Saigonnus]

If magic exists side-by-side, how is it used in a "modern" setting? is it like Harry Potter? Where basically there is the "real world" and the "wizarding world" separated by a deliberate wall of ignorance on the part of the muggles? Or is Magic infused in society as a whole (or at least mostly)? In which case you need to be specific. Do they use it to travel long-distances; magic trains? Magic carriages? gateways? Airships? Does it replace "mass media"; magic mirrors for phone calls? Amulets of far speak? Illusory communication where it seems like the person you are talking to is walking beside you as you go about your chores? How does it affect combat or the arrangement of military forces? How is the life of the average person influenced/ affected by magic? Does it replace things that, on Earth, would require electricity (magical lighting, magic boxes to keep food fresh as opposed to using a fridge? Is it used as part of the infrastructure of cities/communities? is it used to increase the yields of crops/improve the land? Magical cloning of livestock? Is it the cause of discrimination? Are magical people marginalized? Or perhaps held to a higher standard?

 

[ChasingSuns]

If we're talking early 2000's, then you'd have to look into the rise of the Hot Topic scene. Lots of distinct bands and styles there (emo, post-hardcore, etc). The Bling Era of hip hop was also in full swing, which included the rise of crunk. Also lots of pop punk, nu-metal, and post-grunge. Also there was a lot of those last two in film soundtracks, especially in action films that featured a protagonist in black leather and/or a black trench coat, probably dual-wielding pistols (everyone was trying really hard to copy The Matrix).

As far as anime goes, I would argue that it was more popular than some may think. Toonami originally aired in 1997, and ran through 2008. That being said, if fantasy as a genre doesn't exist in your world, then most of the popular anime from that time period isn't gonna help much. If you want to include something that would be anime and fit your setting, I would recommend looking into "slice of life" anime. It's much more mundane than something like DBZ.

Also I second what was said about reality TV. There was a huuuuge boom in that area of entertainment. Shows had spin-off after spin-off. A good place to look for that would be the history of MTV, Fuse, and VH1 during that time. Actually, that would also help with studying up on the music as well.

 

[SirenSon117]

If magic exists side-by-side, how is it used in a "modern" setting? is it like Harry Potter? Where basically there is the "real world" and the "wizarding world" separated by a deliberate wall of ignorance on the part of the muggles? Or is Magic infused in society as a whole (or at least mostly)? In which case you need to be specific. Do they use it to travel long-distances; magic trains? Magic carriages? gateways? Airships? Does it replace "mass media"; magic mirrors for phone calls? Amulets of far speak? Illusory communication where it seems like the person you are talking to is walking beside you as you go about your chores? How does it affect combat or the arrangement of military forces? How is the life of the average person influenced/ affected by magic? Does it replace things that, on Earth, would require electricity (magical lighting, magic boxes to keep food fresh as opposed to using a fridge? Is it used as part of the infrastructure of cities/communities? is it used to increase the yields of crops/improve the land? Magical cloning of livestock? Is it the cause of discrimination? Are magical people marginalized? Or perhaps held to a higher standard?

I'm going for a Dungeonpunk, Ebberon-esque type of setting so yeah magic is infused with society. I hate the masquerade premise because it's overdone, cheap, and thoughtless. A lot of what your asking is a thing that exists in my setting.

 

[SirenSon117]

If we're talking early 2000's, then you'd have to look into the rise of the Hot Topic scene. Lots of distinct bands and styles there (emo, post-hardcore, etc). The Bling Era of hip hop was also in full swing, which included the rise of crunk. Also lots of pop punk, nu-metal, and post-grunge. Also there was a lot of those last two in film soundtracks, especially in action films that featured a protagonist in black leather and/or a black trench coat, probably dual-wielding pistols (everyone was trying really hard to copy The Matrix).

As far as anime goes, I would argue that it was more popular than some may think. Toonami originally aired in 1997, and ran through 2008. That being said, if fantasy as a genre doesn't exist in your world, then most of the popular anime from that time period isn't gonna help much. If you want to include something that would be anime and fit your setting, I would recommend looking into "slice of life" anime. It's much more mundane than something like DBZ.

Also I second what was said about reality TV. There was a huuuuge boom in that area of entertainment. Shows had spin-off after spin-off. A good place to look for that would be the history of MTV, Fuse, and VH1 during that time. Actually, that would also help with studying up on the music as well.

Hot Topic is a look i'm constantly gunning for, in both my writing and my personal life. I've only considered using hip-hop culture for a spin-off(I haven't even written book one but I'm the type that plans everything out. Six years and three revisions just for one series. Just letting you know.) and I have a problem with it. Early on humanity was put in one place and blended together racially and culturally. No race means no black people, and I'm not trying to be racist but no black people means no rap or hip-hop. The ghetto might still be a thing so maybe it could happen in the setting but I'm hesitant. The anime elements are really more of a character design and presentation thing. It's not that anime exists in Terra Sola, it's that Terra Sola is an anime world. The only thing stopping me from making this series a web manga is that I physically cannot draw and I'm too impatient to wait for an artist that has the style I want to come into my life. If I had the money I'd just hire Tite Kubo but I don't!

 

[D. Gray Warrior]

I was still a kid in the 2000's, but old enough to have some memories of it, and it made was the majority of my childhood.

I'm actually kinda nostalgic for it, at least when it comes to the technology and pop-culture. I'm sure the political climate sucked like it does now, but I obviously didn't know anything about politics as a kid. All I really know was that we were at war with another country for some reason.

I recall experiencing a transition with technology. I grew up with the rise of digital technology, but still used analog on a daily basis. For example, I remember VHS tapes being commonplace, but they got replaced with DVD (and later, Blu-Ray.)

There was also the Pokémon craze. While the franchise is still popular, there was quite a craze back then. In fact, I recall a lot of franchises based around either collecting monsters or cards being more popular back then.

 

[SirenSon117]

I was still a kid in the 2000's, but old enough to have some memories of it, and it made was the majority of my childhood.

I'm actually kinda nostalgic for it, at least when it comes to the technology and pop-culture. I'm sure the political climate sucked like it does now, but I obviously didn't know anything about politics as a kid. All I really know was that we were at war with another country for some reason.

I recall experiencing a transition with technology. I grew up with the rise of digital technology, but still used analog on a daily basis. For example, I remember VHS tapes being commonplace, but they got replaced with DVD (and later, Blu-Ray.)

There was also the Pokémon craze. While the franchise is still popular, there was quite a craze back then. In fact, I recall a lot of franchises based around either collecting monsters or cards being more popular back then.

I'd really like to be able to take 90's and 2000's tech and turn them into magic items. Like pagers that use telepathy or headphones that stream music directly into a person's soul.

 

[WooHooMan]

I'd really like to be able to take 90's and 2000's tech and turn them into magic items. Like pagers that use telepathy or headphones that stream music directly into a person's soul.

I’m doing a fantasy thing with a setting based on eastern US from 1970-2000. I have this whole thing about the magnetic strip inside of cassettes and vhs tapes having magic runes printed on it to imitate a form of magical clairvoyance. Likewise, vinyl records have elaborate sigils printed on them which can be activated to preform audiomancy.
So magic already tends to need some kind of tool to make it happen. You just got to replace the book or wand or what have you with a more contemporary device. Instead of the runes being printed on a scroll, they can be printed on magnetic tape, for example.

 

[ChasingSuns]

Hot Topic is a look i'm constantly gunning for, in both my writing and my personal life. I've only considered using hip-hop culture for a spin-off(I haven't even written book one but I'm the type that plans everything out. Six years and three revisions just for one series. Just letting you know.) and I have a problem with it. Early on humanity was put in one place and blended together racially and culturally. No race means no black people, and I'm not trying to be racist but no black people means no rap or hip-hop. The ghetto might still be a thing so maybe it could happen in the setting but I'm hesitant. The anime elements are really more of a character design and presentation thing. It's not that anime exists in Terra Sola, it's that Terra Sola is an anime world. The only thing stopping me from making this series a web manga is that I physically cannot draw and I'm too impatient to wait for an artist that has the style I want to come into my life. If I had the money I'd just hire Tite Kubo but I don't!

For sure. Yeah I would say look into those other genres I listed then. If you dive into those you'll find the aesthetic as well. Perhaps look up a playlist for the channel Fuse on YouTube. You'd get a good idea of the variants of the look of the scene.