The year 2000 wasn’t defined by a single moment. It was defined by collisions. Technology, pop culture, money, entertainment, and the internet all accelerated at the same time — before anyone had rules for how they were supposed to work together.

Computers became reliable enough to trust, fast enough to matter, and common enough to shape everyday life. Phones stopped being luxury items and turned into personal objects. The internet shifted from curiosity to infrastructure, even while nobody agreed on what it was actually for.

This was the year life simulation games went mainstream. Music escaped physical stores. Reality television turned strangers into weekly events. Movies grew louder, bigger, and more self-aware. Pop stars, athletes, actors, and tech all competed for attention at the same time.

• Games stopped being just about winning
• Music stopped needing permission to travel
• Phones stopped breaking
• The web stopped feeling temporary

Nothing felt settled yet. Interfaces were clumsy. Websites were messy. New ideas launched faster than they could be explained. Some of it collapsed. Some of it became permanent. The rules were still being written in public.

That’s what this project captures: the full year 2000 as a turning point. Not nostalgia for the past — but the moment when the future arrived all at once and nobody knew what to do with it yet.