Decade of Amnesia

 by Jonathan Jackson

 We live in a society of the present. Information, media and advertising bombard us in every conceivable way. It has brought our World closer together, but it has also marginalized the past and with it the value of knowledge.

Everyone has always had an opinion, but now everyone has a platform to voice those opinions. Not that this is a completely negative occurrence, but it should not cause the death of serious journalism and make intellectualism a bad thing. Today, everyone is a critic. Unfortunately, this has marginalized our best critics, thinkers, writers who have devoted their lives to their field.

It may just be a product of my growing older, but I am horrified that today, more than ever before, the value of history has been forgotten. Many of the financial, political and cultural missteps of the past decade could have been avoided by learning from our past.

As we hurdle forward into a new decade at a staggering pace, it is reassuring to me that our leading film artists tried to remind us that we do not in fact all have collective amnesia. Amongst my favorites of the decade, no theme is more dominant than the importance of the past.

Ten Best Fiction Films of the Decade

10. George Washington

9. Fat Girl

8. The Bourne Supremacy  & Ultimatum

7. Donnie Darko (Original Theatrical Version)

6. Zodiac

5. Time Out 

4. Yi Yi 

3. Children of Men 

2. There Will Be Blood

1. In the Mood for Love 

Ten Best Documentaries of the Decade

10. Jesus Camp

9. Unknown White Male 

8. The Unforeseen 

7. Tarnation

6. Darwin’s Nightmare

5. Taxi to the Dark Side

4. Bowling for Columbine

3. Stevie

2. Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People’s Temple

1. Iraq in Fragments

Ten Best Television Shows of the Decade

10. The Daily Show

9. Deadwood

8. Freaks and Geeks

7. Curb Your Enthusiasm

6. Dexter

5. Arrested Development

4. 30 Rock (Pre-Writers Strike)

3. The Office (BBC)

2. Six Feet Under

1. The Wire

Ten Best Albums of the Decade

10. Air: Talkie Walkie

9. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP

8.Sufjan Stevens: Illinois

8. Bob Dylan: Love and Theft

7. OutKast: The Love Below/ Speakerboxxx

6. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver

5. TV on the Radio: Dear Science

4. Hot Chip: The Warning

3. Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple

2. M.I.A.: Kala

1. M. Ward: Post-War