Feel old? These movies turn 20 this year

Flip-phones, low-rise jeans, the Iraq War and Bennifer. Yes, you can say 2002 was a chaotic and confusing year in our history. Born into this chaos was Generation Z. Too young to remember VHS tapes but old enough to remember CDs, college students celebrating their twentieth birthdays, like myself, can look back on some of the most influential films released in 2002 to make sense of the cultural moment they were born into. So, let’s go back twenty years and look at five films that defined 2002 and continue to shape pop culture today. 

“Chicago” 

Rob Marshall’s glitzy stage-to-screen musical did not fail to “razzle dazzle” audiences and the Academy, becoming the first musical to win Best Picture since the 1960s. Set in the height of the Jazz Age in Chicago, the film follows the story of murderesses Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger)  and Velma Kelley (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who transform into celebrities through the help of smooth-talking lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere). Cutting from the grim reality of justice in the ‘20s to energetic and vaudevillian numbers, the film fuses theatrical and cinematic techniques to embrace and upend the genre conventions of the movie musical.  

In addition to stellar performances, the film satirizes the glorification of celebrity culture. With the popularity of magazines, like People and Us Weekly, and the rise of new young stars, like Britney Spears, celebrity drama became headlining news in the 2000s. “Chicago” highlights the moral ambiguities that arise when the media decides to make a spectacle of every piece of news they get. 

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”

2002 was the year of romantic comedies. As the U.S. grappled with the aftermath of 9/11 and entered into several military conflicts in the Middle East, rom-coms served as the perfect escapist films for audiences. The most successful romantic comedy of all time that highlighted the commercial potential of the genre was “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” The film follows the story of Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos), who upends her Greek family’s expectations by falling in love with Ian Miller (John Corbett), a white American. As Toula’s relatives learn to accept Ian into the family, Toula learns to embrace her heritage culture instead of shying away from it.

Coming from a large Armenian family myself, the obstacles Toula faces as she tries to express her own identity while simultaneously appeasing her family and culture feels all too familiar. With a hilarious ensemble, laugh-out-loud jokes and heartwarming scenes, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is everything you want out of a rom-com. But, most importantly, the film teaches us about the many ways Windex can change our lives!

“Bowling for Columbine”

Three years after the Columbine High School massacre, daring documentary filmmaker Michael Moore did not shy away from calling out America’s deadly obsession with guns in his film “Bowling for Columbine.” Horrific and hilarious at the same time, Moore uses comedy and pop culture references to satirize the hypocrisy and fear permeating American society. By interviewing a wide variety of Americans from ordinary citizens to conservative actor and former NRA president Charlton Heston, Moore attempts to uncover the ugly truth behind the U.S.’s addiction to guns. 

While Moore won Best Documentary Film at the Academy Awards, the audience booed the director when, during his acceptance speech, he criticized the U.S. for invading Iraq. Although Moore made Americans uncomfortable, his keen observations of the country’s outrageous gun laws have become more relevant than ever before. With mass shootings becoming a continuing occurrence in the U.S, Moore’s documentary serves as a searing reminder of how much progress still needs to be made. 

“Lilo & Stitch”

Hawaii meets space! “Lilo & Stitch” features an odd mix of characters from Dr. Jumba Jookia, the alien scientist who created the adorable yet mischievous Experiment 626, to the CIA agent turned social worker Cobra Bubbles. However, the film grounds itself by focusing on the close-knit relationship of two sisters: Lilo and Nani. Before Anna and Elsa came along in “Frozen” (2013), Lilo and Nani were one of the first Disney characters to embrace sisterly love over romantic love.

Aside from the goofy alien creatures, this Disney film exhibits a sense of maturity, as it deals with heavy themes revolving around trauma and anger. At the age of nineteen, Nani becomes the legal guardian of Lilo in order to prevent her from being put into the foster care system. As Lilo and Nani struggle to overcome the grief they feel over the death of their parents, Stitch helps them redefine their notion of family and love. 

“Lilo and Stitch” also represented the end of hand-drawn animation in mainstream films. While animation companies, such as Pixar and DreamWorks, created commercially successful CGI feature-length films in 2002, “Lilo & Stitch” served as a reminder of the power of this traditional style of filmmaking. 

“Spider-Man”

“With great power comes great responsibility.” As the first successful superhero film in the 21st century, Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” lit the match that ignited the superhero craze that continues to dominate Hollywood. No matter your stance on superhero films, it cannot be denied that “Spider-Man’’ played a critical role in reshaping the box office. While the script occasionally feels forced and the visual effects are subpar compared to today’s standards, “Spider-Man” contains the charm and excitement that keeps audiences hungry for more superhero films, as evidenced by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021), which became the biggest film during the pandemic era. Although I am not the biggest fan of Tobey Maguire, do yourself a favor and watch this movie for Willem Dafoe’s zany yet Oscar-worthy performance as the Green Goblin.

Honorable Mention:

“Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones”

The sand is still rough. The sand is still coarse. And it still gets everywhere …