Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the class of 03, a new podcast about the insanely eventful year 20 years ago, 2003.
Speaker: I'm Helen Grossman, and in 2003, I was 13 years old. I had my bat mitzvah. I dyed the ends of my hair pink to look like Avril Lavigne, something that, I must say, did not go over so well at said bat mitzvah. I went to sleepaway camp for the first time. I listened to Good Charlotte endlessly. I didn't own any Juicy Couture sweatsuits, but I pined after them like my life depended on it. In 2003, I was in eighth grade.
Speaker: In 2003, I had just gone back to grad school. I was 13. I was on the internet. It was my finishing my freshman year, starting my sophomore year of high school in Tampa, Florida. I was smitten by a series of director series DVDs brought to you by Palm Pictures.
Speaker: I must have been in Yonkers, New York. That was my first bra year, actually. Every year there are major milestones or headlines, but 2003 was exceptional in its output. And I believe the contributions from that year are still very much affecting us and our reality today. To name a few things, they're the obvious biggies.
Speaker: The Iraq War, Saddam Hussein was captured and killed, iTunes and Myspace both launched, Beyonce and Justin Timberlake both went solo. There was the outbreak of the SARS virus, where over 8 ,000 people worldwide became sick.
Speaker: But there are other cultural touchstones too. The rise of reality television with the premieres of shows like Bachelorette, Newlywed, Simple Life, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Shows that in many ways have defined the format that we're still using today. There were other shows too. The OC, Arrested Development, Chappelle Show.
Speaker: In film, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings Return of the King and The Matrix Reloaded all dominated the box office, but Lost in Translation hit the emotional nerve. The Da Vinci Code was first published and since then has become one of the best -selling books of all time to date it has sold almost 90 million copies.
Speaker: There's so much to explore from 2003, as a memory and as a current that still ripples within our lives. And that's exactly what we do on the Class of 03 podcast. Each week, I explore one or more topics from the year with a special guest. The podcast is launching June 1st, 2023, so like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You don't want to be late to this class, trust me.
Speaker: And by the way, if you have memories or ideas about 2003, give us a call. Share them. 724 -Class03 or write an email at classof03pod at gmail .com. Class dismissed until June 1st.
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