Modern day classics

There was some discussion on another thread about whether "The Shawshank Redemption" is a classic. I say it is.

Wondering what other modern - let's say post-2000 - works of art people will still be studying in ivory towers and such 50 or 100 years from now.

A non-exhaustive list:

* "The Sopranos"
* "Mulholland Drive"
* "The Corrections"
* "The Wire"
* "The Office"
* "No Country for Old Men" (movie)
* "There Will Be Blood"
* "Avatar" (first legitimate 3D film)
* Jack White's catalog
* Kanye West's catalog
* "Everything is Illuminated"

Others?

 

I have honest to god never heard of "The Corrections."

 

Femme Fatales

 

Jonathan Franzen's novel before "Freedom."

You might know it as the one that Oprah wanted to pick but he told her no. Created a bit of a shitstorm at the time.

 

I think "Brokeback Mountain" belongs on my list, too.

 

Kanye West sucks.

 

Tebow.

 

Are we talking about books or films here?

 

The Office had two great seasons. That's not enough for a show in its eighth without any signs of being near cancellation. I'd say Arrested Development, which I like less than The Office, has a substantially better shot of standing the test of time. Its legend has grown so rapidly. And it never got bad.

Mad Men should go on this list, as a four-time Emmy winner that helped redefine modern dramas.

In film:
The Dark Knight will go down forever as the pinnacle of superhero movies.
Superbad is this generation's Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy, plus potentially The Hobbit, will be seen as this generation's Star Wars. (I want to cry.)
The Departed will be remembered for a long time, though I'm not sure if it's more Pulp Fiction or The Godfather.
Everything Pixar has done will go down as must-watch for children (and adults; all three Toy Story movies and Up! are god-damned wonderful).

In books:
Jonathan Franzen's Freedom will be remembered as the peak of the era's top novelist, though The Corrections might be better.
David Foster Wallace's Consider the Lobster essay collection won't be soon forgotten.
And J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, which, like the Lord of the Rings movies, started in the 1990s, will be forever loved by the masses.

 

I couldn't get through The Corrections.

Didn't realize there was so much love for Mullholland Drive. I've seen it several times.

The Wire is fantastic. The Office?

 

Avatar?
The Office?
As modern-day classics?

 

Breaking Bad, or at least Bryan Cranston's performance in it.