Pop Culture in review for the year 2012

The year 2012 for Pop Culture was comparatively small. Although several important events took place but overall, the number as compared to 2010 and 2011 was less. This was the year when an iconic singer Whitney Houston passed away. Furthermore, the biggest box office movies such as The Avengers and The Dark Knight rises, squared off. At the same time, some unfortunate incidents took place in some countries such as Pakistan, where around 30 people were killed due to bombing. In addition to that, New Zealand had to suffer as well when a hot air balloon crashed near Carterton, killing all the crew members and people aboard. Regardless of whatever the year is, almost each follows the same path as the other. While there are historical moments to celebrate and remember, unfortunate events on the other hand take part as well. Let us visit the history lane and see what 2012 had stored pop culture.

Music

The Year of Katy Perry

In January, Katy Perry released her single “The One That Got Away”. The song reached the No.1 spot at Hot Dance Club Songs Chart. As a result, her album ‘Teenage Dream’ became the first album in history to have seven songs from the same album, reach No.1 spot at the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. Furthermore, it was also described as the third album that had six single from the same album reaching the top five at Billboard Hot 100.

The Year of Adele

British singer Adele was not too far from becoming a major hit. In February, she released her single ‘Set Fire to the Rain’. The single reached the No.1 spot at the Billboard Hot 100. As a result, her album 21, became the first album in history to have three songs from the same album reach the No.1 spot by a British female artist.

After a few days, Adele won six Grammy awards for her album 21 and by March she had become the first female artist to have three singles in the top ten list of Billboard Hot 100 and the first female artist to have two albums in the top five list of Billboard 200. At the same time, two of her singles were also amongst the top five list of the Billboard Hot 100.

Death of Whitney Houston

It wouldn’t be right if we just called her a Pop icon. Whitney Houston was a legend. But the year 2012 wasn’t by her side. In February, Whitney Houston was found dead at her Los Angeles hotel room. She was 48 at the time. Whitney was supposed to attend the pre-Grammy party, later during the day. Investigation revealed that she had cocaine in her body but the cause of death was ruled as drowning and heart disease. As a result, her fans in an effort to preserve her legacy started purchasing her albums. ‘I Will Always Love You’ climbed the top ten list of Billboard Hot 100

Art

Isleworth Mona Lisa

The Isleworth Mona Lisa is an oil canvas painting that belongs to the sixteenth-century. It displays the same subject i.e. Mona Lisa as depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. However, in this painting, the subject is shown younger. To date, no one knows its authentic source, origin, or authorship. Compared to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, this painting features several differences. To begin with, the background is different and Leonardo’s version seems to have a pale yellow color, whereas the Isleworth Mona Lisa as a relatively fair complexion.

Palm Springs Art Museum opens a satellite museum

In March 2012, the Palm Springs Art Museum opened and introduced a satellite facility in Palm Desert. This was located in a nearby facility. The satellite museum consisted of modern sculpture and contemporary pieces of artwork. Even though it was a small contribution to the art world but has a pivotal role to play in showcasing the changing artwork trends by new artists.

Trove of art

The year 2012 was a big one interms of a huge discovery that took place in Munich. Known as the Gurlitt Collection, around 1,500 artwork pieces were discovered that were collected and assembled by HilderbrandGurlitt. He was a German art dealer, who had passed the artwork to his wife, after his death, who then further passed it on their son. The collection had spiked the interest of the world in 2013 when it was termed as ‘Nazi loot discovery’. For years, the ownership of the art pieces remained controversial, until it was finally given a rest. The art pieces you see today are not all. Some were already sold or held by family members.

Literature

Ma Jian’s Protest

Ma Jian was a British born Chinese writer. He was a critic who was quite vocal about China’s Communist regime. In April 2012, Ma Jian attended the London Book Fair. He had painted a smear across his face by using red paint to present a copy of his banned book Beijing Coma. Furthermore, he described his publisher as the “mouthpiece of the Chinese communist party”. The reason being, he was manhandled while presenting a copy of his book to Liu Benjie at the fair.

Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’

Britain based novelist, Salman Rushdie was invited at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India. However, he had to cancel his appearance and four other writers had to leave the country after reading excerpts from ‘The Satanic Verses’. The book was banned in the country.

 Fashion

Angelina Jolie at the Oscars

Angelina Jolie’s Oscar look was simply stunning. She wore a Versace gown with a thigh-high split. It was termed as the most exciting look of the night. Considering her physical features, the dress was a perfect fit. But, it was not the dress that made Angeline Jolie look like Angelina Jolie but instead her picture-perfect poses that took the spotlight. Even though thousands of memes were created but the majority was of the opinion that Angelina took away all the attention. Meanwhile, Brad Pitt’s appearance in a perfume ad by Chanel had everyone scratching their heads.

Marc Jacobs Louis Vuitton Show

Runway fashion shows usually comprise of stark stages, music that is thumping, and models strutting their stuff while the audience pays thousands of dollars just to remain busy on their phones. However, this Louis Vuitton show demanded attention. The show was designed as such that the models wore perfect traveling dresses and walked off a retro train that was reconstructed only for the show. The vintage modeled vanity cases and hat boxes were carried by the valets. Needless, to say that the journey was quite unique and refreshing.

Stella McCartney’s Two-Tone Dresses

Stella McCartney is no stranger to the red carpet, neither is her fashion sense. Over the years, Stella has been able to pull such fashion styles and statements that nobody is ever able to get enough of. If you were to observe her ‘silhouette’ dress, you would find out that it was the most flattering thing at the time. It was a two-tone dress that featured one color on the bodice and back while a different color on the sleeves and sides. Later, several movie stars had worn the same style outfits but only Jane Fonda did it the right way at the Cannes Film Festival.

Film

The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers Square Off

Both Batman and The Avengers have been extremely successful franchises in the history of cinema. These movies have been able to pull spectacular numbers at the box-office, not to mention the viewers. The year 2012, saw both movies squaring off. For the fans, it was perhaps the best year. The Avengers was the winner as it pulled $1.5 billion at the end of the day, whereas The Dark Knight was able to rack in $1 billion at the box office. Regardless of the numbers, the fans got what they were waiting eagerly for.

Twilight Saga nears the end

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 was released in November 2012. It marked the ending of the immensely popular teen series. Twilight had had a huge influence on other paranormal-romance novels as well and is credited for boosting their sales as well. The reason being that the majority of fans who watched the movie, read Twilight books as well. In total, there were five films in the Twilight franchise that earned a total of $1.35 billion by the time it ended.

Television

The Walking Dead smashes records

From the very beginning, The Walking Dead was a tremendous success. However, some critics were still skeptical about the fact whether the show would be able to come up with its third season. Whereas, a certain ratio was confident that it had the strength to pull off the third season. On the day of the third season’s premiere, around 10.9 million viewers tuned into watch. As a result, it became the most-watched drama-series telecast in basic cable history.

Disney buys Lucasfilm

If you were to talk about the most successful TV series, Star Wars would come out at the top. It has continuously broken every record held by other television series. However, Star Wars fan experienced a slight blow when Disney announced that they would be purchasing Lucasfilm, which included the Star Wars franchise as well. Disney had announced that it will be releasing a new installment in 2014 but as of yet, nothing has been finalized. It is the first time that the Star Wars fans have been kept in the loop for so long.

News

Britannica suspends print edition

Known as the next big thing to Wikipedia, Britannica has been distributing free encyclopedia to the world since 1768. In March of 2012, it announced that it will be ending its printed edition. However, the blog that announced the news also mentioned that Britannica will continue to move on and will spread on various digital platforms.

William and Kate announce royal pregnancy

The year 2012 presented great news to the ever excited fans of William and Kate. In December, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child. However, certain complications stepped in that demanded Kate to stay longer at the hospital. After a while, she was discharged and the world got a glimpse of the pair’s first newborn.

Sports

London Summer Olympics

The most important and significant event in the world of sports took place in London. The London Super Olympics began on July 27 till August 12. It was a widely-celebrated event as it was taking place in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. More than 100,000 participants from 204 countries took part in the competition. In total, there were 300 events in which the United States won more gold models and medals overall as compared to other countries like China and Great Britain.

Hollywood

PSY takes over Hollywood

When was the last time you had observed a Korean singer taking over Hollywood, never, right? But this time a Korean artist by the name PSY took over Hollywood and took over quite well. His single ‘Gangnam Style’ not only took over Hollywood but the entire world. Celebrities, fans, and athletes, etc. were copying the style and making videos of themselves along the way. The craze lived on for the entire year.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez Break Up

As if fans were already not disappointed by Kristen Stewart cheating on her then boyfriend Robert Pattinson and then they heard the news of Justin and Selena breaking up. The couple was a heartbreaker for many but since they were young, many thought that the relationship was vulnerable and they were right. The year 2012, saw them breaking up, even though patch-ups in the future were done but, in the end,, the two permanently parted ways. The couple was thought to be inseparable but life always has other plans.

Final Word

Concluding, the year 2012 belonged to the fans. From The Avengers to Justin and Selena’s breakup, everything one way or the other helped shape the year 2012 as we remember it today. It was a year when many records were broken and top artists of today were climbing stairs of success. The death of Whitney Houston had left a huge gap in the heart of her fans but keeping her music alive made everyone fall in love once again. Therefore, 2012 could have been worse but thankfully it wasn’t.

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