Pop Culture in Review for the Year 2017

2017 felt like it went by way too fast. Although many people have been through a lot this year as well we can only hope that 2018 is better. Even though 2017 mostly featured garbage fire moments but we were lucky to have some in our caps that could make us feel good about it. This was the year that gave birth to the powerful #MeToo movement, spreading across the globe like fire.

The entertainment industry kept its pace and pop culture continued to thrive. Beyoncé announced her pregnancy, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle went ahead with their royal engagement. Perhaps, this event overtook most of the events that took place in 2017, and rightfully so. Whatever news that surrounds the Prince and Princess, the world shifts its focus towards them for one reason or the other. Let us look back at some of the most memorable events of 2017 that helped shape pop culture as well.

Music

59th Annual Grammy Awards

On February 12, 2017, the 59th Annual Grammy Awards took place in Staples Center, Los Angeles. It was the first time that James Corden hosting the show. Beyonce achieved the most number of nominations followed by Drake, Rihanna and, Kanye West. However, the biggest winner of the night was Adele who got to take home 5 trophies. She also became the first artist in history to win all general field awards, twice in the same ceremony. Moreover, this was also a big year for Chance the rapper who was a newcomer and won for ‘Best New Artist’.

Look What You Made Me Do

On August 24, 2017, Taylor Swift released her single ‘Look What You Made Me Do’. Judging from the title alone, fans were skeptical about what the song would be. In the video, Taylor could be seen taking jibes at Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian. The video begins with Taylor popping out of the grave, showcasing that she is back after all the previous controversies associated with Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Katy Perry. The song garnered 43.2 million views in 24-hours and broke Adele’s record for the most number of views in a day. Furthermore, it also broke several records such as the fifth single of Taylor Swift on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Art

Salvador Mundi

Salvador Mundi is a painting by Leonardo Di Vinci. It was rediscovered, restored, and included in the Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery, London. Although most scholars believe that it is the original work of Leonardo but some are of the view that Leonardo only contributed certain elements. On November 15, 2017, it was sold at an auction for $450.3 million, making it the most expensive painting ever sold. It was said that the painting would be installed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi but at the moment its location is unknown.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

Located in Abu Dhabi, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is a civilization and an art museum. The museum holds pieces of artwork that bridge the gap between Eastern and Western art. The museum is a part of the efforts of Abu Dhabi’s tourism management to increase tourism in the city. Furthermore, the museum houses one of the most expensive artwork pieces in the world. However, you will not find contemporary art here. Most of the pieces displayed were created or made centuries ago.

Literature

Terry Pratchett’s Hard Disk Drive

Terry Pratchett was one of the most famous and successful authors of comic books. He had sold over 85 million all over the world in 37 languages. Upon his death, his assistant Rob Wilkins claimed that there was a lot of unfinished text by Terry. Terry’s daughter is the custodian of his Discworld franchise and states that she has no intentions to publish her father’s published work. Before his death, Terry hard ordered Rob to crush everything that was left unfinished after his death. Rob did so on 25th August 2017 as he crushed Terry’s hard disk drive under a steamroller.

Fashion

Prabal Gurung

The New York Fashion Week started like anyother fashion show. Famous models walking down the runway showcasing designer collections. But what caught the eye of the audience was Prabal Gurung’s politically charged statement T-shirts. The T-shirts featured phrases such as ‘I am an immigrant’, ‘Revolution has no borders’, ‘The future is female’ etc. Prabal stated that these were some problems in our society that have become the norm. The world should be fighting against it. It wasn’t the first time that Prabal was showcasing such collection as he had paid homage to several feminists before.

Plus-Size Fashion gets Luxe Treatment

Plus Size Fashion

Plus-sized models were always overlooked. As a result, the plus-size market took decades to show its true colors interms of how big the market actually was. However, things changed when 11 Honore stepped into the spotlight and tried bridging the gap between normal and plus-sized females. It offered clothing from prominent designers such as Prabal Gurung, Michael Kors, and La Ligne, etc. The idea was to make plus-size females feel confident about themselves. Instead of leaving them out, it was time that they were let in.

Film

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi was the highest-grossing film of 2017. It grossed $620.2 million in the United States and Canada while collecting $712. 6 million in other countries. In total, the racked in $1.333 billion worldwide. Furthermore, it was the second-highest grossing film in the series, which received a significant share of positive response. Both critics and fans loved the movie and talked about it the entire year. This was perhaps the reason behind the film becoming such a huge success.

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast grossed $504 million in the United States and Canada while collecting $759.5 in other countries. In total, it collected over $1.263 billion. The film was marketed as not just a family film but a romantic drama with powerful actors and actresses such as Emma Watson. It is estimated that the film earned over $1.1 million just from positive word of mouth and reviews. The majority critics provided a positive response to the film based on the cast, music, visuals, costume design, etc.

Television

BBC Reporter’s family jumps in

One of the most hilarious and surprising moments of Television in 2017 was associated with a reporter from the BBC. When South Korean President Park Geun-hye became the center of a huge scandal, BBC already knew how to call. It was Robert E. Kelly’s time to shine as he was the master of Korean politics. It was hard to find someone that knew better than him. However, he along with the viewers were in for a surprise. His daughter stormed inside the room followed by the second child. Then, his wife enters the room to pull the daughters out and everyone seemed to get a good laugh out of it.

Jimmy Kimmel becomes emotional

Whenever the name Jimmy Kimmel comes up, everyone knows that it is going to be something big on Television. However, this time it was something different. As we know, we lost one of the greatest celebrities Don Rickles in 2017. Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to him and told his viewers how special he was to him while he was growing up. While he told the audience and paid tribute, Jimmy became emotional and it is known that he is not afraid to let go of his emotions when the camera is rolling. This resulted in one of the most memorable moments of 2017 in the world of television.

News

The #MeToo Movement

2017 was a witness to one of the biggest scandals of Hollywood. Famous director Harvey Weinstein was alleged to have raped women and actresses. In early October, reporters of The New York Times and The New Yorker bombarded the news world by revealing that Harvey Weinstein lured women into hotel rooms and sexually harassed or assaulted them. Soon enough, actress Alyssa Milani who was also a victim of the assault stepped ahead with hashtag #MeToo. The campaign spread like a virus across the globe and Weinstein’s downfall was imminent. It is claimed to be amongst the biggest movements of the decade.

The Total Solar Eclipse

Science and astronomy have developed and progressed to the point where they could predict certain events way before they actually take place. The news of Total Solar Eclipse had been revolving for a while and NASA had provided the date and time as well. Therefore, in late August, America experience the Total Solar Eclipse as it shifted across the U.S. The nation was enchanted upon observing the eclipse, which had taken place after almost a century since the last one took place in 1918.

Sports

Ronaldo Helps Real Madrid

In 2017, Real Madrid became the first European team to become European champions twice in the Champions League era. They beat Juventus in the finals by scoring 4-1 in May. Ronaldo was the star of the show as he scored two of the four total goals. The first goal made it Real Madrid’s 500th goal in their Champions League history. While the second goal was Ronaldo’s 600th goal in his professional career. Therefore, Ronaldo was Real Madrid’s star and for the right reasons.

Serena Keeps Shining

2017 was a banger for Serena Williams. Although she played only two events in January 2017 but she still managed to make it up both on and off-court. First, she managed to beat her sister Venus Williams at the Australian Open to claim her 23rd Grand Slam single. Then, later in April, she announced that she was pregnant, eight weeks before the tournament began. On September 1, Serena gave birth to a baby girl, Alexis Olympia, and was scheduled to return to the court with an exhibition match taking place in Abu Dhabi.

Technology

iPhone X leaks

One could say that the biggest news in the tech world of the year was iPhone being exposed or leaked. In September, certain photos of the new device by Apple leaked, shifting the focus of tech geeks towards it rather than the unveiling of the device itself. The leaks gave the tech world a good idea about the upcoming features such as facial recognition technology and the inclusion of animated emoji characters. Until its release, the tech world, particularly Apple fans kept themselves excited by trying to find as much as they could about the device.

Apples Slow Down

It is a sure fact that Apple has given the world a taste of some of the best innovations of the decade. However, a scandal in 2017 left the users scratching their heads. Geekbench app bloggers revealed that Apple had publicly confirmed that it had been deliberately slowing down its iPhones. Initially, it was believed that Apple privately briefed some analysts and did not reveal it to the public. The revelation sparked anger amongst Apple users and the tech world. As a result, the company is surrounded by eight cases in the US while facing legal action in Israel.

Final Word

Concluding, as we said at the start, 2017 flew by in a blink of an eye. It was a year when the strongest movements were born and the biggest events took place. Of course, there were several unfortunate events as well that made a lot of people suffer but that is the case each year. Each year has two sides. If one side features disappointing events, we cannot let go of the other that is supposed to bring us hope and joy. Therefore, 2017 in that case, made us remember that we have a lot to live for and therefore, made us jump shift as soon as it ended.

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