29/03/2023
Part 46 My Pop Culture Retrospective
Pop Culture in 2020
Film
Top 10 Movies in 2020
Bad Boys for Life - 426.5 Million
Tenet - 365.3 Million
Sonic the Hedgehog - 320 Million
Dolittle - 251.5 Million
The Croods: A New Age - 216 Million
Birds of Prey - 205.3 Million
Wonder Woman 1984 - 169.6 Million
The Invisible Man - 144.5 Million
Onward - 142 Million
Soul - 121 Million
The Covid 19 pandemic shut down movie theaters for the majority of 2020
Bill & Ted Face the Music was released. In the film, Bill and Ted must write a song to unite humanity before space and time is destroyed
The Live Action version of Mulan is released, it received negative reviews from fans of the original and Chinese critics, who criticized the character development, its cultural and historical inaccuracies, and its depiction of Chinese people
Wonder Woman 1984 is released, starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal, and Kristen Wiig. Set in 1984, during the Cold War, the film follows Diana and her past love Steve Trevor as they face off against Maxwell Lord and The Cheetah
Soul is released, featuring the voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, and Angela Bassett. It follows a pianist, Joe Gardner, who dies in an accident before his big break as a jazz musician and seeks to reunite his separated soul and body
Birds of Prey is released, starring Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, and Ewan McGregor. The film follows Harley Quinn, who after breaking up with the Joker, is threatened by crime lord, Black Mask, and joins The Huntress, Black Canary, and Renee Montoya and form the team, Birds of Prey
Sonic the Hedgehog is released, starring Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, James Marsden, and Neal McDonough. The film follows Sonic, a blue hedgehog who can run supersonic speeds, He teams up with a town sheriff, to stop the mad scientist Dr. Robotnik
Onward is released, featuring the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer. Set in a world where mythical creatures live regular lives. The film follows two elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, who set out on a quest to find an artifact that will bring back their deceased father for 24 hours
Kirk Douglas passed away, he was 103. He had over 80 film roles, Best known for playing Spartacus
Brian Dennehy passed away from a heart attack, he was 81. Best known for his villain role in First Blood
Chadwick Boseman passed away from colon cancer, he was 43, Best known for playing T’Challa / Black Panther, as well as Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall
Sean Connery passed away from pneumonia, he was 90. Best known for playing James Bond, and his roles in Highlander, The Rock, and Indiana Jones
Tommy Lister passed away from Covid-19, he was 62, best known for playing Deebo in the Friday series, and Zeus in the WWE
Academy Awards
Film - Nomadland
Director - Chloe Zhao - Nomadland
Actor - Anthony Hopkins - The Father
Actress - Frances McDormand - Nomadland
Supporting Actor - Daniel Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah
Supporting Actress - Youn Yuh Jung - Minari
Animated Film - Soul
Original Score - Trent Reznor - Soul
Original Song - “Fight for You” - Judas and the Black Messiah
Music
Top 10 Songs
“Blinding Lights” The Weeknd
“Circles” Post Malone
“The Box” Roddy Rich
“Don’t Start Now” Dua Lipa
“Rockstar” DaBaby
“Adore You” Harry Styles
“Life is Good” Future & Drake
“Memories” Maroon 5
“The Bones” Maren Morris
“Watermelon Sugar” Harry Styles
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees are
Depeche Mode
The Doobie Brothers
Whitney Houston
Nine Inch Nails
The Notorious B.I.G.
T. Rex
Grammy Awards
Album - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Billie Eilish
Song - “Bad Guy” - Billie Eilish
New Artist - Billie Eilish
Rascal Flatts announced that they would be disbanding at the end of their tour, after 20 years together
Eminem released his new album, Music to Be Murdered By, with no prior announcement, and he became the first artist ever to have 10 consecutive albums to debut at number one
Taylor Swift released Miss Americana, a Netflix documentary based on the singer’s life
After 35 years with the group, Flavor Flav is fired from Public Enemy
Bad Bunny’s second album, Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana achieves the highest peak for a completely Spanish language album, by debuting at number 2, surpassing Shakira’s “Fijacion Oral” and Mana’s “Amar Es Combatir” which both debuted at number 4
Bad Bunny breaks the record for the most Spanish language songs simultaneously charting on the Billboard 100, with 11 songs
In light of the pandemic, many artists decide to live stream performances straight out of their own homes, including Dave Grohl and Billie Joe Armstrong
In light of civil unrest, Lady Antebellum changed their name to Lady A, and the Dixie Chicks renamed themselves The Chicks, to remove any associations the old names might have had with the Civil War, and slavery
On July 4th, Kanye West announced his 2020 presidential campaign
Taylor Swift released her 8th album, Folklore, with just a one day announcement prior to release, 5 months later she would released her 9th album, Evermore
During the presidential election, many musicians opposed the unauthorized use of their music
42 years after its initial release, Fleetwood Mac’s album, Rumours returns to the top 10, largely due to the song Dreams being used in a viral TikTok video
Bob Dylan announced he has sold all rights to his entire song catalog to Universal
Kenny Rogers passed away from cancer, he was 81, Best known for his song “The Gambler” and duets with other country artist, like Dolly Parton
Bill Withers passed away from heart failure, he was 81. Best known for his songs “Ain’t no Sunshine”, “Lean On Me”, and “Just the Two of Us”
Little Richard passed away from cancer, he was 87. He was an influential figure in music for seven decades. Described as the “Architect of Rock and Roll”, Richard’s most celebrated work dates from the mid-50’s, when his charismatic showmanship and dynamic music, frenetic piano playing, raspy shouted vocals, laid the foundation for rock and roll, it also played a role in the formation of soul and funk and shaped rhythm and blues for generations. The Beatles used to open for him
Eddie Van Halen passed away from throat cancer, he was 65. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and songwriter for Van Halen, which he co-founded with his brother Alex. He is often regarded as one of the greatest guitar players in rock history, and was well known for popularizing the tapping guitar technique
Neil Peart passed away from cancer, he was 67. Best known as the drummer and primary lyricist for Rush
Television
Top 10 TV Shows
NCIS - 21.5 Million Viewers
The Equalizer - 18.4 Million Viewers
Chicago Fire - 17.5 Million Viewers
Blue Bloods - 16.8 Million Viewers
Chicago Med - 16.7 Million Viewers
Chicago P.D. - 15.9 Million Viewers
9-1-1 - 15.7 Million Viewers
Young Sheldon - 15.2 Million Viewers
This is Us - 15.1 Million Viewers
9-1-1: Lone Star - 14.7 Million Viewers
After 30 years, Hank Azaria announces he will no longer voice the character of Apu on The Simpsons, after the documentary, The Problem with Apu in which it claimed the show portrayed outdated Indian American stereotypes, racial microaggressions, and slurs
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon records an entire episode from a moving subway train in New York
Many TV Shows, Talk Shows, and Films shut down production due to the pandemic
In March, every major sport shuts down until further notice
Due to the pandemic WrestleMania 36 is held over two nights, without an audience
WrestleMania 36: Night 1 aired, In the Main Event, The Undertaker defeated “The Phenomenal” A.J. Styles in a Boneyard Match. In other matches Braun Strowman defeated Bill Goldberg to win the Universal Title, Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins, and Becky Lynch defeated Shayna Baszler to retain the Raw Women’s Title
WrestleMania 36: Night 2 aired, In the Main Event, Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Title. In other matches Bray Wyatt defeated John Cena in a Firefly Fun House Match, Edge def. Randy Orton in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, and Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley to win the NXT Women’s Title
SNL resumes production on its 45th seasons by having cast members and guest stars performing remotely from their homes
With productions shut down, many networks are airing films during prime time
Many animated series announced that they will no longer have white actors voice non white characters, including Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Big Mouth
Nick Cannon is fired from Wild ‘n Out after 15 years for failing to apologize for anti-semitic comments said on his YouTube show
MLB resumes playing after a 4-month delay
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is put under investigation following numerous complaints from past and present staff members, who say that the host is the opposite of her “Be kind to one another” persona behind the scenes
During a baseball game between Cincinnati and Kansas City, Reds announcer Thom Brennaman is overheard commenting “one of the f** capitals of the world”. He is immediately suspended, and later fired
Cheerleading Coach and Cheer star Jerry Harris was arrested by the FBI and charged for production of child po*******hy
The 2020 NBA Playoffs take place within a bubble inside the ESPN Sports Complex in Florida, to safeguard from the pandemic
Sting makes his AEW debut
Star Trek: Picard debuts on Paramount Plus
Modern Family aired its series finale, it was on for 11 seasons with 250 episodes
Schitt’s Creek aired its series finale, it was on for 6 seasons with 81 episodes
The series Cops was canceled, it was on the air for 34 years with 1,148 episodes
Supernatural aired its series finale, it was on for 15 seasons with 327 episodes
Streaming services Peacock and HBO Max debut
Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash. Nicknamed “The Black Mamba” he led the Lakers to 5 NBA Titles and was an 18-Time All Star and MVP as well, considered one of the greatest players of all time
Jerry Stiller passed away, he was 92. Best known for playing Frank Costanza on Seinfeld, and Arthur on The King of Queens. He was the father of Ben Stiller
Fred Willard passed away from a heart attack, he was 86. He had over 200 film and television credits.
Naya Rivera drowned, she was 33. Best known for her role as Santana Lopez on Glee
Regis Philbin passed away from a heart attack, he was 88. Best known for hosting Live, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He holds the Guiness World Record for most hours spent on television
Howard Finkel passed away from a heart attack, he was 69. He worked for WWE for 45 years, and appeared on WrestleMania 1 - 32. Also came up with the name for the event, regarded as the greatest ring announcer of all time
John Saxson passed away from pneumonia, he was 83, Best known for Black Christmas, A Nightmare on Elm Street 1, 3, and 7, and Enter the Dragon
Conchata Ferrell passed away from a heart attack, she was 77, Best known for playing Berta in Two and a Half Men
Alex Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer, he was 80. He hosted Jeopardy from 1984 until his passing
Pat Patterson passed away from liver failure, he was 79. Best known for being the 1st ever Intercontinental Champion, Coming up with the idea of the Royal Rumble, and being a booker of matches with Vince McMahon
The Oakland Raiders relocate to Las Vegas
Super Bowl 54 - Kansas City Chiefs def. San Francisco 49ers
The Halftime show was performed by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, with guest appearances by J Balvin and Bad Bunny
Tom Brady announces he will not re-sign with New England
World Series - Los Angeles Dodgers def. Tampa Bay Rays
NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers def. Miami Heat
March Madness - Canceled due to the Pandemic
In other news
The biggest story of the year is the Covid-19 pandemic. The first case in the US was confirmed on January 21st. Within 10 days travel bans are established. On February 29th, the first death was reported. By Mid March, most major sports and schools all over the country are shut down. All non essential business employees are to remain home. In April most states put a mask mandate in place. In May, the Trump administration announced a public-private partnership for accelerating a vaccine. By July, vaccine testing is in its final phase. By December, 15 Million cases had been reported, which is 1 out of every 22 Americans having had it. The vaccine is released by mid December
Donald Trump becomes the first president to personally attend the annual March for Life anti-abortion protest
Bill Gates steps down from Microsoft to focus on charitable activities
Breonna Taylor, an emergency medical tech, is shot 8 times, by Louisville police during a no-knock warrant as part of a narcotics investigation
The US faces an invasion of Asian Giant Hornets
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murders George Floyd, by kneeling on his neck, as 3 other officers watch, video of the incident goes viral and the 4 officers are fired, with Chauvin being charged with murder and manslaughter
President Trump threatens to shut down Twitter and other social media platforms, accusing them of bias
Juneteenth is observed as a federal holiday for the first time
The FBI arrests Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein
Apple Inc. becomes the first US company to be valued at over 2 trillion
Joe Biden wins the presidential election, with Kamala Harris as his Vice President
17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse to stand trial on homicide charges, as well as possession of a firearm by a minor and two counts of reckless endangerment
Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, she was 87
