A decade in review

Pi Culture Editors Kirese, Olivia, and Laura look back at the decade from a cultural perspective.

2010: The Year of Social Media

The beginning of the decade promised huge cultural change that was immediately cemented by Kathryn Bigelow’s ‘Best Director’ win at the Oscars; making her the first and only woman to win the award. We should remember this year as the one in which social media started gaining traction: Instagram, Pinterest and Quora launched. If only to reinforce Facebook’s growing profile, The Social Network was released, which portrayed the origins of the social media site. What would we do without social media? Its power was demonstrated in the coverage of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake that devastated the Caribbean island. It helped to export information across the globe and gave victims a voice by compensating for any lack of coverage from media organisations.

2011: The Year of Expansion

In the year that saw the global population reach seven billion, it seemed everything was getting bigger and better, including the exhibitions. With the shocking and untimely death of Alexander McQueen in 2010, the posthumous exhibition of his works ‘Savage Beauty’ was shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011. The legacy of this exhibition still lives with us. By the end of its run, 650,000 people had seen the show, heralding the birth of the big fashion exhibit, and pencilling the Met Gala firmly into everyone’s calendars. This year also saw the most watched royal wedding. An estimated two billion tuned in to see Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot.

2012: The Year to Inspire a Generation

This year brought the Olympics to Britain’s shores. National pride was at an all-time high and the country felt open and inclusive as it welcomed countries from all around the world to compete. Super Saturday was a highpoint with Greg Rutherford, Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah all winning their respective golds in the same night. People even talked to each other on the tube! The film director Danny Boyle orchestrated one of the most memorable opening ceremonies of all time, celebrating all that it means to be British. The UK finished 3rd in the medal table, showing that though the Nation may be little, it is fierce.

2013: The Year of Female Empowerment

The year that gave us Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ was thankfully also the year that gave us endless doses of female power. With the songs of Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Lorde blasting from every radio, Beyonce’s iconic Superbowl performance was the cherry on top of what was a great year for female artists. Leather-clad, fearless and choreographed to perfection, Beyonce’s performance taught us to be proud, confident and strong.

2014: The Year to Reclaim Our PRIDE

Although the vote in favour of gay marriage was passed in 2013, the first marriage in England and Wales took place on the 29th of March 2014. This was a huge leap towards the acceptance and awareness of the LGBTQ+ community and their plight for equal rights. In the same year films such as Pride and The Imitation Game were released, showing a mainstream interest and acceptance of LGBTQ+ stories.

2015: The Year of Rebirth

It’s the middle of the decade and Caitlyn Jenner has won Glamour’s “Woman of the Year Award,” a decision that incited controversy, owing to her status as a wealthy transgender woman. In spite of detractors’ comments, this was a turning point for transgender activism, as media representation in mass culture enabled more visibility and awareness. In film, the Star Wars sequel trilogy began with a bang: The Force Awakens was a critical and commercial success, revitalizing Star Wars for a new generation. On the stage, Hamilton made its debut, becoming a hugely successful surprise hit. Who would’ve thought that rapping about American history could have been so riveting?

2016: The Year the World Turned Upside Down

What a year. Brexit. Trump. It seemed like the world had been turned upside down and violently shaken. Whilst the world seemed to be splitting in half, culture would be the glue to keep it together. Take Grayson Perry’s Brexit vases: having asked the public to send in images of things that mattered to them, he dedicated one vase to those sent by leavers and the other remainers. The result? They looked pretty much the same. Both showed teapots, the NHS, families by the sea but most importantly pubs. The year wasn’t all doom and gloom either. After all, it gave us the gift of Boaty Mcboatface and with that, faith was restored.

2017: The Year Women Were Silent No Longer

This was the year that broke one of the biggest stories of our generation. The Weinstein scandal was the catalyst that set the fire under the #MeToo movement. Women were coming forward in solidarity against male abuse and setting boundaries of consent in the workplace and in everyday life. TV shows reflected this shift, with Fleabag becoming popular, and the cult hit The Handmaid’s Tale gripping viewers. In the same year Get Out became a cultural phenomenon and deftly examined race relations and conflicts in American society.

2018: The Year of Progress

This was a year filled to the brim with the most progressive cultural events. Considering that more than 80 years ago King Edward had to abdicate to marry Wallis Simpson, the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle cements a huge shift in socio-cultural values, though her status as the first mixedrace woman still garners waves of harassment. At the Oscars, Black Panther became the first superhero movie nominated for Best Picture, marking the moment when Marvel showed its potential for serious artistic, philosophical messages. Not all change is positive, as David Attenborough’s groundbreaking documentary ‘Drowning in Plastic’ displayed. There was clearly a breakdown of the horrific impact of human negligence on our environment. Despite this bleak reality, the documentary was a necessary wake-up call to the climate emergency that has engendered recent climate activism.

2019: The Year of Endings

What a year: Game of Thrones ended its decade-long run with a bang (or a whimper?). Either way, its bittersweet, divisive end will probably never sit well with its hard-core fans, who have learned the hard way that there are no happy endings. Then again, isn’t that the best way to be remembered in TV history, as one of the most controversial endings of all time? Avengers: Endgame marked the culmination of the era of Avengers films. The film beat Avatar to become the highest-grossing film of all time. It was a perfectly well-rendered tribute to the core Avengers team, ending with a note of satisfaction: much to the delight of fans, Captain America finally goes home.

2020: The Year to Come

As we move forward into the ‘20s who knows what the next decade has in store for us. Will this be our generation’s roaring ‘20s? With a rising feeling of anxiety and dwindling faith inw democracy, we can guarantee one thing and one thing only: as culture is inspired and grows during turbulent times, we can be assured the next decade will be the most fruitful to date.

This article was originally published in Issue 724 of Pi Magazine.