#10yearschallenge in pop culture.

Recently, #10yearschallenge descended on the web, people threw their pictures or photos of nature, wanting to show how they changed over 10 years. I decided to use this idea and select ten phenomena in pop culture, which in my opinion were the most important in this decade. I will try to answer this question as best and as subjectively as possible. At the same time, selecting ten events forces some arbitrariness. I will be happy to hear what are you thought about that.

Creation of Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I have no doubt that in pop culture and especially in the entertainment cinema it was a decade of super heroes. It is true that Marvel celebrated its decade of building the world of film heroes a year ago, but this one year shift does not make this phenomenon less important for pop culture. Marvel Cinematic Universe managed to arise, develop, and bored some of the viewers. However, it does not change the fact that, apart from a lot of fun, it has changed our perception of several issues. For example, how much different films can be associated with each other, and how much can be required from the viewer. Especially the latter case is interesting not only in the context of such films as the Avengers, but even in the context of the Civil War. For this MCU tried to blur the border between cinema and television in some places, which may not have been so great, but also somehow changed the view of how far the tentacles of the super heroes can reach. Of course, the MCU is also a lot of fantastic actors who thanks to their roles either came back (Robert Downey Jr.) or existed (Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth) or proved that it is difficult to distinguish the hero from the actor (Chris Evans). In recent years, the MCU enters the next phase, not only because of heart-rending endings, but also greater diversification of films. Thor Ragnarok showed that the MCU has room for directors with a very specific sense of humor. Black Panther and now Capitan Marvel expand the category of super heroes who deserved their own separate film off white men.

Of course, these ten years of the development of the series of films have made us talk more and more about the fact that soon we will be able to say goodbye to the performers of those roles from which the construction of this whole world began. And only then will we feel old when there is a new Iron Man or Captain America. After all, we were supposed to count our lives only in the next Spider-Man. From the point of view of wider pop culture, the popularity of the MCU translated into a greater awareness of the existence of other super heroes than Superman or Batman, and in general a return of the comic. Of course, the existence of MCU caused that DC also began to expand its catalog of heroes who have their own films and now has its own film universe, which, however, is not as extensive and satisfying (including financially) as Marvel. In the end, one can get the impression that the last decade revolved in pop culture against the super heroes, who were in love, hated each other, blamed everything bad and sought for their behavior patterns.

Popularization of streaming.

10 years ago watching the series on the Internet meant actually only one thing - the man downloaded them from the web, or watched on Chinese servers. However, everything changed for ten years. Today watching TV series by the network is the most popular and the easiest way to watch series hits and new products. What is more, there is so much that no one is able to grasp the mind of everything. Netflix for some has become synonymous not only with streaming but at all - watching TV series or watching TV. People do not ask - recommend something good on TV or in cinema but on Netflix. For me, it was like a blink of an eye when Netflix was completely new and now everyone has it, and watch on the phone during the ride to work.

Just as I would not have foreseen how the waiting time for new seasons will be shortened (some will enter both us and the US) and how the appearance of whole seasons at once will change our way of viewing production in episodes once and for all. For sure, streaming is an amazing improvement, although not necessarily saving. I will not hide that I would happily extend my subscription to the HBO GO or Amazon Prime. However, if additional platforms enter, the costs of subscriptions will be equal to the very high extended TV subscription. And that's it when it comes to saving. I will not conceal that for me it is still an important change in the approach to content - first of all, most of what we are interested in can obtain completely legally. Releasing the entire seasons of the series at once is great but the sense of compulsion to watch it at once often takes some entertainment.

HBO is doing Game of Thrones.

I am not a fanatical fan of Game of Thrones. But at the same time I have the impression that if I were to choose a series of a decade, I think my voice would go to the saga about people who are cold or warm and who have dragons or do not have dragons. Why do I think Game of Thrones is so important? Not because it gave us a smileless face of Kit Harrington or surprised by his own death of Richard Madden. Not even because they killed Sean Bean. Game of Thrones is the first such high budget fantasy series. A genre that in cinematography and especially television easily (it does not mean that there are no fantasy films but there are not many of them - if we set aside the Lord of the Rings) went beyond the frame and today people who never reached for Martin's books are excited who will eat the dragon. Making a fantasy show of the production that "everyone" is watching is no mean feat.

The second issue, concerns the murder of Sean Bean - how the series mercilessly treats characters made the viewers remember how much excitement they bring with potentially bad endings, and certainly - the awareness that anyone can die at any moment. Although the corpses in Game of Thrones falls less than in the good final of the season of Gray's Anatomy, the fact that the main characters can die makes the series never cease to be exciting. Game of Thrones has broken into a narrow group of widely recognized fandoms and today t-shirts with the slogan "Mother of Dragons" can be bought in the online clothing store next to the next shirts with Superman, or almost sold out sweatshirts with the Hogwarts logo. What is however a surprise, considering that in 2011 when the series started, Martin's novels were known mainly to the devotees of the genre. I also have no doubt that the fact that Amazon issued wild money to create a series based on threads from Tolkien's books is directly related to the desire to take over viewers after Game of Thrones. It also seems interesting that HBO showed that the series, for the wide audience, can be a production that throws the viewer into deep water. It's easy to build a brand by making social, important and serious productions. It's harder to keep the level when dragons fly. Although for me Game of Thrones is mainly a source of malicious comments and jokes, I can not underestimate its significance for what has been going on in pop culture for the last decade.

The return of Star Wars.

Truth be told - I thought I would not live to see it. Lucas had planned trilogies since I was a child. I was sure, that after the defeat of the prequels, no one would take a stance what would happen next. Meanwhile, after Disney’s bought the rights to Star Wars, it turned out that history will find its continuation. It was a shock for me. During the few years that have passed since the premiere of "The Force Awakens" Star Wars in the new version aroused the whole spectrum of emotions. But at the same time - they were definitely alive and important for the viewers. Personally, I am a huge fan of new films from the world of SW, mainly because in my opinion I managed to do what was missing in the prequels - colonizing the galaxy with amazing characters to which a man must attach. At the same time, the emergence of new films has shown that the SW world can be much more thematically different than it did in films supervised by Lucas.

”Rogue One” was definitely darker, while ”Last Jedi” included scenes that probably would not be in the classic trilogy. The continuation of the film saga meant that all the books and comics that made what happened next went to the Legends category - while closing the old beloved Expanded Universe, in which there were a lot of characters and stories that I loved as a teenager. On the one hand I'm still a little sorry, on the other - the new saga is enclosed in her own novels and comics, so nothing is lost. The new Star Wars have already had one financial defeat (which is the smaller than expected success of Solo) and a lot of discussions about whether there can be more interesting women in the Galaxy than one Princess Leia. Since we are with her, the saga also suffered an irreparable loss of Carrie Fisher's death. There will be no other such princess in this universe. Ultimately, even if you are not a fan of new SW, it must be said that it is amazing that there are kids today for whom Star Wars are as vivid and important as for children who saw New Hope in the seventies.

Disney, Disney, Disney and Disney.

The last decade was a period in which Disney actually put their hand on most of the US high-budget pop culture. With the right to film the Marvel, right to Star Wars, the possibility of releasing new animations and additionally - acting movies based on its animations, Disney is able to fill not only one box office in its arsenal. In addition, he recently bought Fox and is preparing to establish his own competitive streaming platform - that the reason why the world of Marvel's superheroes on Netflix is no longer developing.

This Disney domination is currently rather positively perceived by the viewers, because they want the next adventures of super heroes, another Frozen, subsequent movies in the world of Star Wars or a new edition of the Lion King. A bigger problem is when we look at it from the film business and the dangers posed by too much market concentration. Hollywood has been going through something like that before, and it's not without reason that it has been finished (especially for the creators it is not the best and the viewers can catch the fact that they eventually get more and more of the same). Without the growing dominance of Disney, it is impossible to talk about the last ten years in pop culture. And as a synonym of everything that is the worst and what made us the most fun. In any case, you need to look a bit at Disney because it will be for the next decade to hand out cards in pop culture and it's hard to say where it will end. And when someone remembers that there are antitrust laws (or at least they should).

3D as everyday life.

3D is such an interesting technology that supposedly revolutionized the cinema, but at the same time it is still treated by many as an addition. It does not change the fact that the dissemination of 3D technology is today the best way to combat the outflow of people from film screenings. Creating movies and effects that look best on the big screen encourages viewers not to leave the cinema completely. In addition, tickets for 3D screenings are simply more expensive, which allows you to patch the hole a little because of fewer viewers (because overall box office results are not necessarily the same as the number of tickets sold, which you always have to keep in mind). 3D for some is proof that technologically cinema still has much to do and achieve. For others - a proof that even Hollywood is always trying to save a bit - because there are movies in 3D and those that are shown in 3D but do not use fully the technology. There is also a wide group - to which I belong - which definitely prefers films in 2D and does not like wearing glasses or feeling the depth.

Nothing less than a decade ago was such a novelty, today it is actually a duty to introduce more productions to the cinemas. What's more, we can suspect that in a decade, screenings of films such as super heroic in 2D will be significantly limited. Cinema goes forward and you have to accept it. Which does not change the fact that there is quite a large group of people for whom 3D screenings are not a nice experience. Certain eye defects, or some other disorders with this technology very much dislike. But undoubtedly 3D is not a temporary fashion. And it is something more than attracting viewers of the latest 4DX, IMAX (which is not a novelty but it is an unusual way to watch movies) or the debuting ScreenX. In the future, this will be the basic way of displaying new productions. And although I am not a fan myself, it is impossible not to notice that it changes the cinematic experience.

We are all young adults.

The last decade belonged to the Young Adult novel. After the success of Harry Potter and Twilight, literature for teens and young adults turned out to be a real gold mine. Screenings of new novel series (The Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent) have quickly appeared, but also books for young people who no longer suffer from dystopia, but only problems with adolescence and identity, as is usually the case with young people - a whole lot of tangled feelings. Movie adaptation of youth novels in recent years have been watched by teenagers and adults, aroused lively discussions - both evoked by enthusiasm for the novel as well as reluctance towards some threads. Today, if you enter the bookstore, you will discover that on a shelf there is not so much at the same time as on a shelf with novels for young people. And what is important - they are not read only by young people.

For some, triumph - publishing but also film stories directed to young adults, testify to the immaturity of modern society. Personally, I have the impression that YA is one of those genre whose representatives (authors) keep their finger on the pulse. This is where we find stories about discovering your identity, police violence against minorities, depression, problems with mental health or self-acceptance. I have the impression that it is one of those genres that does not overwhelm readers but allows them to find their own experiences among the characters' experiences. In my opinion, the popularity of YA comes from the fact that the lives of young people are more and more complicated and parents are not always able to help. And literature suggests how to find it all. Plus, it adds a romance to a pale young boy. Who would not want to read affairs with pale handsome.

Fifty shades of bad books.

I know it may surprise you, but I think that the success of "Fifty Shades of Grey” is crucial for the pop culture of the last ten years. First of all - this is the proof that fanfic - because the book was created as fanfic for Twilight, can be equated in a cultural sense with the canon. No fanfic has ever gone this far. Unless we acknowledge that the Lord of the Rings is a fanfic of all epics and edd that Tolkien had in mind. Then Gray can hide. Secondly - Fifty Shades of Gray made that erotic literature moved from the shelves at the back of the bookstore to the "Featured" and "Best-sellers" booths. They were never good novels, but after it turned out that a nice and polite cover would be enough to sell well, they suddenly found themselves in the center of the literary world.

The third issue is the fact that "Fifty Shades of Gray" is an erotic tale that relates to existing fetishes. I'm not saying that it describes them well, but puts them in the center. Personally, I think this is crucial in pop culture, where all sexual fetishes could appear away from the mainstream film and book. They could be either in stories that were very crazy or those that tried to move. Of course, the filming of "Fifty Shades of Grey” is the longest and most boring furniture advertisement, but for the first time in the history of Hollywood it had to face the attempt to combine BDSM and the movie that can be added to as many cinemas as possible. Finally, the catalog of furniture came out. But the fact that the novel was so popular that Hollywood has made such an attempt at all is crucial. And the fact that today another emerging, worse erotic novels are sold by the largest publishing houses without blinking and placed in the first rows on the shelves of "new products".

And yet women exist!

The last decade is definitely the time when more women in pop culture started to appear. The bright last decade did not come up with actresses, directors or producers. But you could actually see that there are more and more female characters. Star Wars this time do not tell the story of a young boy, but about the way of a young girl. On Netflix you can watch TV series made by women, talking about women and men are appear only in supporting role. In addition, TV series about women's problems have ceased to be directed only by women. The moving "Hand Maid Tale" became a series that everyone had to watch. Among the series actresses began to appear those that have already about which once could only dream - like Ellen Pompeo from "Gray's Anatomy". Besides, over the last years Shonda Rhimes has expanded her television empire showing that nothing can stop her.

In the film, we also have changes - it was unthinkable not only to make a movie with a female character in the main role, but also to give it to direct a woman. And awarding her a high budget for this film. Wonder Woman is a cool movie, but above all it is a key film when it comes to appreciating the director. This decade is also, the first Oscar nomination for the best photos for a woman, or the appearance of more women among producers, who take matters into their own hands, choosing stories that previously had no chance for implementation. Of course, there is still a lot to do but with satisfaction I see that some of the problems that we talked about a decade ago, now look completely different. There is no equality yet - both among creators and heroes, but the disproportions are not as visible and so common. And it pleases me as little as I can.

Youtubers' triumph.

Youtubers, Streamers - people who provide their own visual content. In fact, they are coming to the lead at the end of the decade. They not only provide an amazing amount of content, but also for many young people it is the basic way to conclude entertainment and look for culture. Today, Youtube stars are people who set trends and topics that deal with young people. I am a fan of several Youtubers who provide simple entertainment - exactly what those TV programs that you never carefully watch. Plus, part of the Youtubers provided definitely more serious and interesting content than television ever delivered. Personally, I am a little scared, a little enthusiastic about this amount of diverse content.

It does not change the fact that it is the dispersion of entertainment providers, and the growing importance of Youtubers is in my opinion one of the most interesting and most important phenomena in pop culture. Especially if we take into account that the content they provide is not as limited and deliberate as those provided by television stations. Does this mean that Youtuber is a bad phenomenon? It would be very far from this statement but for sure - they change the face of pop culture and soon the great content providers will adapt to their designs. The freedom of Youtubers can be treated both as a breath of fresh air and a dangerous phenomenon. It is certainly dangerous that some people - especially from older generations do not realize the existence of this world at all. What makes generational and cultural divisions seem to be deeper than in previous generations. At least I think so.

Here is my list of the ten most important phenomena in pop culture. Maybe these phenomena are important mainly for me, maybe you will not agree with this choices. No less I have the impression that these are the moments important and that they made an impact on how the last decade look like this and not otherwise. And that will probably affect what the next decade will look like.

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