Quarantine wrapped
By Rachel Levin, Copy Editor & Sakura Amano, Staff Writer
POLITICAL EVENTS (in chronological order)
Closure of Schools and Businesses Due to COVID-19
Halfway through March of 2020, the entire globe was hit with an unexpected pandemic that will forever define the year. This novel virus is known as COVID-19, and has single-handedly taken over 2.7 million lives and infected over 122 million people worldwide. These scarily high stats have forced the majority of the world to be placed on lockdown and therefore put a hiatus on citizens' daily lives. This all-encompassing lockdown has placed an indefinite pause on significant events such as the 2020 Summer Olympics, hundreds of concerts as well as hundreds of film productions and countless others. As cases continued to climb, scientists around the world scrambled to develop a vaccine, with many turning up successful. The vaccine rollout has already begun in the U.S. as well as other parts of the world, and will continue until the safe return to everyday life similar to that prior of COVID-19 can be guaranteed. Until then, however, the entire world will continue to follow strict guidelines about social distancing, the usage of masks and other public safety requirements until further notice.
Wildfires Rampage Across Australia
As an ironically “perfect” foreshadow of the events to commence throughout quarantine, the year began with news of intense bushfires blazing in Australia for months on end. As of March 9, the fires were said to have burnt an estimated 46 million acres, destroying over 5,900 buildings and killing at least 34 people. The fires were also devastating for Australia’s native wildlife, with nearly 3 billion animals killed or displaced amidst the chaos. The tragic event serves as a reflection of one of the largest crises facing our world today: climate change.
Black Lives Matter Protests Occur Globally
The Black Lives Matter movement was brought to the center of the media’s attention after the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor and the asphyxiation from sustained pressure that led to the death of George Floyd at the scene, both at the hands of the police. Throughout the year, people worked to hold racial justice at the forefront of social issues, particularly by raising awareness via social media and through organized protests. The public swarmed the streets in droves to protest against police brutality and all racially motivated violence against Black people, as well as for racial equality in general. There were calls to action— for the defunding of police and for justice. Though racial injustice has always been present in the U.S., the events of 2020 made sure the fight against it would fail to fade into the background.
The 46th Presidential Election
The 2020 presidential election was a monumental point not just this year, but in American history. Battling prejudice and injustice, president-elect Joe Biden’s triumph over the incumbent Donald Trump came in the midst of chaos and ended an equally eventful term. Despite a global pandemic, voter turnout was still at a record high, as was the voting rate of young people. 2020 was a year of change, and the ultimate show of that was the all out battle of an election. A new administration that includes the first ever female and woman of color Vice-President, Kamala Harris, will usher in a new era for American politics and everlasting changes to an institution in the process of being born again.
Storming of Capitol Hill/Biden’s Inauguration
Though 2021 began in high political tension throughout the U.S., no one could have predicted the chaos that unfolded on Jan. 6 at the United States Capitol Building. Thousands of Trump supporters violently stormed the government building, causing evacuations, multiple injuries and arrests. The event began as a protest in an attempt to stop the officialization of Joe Biden’s presidential win, but quickly became out of hand when Trump urged his supporters to go to the Capitol via Twitter. However, despite their vast efforts, four hours after the breach, officials were able to secure the building once again, allowing the Senate chamber to complete the certification of electoral college votes that day.
POP CULTURE EVENTS (in chronological order)
TikTok Gains Popularity
TikTok has taken the world by storm, taking the title of “Most Downloaded App of 2020.” The platform revolves around creating and uploading short videos to share with other users. The app raised a controversy after government officials expressed concern over its threat to national security. President Donald Trump threatened to ban the app across all of the U.S. but public outrage made him reconsider and strike a deal, allowing the app to stay. TikTok has been one of the most influential apps this past year, from creating fashion trends to sharing baking recipes to helping promote the music of many prominent stars. Megan Thee Stallion is just one example of this, as she made history with the help of TikTok users; she marks the first female artist to hit No. 1 on the streaming charts three times in one year.
Cancel Culture: Its Causes and Consequences
From A-list celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres to authors such as J.K. Rowling, the so-called “cancel culture” showed no sympathy when it came to many icons’ problematic actions. The objective of cancel culture is to remove the platform of a celebrity or influencer by spreading awareness of their offensive behavior. This can essentially result in a massive loss of online followers and supporters, as well as sometimes being dropped from contracts depending on the severity of the situation. So, which celebrities and influencers fell victim to cancel culture this year? While the list is ongoing, Ellen DeGeneres, J.K Rowling, Jimmy Fallon, Shane Dawson, Lana Del Ray, Vanessa Hudgens and Charli D’Amelio are among the many who have faced the wrath of cancel culture in 2020.
Vogue Features Harry Styles on Front Cover
Harry Styles made Vogue history on Nov. 13 as the first solo male to appear on the cover in the magazine’s 128-year run. It is no secret that the British pop star enjoys challenging gender-norms in fashion, as he styled a periwinkle blue gown along with a black tuxedo jacket, both items designed by Gucci for their December 2020 issue. Although many fans and the young Vogue audience rushed to show their support, prominent conservatives such as Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro did not hold back on their disapproval of the image, with Owens taking to Twitter to ask that we “bring back manly men.” With everything 2020 has brought, who would have thought that Harry Styles in a dress would be the biggest concern for some?
“Driver’s License” Dominates Billboard Hot 100
At just 17-years-old, Disney actress Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Driver's License” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart after a mere week of its release on Jan. 8, and continued to top the list for eight weeks after. The song also broke multiple records on other streaming services such as Spotify and Amazon Music. Gaining rapid popularity after going viral on TikTok for its emotional bridge and relatable lyrics, fans began to speculate that the song was written about a love triangle involving her and fellow disney stars Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter. Despite the many rumors, Rodrigo continues to stay focused on her successes, being recognized by big names such as her idol, Taylor Swift.
Annual Super Bowl Takes Place Despite Pandemic
After a relatively bland year of sporting events, good news was offered to sports fans nationwide as the Super Bowl 55 did not fall victim to cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The game took place on Feb. 7, at the home stadium of the Buccaneers, the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. This game marked the first time that a team played a Super Bowl in its home stadium. To stay within COVID-19 protocols, the stadium’s seating was limited to 25,000 fans, 7,500 of which were vaccinated healthcare workers on all-expense paid trips. Prior to the start of the game, the poet and activist Amanda Gorman read her original poem, “Chorus of the Captains”, which honored three frontline workers attending the game as honorary captains. As the game commenced, the audience watched as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played against the defending champions, The Kansas City Chiefs. In the end, Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory with a score of 31-9.
Awards Season Proceeds With Golden Globes
The 78th annual Golden Globes ceremony took place as a hybrid part-live, part-remote telecast on Feb. 28, despite accusations that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association lacks profusely in diversity and size. Hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, home-watchers recount the event as “awkward” and even more chaotic as usual, likely due to the tech issues and Zoom participant nominees. Still, the night made history with Chloe Zhao’s win for Best Director for Nomadland, as she was the second woman ever to receive this award. The event also took an emotional turn with Chadwick Boseman winning an award for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom posthumously, being accepted on his behalf by wife Simone Ledward Boseman. As always, regardless of the good or bad, the Golden Globes proved to be yet another night to remember.
A Monumental Grammy Awards CeremonyAfter a six-week delay due to spikes in COVID-19 cases, the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14. The ceremony was hosted by comedian, Trevor Noah, and featured stars Billie Eilish, Cardi B. and Megan Thee Stallion, as well as the new band, Silk Sonic, formed by Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars. The band’s debut was at the Grammys, where they performed their new song “Leave the Door Open” which has already accrued nearly 50,000,000 listens on Spotify. The record for most-awarded woman in the show’s history was broken by Beyonce, after winning four Grammy awards this year alone, bringing her total number of awards up to 28. Taylor Swift also broke a record after winning Album of the Year for the third time, being the first female artist to ever do so. During quarantine alone, the fan-proclaimed lyrical genius released two surprise albums that each contained 17 tracks: Folklore, for which she won the award, was introduced to the public on July 24, while Evermore was released on Dec. 11.