Top Ten Trends:
10)Music and movie slumps shake cultural foundations
Though the continued plummet of music sales this year (12% off from 2004) was expected, the much ballyhooed movie box-office slump was a bit more striking. Returns frequently ran around 6-7% behind 2004 (granted, The Passion came out last year). Sustained only by cinematic comfort food (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman) and the “return of the sex comedy” (Wedding Crashers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Hollywood pundits feared the worst. As for music, the iPod generation continues to prefer digital downloading to actual CDs, and thus, hipster-friendly genres are dropping off the Billboard radar. In the wake of alternative’s commercial decline, hip/hop, rap and R&B dominate the charts (50 Cent, Mariah Carey, Kanye West) and MTV/Viacom-weaned artists fill the gaps of an increasingly awful Top-40.
9) Splitsville!
Breakups were the bookends to 2005. The year began with a blow to our collective hearts. Right on the heels of the Asian tsunami trauma, our already-weary souls were further crushed by the news that Brad and Jen were splitting up (thanks a lot Angelina Jolie!). Those were dark, hopeless days. And just as we began to unthaw from the numb winter that was our post-Brad/Jen world, the unthinkable happened. That’s right, the remaining vestige of vicarious hope—our beloved Newlyweds—confirmed tabloid rumors that they were Newly-single. Nick Lachey, Jessica Simpson, Joe Simpson and MTV: How could you?
8) Catholics and Evangelicals: Buddies?
Gone are the days of “The Pope might be the antichrist” narrow-mindedness. Christendom is coming back together in ways Luther would have never thought possible. Forged of late in the fires of conservative social causes, the newfound bond has only strengthened in 2005. The Terry Schiavo controversy during the early part of the year brought Catholic priests and Protestant laity together for press conferences and candle vigils, and the death of the Pope in April brought on a worldwide, ecumenical mourning from all corners of the faith. Add to that the high-court nomination of Catholic John Roberts (a favorite of conservative Protestants), and Mark Noll’s 2005 book Is the Reformation Over? seems all the more timely.
7) Real people are the best fiction
Though scripted television made something of a comeback in 2005, reality still ruled the ratings roost with old standbys (Idol, Survivor, Apprentice) and newer feel-good shows (The Biggest Loser, Extreme Home Makeover). But it was cable where the new-generation was birthed. Bravo garnered critical raves for Project Runway, and MTV created something entirely different with Laguna Beach, an oddly enchanting reality soap that gave new meaning to the term “manufactured celebrity.” Meanwhile, on the big-screen, “reality” was also en-vogue, with documentaries continuing to rise in popularity and true-life biopics (Capote, Walk the Line leading the end-of-the-year Oscar charge.
6) Pop-culture soundbites fuel our ironic (or is it?) obsession
As tabloid-readers became increasingly addicted, E! junkies more obsessed and VH1 hipsters more sardonically attuned to all things trivial, our cultural consciousness was never in need of fluff headlines. Britney has a baby! Michael is acquitted! Martha returns! (Fill in the blank) in rehab! TomKat! Our culture has embraced the guilty pleasure of vicarious voyeurism—living “the fabulous life” of the jet-setting superstar. VH1 coined a term for the phenomenon—“celebreality”—and milked it with shows like The Surreal Life, My Fair Brady, Breaking Bonaduce, etc … C-list celebs have never been more amusing.
5) Hollywood veers farther to the left
Perhaps galvanized by their “all in vain” efforts during the 2004 presidential election (and their humiliating defeat by those “middle of the country” evangelicals), liberal Hollywood became more vocally political in 2005 than ever before. Leaders of the charge included George Clooney and Participant Productions, a company dedicated to creating “compelling entertainment that will inspire audiences to get involved in the issues that affect us all.” Participant’s slate in 2005 included such “statement films” as Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, and North Country. Add in other daring fare like gay-milestone Brokeback Mountain and Spielberg’s controversial Munich, and 2005 got us “thinking” at the movies like never before.
4) Evangelicals flex political muscle
After the 2004 presidential election, evangelicals had a lot of political capital. Unsurprisingly, the “not exactly shy” evangelical political juggernaut took that capital to the bank (or tried to). Though there were many defeats in the traditional areas (pledge of allegiance, prayer in schools, intelligent design, stem cell research, etc), evangelicals shocked everyone by strong-arming President Bush’s supreme court nominee, Harriet Myers, out of dodge. It was a ballsy, “we take orders from no man!” move … one more step in the quest to control the Supreme Court and move closer to creating the biggest, most purpose-driven megachurch in the world: The U.S. of A!
3) There is hope! And it’s pronounced Soof-Yawn
For all who despair about the state of creativity in today’s artistic climate, and especially the state of Christian artistic progress, a prophetic voice has risen out of the wilderness (aka Michigan). His name is Sufjan Stevens, and 2005 was his best year ever. Christendom can rejoice at the fact that Stevens, a Hope College alum, has paved a new path of artistically daring, spiritually alive, critically acclaimed folk rock. His 2005 release, Illinois, was voted best album of the year by the hipster gods at Pitchfork (among many others) and holds the title of best-reviewed album of the year from Metacritic.com. Can this be true? A Christian artist who unapologetically melds Williamsburg hipster cool with wide-eyed earnestness in matters of life, love and faith? Oh say I can see.
2) Cable news goes disaster-crazy
Whether or not weather was really the most important thing in 2005, it sure seemed that way if you watched any amount of cable news. The 24-hour networks, led by “live from” mavericks like Geraldo Rivera and Anderson Cooper, were all over the natural disasters. From the tsunami devastation to the hurricane frenzy (Katrina, Rita, Wilma … fourteen in all) to late-season tornadoes, everyone who was anyone in the reporting world clamored for the wind-pummeling glamour jobs of covering nature’s fury. Though less luxurious stories in obscure third-world places (Sudan, Pakistan, etc) were largely ignored, the media carpet-bombed our senses with the high drama of waves and wind …
1) Charity makes a comeback
Even as Paris Hilton frivolity (mongrel dogs in Louis Vuitton purses became ever more contagious, “giving back” turned chic. Blame it on the disasters, AIDS in Africa or Bono’s example … Whatever the cause, the “cause celebre” is back in. Two well-publicized telethons assembled a “who’s who” cast for tsunami and Katrina relief. The new power-couple (Brangelina Smith) became globetrotting goodwill ambassadors. Bob Geldof pulled off another “Live 8” debt-relief extravaganza. Oprah and NBC pursued pedophiles (that’s charity too!). Sean Penn became a vigilante do-gooder in the bogs of Louisiana. Even Jessica Simpson traveled to Kenya … And though we didn’t make “Access Hollywood,” evangelicals stepped up and gave more to charity than ever before. Let’s keep this trend going.
Best Movies of the Year:
1) The New World
2) Broken Flowers
3) Pride & Prejudice
4) Capote
5) Munich
6) Mad Hot Ballroom
7) Downfall
8) Walk the Line
9) A History of Violence
10) Good Night, and Good Luck
Honorable Mention: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Cinderella Man, Nine Lives, Match Point, Batman Begins, Last Days, Syriana, King Kong, Murderball, Me and You and Everyone We Know.
Best Music of the Year:
1) Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
2) Sigur Ros, Takk
3) Gorillaz, Demon Days
4) Rogue Wave, Descended Like Vultures
5) My Morning Jacket, Z
6) Common, Be
7) Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
8) New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
9) M83, Before the Dawn Heals Us
10) Damian Jurado, On My Way to Absence
Honorable Mention: Eels, Blinking Lights and Other Mysteries, The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan, Editors, The Back Room, Over the Rhine, Drunkard’s Prayer, Low, The Great Destroyer, Boards of Canada, The Campfire Headphase, Kanye West, Late Registration, Thievery Corporation, The Cosmic Game, Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary, Coldplay, X & Y
