My 2 Cents: Pennie’s 2015 Pop Culture Recap
From the “Miley what’s goods”, cultural appropriation, acceptance of the LGBT community, ISIS, and the unlimited dabs, 2015 has been an insane year, in so many ways! I honestly didn’t know where to begin but most of my points had to do with race, black lives matter, and hip-hop culture. The African American community dominated 2015, in so many different ways! Here’s a recap of some of my favorite 2015 moments in pop culture.
After years of being oppressed as a race, a microscope was put on this issue in 2015. I was raised to believe that the police are here to help and by definition Law enforcement are supposed to be members of society that act in an organized manner to enforce the law, but that is not the case when it comes to African Americans. It is sickening what has happened to our people under police custody. The police are supposed to be the ones protecting us, but yet they are the ones killing us. Social media has began to work as a microscope on this issue, we are now spreading knowledge and awareness on this problem and how we can make it better. It won’t get fixed in a week but we are most definitely on our way. In the words of Lyndon B. Jonson, “We Shall Overcome…” #BlackLivesMatter
R.I.P Sandra Bland, who was killed while in police custody, she said it best, “use your tools and use what you have to speak up. USE YOUR VOICE. They are going to have to listen to us one day.”
Before social media was a thing, NWA spoke up about police brutality through their music with their hit single “F**k Tha Police”. This was a perfect year for the biopic to be released because history is repeating itself, and it is about time we speak up and use our voice! A lot of us ask ourselves how can we bring change and awareness to this issue? We can speak volumes through our actions, accomplishments, and art and that is exactly what this movie did. ‘Straight Outta Compton’ broke the charts and made $200M worldwide. This film showcased how dirty the cops have been, and how hip-hop can truly make the world shake. Crazy thing is it was “news” to CNN that there was no fighting or gang violence going on in the movie theaters when it was filled with African Americans and hip-hop lovers. The last time I checked t Hands down one of the best biopics of all time, not to mention O’Shea Jackson Jr. did an amazing job in capturing his father’s essence.
2015 was an outstanding year for diversity on our TV Screens. We welcomed and kept up shows like Empire, Dr. Ken, black-ish, Being Mary Jane, How To Get Away with Murder, andScandal. This year was the first time that 3 black women took home an Emmy! Shout out to Viola Davis, Regina King , and Taraji P. They sprinkled all of their black girl magic this year.
Speaking of black girl magic, Rachel Doezeal tried it. This was a sticky situation for most but I honestly feel like she was just simply ignorant to what she was doing. Doezeal’s intentions were good but she could never understand the life of a black woman, no matter how many cornrows and updo’s she gets done at the beauty shop. The work she has done for the African American Community should not be overlooked or minimized. Let’s imagine how much more profound all of her efforts would have been if she was simply a white woman who truly loved African-American culture.
Social media thought that a Caitlyn Jenner and a Rachel Doezal comparison was appropriate. My immediate reaction was HOW SWAY? The science and psychological background of being transgender is very complex and hard to understand. It is something that someone who is not transgender will ever be able to fully comprehend, because it is mental and nothing that we can physically see. My question to the world is do you truly believe that a famous Olympic athlete would go through hell, change his entire body and be bullied by the entire world if he didn’t truly believe that he was transgender? I don’t think so, but that’s just me. I am so happy that Caitlyn is finally walking in her truth. She is doing her thing fabulously, no matter what anyone had to say. I promise you that she is 10x happier then a lot of the people who bash her. Caitlyn is walking in her truth, how about you walk in yours…
We can all officially make a living based off of your social media status. Now this does breed things like narcissism, self esteem issues and a lot of catfishes but everything has its negatives and positives. When one equates their self worth to how many Instagram followers they have, that is when you then become lost in the sauce. When one uses their platform to cash checks, speak up on world issues, and make the world a better place, then it’s all good.
Everything that glitters is not and one can be whoever they please on social media, so do not be fooled! A lot of times we only show are ups on social media, because who wants to post sad things? We get confused and forget that there is so much more to one’s life than what they choose to post on social media. Whenever you are comparing your life to that one IG model with 30K followers who is driving a Benz and flying all over the world, don’t forget that there is a possibility that she is not showing the nasty sugar daddy who is paying for it all and how she might be suffering from deep and dark issues just like you.
Let us know that all of our families were completely insane with #ThanksGivingWithBlackFamilies, and we were not alone. Black Twitter and IG are a non-stop comedy show and we eat it all up!
People have completely stopped walking due to hover boards.
Social media has reporters on CNN “dabbing” and “nay-naying” stopped walking completely due to hover boards, and were the coolest on the planet.
We all practiced our “Milly Rock” countless times in the mirror.
We can all have full meme conversations with memes.
Not to mention how social media has been a huge factor in the success of many new amazing artist like Kehlani or Bryson Tiller. 140 characters can change your life.
People are quitting their 9-5′s and living their life!
“A Pennie For Your Thoughts”
