I’ll get you, my pretty! And your little pygmy hippo, too! Forgive us the shameless attempt to link the fantasy hit Wicked to the delightful Moo Deng. But, hear us out – there’s something the two have in common as the year draws to a close. Escapism.
Whether we found it on the yellow brick road, or in videos from a Thailand zoo, or perhaps in unlikely Olympic heroes, we gravitated toward fantasy and feel-good pop culture moments this year.
There were new trends, as always. “Brat summer” became a thing, as did “demure, mindful.” And for some inexplicable reason, we became obsessed with celebrity lookalike contests.
There were breakups – Bennifer is, again, a thing of the past – and reunions: Oasis, please try to stay together for the tour. And some things stayed, remarkably, the same: Taylor Swift and Beyonce kept on breaking records and making history.
So, after a year where much changed but some things held steady, here’s our annual, very selective trip down pop culture memory lane: