[We're on the last few posts now.]
Pop Culture in the Sanders Administration (2016-2020)
The Sanders Election would be defined as a turning point in the perception of the government and for the zeitgeist of the nation and world. It served as perhaps a great reinforcement and moral boost of the power of the people, especially overcoming the resistance within the Democrat party. At the same time, it painted a very stark picture of the responsabilities required of the voting populace, a sentiment that was promoted constantly and consistently by the Sanders Administration. Many of their greatest accomplishment were only possible because the voters let their representatives know what they wanted and the cost to those Reps if they didn't represent their interests. This led to a growing debate on potential political reforms. Ideas such as term limits became discussed even more common place while others, such as referendums, would be floated more across the state and even at the federal level. In many ways, it embodied the growing optimism of the new era and also the greater growth of responsability and seriousness being demanded here. Some have even speculated that this may lead to a movement beyond "post-modernism" as the years go by and art begins reflecting the greater reality and movement beyond defined by the motions set in the Cold War.
Internationally, the world has been growing more peaceful. The Middle East has seen growing outreach between the other and a coalition to purge the toxic influences of Wahhabism and Salafists among other extremists to make progress. The COVID-20 pandemic highlighted the need for greater preparation though also showcasing some of the behaviors of nations trying to exploit the crisis in negative ways, such as in Poland and Hungary. In return, international groups have saw the need to reform and strengthen themselves as leaders like Mélenchon, Corbyn and others have called on reforms for the EU to serve as greater purpose, especially with some of its other members. At the same time, this led to a contrast to other nations. The Philippines under Duerte has found itself in a precarious situation between the Americans and Russians while Russia itself continued its trend of problems and provacations involving its neighbors, such as with Armenia's conflict with Azerbaijan. It reinforced the hope and optimism for a better world while also serving as another reminder at the dangers of demagogues, especially with further news of Russian involvement in social media bot accounts. Ultimately, it was a brave new world and the events going on reflected that, both in trends and execution.
Film
Film would reach a massive point near 2020. Both DC and Marvel's large multi-film projects would come to a head with releases of what many consider to be successful endings to the entirety of said project. The Avengers finale trilogy (Annihilation, Infinity War, Endgame) and Justice League became cemented as generational highlights and something that would be remembered. From the build-up and climax of the trilogy to Justice League giving a villain teamup versus a hero teamup that has not really been seen until that point. Furthermore, Nolan would wrap up his Star Wars trilogy, leaving it stranger, more profound and open than he found it. King of Monsters would be even better than the original while Disney would end up trying to push further that some concerns over the potential direction of it. Get Out and Us served as strong films that critiqued certian aspects of race within the United States while Parasite showed the increasing demand of foreign films for prestige and recognition of their acomplishments, the same would be demanded as well for their animated counterparts across the seas. Even film adaptations of video games would see hope with Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog showing it could be possible and provided excitement on future endeavors in the area. However, while large blockbusters were all the rage and certainly become more memorable, there was also the rise of the indie scene and the concern for the fate of movie theaters. Indie films began rising gradually in popularity due to their willingness to experiment with new ideas. Project MAY-O and others maintained the influence and spread of independent films and being able to advertise them on prominent social media groups and later group to get endorsements and word of mouth by celebs showed an industry beyond Hollywood. This was becoming the case moreso as more and more people were unionizing on big budget films and there were growing calls for proper payment and accountability. At the same time, movie theaters were undergoing shifts. While on the decline before the pandemic, the spread of the viral infection accelerated the demise faster, with concerns of bankrupcy looming. Not as many people were going to theaters due to ticket costs. Smaller theaters were able to bear the blow thanks to small COVID-20 supplements and intergrated themselves further into the indie scene and foreign scene to take up a niche. Drive-in theaters would see a rise in popularity during the warmer times as well. While the changes showed improvement, many did see that film would likely be undergoing a plateau to adjust to the upcoming zeitgeists and with more competition.
Television
Television meanwhile continued its strong stride and growth. Dramatic shows, comedies, fantasies and so on continued to shine, providing a large bulk of content for people to enjoy. Better Call Saul enjoyed hefty prominence throughout the years while Mr. Robot provided many with a surprising catharsis on the triumph of the people over against the oligarchy. The Good Place provided a fascinating comical insight into the afterlife and philosophy. Atlanta provided more surreal delights while The Dark Crystals surprised many. Overall, many shows would continue their stride or finish off quite well, whether they be live action or animated. Adventure Time, the Amazing World of Gumball, Regular Show, Star Butterfly vs the Forces of Evil, OK KO, Young Justice and Steven Universe would provide many with various conclusions from the warm and comforting to the heartbreaking and melancholic though new animated shows would come to take their place such as the swords and sorcery world of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, the new Disney powerhouses in Amphibia, and The Owl House, while Cartoon Network brought Craig of the Creek, We Bare Bears and Infinity Train. Superheroes would still exist on television though with Justice League Action being a more laidback and casual adaptation of the DC superhero verse while Marvel would borrow an idea from the success of Young Justice to have the Young Avengers gain their own television show who's tone was said to be in between Young Justice and the Oughts' Teen Titans regarding seriousness and comedy. There was a growing sense of diversity within the shows and showing a brighter tomorrow. The same could be said with more adult animation such as the continuation of The Orville and Rick and Morty, followed by the finale of Bojack Horseman and the introduction of new shows such as Close Enough, Tuca & Bertie and others aimed for adults. Though the biggest news was back in December 2019, when a brand new Simpsons special aired, revealing the development of a sequel series known for the show. Taking place 30 years later, the show has Bart, Lisa and Maggie as adults dealing with the direction of their life as they moving back to Springfield for one reason or another. While a portion of the old writing team has return for consulting, the writing staff consisted of fresh new faces to explore the inane world of a more modern and weirder Springfield. Steaming continued to grow in prominence, especially during the outbreak though it also created a need for a sense of balance between them all, especially with the growing concerns of streaming becoming more like cable and potential cases that would be examining that within the future.
Video Games
Video games continued their development, but the Sanders Administration would become a large changing point for Americans, mainly because of them willing to tackle the various corrupt policies and issues within the industry as part of their greater scurtiny, examination and problem solving of the issues within the technology and entertainment sectors. Microtransactions would come to be examined and tested on their ethics and necessity while work conditions would be improved and video game makers unionizing within the large companies. Many would see the days of crunch hours to be fading away and COVID-20 would see video games becoming even more prominent in the mainstream to keep people occupied. Augmented reality and headsets were growing in popularity and interest. The Nintendo Twin, Playstation 4 and Xbox One would continue to sell well and though Sony had recovered from some of the issues of the PS3, the Xbox One would become the prominent winner of this console war, albeit closely followed by the Nintendo Twin. Various franchises would see hallmark games such as Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Red Dead Redemption 2, and so many more. And there was no signs of being stopped. As advertisement and promotion of smaller games were spreading, there was a blossoming of all sorts of products to fill niches that may have otherwise have gone unfulfilled and thus, it becoming more selective on what to play. However, the big game studioes have not run out of ideas as seen with new games like Super Mario Odyssey and there remained a hope in prominence and development. The same was held for online gaming with Overwatch, Fortnite, World of Warcraft and various others maintaining their interest and providing a connecting point for many people, especially during the pandemic. In fact, it would become mroe common to see younger politicians interact with their constinuents through these games and showing a true change in how it is and getting attention in them.
Other
By the time the Sanders administration started, it has been around a decade since both DC and Marvel did a soft reboot (well, a harder one for the latter) on their continuity and by this point, they were becoming the new standard in the characters' portrayal. And with the new sense of hope and optimism along with the growing new blood, the question was now on the big picture direction of these universes. By the time that they settled themselves in and and established the old and gathered trust, it was the early 2010s and now that newer legacy characters were developed, the concensus was now in taking these stories beyond and not being afraid to let them continue. One such arc saw Batman begin making legitimate changes and improvements to Gotham, with his triumph over the Court of Owls (namely that the secret society used the mob and later the supervillains to keep Gotham out of prison and so on) and his marriage over with Selina Kyle aka Catwoman (which included a double date with the two alongside Clark and Lois). Others were following in the trend and focusing on them moving on with their lives and tying some loose ends and exploring the mythos of the world. Same was viewed for Marvel as many of the characters were settling down and still dealing with being superheroes. While there was some hesitation for it, it was still quite well recieived. At the same time, cosmic events and so on was a reminder of what these extraordinary heroes were needed to deal with such problems. Graphic novels and indie works were becoming bigger and bigger, to where many of them were floated to potential adaptations, most notably the planned adaptation of Invincible from Image. The internet meanwhile continued to become a dominant part in the media, especially with the Sanders Administration working to deal with problems and balances in free speech and provactive words. Various Internet channels began rising that was serving as stories of their own to be told and original content being produced. It was now plausible to maintain a career of sorts online and the recognition of such meant that there was a need to ensure people were being taken care of while autonomy was being respected. One such was the concerns over how big companies could push them out through pure money alone while another was on figuring out steady income. However, they did flourish as being independent job contractors and or small businesses meant they could qualify for COVID stimulus and allow them to maintain themselves and grow. Music continued to become more diverse and all over the place.
