Leave it in 2017/Bring it in 2018

Chloe McCarthy ’18, Feature/Opinion Editor

2017 was one crazy year. But, as the hands of time just keep on ticking, 2018 is an opportunity to start over. As we enter the new year, some elements of 2017 can most definitely be left behind, and, on the contrary, expectations for 2018 are higher than ever. We have compiled a list of three things or people to leave behind in 2017, as well as some exciting possibilities to be open to in 2018.

 

Leave it in 2017

1. Jake and Logan Paul

The Paul brothers have over 10 million YouTube subscribers between them, and they earn a combined $28 million yearly. But for all their success, one feat they have yet to conquer is creating meaningful content. Their videos, which are uploaded every day, are complete with sensationalized clickbait titles, ‘dabbing’ on haters, showing off their ‘white boy swag’, or, in the case of Jake Paul and his squad of social media models and comedians called Team 10, rapping the smash hit  “It’s Everyday Bro.” Besides the brothers’ fan base of prepubescent girls, the rest of the internet was generally irritated at the boys’ existence throughout 2017, but tensions escalated dramatically when Logan Paul uploaded the now infamous Suicide Forest vlog. Logan and his cronies visited the Aokigahara National Forest in Japan, an area notorious for the high rate of suicides conducted, and, upon seeing a suicide victim who had died just hours earlier, filmed the body, zoomed in on the victims’ hands, and guffawed at how “insane” the situation was. Rightfully so, the video sparked an uproar of backlash, and although he demonetized the video, he made sure to monetize his apology video titled So Sorry, which earned him a whopping $12,000. Worse yet, Paul filmed another vlog during his trip to Japan in which he threw Pokemon toys at people, signed his name as Pikachu for a fan’s autograph, waved raw fish in peoples’ faces, and screamed at elderly people to subscribe to his YouTube channel. These boys are scum; they lack any sense of self-awareness and respect for anyone that doesn’t directly benefit them, or kiss the ground they walk on. 2017, you can keep ’em.

 

2. Kylie Jenner + her makeup line

Few celebrities on Earth are as much of a nuisance to society as 20-year-old Kylie Jenner. Not only has Jenner scammed her young female fan base into spending upwards of $350 on dingy, low-quality makeup products, she has also been accused of appropriating African-American hair styles, such as gelling baby hairs and wearing cornrows. Even if we look past her problematic behavior, Jenner still offers very little positive influence to her young fans, as her copious plastic surgeries, from lip injections to posterior implants, set a toxic ideal body standard. To be clear, Jenner’s brand has never been a wholesome one (relying on any member of the Kardashian clan to be some sort of inspiring role model is foolish), but her public image is representative of a larger issue at hand. Is it too much to ask Kylie Jenner to take a tiny bit of responsibility for the image she, whether intentional or not, causes teenage girls to follow? Frankly, I don’t think so.

 

3. “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber

The summer smash hit, which now ties Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” for longest run at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (18 weeks), absolutely demolished the rest of the pop lineup for 2017. While the song slapped for a minute over the summer, it now induces an immediate compulsory response something along the lines of “Seriously?! Change the station. CHANGE THE STATION!” The track received even more backlash after Justin Bieber was recorded singing “Burrito, Burrito, I don’t know the words” at one of his concerts. Realistically, Bieber probably meant no malice in doing so, but the incident exposes a much larger social problem at hand. Much like the issue evident in the Logan Paul mess, the American mainstream has a tendency to pick and choose the elements of a foreign culture we like, such as the ‘sexy’ Spanish language and ‘summery vibes’ Latin pop music brings, while holding little respect for the actual people belonging to said culture. And, considering Donald Trump was elected president, the American public does not seem to be changing their xenophobic ways anytime soon.

 

Bring it in 2018

1. Vine 2

If you have a Twitter account, your feed has probably been bombarded with “iconic Vine threads” ever since Vine shut down in January 2017. From “I’m in me mum’s car, vroom vroom,” to “Hizzuck! Is it real?,” the Vine app has produced countless legendary relics of millennial humor. Although the glory days of Vine are reminisced about fondly by millions worldwide, the founders of the app could not settle on a creative vision for the app. What’s more, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat all moved faster than Vine in terms of adding features, with the introduction of Instagram Video as a major blow to Vine’s popularity. And, much to Twitter’s delight, On Nov. 30, 2017, founder of the original app Dom Hoffman published a cryptic tweet hinting at the app’s return. In times as chaotic as these, the least the internet deserves is our beloved Vine back up and running.

 

2. Cheaper prices for movies

On Aug. 30th, 2017, AMC Theatres Chief executive Adam Aron announced the summer movie season showed a 16 percent drop from the year prior, with the total number of tickets sold being the lowest since 1992. Experts claim they do not exactly know why such a dramatic drop has occurred, but if you ask me, it seems pretty obvious. No one in their right mind wants to spend $5 on a bottle of water and $10 on a movie ticket when the kitchen sink and Netflix exist. Going to see a movie in the theater is an iconic American pastime, but theaters are going to have to drop prices if they want to compete in the digital age.

 

3. New Beyonce music + more new music releases

As a diehard Beyonce fan, I have high expectations for her music this year. Her last album, Lemonade, was released in April 2016; considering her average time between albums is about two and a half years, she is due for another classic album. How will she outdo herself this time? Whatever she has in store, I know it’s going to be flawless. Some other popular artists expected to release new music this year include Justin Timberlake, Jack White, Liam Payne, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, The 1975, Fall Out Boy, and (my personal favorite)  Carly Rae Jepsen.

Photo courtesy of Billboard