Top 10 Pop Culture Moments 2016

2016 has been one heck of year! But now that it is over, it’s time to look back over the last 12 months and reflect on what has happened on the internet, on television, in the theaters, and around the world.

This year saw a fantastic summer Olympics, a new US President voted into office, a brand new Star Wars movie, as well as countless other incredible historical moments. But, what is really important to remember in 2016 are all of the biggest pop culture moments!

From Kanye’s breakdown to Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Oscar, from explosive season finales to hilarious hit movies, 2016 has given us a lot to talk about for the next few years. To help narrow the year down a bit, here is our list of the top 10 pop culture moments of 2016.

Did your favorite pop culture moment of the year make the list?

Next: The Top Geek News of 2016 | Best Kylie Jenner Instagram Photos of 2016 | Top TV Moments of 2016 | Top 10 Shows To Look Forward To in 2017 | Reality TV Stars’ Biggest Moments In 2016

Leonardo DiCaprio FINALLY Wins an Oscar

After six nominations, and a whole career of incredible movies, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his Best Actor Oscar. His film, The Revanant, was about DiCaprio’s character trying to survive in the cold wild after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by Tom Hardy.

Leo’s win and speech didn’t leave a dry eye in the entire room – and in living rooms all across America.What’s more his win showed everyone that he and Kate Winslet are still good friends from their Titanic days – and now they both have matching trophies.  

Perhaps there is another Oscar in Leo’s future for 2017? Or, at least, he will star in another Oscar-worthy film?

[H/T YouTube/Leonardo DiCaprio – France]

Harambe

The tragic death of Harambe, a Western Lowland gorilla that once lived at the Cinncinatti Zoo is still on everyone’s mind. Harambe was shot and killed by zoo workers after a 4-year-old child fell into his enclosure at the zoo. The death of this majestic animal was debated everywhere after it happened. Why did he need to be killed and no tranquilized? Was it the zoo’s fault or the mother of the child’s for the kid falling in? Was Harambe really being violent toward the child, or is dragging young ones around by their ankles normal in gorilla culture?

Why did he need to be killed and no tranquilized? Was it the zoo’s fault or the mother of the child’s for the kid falling in? Was Harambe really being violent toward the child, or is dragging young ones around by their ankles normal in gorilla culture? Many of these questions are still debated today.

Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that there isn’t another incident like this one in 2017. Not just for the sake of the child who could fall into danger, but for the sake of the poor animal that happens to live in the enclosure.

[H/T YouTube/ TomoNews Us]

Game of Thrones Finale

One of the most popular shows of the year came to a crashing conclusion in the season six finale. What is usually a show that likes to show off its ability to kill characters fans truly care about, decided to take its shock factor to an entirely new level in the finale.

Without spoiling the end of the season for those who have yet to watch the show, there is death… and a lot more of it than usual. The best way to describe the end of season six is to say that your mouth will be permanently put in a shocked position throughout the entire episode. This finale sets up a massive change of pace for the show going forward, as well as finally introducing conflicts that fans have been waiting for since the dragons hatched at the end of the first season.

Sadly, alongside the shocking season finale, similarly shocking news was announced that the seventh season of the show wouldn’t be returning to HBO until much later in 2017. This is because winter has finally come to Westeros and the creators of the show decided that it would probably be cheaper to film during the actual winter instead of trying to recreate it.

Hopefully, in 2017, the show will simply bring fans more shock, awe, and incredible storytelling. 

[H/T YouTube/Game of Thrones]

 

Pokemon Go!

Children of the 90’s are finally able to pretend that they are actually Pokemon trainers! This augmented reality mobile game allows users to catch and train the fictional pocket monsters from the famous series of video games, television, and manga. 

The game encourages players to get up and walk around their area. While out and about, the game generates creatures in a map overlay of the area using GPS. So, if a player is in a park, the game uses GPS to display the park and generate Pokemon for the player to catch. The game even uses the phone’s camera to show what it would look like if the Pokemon were really right in front of the player.

The game was so popular at first that it would regularly freeze up with server issues. There were hundreds of people playing the game at any given time on any given street. Players play against each other at “gyms” where they would battle the Pokemon. It got people out of the house and up on their feet.

Though the game has died down in popularity since it first came out, the game will probably be releasing new and exciting updates in 2017.

[H/T YouTube/Pokemon Go]

Deadpool

2016 saw the return of Ryan Reynolds to a superhero movie. The difference between this one and Green Lantern? Deadpool was a great movie!

Reynolds truly thrived in the role of sassy, sarcastic, and ridiculous Deadpool. Reynolds delivered exactly what fans were looking for in way of comedy, violence, and sexual tendencies. The movie was Marvel’s first rated R film and that rating was well deserved. 

The film follows the origin story of ex-special forces member Wade Wilson who is given super healing powers after an experiment to cure his cancer goes wrong. Now, equipped with plenty of weapons, a twisted sense of humor, and a bad attitude, Deadpool seeks revenge on the man who nearly killed him – and certainly put him through a lot of pain.

[H/T YouTube/20th Century Fox]

The Final Five

During the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, five American gymnasts made history. 

The American women’s gymnastics team, who dubbed themselves the Final Five, team all-around gold medal, which has only been accomplished three other times in history.

Consisting of Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, and Madison Kocian, the girls beat out the other teams by huge margins, making their win even better. What’s more, Biles and Raisman went on to kick butt during the individual competition as well. Biles went home with a stunning five total medals from the competition, four of which are gold.

Kim Kardashian Paris Robbery

On October 3, 2016, Kim Kardashian-West was visiting Paris for Paris Fashion Week. After she had gone to her room for the evening, sending her bodyguard off to protect her sisters, Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint. 

According to the reports, the reality star was staying at the No Address Hotel when men wearing masks forced their way into her room. From there they tied her up and pointed a gun at her head. They then proceeded to steal millions of dollars worth of jewelry from her room. 

After the incident, many people suspected that the entire ordeal was just a publicity stunt, however, since the event, Kardashian has certainly acted differently. She believes that she was targeted for the robbery due to her posting photos of her expensive jewelry on social media. So, since then, she hasn’t returned to social media. 

Brangelina Divorce

One of the hottest Hollywood couples decided that 2016 was a great year to file for divorce. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie decided to call it quits after 12 years together.

The two actors got together in 2004, splitting up what used to be Hollywood’s hottest couple, Pitt and ex Jennifer Anniston. Pitt and Jolie have six kids together, three are adopted and three are biological. What’s more, they have a very public relationship, so, needless to say, they have since had a very public divorce.

As of the end of 2016, things aren’t going smoothly for the two actors. It seems like their divorce negotiations are very much like the scene in Mr. and Mrs. Smith where they destroy the house while trying to kill each other. So far, the two have decided that Pitt should move out of the home. Other than that, the only other concrete decision that has come out of the chaos is that Jolie doesn’t want Pitt to have custody of the children. Pitt, however, would like to see his kids. 

Who knows what 2017 will bring for this messy divorce. 

Kanye Has A Breakdown

On November 21, 2016, Kanye West was admitted to the hospital for sleep deprivation. As it turns out, the rapper and husband to Kim Kardashian, was suffering from exhaustion, as well as depression and paranoia. West was in the hospital for a week over the Thanksgiving holiday, but has since been released and is slowly making his way back into his old routine.

Prior to his hospitlization, West was helping his wife overcome the stresses of her Paris robbery. That stress, on top of his Saint Pablo tour, his fashion line, and all of is other work related appointments, broke Kanye down a bit. In the weeks leading up to his breakdown, he canceled shows, or decided to go off on long rants about various hot topics. He simply started acting strange – or at least stranger than normal.

Since he has come out of the hospital, the Kardashian-West clan hasn’t been seen out in public much. They have made small apperances with their children celebrating Christmas and Kardashian was featured in her sisters Christmas Eve snapchat videos. Otherwise, they are keeping their issues private as they sort out everything that has happened to the family over the last few months. However, Kanye has been seen out and about without his wife, visiting art galleries, biking with friends, and visiting with President-elect Donald Trump.

2017 is likely to prove if their divorce rumors are true. 

Celebrity Deaths

A lot has happened in 2016, some happy moments and some sad moments. But some of the most heartbreaking moments of this last year came when many of the most beloved celebrities passed away. 2016 took away so many stars that many people wondered if it would ever stop. 

2016 took David Bowie, George Michael, and Prince from the music world. It took Arnold Palmer and Muhamed Ali from sports. It stole Alan Thicke and Florence Henderson from the world of classic television. It stole Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, Anton Yelchin, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds from the silver screen. And those are just to name a few of those who passed in 2016.

Fans everywhere still mourn the loss of these beloved celebrities and the happiness that they brought to the world. Their legacy will always be remembered through the incredible work that they gave the world.  Don’t forget them in the new year.

Hopefully, 2017 will be kinder. 

[H/T YouTube/MLive]