Written by Joyelle “Basically Majored in Pop Culture” Ronan
As Roanoke Colleges says farewell to this year’s graduating seniors, it is a good time to reflect on the past four years. When the class of 2021 started at Roanoke College back in 2017, the world was a very different place. Only doctors wore face masks. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were still married. Let’s check in on some of the most talked-about pop culture moments from 2017 to see if they’ve dropped out or graduated with the class of 2021.
2017: Warren Beatty handing the Oscar for Best Picture to La La Land instead of Moonlight. This is peak award show drama. This wasn’t just an iconic moment of 2017, but an iconic moment for all of history.
2021: Honestly, the Oscars were kinda sad and slow this year because of COVID-19. No wrong awards were given out, Chadwick Boseman didn’t win, and Timothee Chalamet wasn’t even there.
2017: The old Taylor couldn’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, because she was too busy making a huge comeback with the album Reputation after her drama with Kim and Kanye.
2021: Taylor Swift released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) on April 9th. It included the track Mr. Perfectly Fine, which she wrote about ex Joe Jonas back in 2008. His fiance Sophie Turner said “It’s not NOT a bop.”
2017: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got engaged and people fell in love with the couple. Americans were particularly invested considering Meghan is from California.
2021: The royals have since married, had a kid with one on the way, left the royal family and moved to America, and basically exposed the British monarchy in a single Oprah interview.
2017: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez officially become a couple! With nicknames like A-rod and J-lo, it was meant to be.
2021: It was not meant to be. After getting engaged, they broke up in April of this year. Jennifer has been spotted with her ex Ben Affleck. Bennifer initially broke up back in 2004. A true blast from the past.
2017: Kendall Jenner solved racism in America by handing out soda to cops in a Pepsi superbowl commercial. Just kidding, she faced backlash.
2021: Kendall is accused of cultural appropriation for a tequila commercial, and is facing backlash. Yes, Olivia Rodrigo, I do get deja vu.
2017: The #Metoo movement empowered women to speak up against sexual abuse and sexual harassment. While the hashtag was popularized by the entertainment industry, it started to be used by millions of people around the world.
2021: The movement continues to inspire people, but more change is needed to ensure women and all people are safe and have equality.
2017: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York actor Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States. He ran on the slogan “Make America Great Again.”
2021: He made America so much worse. Macaulay Culkin tweeted support for removing Trump’s cameo from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
