From TV to memes, pop culture in 2017 wasn't entirely disappointing

This year can be broadly described as “much of the same” – the same being the anxiety-inducing upside-down Britain that we came to know last year. In this upside-down UK, fascists are legit, sexual predators are in every workplace (as epitomised by the President of the USA), and the idea of financial prosperity for any sector, or any average human, is a laughable dream.

In fairness, this was always our Britain, but if 2016 saw it unmask its true self, then 2017 sees it putting its feet up. 2016 Britain is right at home now; it’s making a cup of tea, it’s flicking through the television (nb, it’s all repeats of Mrs Brown’s Boys) and wondering what marginalised community to have a go at. It’s so bad, that there isn’t even a Newswipe for this year. Yes yes, maybe Charlie Brooker is off doing other things, but also, what’s the point of a satirical show when real-life is the satirical show?

The world of pop culture too has an air of repetition about it – from the multitude of sequels and remakes in the cinema, to Ed Sheeran just being everywhere, all the time – so much so at one point he held sixteen spots in the Top 40 charts. It might be easy to tar it all with the same “2016 sucks” brush, but there have been some standout exceptions.

Emoji sheriff defies internet hate-fest

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The emoji-sheriff was a short-lived but much loved moment of internet culture that exploded all over our screens in 2017. The premise of it was simple: take an emoji, use it to make a stick figure (topped with the cowboy emoji) to look like a sheriff, and then enter quip about the figurine being the new sheriff in town, laying down some laws.

Cute, but why has it made an annual list? Because defying Godwin’s Law of Internet – that the longer a conversation goes on, the more likely someone is to mention Hitler – the emoji sheriff didn’t end up being a meme for the alt-right, or used to harass people. Often it was just used to make you laugh or stay positive. Maybe it is possible to have a nice time online after all.

Golden age of TV continues

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Ask people what their favourite TV show of the year was and they’re likely to mention a show that premiered pre-2017: Stranger Things, Insecure, The Leftovers, Peaky Blinders, Chewing Gum, Line of Duty, Black Mirror. But that doesn’t devalue the continued rise of television as an all encompassing art form churning out book-worthy dialogue, gallery-worthy visuals and the kind of side-splitting laughs stand-ups can only dream of.

There’s been plenty of original television premiering this year; shows that will take their place alongside the greats. From The Handmaid’s Tale – the adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s seminal novel which became a potent symbol of women’s protest – to Legion, a superhero show, sure, but also a hallucinatory drama which is way more than spandex and fight scenes.

That’s not to say it was all good. It was sad to see some beloved franchises come crashing down (here’s looking at you, The Fall) while rehashed classics fared terribly – Scarlett Moffatt’s Streetmate and Prime Suspect 1973 spring to mind. Speaking of throwback shows, Eighties-themed White Gold on BBC2 screamed LAD but at that uncomfortable volume you hear in a kebab shop late at night – and what is happening to TV competition shows? They seem to go from weird (Naked Attraction still going strong from last year) to plain bland (The Great Village Green Crusade, BBC2) with only a shit singing show in-between (Let It Shine, BBC1).

Grime: the gift that keeps on giving

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I said last year in my predictions that this would be Stormzy’s year, and although I was wrong about him bringing out an autobiography (note: grime legend Wiley did though), the young MC has truly become a national treasure in 2017. His debut studio album, Gang Signs & Prayer, shot straight to number one and with its gospel influence and forthrightness about mental health issues, shattered any remaining stereotypes about grime’s legitimacy as a full art form. Finally. Why has it taken so long for everyone to realise?

This year has been standout for both grime and the UK rap scene in general. There are more women getting the spotlight (Stefflon Don), and more institutional approval from traditionally conservative (and white) award-givers. That’s not to say that the urban scene has lost its sense of humour, oh no no. And nothing exemplifies this more than 2017’s biggest viral hit, “Man’s Not Hot” by Big Shaq.

All hail the podcast

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2017 has been another stellar year for podcasts, a form that shows no sign of slowing both in terms of volume and quality. Back in 2014, when Serial blew up, minds were boggled that such brilliant journalism and storytelling could take place in our ears, and arguably, podcasts never got to such a heady height of exposure again. But slow-burning in the background, podcasts have managed to become a vital part of the pop culture and media tapestry, with anyone who is anyone having a go. Some of the most noteworthy include the LA Times’, Serial-esque true-crime exploration Dirty John; S-Town (from This American Life); NewsRoast from satirists Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein; and even Ed Miliband’s exploration of big ideas in Reasons to Be Cheerful.