Remembering the 2010s

Let it go! Let it go! The days of Prince charming-dreaming princesses are over with Frozen: Una aventura congelada (2013) and its song that became a mantra to female empowerment, generating a new breed of heroines and new narratives in the animation genre and beyond.

The downfall: generally, the term "end of an era" has negative connotations but this is one nobody will complain about, the shock waves following the revelations about Harvey Weinstein hit the whole Hollywood and TV industry, generating the #MeToo movement and allowing people -men included- to speak up publicly about the abuse they were victim of, one of the most immediate and notable "victims" of that domino-effect was Kevin Spacey.

King of the world! Not that he needed it to boost his career but rumor had it that he would have to wait until his 60s like John Wayne when he wore the patch, all it took Leo was eating a raw liver and the rest was history. Time was up for him as well.

The "Little" movie that did big: Luz de luna (2016), the Best Picture winner of 2016 is a movie that invites for so many categorizations that we might overlook the little aspects that make it even more powerful: not just knowing what or who you are, but sticking to it once you know, because no one can change you without your consent. The film is also a powerful denunciation of bullying and harassment, not irrelevancies a few months before the Weinstein's scandal.

Oh la la land! The biggest screwup of Oscar history after the disastrous execution of the Snow White musical... the moment where the wrong winners were announced was so cringe-worthy that it's even painful to mention it, but unlike Steve Harvey with Miss Universe (an honest mistake, so to speak), this Oscar goof is a strong reflection on the narcissism that prevails in our ego-driven era with professional people focused on twitting pictures through their smartphones instead of staying focused on their jobs.

The Dark year: It started with Alan Rickman and ended with Carrie Fisher followed by her mother Debbie Reynolds. 2016 spared absolutely no field of entertainment, reaping the lives of Muhammad Ali, Leonard Cohen, Gene Wilder, George Kennedy, Patty Duke, Alan Thicke, the young Anton Yelchin and no less than three pop icons: David Bowie, Prince and George Michael. Yes, even celebrities die... but talk about overdoing, 2016.

So many Best Picture nominees! There was a time where Oscar buffs could immediately give you the 5 Best Picture nominees of 1962 or 1994. The task has been made more difficult after the implementation of the new Oscar rules. Since 2010, there have been no less than 88 nominees in one decade, with a few bizarre choices (Un sueño posible (2009), Tan fuerte y tan cerca (2011)...), some cool nods to the world of animation and recently, a fair shot for the blockbuster pictures (Mad Max: Furia en el camino (2015) and Pantera Negra (2018) being the most remarkable examples).

Oscar Races... and other Issues: Has the world become too emotive, the media too inquisitive, the lobbies too vindicative or simply the lack of visibility too sensitive (an issue) but it seems that today, no institution, not even the Academy, can get away with excuses such as votes or lacks of representation, if the problem comes from such causes, then maybe *they* are the problem.

Follow the stream: It used to be a "TV vs. Movies" thing but it ain't like the good ol' days anymore. 'Stranger things' have happened ever since with the reign of Netflix and streaming platforms that proved capable to produce successful series as well as critically-acclaimed and Oscar-sweeping movies. After Amazon with Manchester junto al mar (2016), Netflix proved to be a major contender with films such as Mudbound: El color de la guerra (2017), Roma (2018) and perhaps its most anticipated baby: El irlandés (2019).

"I GOT the Power!" Series were successful long before the 2010s but no show reached a level of popularity like Game of Thrones (2011) did. The series became a cultural phenomenon but all emotionality put aside, its success proved that the series' format has become more appropriate to tell interesting stories, while movies tend to condensate everything and deprive them from their richness and density and as the success of True Detective (2014) shows, it's not just about epic movies but also realistic crime-themed dramas.

The Art, the artist... and the man: the 'Weinstein' scandal is one thing, but how about real performers... Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Stephen Collins or Roman Polanski... so many celebrities come to mind when we think of accusations, scandals, controversies, creepy revelations (especially sexual abuses) or tragic incidents that have caused someone's downfall, destroying an image or "at least" soiling a significant portion of legacy. And yet it is a very difficult question when it comes to someone we used to admire. Should we still 'enjoy' his work? Is boycott the only ethical answer? Should we separate the Art from the artist?

Gaga... Ooh la la! Lady Gaga became an international star as soon as she popped up in the pop scene in 2009. Everyone believed she was the new Madonna but who would have thought one second she would be the next Barbra Streisand? After sharing a kiss with Marge in Los Simpson (1989), she became a TV sensation in American Horror Story (2011), and finally, a star was born with... well, you know.

It's live! It's live! The flood of Disney live-action films that began in 2010 with Alicia en el país de las maravillas (2010) keep on going and going, establishing a new form of renaissance, but would we call it a Golden Age?

We don't need another hero...: Avengers: Endgame (2019) became the financially most successful movie of all time, the culmination of a 22-part blockbuster series in a decade flooded with superhero movies, it was inevitable. There's a demand for superhero movies and the industry is still supplying them, no need to get critical, or cynical, or over-analytical about it...

Chewie, we're home! Before 2015 and Star Wars: El despertar de la fuerza (2015), there were 6 official "Star Wars" movies, in 2019, there's been so many only a fan can keep track on. At least, the "Rocky" franchise kept it simpler, not to mention "Mad Max"... but that's for the next trend.

Old is gold: with the revival of movies and shows from the 80's/90's, like "Star Wars", "Terminator", "Rambo", "Rocky", "Murphy Brown", "Dallas", "Roseanne" but also original creations like Ready Player One: comienza el juego (2018) and Stranger Things (2016) surfing that nostalgic wave as well.

The Threads of Wrath: Facebook, Twitter or Instagram have became part of our everyday language. The decade that started with a film called Red social (2010) and the death of Steve Jobs, set for better or worse the tone of the new e-ra, with the democratization of the vox populi through blogs or Youtube channels and public and private accounts that can be either tools that forge celebrities or "pens-mightier-than-swords" that undo careers.

Millennial Rhapsody: the 80s kids have become full grown-ups; and while the term "Millennial" is used with thinly veiled contempt by the elders, it's still relevant when used in a neutral way. And there's no doubt that this is a generation on which the industry will have to count for the next decades, with new directors such as Jonah Hill, Oscar-winner Damien Chazelle and Oscar-nominee Greta Gerwig, the fifth woman in history, who also gratified us with a wonderful hymn to the Millennial generation with a touching coming-of-age story: Lady Bird (2017).

They still got it... the old school directors still have a few movies under their sleeves, the 2010s saw the nominations of many veterans from Woody Allen to Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood to Terrence Malick, making the decade perhaps the final connection between the old and the new generation.

The Mexican touch: think about it, out of 10 Oscar directing wins, 5 were for Mexican directors, names like Cuarón, Iñárritu and del Toro became undeniable guarantees of cinematic excellence and creativity... and honorable mention to the other foreigners who got the statuette: Ang Lee and Michel Hazanavicius.

When Disney took over: in a 1983 TV program following the release of El regreso del jedi (1983), critic John Simon (who didn't like the film by the way) said in a rather disdainful tone: "these are the sort of films Disney should be making". Quite an epic prediction since the company is near-ubiquitous thanks to high-profile purchases including Marvel Studios and the Star Wars franchise, as well as remakes of its own classics and the launch of an own streaming service.