What in your opinion was the darkest year of the 2010's so far, atmospherically and pop culturally? In my opinion it was 2014 with its extremely dark/downbeat vibe that permeated it's culture most especially the music which had a dark feel. Here's one example which I think captured the feel of the year pretty well. What do you think?

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2016

2016 easily.

2016

I'm with everyone. It's 2016 for the darkest year.

2016 was when any speck of lingering optimism this decade burnt out. 2017 has been a mostly morbid year, too, but at least the world has sort of adapted to the new climate and is more proactive in speaking up for justice than ever.

2012. You had that school shooting and pop culture was in the toilet that year.  8-P 2012 was also the darkest ever for my personal life as well.

2016 was pretty dark too. However, 2017 was way more dark in terms of terrorism and world events. People mistake 2016 as being more scary just because a bunch of celebrities died and the vibe change with Trump and all. But I would say 2017 was actually a lot more dark. More protesting, terrorist attacks, and division.

2012, because of the Aurora Colorado shooting in the summer, and the Sandy Hook shooting in December.

For some reason, the Aurora Colorado shooting really disturbed me. It just felt like a really dark year for me, personally. Not bad, just intense. I guess the shootings just added to the darkness.

2012. You had that school shooting and pop culture was in the toilet that year.  8-P 2012 was also the darkest ever for my personal life as well.

2016 was pretty dark too. However, 2017 was way more dark in terms of terrorism and world events. People mistake 2016 as being more scary just because a bunch of celebrities died and the vibe change with Trump and all. But I would say 2017 was actually a lot more dark. More protesting, terrorist attacks, and division.


2016 had Nice, Brussels and Orlando. I don't think anything in 2017 came close to those. But I think in the US 2017 had more deadly massacres that aren't terrorist attacks.

My vote goes to 2016 for reasons that don't need repeating. 2015 was pretty dark too with the refugee crisis and the terrorist attacks and low oil prices and the problems that caused.

I didn't think 2014 was that dark. You're going to find sad songs from any year, but what I remember topping the charts were songs like Happy, All About That Bass, Shake It Off, etc. These are all pretty upbeat songs. There was All of Me by John Legend that's not the most upbeat song, but it was such a beautiful song, it deserved to top the charts in any upbeat year IMO. :P

2016 had Nice, Brussels and Orlando. I don't think anything in 2017 came close to those. But I think in the US 2017 had more deadly massacres that aren't terrorist attacks.

My vote goes to 2016 for reasons that don't need repeating. 2015 was pretty dark too with the refugee crisis and the terrorist attacks and low oil prices and the problems that caused.

I didn't think 2014 was that dark. You're going to find sad songs from any year, but what I remember topping the charts were songs like Happy, All About That Bass, Shake It Off, etc. These are all pretty upbeat songs. There was All of Me by John Legend that's not the most upbeat song, but it was such a beautiful song, it deserved to top the charts in any upbeat year IMO. :P

Mass shootings are terrorist attacks. Stephen Paddock was a terrorist. Devin Patrick Kelley was a terrorist. You don't have to be muslim to be a terrorist.

Mass shootings are terrorist attacks. Stephen Paddock was a terrorist. Devin Patrick Kelley was a terrorist. You don't have to be muslim to be a terrorist.

Random mass shootings are not the same as terrorist attacks. Terrorism is defined as "violence against civilians in the persuit of political aims". Terrorist attacks have to be politically driven and motivated therefore a mass shooting by a crazy person is not a terrorist attack.

Having said that, you are right terrorism doesn't only happen from muslim people. In Canada we had a terrorist attack this year by white people against muslim people in Quebec with a mosque shooting.

I didn't think 2014 was that dark. You're going to find sad songs from any year, but what I remember topping the charts were songs like Happy, All About That Bass, Shake It Off, etc. These are all pretty upbeat songs. There was All of Me by John Legend that's not the most upbeat song, but it was such a beautiful song, it deserved to top the charts in any upbeat year IMO. :P

I remember 2014 being a year full of sad songs too like from Sam Smith (he was huge that year) and John Legend too. But it had a good mix of upbeat songs too. Here is the billboard year end for 2014. I find the songs from 2014 to be much better than the ones from today. I kind of miss 2014 now oddly enough. Back then the world was not as in a dark place as now. 2014 honestly feels fairly distant now.

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Second part of 2014-2017 seem like very dark years. Even the cars are starting to look too edgy. 2012 was bad for my personal life in the end as I had a burnout but at least it had upbeat music and I loved fashion, tech, cars of that era (some of them still available as face-lifted left-overs). In 2013 I was in love with life so to say, a great year personaly. Music was a bit more serious than in 2009-2012, but still nice enough to enjoy.
First part of 2014 seemed like a 2013 leftover but that summer the vibe went even more serious, less carefree.
2013 now feels like the good ol' days to me. And yes, there is more terrorism since 2014, even in Spain. Heck, even the article in Wikipedia is called Islamic terrorism in Europe (2014–present) as previous attacks were more sporadic. Also in 2013 there was less talk of man-spreading and stuff like that, the whole SJWs and altright phenomenon I constantly have to read online (thankfully as an European I rarely see it in real life). I am noticing how much more beautiful early 2010 cars were just now when most of them are replaced by new models or heavily face-lifted. I don't like the LED headlights trend and also the useless creases on the car bodies. 8-P

There has always been negativity online, but now it's very high. Now even the media is very negative. And pop culture for me jumped the shark when they made an emoji movie, as we were not addicted enough to our mobile phones that we had to be reminded by those characters. :)

I really have to force myself to like anything particular from this era really, I only like the new curved-screen smartphones and bezel-less ones. This is also the Windows 10 era and I just can't warm to it. I might switch to Linux. I don't even like the latest fashion or car trends - the only recent new car model I like is the new Mustang probably and all others are leftovers that got face-lifted. Oh another thing that I like is that Sheila is back on Bold and the Beautiful (grandma used to watch it in the 90's when she was alive so I have fond memories), but I can't watch episodes as they cancelled B&B in my country. It's very hard to come with things I enjoy about the post-2014 period. But yes, 2014 was better than now, however the first part IMO was much brighter and carefree. In about fall of 2014 the moodiness started appearing. Of course it might be just because I was 22-25 in the early 10's and now I'm pushing 30, but I hated and still do most pop culture things from 2005-2007 save for some car models.

2014 was an upbeat year for music imo

Second part of 2014-2017 seem like very dark years. Even the cars are starting to look too edgy. 2012 was bad for my personal life in the end as I had a burnout but at least it had upbeat music and I loved fashion, tech, cars of that era (some of them still available as face-lifted left-overs). In 2013 I was in love with life so to say, a great year personaly. Music was a bit more serious than in 2009-2012, but still nice enough to enjoy.
First part of 2014 seemed like a 2013 leftover but that summer the vibe went even more serious, less carefree.
2013 now feels like the good ol' days to me. And yes, there is more terrorism since 2014, even in Spain. Heck, even the article in Wikipedia is called Islamic terrorism in Europe (2014–present) as previous attacks were more sporadic. Also in 2013 there was less talk of man-spreading and stuff like that, the whole SJWs and altright phenomenon I constantly have to read online (thankfully as an European I rarely see it in real life). I am noticing how much more beautiful early 2010 cars were just now when most of them are replaced by new models or heavily face-lifted. I don't like the LED headlights trend and also the useless creases on the car bodies. 8-P

There has always been negativity online, but now it's very high. Now even the media is very negative. And pop culture for me jumped the shark when they made an emoji movie, as we were not addicted enough to our mobile phones that we had to be reminded by those characters. :)

I really have to force myself to like anything particular from this era really, I only like the new curved-screen smartphones and bezel-less ones. This is also the Windows 10 era and I just can't warm to it. I might switch to Linux. I don't even like the latest fashion or car trends - the only recent new car model I like is the new Mustang probably and all others are leftovers that got face-lifted. Oh another thing that I like is that Sheila is back on Bold and the Beautiful (grandma used to watch it in the 90's when she was alive so I have fond memories), but I can't watch episodes as they cancelled B&B in my country. It's very hard to come with things I enjoy about the post-2014 period. But yes, 2014 was better than now, however the first part IMO was much brighter and carefree. In about fall of 2014 the moodiness started appearing. Of course it might be just because I was 22-25 in the early 10's and now I'm pushing 30, but I hated and still do most pop culture things from 2005-2007 save for some car models.


Where do you live in Europe?

2013 was pretty dark too, after 2012. To me, 2016, was more volatile than dark.

Where do you live in Europe?


He said Spain. I can see why he thinks 2017 is dark but surprised he views the early 2010s as upbeat given the situation over there.  :o

2017 in France is the best it has been in years. Emmanuel Macron as president, fewer terrorist attacks, state of emergency lifted, economy is on fire, unemployment is finally coming down. This enrages the literal communists and fascists over at France Insoumise and Front National but I feed off their tears.  ;D

I didn't think 2014 was that dark.
Yeah, I don't remember the year being that terrifying. I watched the news many times, and there was nothing mentioned about SJWS, Alt-Right, Trump, endless attacks, etc. The only bad things that occurred were the UCSB shooting and the police brutality in New York, St. Louis and Cleveland.

I remember 2014 being a year full of sad songs too like from Sam Smith (he was huge that year) and John Legend too. But it had a good mix of upbeat songs too. Here is the billboard year end for 2014. I find the songs from 2014 to be much better than the ones from today. I kind of miss 2014 now oddly enough. Back then the world was not as in a dark place as now. 2014 honestly feels fairly distant now.



I was just making a playlist of cheesy 2013/2014 songs that I used to listen to, so that video is going to be useful. Thankfully I don't remember the songs on the lower rankings though ;D

2014 is probably my favourite year this decade.  :-X :-X :-X Remember how we pwned at the Sochi Olympics? Haha, I was in downtown Toronto watching it on the big screen. The streets were packed, the atmosphere was amazing! :D

I was just making a playlist of cheesy 2013/2014 songs that I used to listen to, so that video is going to be useful. Thankfully I don't remember the songs on the lower rankings though ;D

2014 is probably my favourite year this decade.  :-X :-X :-X Remember how we pwned at the Sochi Olympics? Haha, I was in downtown Toronto watching it on the big screen. The streets were packed, the atmosphere was amazing! :D

Yeah I have some good memories from 2014 too. I went on a trip to Montreal and had a really good summer that year. 2014 is my third favourite year this decade.

I don't live in Spain, I'm from Bulgaria. It's just that Spain was supposed to be a safer country compared to UK, Germany, France et al. with regards to terrorism. Politically in my country 2013-2014 were very unstable with many changes of government and protests. But I didn't care as I had the time of my life, so for me I remember those years and the associated pop culture fondly. Unfortunately it makes hard finding street photos from my city as when you google "Sofia Bulgaria 2013" you mostly get photos from the protests.

Working at a place where they played the latest top 40 hits everyday helped in remembering the tunes associated with that time. I didn't now it were 1D or Miley or whoever singing, I just digged the catchy tunes. I was 25, so according to some here I was already too old for listening to such artists lol. ;) But in (Southern) Europe there is not so much stigmata associated with being a straight adult male and listening to things like 1D and Miley as many people just listen to Top 40 while working.

For tech I remember Win 8.x was mostly skipped in favor of Win 7 while I distinctly remember seeing the Samsung Galaxy S5 with it's shiny blue dotted rear on bus stops boards in early 2014. Office 2007 was still in heavy use, and only some places used Office 2010. I think Office 2013 and 2016 are worse. One shift I hate is that all sites in the EU started having that "cookie consent" annoying pop up after 2014. And the flat/pastel color website design trend. ;D As I said I dislike the dark and flat look of Win 10.

For personal life, 2013 and early 2014 were as happy as my childhood years. I was 25 but was in love with life like a little kid. As culturally early 2014 had many leftovers from 2013 and from I worked at the same job, for ease and briefness I say 2013 is my best and favorite year as an adult so far. For my personal life in many ways late 2014 up until 2017 blend together despite the big cultural differences and changes in each year. I really hope there is improvement soon. :\'( I think to an extent my happiness makes me appreciate the pop culture from back then more, but objectively I should be happier now. I had no friends then but fell in love with life, now I finally have friends again and a better-paid job but I have depression.

Also 2013/2014 was my favorite winter climate-wise. While winter 2012/2013 was very cold, like -21 C in my home city, 2013/2014 was very mild (10 C in February and snowed only in Nov'13 and once in Jan'14). So even the weather between 2013 and 2014 was jolly as we practically had a very mild winter. Since 2014/2015, winters seem to be getting colder again in many places of Europe. The last one 2016/2017 was quite cold in my home city.

Yeah, I don't remember the year being that terrifying. I watched the news many times, and there was nothing mentioned about SJWS, Alt-Right, Trump, endless attacks, etc.

But that's when the first two started rising to prominence.

It's stranger how 2014 has more votes than 2015. It was more positive, at least the first half IMO. Obviously cultural trends spillover, so November 2014 feels more like and has more common with early 2015 than January-March 2014. ;)

I can definitely see where you guys are coming from who voted 2016, that's for sure. I also actually quite enjoyed 2014 despite me thinking it has a dark vibe as well.

2016.  Ke$ha did not release any new singles.  :-\\

But that's when the first two started rising to prominence.
If it did, then it would most likely have to be either the second half or towards the end of the year. For the first half or majority of the year, the general vibe was positive.

2016.  Ke$ha did not release any new singles.  :-\\


;D

My vote is for 2017 because of all the division among people and the unrest and protests due to the current regime and events it just feels unreal. Hateful people are coming out of the woodwork. The mass murders are leaving higher death tolls too it seems. Celebrities being outed as perverts is shocking too (some of them) but at least it comes with the silver lining of less tolerance for sexual harrassment, I hope anyway. It just feels like you can't trust anyone anymore because you just don't know.

Yeah, I don't remember the year being that terrifying. I watched the news many times, and there was nothing mentioned about SJWS, Alt-Right, Trump, endless attacks, etc. The only bad things that occurred were the UCSB shooting and the police brutality in New York, St. Louis and Cleveland.


Elliot Rodger's rampage along with Gamergate sort of "started" the whole SJW and Alt-Right feuds.

Elliot Rodger's rampage along with Gamergate sort of "started" the whole SJW and Alt-Right feuds.
Do you also think his manifesto may have played a part in this as well?

2016, all the rest is consequence

Wow, looks like 2016 is the nearly uncontested winner.

In my personal life it was 2014 as I was going through a period of anxiety and depression related to work, which began in mid 2013. But overall including culturally and political climate it was definitely 2016. That was the peak of the feelings of anger, hatred, and uncertainty/pessimism especially as it got closer to the elections. It was the ugliest elections I've seen. Late 2016 things got bad in my personal life when I had 3 deaths in the family but before that everything was going well, even though something just didn't feel right. While I was on vacation the Dallas police shootings happened, and shortly before was the Orlando nightclub shootings. News events like that were common, and it seemed like the American flag was almost always flying at half-mast.

Normally the Olympic years are supposed to be the happy and fun years, but lately that hasn't been the case. Some could say the same about 2012. It also had a dark feeling even though I enjoyed that year.

2016, END OF STORY.

2016 without question

That period of time from the Orlando Shootings up until Early August was incredibly dark. The country seemed to heal itself a little despite the eleciton but from November 9th until like Thanksgiving there was this insanely divisive dialogue in the country about the election that made the year insanely dark.

2016 hands down

2010 was pretty dark and gloomy tbh, the world economy was crumbling and the future didn't look so bright. Still overshadowed by 2016: countless celebrity deaths, ISIS at its peak, some of the most bewildering elections, one of the worst years of the 21th century.

By the way, this fake trailer of a horror movie where the year 2016 itself plays the role of a horror monster is legit one of the funniest Youtube videos  ;D

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2012 and 2015 (the later part)

Only hipsters are picking anything other than 2016 ;D

2012 was a darker year than 2016.

2012 was a darker year than 2016.

Yeah
Sandy Hook
Aurora Shooting
Hurricaine Sandy
But I still think 2016 is darker with all the celebrity deaths happening every week.

Yeah
Sandy Hook
Aurora Shooting
Hurricaine Sandy
But I still think 2016 is darker with all the celebrity deaths happening every week.


Don't forget the whole Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman debacle and the bath-salts "zombie" attack of that homeless man in Miami.
The whole year had a rather dark and intense vibe, and yet people seemed to be (slightly) more optimistic and laid-back than in 2016 when the whole world was in a somber daze.

Don't forget the whole Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman debacle and the bath-salts "zombie" attack of that homeless man in Miami.
The whole year had a rather dark and intense vibe, and yet people seemed to be (slightly) more optimistic and laid-back than in 2016 when the whole world was in a somber daze.

I still remember when people said the world was going to end in December of that year I was 8 in my living room and i heard it on the news

The whole "the world is gonna end soon" craze of 2012 was actually pretty funny. Even more funny is that 12/21/2012 was one of the best days of my life ;D

I didn't find the celebrities dying from natural causes very dark. I just found it unusual that it all happened in one year but with the ages of most of the celebrities when they were popular it wasn't too surprising. I find school shootings, murders, and natural disasters a lot more dark.

By the way, this fake trailer of a horror movie where the year 2016 itself plays the role of a horror monster is legit one of the funniest Youtube videos  ;D

Z04M6NhkIKk

That video was pretty damn good

2014-present. I feel uprooted living away from the place I grew up, yet not in America (as I’ve had more exposure to US culture). Best would be to immigrate to the US or go back me thinks. Fed up with most of Europe really, it’s so overrated and crowded.

I've always felt that 2014 had quite a dark "noir" vibe. There was a palpable sense of foreboding and uncertainty in the air. Things like MH370+MH17, James Foleys death, ISIS, Elliot Rodger, Ukrainian war, Ebola, there was a certain grittyness that seemed at the forefront of everything. This noir element was quite "romantic" though, I didn't mind it at all.

Having said that, 2016 was even darker, and lacked any element of romance. It was simply an edgy as hell, dark, tumultuous time to be alive. The darkness just grew and grew, with the finale being election night itself.

All of the 2010s recent years were dark. The early 2010s, 2015, 2016 and 2017 just had a positive dark look. The vibe can have a fun dark tune to.

Early 2014 was more like 2013, much less dark compared to second part of 2014. Imo 2010-May 2014 was the best recent era for music and pop culture.

2016

As OP said i kind of think that 2014 was more dark i remember when the Ebola outbreak started to happen and i defintely remember the rise of ISIS. IMO it's like 2014 had it's innocence until late 2014 came.

As OP said i kind of think that 2014 was more dark i remember when the Ebola outbreak started to happen and i defintely remember the rise of ISIS. IMO it's like 2014 had it's innocence until late 2014 came.


well I think early 2014 still had a lot of cultural connections with the early 10's, to the point where early 14 felt much more similar to say 2011 than it did to 2018. I honestly wonder if 2014 will eventually be regarded as the true early-mid transitional 10's year.