Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

Top 10 pop culture trends of 2014

Journalism senior Gian Demano poses in Taylor Mall at the Downtown Campus on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. (Gif by Alexis Macklin)
Journalism senior Gian Demano poses in Taylor Mall at the Downtown Campus on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. (Gif by Alexis Macklin)

1. Bae

Ah, the word that spawned a thousand Buzzfeed articles, the pinnacle of 2014 pop culture: bae. Whether you think it means babe, "before anyone else" or "poop" in Danish, the insane popularity this word gained this year can't be denied. It's been used to describe anything, from one's significant other to Chick-Fil-A. Whether you love the bae or hate it, this word took the world by storm this year, and we've all used it at some point or another — I'm looking at you, bae-haters.

2. Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch attends The Cinema Society with Vanity Fair and Richard Mille screening of DreamWorks Pictures "The Fifth Estate" at Crosby Street Hotel in New York, on October 11, 2013. (Photo Courtesy of Dennis Van Tine/Abaca Press/TNS) Benedict Cumberbatch attends The Cinema Society with Vanity Fair and Richard Mille screening of DreamWorks Pictures "The Fifth Estate" at Crosby Street Hotel in New York, on October 11, 2013. (Photo Courtesy of Dennis Van Tine/Abaca Press/TNS)

Who doesn't love this well-mannered, alien-faced Brit? He was all over everyone's Facebook feed this year, and why wouldn't he be? He's funny, he's got sick dance moves and he genuinely seems like a nice guy. With a hit BBC TV show ("Sherlock"), a role in the Oscars' Best Picture ("12 Years A Slave") and a much-bemoaned engagement announcement, it would be hard not to pay attention to him. 2014 may have been the year of the 'Batch, but here's hoping this superstar actor/activist sticks around for much, much longer.

3. Turnt up

Don’t lie: You’ve most likely used this phrase at some point in the last 24 hours, be it ironically or not. This term has been used by everyone from Miley Cyrus to 2 Chainz to All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat (also, funnily enough, a list of people you probably never want to be compared to). The loose definition of the term, according to ever-helpful Urban Dictionary user he W/S RoLIN 40s!, is “A state of altered consciousness induced by alcohol or narcotics, also being happy and excited and energetic! And Or Having Fun Verb.” In case you speak English and were therefore unable to decipher this definition's meaning, it basically means to be drunk, high or somehow otherwise intoxicated, but the term as been appropriated all manners of ways. With that in mind, one could, theoretically, be turnt on everything from finals week to the fact that Starbucks has rolled out its holiday beverage menu. Happy turning up, friends!

4. The booty

All anyone seemed to care about this year in the world of music was butts. Let’s be honest: We were all pretty OK with it based on the insane record sales and video views from such booty-anthems as Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” and Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Lopez’s aptly named “Booty.” Your guess is as good as mine as to what about the year 2014 made the popular music scene love the derrière, but one thing is for sure: the way to create a YouTube sensation this year was to sing about your butt.

5. Yik Yak

At the Temp Campus At the Tempe Campus

At the Downtown Campus At the Downtown Campus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yik Yak… Good lord, Yik Yak. What portal of the underworld did this year’s social media start-up of choice crawl out of? The basic formula for the Yik Yak app is to join college students together by proximity, presumptuously in the dorms, throw some anonymity in there and see just how nasty it can turn.

At the Polytechnic Campus At the Polytechnic Campus

At the West Campus At the West Campus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, Yik Yak has certainly provided everyone in Taylor Place at the Downtown campus with quite a few good laughs in the last few months, so we’ll have to overlook the crimes against humanity that may or may not have occurred within its safe haven of anonymous posting this year. Plus, that Yak mascot is pretty cool, and I could live with seeing it stick around for a little while longer.

6. Man buns

Journalism senior Gian Demano poses in Taylor Mall at the Downtown Campus on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. (Gif by Alexis Macklin) Journalism senior Gian Demano poses in Taylor Mall at the Downtown Campus on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. (Gif by Alexis Macklin)

Arguably the hairstyle of 2014, absolutely everyone seems to be in love with man buns. Whether it’s being sported by a tortured artist on the streets of an ambiguous cityscape or a moderately creepy Hollywood star, a man bun was the go-to way to catch female attention this year. While many a “best man bun” list was scoured this year, and many a One Direction fan swooned over this moment, it is uncertain if the reign of the man bun will continue into the New Year. However, we will all mourn the loss of 2014’s haute couture hairdo when that day does come. Goodbye, undercut up-dos; hello, God knows what.

7. Kimye

Ah, Kanye West — who would we make fun of without you? The union of rap’s favorite wild card and reality television’s favorite I-don’t-know-what, Kim Kardashian, this year sparked a web frenzy. From their outlandish outfit ensembles to their absolutely adorable daughter, North, this power couple doesn’t seem to be able to do anything wrong this year. However, with rumors of divorce flying and the Kardashian “Break the Internet” plan seeming to have fallen short, the future of the Kardashian-West clan’s vice-like grip on pop culture is uncertain. But there’s one thing that we can hold fast to: If there were a way to get rid of the Kardashians, we probably would have done it already.

8. Normcore

Opinion editor Ben Murphy throws up a thumbs-up in The State Press newsroom in Tempe. (Photo by Carly Blodgett) Opinion editor Ben Murphy throws up a thumbs-up in The State Press newsroom in Tempe. (Photo by Carly Blodgett)

2014’s biggest trend in “in” clothing seemed to be as puzzling as any other, “normcore” involved wearing the blandest clothing possible, from beige pants to white T-shirts, and somehow creating a chic outfit out of it. What will hipsters come up with next? A trip into your friendly neighborhood Urban Outfitters will make this trend as clear as any Internet search could as you are bombarded with neutral colors and ironic “normie” t-shirts. Leonardo DiCaprio’s look sums up the essence of normcore about as well as it can be summed up: Just look like you aren’t trying and you’re probably doing it right. He is the king of normcore, after all.

9. “Frozen”-mania

(Photo Courtesy of Disney) (Photo Courtesy of Disney)

Have you walked into a Toys-R-Us lately? This crap is ridiculous. You can’t go anywhere without being bombarded with images of adorable Norse princesses whose lives have been thrown into turmoil by the ability to turn anything to ice. They even have “Frozen” bras now. I’m as guilty as anyone of this, because I will passionately sing along to “Let It Go” any time it comes up on my iPod shuffle, but let’s be honest here: We’ve let this one get a little bit out of control. With a “Frozen” sequel in the works, I don’t see the mania letting it go any time soon, so we’d better learn to live with it at this point — creepy chest-bump-color-change bras and all.

10. Ice Bucket Challenge

ASU alumnus Daniel Grover and ASU student Taylor Grace get cold buckets of water dumped on them outside of Ncounter on Saturday, Aug. 23. Ncounter participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and donated $500. (Photo by Sawyer Hardebeck) ASU alumnus Daniel Grover and ASU student Taylor Grace get cold buckets of water dumped on them outside of Ncounter on Saturday, Aug. 23. Ncounter participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and donated $500. (Photo by Sawyer Hardebeck)

If you have a Facebook account, you probably already know what this is and you’re probably already having some kind of stress flashback to the days of August past, when your news feed was filled to the brim with videos of your friends and family getting ice water dumped on their heads. Whether you loved it or you hated it, the ALS Association has to be commended on one thing: It created a bonafide Internet phenomenon that, for better or for worse, got people involved in their organization and aware of an important medical issue.

Reach the reporter at ezentner@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @emilymzentner

Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.


Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.

Subscribe to Pressing Matters



×

Notice

This website uses cookies to make your experience better and easier. By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.