A.k.a the “twenty-tens” or “two thousand (and) tens”.
I can’t believe that another decade is coming to an end. Some say that the decade started in 2011 and will end in 2020, but the general consensus seems to be that the decade started in 2010 and will end in 2019.
Personally, that makes more sense to me.
This is an interesting decade. I started in my early 30’s and ended it in my early 40’s. Funny how I still feel the same. Obviously, I am older. But I feel the same as when I was in my 20s.
From 2010 to 2015, those were good times. We had another family member with the birth of my niece. I traveled to the US and met a very good friend. I made another good one too. In 2012 I was unemployed but in 2013 got a new one which is where I am nowadays. We were all fine and good.
Then 2016 came.
My dad had a cerebral infarct which made him handicapped. He got better but never as he was. He had to retire early. He became more frail and sick. My mom became his guardian and took care of him, quitting her hobbies and plans.
2017 we lost our dear aunt. For us was more than that. She was a great friend, a second mother, a sister for me and my siblings. Her death came too soon and very tragic.
2018 was a year where we started to heal somehow. We started to move on from her death and my dad’s sickness. Even though he was improving he was getting more weak and pail. He got very depressed. Still, we all were optimistic and hoped for the best.
Then this year, 2019, he passed away. While my aunt’s death was unexpected, we prepared a bit for her passing. But my dad’s was too sudden. It came from nowhere. It was a shock. The rest of 2019 was about learning to adjust and learn to live without him.
So yeah, the last 5 years were sad and terrible. Jesus jumpin’ christ, I hope these next years are much better.
So, the 2010s in general,. How where they? It was a decade of changes. Personal changes.
Let start with the biggest one:
I started the decade as a feminist and ended up anything but. I used to believe in the oppression of women and the privilege of men. Then I grew up and now I cringe every time I hear the word feminism.
Of course I believe in equality and that women shouldn’t be oppressed. But guess what? THEY AREN’T! Oh yes, there’s oppression in middle-east and other countries…but if you think that men don’t suffer from it and that they don’t have disadvantages or that they are happy and all because of privilege..well…
Anyway, I made an entry about it. Read it here.
This decade feminism really started to went over the board and more and more people (men and women) started to walk away from it. What will happen next decade? who knows.
Here in Mexico, we had after many decades and almost a century, a leftist president.
I can say that after a year, I don’t see the great changes my dad used to think and my brother still thinks will happen. I do agree that, unlike past terms, we are not that bad and there are good things. We still have 5 more years to see if we get better, we stay the same, or become another socialist nightmare like Venezuela <_<
What I find interesting is that, near the end of the decade, conservatism is returning to big countries. And boy oh boy, did the twiterazis went nuts.
Why is that the US, the UK, and other countries, like Canada…freakin’ Canada!, they decided to vote for a conservative president or prime minister? Well, I think it also goes hand in hand with the rise of 4th wave feminism and the growing up of the Millenials. People (including myself) are getting tired of this tyranny of kindness were free speech is destroyed for the sake of a few, where being white and or male and or straight is an original sin, where movies, books, tv shows, and even videogames are getting dull, and boring thanks to these “social justice warriors” and virtue-signaling losers.
Heck, I think Trump is an asshole, but these morons paint him like the Antichrist which is both absurd and funny. It actually makes me want that Trump wins the re-election, not because I like him (I don’t “like” politicians. Period.) but to see another 4 years of SJWs and liberals making tantrums and being eaten alive by their own twisted standards.
So why is Mexico different? because we have been under the rule of conservatives and Centrists and they both have done a shitty job. So now the people have decided to try with Leftism. Will it work? My mind says “pft nah” but my heart says “oh geez I dunno”.
Anyway, enough of politics. We already had a full decade of it. And it seems we’ll have another one. Let’s talk about more fun and entertaining things:
TELEVISION
This the year where I watched less TV than before. The Simpsons stopped being funny more than a decade before. Other shows like Smallville ended in the early 2010s with a weird season. And I pretty much stopped being interested in TV.
In 2011, Netflix arrived in Mexico. I got it mostly for the movies. But in the years to come, it started to make more TV series and original movies. And while the majority of them are…uh…okaaay, it gave television a very drastic revolution.
During the decade, there were more and more streaming services, all wanting to take Netflix’s share. It also changed the way movie and tv awards. Amazon, HBO, even Disney all went full-streaming mode changing TV forever.
I really don’t have a TV series that would make me remember this decade with love. But there are some series that I have watched. Some I liked it, some I didn’t.
- Stranger Things. Season 1 was awesome. a mix of Spielberg and King with lots of 80s nostalgia. Season 2 was fun. Season 3 was dumb and unnecessary.
- Daredevil. Probably the only Marvel TV series from Netflix that I enjoyed, along “The Defenders”. I tried to watch the other but I thought they were ok.
- The Big Bang Theory. This one started in 2007 but ended in 2019..the whole decade! I liked it more when it was about the nerd friends doing meta jokes and silly pop culture references before becoming a female fantasy of being ugly and annoying and yet having Nobel prize winners and scientific geniuses falling in love with them (HAH!).
- Breaking Bad. I only watched the first season. I thought it was fine. And yet I haven’t watched the others. I don’t know why. Maybe I will. Who knows.
- Bojack Horseman. I liked the first 2 maybe 3 seasons but I got tired of the same characters doing the same things and acting the same. It became preachy and its boring liberalism and virtue signaling (female characters are always perfect never getting their comeuppance while male dumb characters are voiced by white dudes and the good male characters are voiced by POC. I mean come on! talk about being subtle!) made me lost interesting in the series.
- Des-enchanted. Another animated series from Matt Groening. It has some funny jokes but in the end, it is very forgettable.
- Game of Thrones. The most talked-about TV series of the decade and somehow I only watched a handful of episodes. And never got hooked or anything. I bet is a great one, although it seems that the last 2 seasons they were JJAbrahms-ed and fans hated it. Yikes.
- Bob’s Burgers. I have seen episodes of this series and I liked it but have never seen a full season or watching the newer ones. I wonder if they are still good.
- Regular Show. One of those TV series that I watched by accident and got hooked. The first seasons were more fun and creative but overall it was a nice tv show. weird, but nice.
- Adventure Time. Same as Regular Show although I didn’t watch as much as RS. But it was very interesting.
- Aggretsuko. A funny comedy-drama satire of the salaryman culture in japan. It’s smarter than it looks.
And that’s pretty much I have watched of TV this decade. I doubt any of these will stick in my consciousness. Time will tell.
FILM
This decade will be remembered by many things when it comes to movies in general.
The disruption of streaming. Netflix started renting movies and then making their own. That created a huge shift in movie-making. Streaming was replacing movie-going and many movies were released exclusively on streaming platforms.
The oversaturation of comic-book movies. Or more properly, Superhero movies. Spearheaded by Marvel/Disney, that’s what pretty much you’ll catch and talk on cinemas. It was fun at first but got to the point that it became boring. Marvel movies became formulaic and in the end, virtue-signaling. DC/Warner tried but it really took a lot of time before getting it right.
The death of Star Wars. After the mediocre sequels, Star Wars couldn’t get worse right? Introducing the awful “sequel” trilogy! where luck is an asshole, han solo is pathetic and Leia is an overrated goddess. We also have a Mary sue as a Jedi and two DIVERSE! male companions that…just stay there while the strong empowered girl does everything. In the future people will remember Star Wars as The Original Trilogy (the core saga), The Prequel Trilogy (the appendixes) and the Disney Trilogy (the cringy fanfiction).
Diversity and Feminism have entered the chat. Black Panther was a very regular Marvel movie. But OMG! It has African superheroes! Give it an OSCAR ASAP! Toy Story 4 has destroyed Woody and Buzz so Bo-peep could take their places. Deal with it, you evil white male!. How about a remake of Beauty and the Beast were Belle must battle the eeeeeeeeeeevil patriarchy or Dumbo where having animals in zoo’s is a no-no or The Lady and the Tramp where an interracial couple lives without ANY issue in freakin’ early 20th century? oh oh! and let’s make unnecessary remakes/sequels/reboots of great movies like Ghostbusters or Terminator but without eeeeeeeevil cis-gendered white straight males! who cares if they fail in the box-office?! let’s stick it to the patriarchy while drinking a latte in Starbucks! Gurrl powah!
Death of originality. Or more properly, too many remakes, reboots, and sequels that nobody asked for. Because of the changing habits of moviegoers, studios just rely on big blockbusters and event movies and rely on already proven formulas and ideas. Boring.
The born and death of 3D. “Thanks” to Avatar, every fuckin’ movie was done or converted in 3D…even movies like “The Great Gatsby” FFS! Of course, people got tired of it quickly and realized that it was a dumb gimmick. They are still making movies in 3D but way less than 10 years ago.
Let’s take a look at the most successful movies of the decade by year, acording to Wikipedia:
- 2010-Toy Story 3. It was a sweet conclusion to the Toy Story trilogy…until 4th came and cut its balls in the name of the patriarchy.
Favorite of the year: Inception. Fun and weird. Just like any good Blockbuster should be.
- 2011-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Well, it was the conclusion of the Harry Potter series. And it did a very good job.
Favorite of the year: This one actually.
- 2012-The Avengers. When Marvel Films was growing and making fun, exciting movies. The Avengers was pure, unadulterated fun.
Favorite of the year: The Hunger Games. It was a nice surprise. I really enjoyed it a lot.
- 2013-Frozen. ugggggh……
Favorite of the year: The Wind Rises. This a better animated movie, unlike that frozen bullshit.
- 2014-Transformers: Age of Extinction. Eh. I haven’t seen it. Not planning on doing it.
Favorite of the year: X-Men Days of Future Past. This is the best X-Men movie of all the series. It went downhill from here.
- 2015-Star Wars The Force Awakens. The beginning of the end for Star Wars. An SJW remake of A New Hope.
Favorite of the year: The Martian. I didn’t have any expectations for this movie and ended up liking it a lot.
- 2016-Captain America: Civil War. The first 2 acts were great but the third part was silly. Better than Batman v Superman, that’s for sure.
Favorite movie of the year: None. 2016 had pretty bad movies overall.
- 2017-Star Wars The Last Jedi. Already gave my opinions about this piece of shit here.
Favorite of the year: Wonder Woman. It’s not THAT great. But it was very fun.
- 2018-Avengers: Infinity War. The first part of the conclusion to the Infinity gems saga. Fun and to the point.
Favorite of the year: Roma. A beautiful memoir by Alfonso Cuaron.
- 2019-Avengers: Endgame. Same as its predecessor. Fun, full of fan service, and delivering what it promised.
Favorite of the year: Joker. It may not be very original, but it has a great script, acting and direction. The best movie of the year.
MUSIC
This decade I pretty much lost track of modern music and singers. Mostly because:
Reggeaton is everywhere! The most awful genre I have heard, along with Banda Norteña, it pretty much took all over the radio stations and society. Awful music, stupid lyrics, idiot singers…this is the lowest of the low.
The homogenization of music. I remember when I was waiting in the car for my mom in a store, I was listening to the radio, it was an English -language station of modern music. All the stupid songs sounded the same. It was depressing, to be honest.
The decline of Rock. Those groups with acoustic instruments and hard lyrics were M.I.A this decade. It’s really a shame. Although I don’t consider myself a “rocker” it was nice to turn on the radio and, after many minutes of pop music, listening to a new rock band introducing new sounds.
There were, of course, some songs that I enjoyed this decade but not as much as in the 00s or the 90s. Here’s a list if you are interested to know which ones are:
TECHNOLOGY
During the 2000s, technology started to move more and more into the IT services and the users’ experience.
Apple after Steve Jobs. In 2010, Apple unveiled the iPad. It wasn’t the first tablet computer but was the most successful and the one that became the role model for the competitions. Steve Jobs predicted that by the end of the decade, the iPad will replace iMacs for the home users. Sadly, Steve Jobs passed away in 2011 and since then Apple has become a very, very, VERY dumb company, more interested in being trendy than being good. Under Jobs’ guidance, Apple always aimed for a balance between trend and technology with the user needs in the front. Now? iPhone that costs 3000 dls, Apple watches that have no interesting use, small iPads, huge iPhones, Macs that are years backward with the competition…Steve Jobs left and Apple went nuts. What a shame.
Anti-social media. It started in the mid/late 00s but went bananas this decade. Social networks and apps became important in our diary lives and have integrated into our phones, emails and even entertainment devices that we can’t imagine being with at least one of them, being facebook, twitter, snap chat, Instagram, tiktok, etc. it brought is closer but also more selfish and angry. We still have a long time to mature into all of this.
The Big brother is watching you and listening to you. I’ll admit that I don’t like smart speakers like Alexa or Echo. It’s creepy. Why you would like to have a device that is constantly listening to you? I don’t see anything positive coming from it.
Goodbye, PC. PCs are still and will be, around. There are still jobs and tasks that need a station computer. But for the rest of the masses, they were replaced by smartphones and tablets. Especially smartphones. These devices can now do all your small digital needs, from sending emails to listening to music and videos. Smartphones are without a doubt the technology that will define the 2010s more than anything else.
Streaming Clouds. Physical media is less important than ever. I am of the opinion that physical media is safer than digital. However, nobody can deny that when it comes to storage and communications, cloud and streaming services are gaining more ground. There’s no need to carry a cd or a USB. You can have it in a cloud account and access it with your phone or any other device connected to the internet. Netflix, Spotify, Youtube..they have replaced Movie collections, Music collections, FM Radio and TV shows. We’ll have to wait and see what the 2020s will show us in this matter.
VIDEOGAMES
And to finish this post, I’ll indulge in my favorite pastime.
The Fall and Rise of Nintendo.
The decade started with a Nintendo losing steam. The Wii was a hit, but the withdrawn of the third parties and the delays in many of their famous games gave Nintendo a hard time.
In 2010, Nintendo released the following games:
Super Mario Galaxy 2. It was first thought as an expansion and then reworked as a sequel-slash-retelling of the first Galaxy game. This time is more 2D than 3D thanks to the huge success of New Super Mario Bros. Wii a year before. Not a bad game but…just unnecessary.
Donkey Kong Country Returns. Donkey Kong Country is back, with improved graphics and lots of nostalgia. This is one of my favorite Donkey Kong games, with awesome gameplay, music, level design, and difficulty. The only thing I didn’t like where the absence of the Kremlins, being replaced by the darn Tikki tribe. Oh well. It’s a great game and one of the best platformers on the Wii.
Metroid Other M. What the hell happened here?! Metroid Prime did a great job refreshing the saga but people wanted a more 2D traditional Metroid. Unfortunately, the moron in charge of the series had no FUCKING clue why we enjoyed Metroid and Super Metroid and made a bizarre anime-esque movie game with a wimpy Samus, with mostly 2D areas changing into annoying 3D and less focus on exploration (i.e. the backbone of the saga) and more emphasis in story and melodrama. Granted, the game failed, HARD and because of it, we haven’t had a new original Metroid that is not a remake or spin-off.
Xenoblade Chronicles. One of the most ambitious games for the Wii. A huge RPG game with lots of content and exploration. This game became a cult classic and there are even 2 sequels, one on the Wii U and other in the Switch. I found the game boring and sold it.
In 2011 Nintendo had two important events:
The successor for the Nintendo DS was released, the Nintendo 3DS. its biggest feature was the glasses-free 3D effect. Nintendo expected it to cash on the 3D craze in movies. But something happened…the 3DS wasn’t a mega-hit. It sold well but then started to decline. Nintendo pressed the Panic Button and did many things:
- Cut the price of the console.
- Gave free Game Boy Advance and NES games to the first adopters.
- Rushed Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land to be released by the end of the year.
- Changed the marketing for it, eliminating the 3D gimmick feature.
I got a 3DS and many games (mostly digital). I enjoy it but, if it wasn’t for Animal Crossing New Leaf, I think I would have stopped playing it. The problem with the 3DS is that its library wasn’t very exciting, even though it had many games from popular franchises. But while the DS had two screens and a touch one (its biggest feature then), the 3DS only offered 3D which…wasn’t that good. The 3DS sold very well, but could never reach the heights of its predecessors, the DS and Game Boy line.
The long-promised Zelda with Motion Controls. After 5 years in development.
Oh dear God..whyyyyyy
The motion controls were just fine…but the game was terrible. The stupidly linear, cringy story, way too many puzzles, uninteresting dungeons. It was a disappointment. Heck, I bough the game and just as I finished it, I sold it. I can’t remember a single thing from the game that would be stuck in my head. On the contrary, I had to force myself to finish it. It felt like torture. Only Majora’s and Wind Waker made me feel that way.
The mediocre sales and reception made Nintendo tight its belt, whip Aounuma a bit more, hire fresh faces in the team and created the great Breath of the Wild….6 years later -_-
In 2012, the successor for the Wii was released: The Wii U.
A.K.A The worst-selling Nintendo console to date.
What the hell happened? well, Nintendo believed the lies from the industry about hardkorz and kazualz and created a game console, reminiscent of the Xbox360 and Playstation 3 but with the Wii branding. Its biggest feature was the Wii U Gamepad.
What the fuck?!
I have mixed feelings about the Wii U game pad. The controler is actually very comfortable, its feels resistant, the sticks are great and it’s very versatile with its screen, speakers, stylus, the motion controls were excellent and so on. The idea of playing the Wii U without a TV was interesting.
The big question about the Wii U gamepad is…
The Wii mote was created to make gaming more accessible to the masses and it worked. But there’s no issue to solve with this one. All those features in the game pad are cool but unnecessary. Apparently, in Japan, homes have only a TV. But that’s hardly an issue here in America…heck even here in Mexico! Every house has at least 2 TVs.
Also, the games from the Wii U felt like recycled from the 3DS and the Wii U. New Super Mario Bros U is an awesome game but nothing that distinguishes it from the Wii or 3DS versions. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is a big improvement from the Wii version, but DKC games, with the exception of the first one on SNES, don’t move hardware. Super Mario 3D World is fun but suffers from a personality disorder.
The only game that stands out from the Wii U was:
And pretty much it.
Wii U was expected to attract both the “hardkoz” and the “kazuals”. But what Nintendo didn’t know is:
There’s no such thing as “casual” (which in industry lingo means stupid gamer). Those casuals have more important things to do than gaming and if they do, it must be a good game. Wii Sports was a great game, NSMBWii too. But they don’t care about STORYLINES! or ART! or anyother bullshit from the industry.
The so called Hardcores don’t buy Nintendo because, for them, gaming is about status. They bought Xbox or Playstation in the past because of its “power” and brand. But they are now on PC for the same reason. They bluff about the latest Graphic card or Monitor or weird-looking mouse. For those gamers, Nintendo is below them because Nintendo doesn’t chase great power or status. They chase gamers and quality. And that’s not enough for them. If they did, they wouldn’t buy EA games. Simple as that.
It seems that Iwata came back to its senses and returned to what Nintendo does better: going back to its Toys roots and make interesting products. They decided to unify both the console and portable divisions and started to make games for mobile devices. Many interpreted it as “see?! see?! I told ya! Nintendo is making cellphone games!”. What Nintendo did is just go after those gamers and attract them to their consoles. I have already talked about Nintendo Mobile games, here and here.
In 2016 Nintendo finally unveiled the successor for the Wii U: The Nintendo Switch.
And it was finally released in 2017 with the best title in the launch: The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. A return to form for the saga. A game based on exploration and discovering.
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Sadly, Satoru Iwatta couldn’t see the hit the Nintendo Switch became. He passed away in 2015. He was suffering from cancer and it seemed to be recovering. But as always happens with this disgusting disease, he had a complication and passed away.
Nintendo closed the decade with one of its more succesful consoles. The Nintendo Switch. It unifies console gaming and portable gaming, using the new advancements in mobile processing. Granted, it still needs more interesting software. It has a huge library of games but the majority are ports. Good games but already in other consoles.
The 2020s will start with Nintendo in a high top. Let’s hope they have learned from their mistakes and end up as well or better.
Sony and Microsoft: The Naked Emperors
2010 started with a Playstation 3, being in 2d and 3d place. It had the same games as the xbox 360 and very few exclusives.
In 2013, Sony finally unveiled its successor: the Playstation 4.
Past Playstation consoles had CPUs and chips designed by Sony. This time, they decided to go basic. x86 architecture, Blu ray, Hard drive, etc. etc. It’s the best selling console of the 8th generation with 105 million consoles worldwide.
Then, why it doesn’t feel that way?
The library for the PS4 feels way too similar to the PS3 and Xboxes. There are good games but there are the same games as 10 years ago. Many expected games like Final Fantasy XV were a disappointment and took years of development. There are many games like Uncharted, Call of Duty and so on that sell a lot but none that really sets it apart.
The same goes for the Xbox one which has only sold 49 million units. And it was also released in 2013.
This 8th generation feels of dissapointment, The sony and xbox consoles are simple industry boxes that felt too similar to PCs. Except that PCs can be updated while PS and Xboxes don’t. That’s normal when it comes to consoles. Consoles are normally back when it comes to power but they balance it with easy-of-use and practicality.
Which these two doesn’t have. They have the same annoying issues of PCs like patches, constand updates, and so on. Also, online has a fee, unlike PCs. No wonder why many former users of Sony and MS moved to PC. They are pretty much the same thing but dumber.
2020 will start with new machines from Sony and Microsoft. Unlike past generations, where the successors were released 5 years later, this time they will be released 7 years later! Will the PS5 and Xboxxxxxx last 10 years? If they don’t offer something that will set it apart from PCs..I doubt it.
The little game that could.
I think is funny when we talk about the most succesful and influential game of the 2010s..it will be a simple game made of blocks.
I am not a Minecraft player. But man, I take my hat off to it. It’s amazing how a game, made by a single person, took gaming as a storm. Microsoft was smart to buy the game and studio and use it to sell Xboxes. Still, you can find Minecraft in any console or device: PC, Mac, Linux, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox one, Wii U, 3DS, Switch, Android, iOS…
But why it was a hit?
- The game didn’t requiere a high-end PC. It can be installed anywhere.
- The game has a lot to do. Yes, it has objectives but its up to the player how to approach them.
- It doesn’t talk down to children. This is important. It made kids feel badass, constructing things and fighting zombies.
- It stimulates the imagination. No dumb storyline. You create your own story.
- It can be played alone or with friends.
Even 10 years later, Minecraft is still an important game. Will it keep up this next decade? We’ll have to wait and see if it evolves or disappears.
The rise of the Battle Royale.
PUBG, Overwatch, Fortnite, Apex legends…all these games have the same core: Battle each other until the end. All these games are on different platforms, and some are free-to-start. I tried to play Fortnite but lost interest very quickly. But the rest of the world doesn’t care. Battle royale games are right now the biggest craze of the last part of the decade. And it solidified the Games as a Service trending…..OK, that’s fucking depressing.
Micro-transactions and Loot Boxes.
Not everything in gaming was great this decade. This decade saw the evolution of Pay-to-win and the Games as Service. The result are games, designed to feel like slot machines, with uninspired gameplay or styles, with unfinished products and greedy monetization.
This is a trend that is very common in PC and mobiles, unfortunately. Even Nintendo is doing it on its mobile games. Mario Kart Tour feels like a Las Vegas Casino and less as a Kart racing game, It is awful.
I really hope this trend ends soon. But I really doubt it.
We are now on the first day of the new decade. I personaly will be getting older and I know that I’ll lose more beloved ones. That makes me sad but that’s life.
When it comes to technology, music, movies, and videogames…who can tell? That’s what makes it exciting.
With luck, I’ll be writing a similar entry 10 years from now…and I’ll be 52…oh dear god…
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