[2019—it’s been
real, it’s been good, but it ain’t been real good. Actually, I’m not even sure
I’d say it’s been good, but it has definitely been eventful. So this week I’ve
AmericanStudied a handful of major 2019 stories I haven’t been able to cover on
the blog, leading up to these predictions for what’s likely to be an even more
eventful 2020.]
Last year at
this time I wrote that I wasn’t gonna predict a thing about the year to
come in politics, and I feel even more confident this time around that none of
us have a clue about what’s next. Hopes and prayers, definitely; worries and fears,
most definitely; a clue, most definitely not. So once again I’ll focus my predictions
on other aspects of American society and culture:
1)
Changing cultural forms: Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, one of the biggest movies
of late 2019 from one of the most acclaimed directors in film history (and
likely by the time this post airs one of the most nominated films of awards
season), was produced
by and largely aired on Netflix. That’s just the most overt of many signs
that our cultural forms are drastically changing, not only in where and how we experience them,
but also in how and where they’re made and shared. While I know it makes me
sound roughly 1000 years old, I’ll note that I still find great (or at the very
least distinct) value in watching a movie in the theater, and I hope that mode
doesn’t ever disappear entirely. Moreover, modes of film distribution and
viewership have been evolving for decades, since at least the inventions of
home video and cable TV. But as the Scorsese deal illustrates, the changes in
our cultural landscape are coming more rapidly and strikingly than ever, and I
have to believe we’ll see even more evolution in the year to come.
2)
Athletic activism: Another significant late 2019
story were the decisions, first by lawmakers
in California and then by
the NCAA itself, to make it possible for college athletes to use their images
and skills to make money while in school (as, of course, other college students
have always been able to do, such as a violinist on a music scholarship
offering lessons on the side). I believe the broader conversations about
compensating student athletes will continue throughout this year, as they
should. But the late 2019 controversy over the relationship between the
NBA and China, along with the continued frustrations of Colin
Kaepernick’s blacklisting as more and more NFL teams start backup QBs, make
clear that the even more overarching conversations about whether and how
athletes can be social activists are likewise reaching a boiling point. I
expect at least a few more high-profile controversies this year, perhaps linked
to the presidential election (and/or impeachment), that will push that debate
even further into the public eye.
3)
The kids are all right: I’d go further with that
final prediction, and note that college or even high school athletes are at
least as likely to push the activist envelope as are their professional peers. I’ve
been highlighting youth activists for some time in this space, whether an
individual like Santana
Jayde Young Man Afraid of His Horses or a community like the Parkland
High School students. This past year saw the emergence of one of the most
prominent such youth activists in decades, Greta Thunberg, who in late 2019 took
another unexpected activist step by rejecting
a major environmental award. Between these and many other young activists,
including the two (pictured here) with whom I’m blessed to share my home and
last name, the future (however horrific it might get) is clearly in good hands.
I predict that the under-20 crowd will continue to provide me with much of my
hope and optimism in 2020.
Next series
starts Monday,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Other 2020 predictions?
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