2018 has been quite the rollercoaster, we Brits still don't know where we stand with this scrambled Brexit malarkey. 

On the bright side, 2018 has seen the release of weird and wonderful film, TV, music, art and even memes. So if you fancy reliving the good stuff, here’s a special Temples Divided rundown of 2018…

2018 Fav Albums

       1. Various artists - Black panther OST

With thanks to Hip Hop legend, Kendrick Lamar this album features all-stars such as; The Weeknd, SZA, Vince Staples and James Blake. Each song is worth of repeating countless times.

        2. Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy

Vulnerable yet fierce enough to aggressively fight back criticism and sexism. This debut album put Cardi B to the top of big names in hip hop with her ‘unfiltered’ realness.

This year Cardi B became the first female rapper to get two number one US Billboard hits, with "I Like It" with Bad Bunny and J Balvin. 

        3. Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer

CEO, actress, and established pop queen, Janelle Monae, released her third album this year and is built around the concept of tech fetishism and features LBTQ+ anthems for all.

Big moment in music

This year saw the loss of talented rapper, Mac Miller, just after his release of his new album ‘Swimming’ (he was also set to go on tour later in the year).

Mac Millers infamous battle with addiction, which he regularly documents in his music, and his accidental overdose, has shown many of his fans the gravity of substance abuse. Spotify have just recently released two studio-session songs by Mac Miller which both prove his music will live on.

Click the link to listen through Spotify: http://spoti.fi/MacSingles 

TV Binging

       1. Bojack horseman

Just when you think this Netflix showstopper can’t get anymore ‘real’, it does. This year adored ‘Bojack Horseman’ returned to our screens with season 5, with double emotional gut-punches than the last season. And yes, it’s still extremely witty, check out the ‘Quack Demarco’ poster below for proof.

 

      2. Big Mouth

Adult cartoons seem to becoming a theme here. Season 2 of Big Mouth has recently been released and is rising in popularity rapidly. It’s a hilarious ‘coming of age’ take on puberty and sex, that doesn’t hold back.

     3. Altered States

Louis Theroux has returned to our screens yet again for some quality documentaries. In particular, his documentary on  Polyamory has sparked much debate and but even more out of context photos of Louis.

Big moment: Who will replace Kevin Spacey in House of Cards?

Following a string of allegations of sexual misconduct, Kevin Spacey was fired from his lead role in House of Cards. Much discussion was had on who would replace him in the hit series. Whilst speculation included other high profile male actors, the TV show announced early this year that Robin Wright and her brilliant character, Claire Underwood would be taking a powerful seat in the Oval Office. Since then, the show has gone on to receive countless positive reviews for its decision.

Our favourite films 2018

      1. Black Panther

This superhero epic had an extremely successful release and remains one of the most successful films of 2018 and all time (it is the highest grossing film yet). Featuring both male and female heroes that fight for control over the African kingdom, Wakanda, this film feels a lot more important and has a lot more contextual background than any other marvel blockbuster to ever be released. Aside from the film’s political importance, it is an exciting, enjoyable film. 

 

     2. Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson, a director that continues to produce the most perfectly charming films, released an incredibly daring stop-motion this year. The story is centred around a pack of likeable dogs and their trek to make it off ‘Trash Island’ in Japan. It’s an emotional, adorable and witty ode to dogs featuring Jeff Goldblum, Bryan Cranston,  Scarlet Johansson, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton.

         

       3. BlacKkKlansman
Ever passionate, Spike Lee, returns to his directorial position with the help of ‘Get Out’s production team (Jordan Peele) to bring 2018 a hilarious period satire/sociopolitical wakeup call about the presence of ignorance and racism in our world —which is still very much alive in modern day America. The film highlights the true ridiculousness of these views by making black cop go undercover into the Klu Klux Klan.

Big moment: The loss of Stan Lee

 

 

Comic book writer and Marvel empire creator, sadly passed away this year at 95. Stan Lee has inspired and been the direct source to so many brilliant Marvel films (one of the most successful media franchises of all time) as well as pioneering change and change of policies in the comic book community. His stories/comics have and will continue to be loved by millions of people around the world.

Moments in Art

1. The Banksy shredding

"It appears we just got Banksy-ed," said Alex Branczik, Sotheby's European head of contemporary art.

This year, anonymous and iconic street artist, Banksy pokes monumental fun at the art world.

In Sotheby’s (London), Banksy’s painting was put up for auction and sold for £1,042,000. Almost immediately, the painting appears to begin shredding itself through the frame. This is because, Banksy had prepared for the day his painting may be sold at auction. He had already built in an automated shredder.

The unlucky buyer of said painting walked away with their head held high claiming that they were “shocked at first” but they “now own a moment of art history”.

This ‘art history moment’ reminds us all what art really is.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BomXijJhArX/

      2. The trolling Google arts app

Earlier this year (around late January, which is actually a year after the feature debuted) the Google Arts App blew up due to the fact you could compare a selfie to a piece of art that looks alike.

Although in the UK we were unable to use this feature on the Google Arts App (petition to bring this to the UK anyone?) we all sure did enjoy everybody else using it. 

 

Our Favourite Viral Video

THIS

Our favourite 2018 sayings

2018 has been a great year for memes, sure. But, it also great year for sayings (that inevitably turn into memes). So let's pay homage to them before we can’t use them anymore because they’re ‘so 2018’. Here are our favourite two:

‘Big Dick Energy’ or ‘BDE’ - This saying is used to describe well, apparently, you’ll just know it when you see it. Women and men alike can both possess BDE. The saying all started after a tweet by Ariana Grande claiming her fiancé was well-endowed (this was hastily deleted) but, Twitter was already doing what is does best (reacting). According the Independent, this is the tweet that started it all:

“Pete Davidson is 6’3 with dark circles, exudes big dick energy, looks evil but apparently is an angel, and loves his girl publicly,”

Weird flex but ok’ - This saying just kind of happened to Twitter and surrounding social media, and it’s amazing. If you couldn’t already tell it’s used to refute an explanation or boast that some would describe as more negative than positive. It was just what 2018 needed.

 

Most Embarrassing News Moment 

We had some very odd moments in news during 2018. Kavanaugh's open interviews about his youthful drinking and having to explain the meaning of 'Devil's Triangle' (we all know that's a threesome right, not a drinking game), was definitely a bizarre spectacle. However- Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg's congressional hearing took the biscuit for being truly ridiculous. Mark appeared weirdly robotic whilst discussing data privacy and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but the nuts thing about this was the lack of internet knowledge amongst the dinosaurs...sorry I mean Senator's. Just take a look at the youtube footage below put together by CNET.

 

That's 2018 done

We know there's a whole lot more we could've featured in this blog, but hey it's the holiday's... time to feast and get shitfaced in the spirit of Christmas. We'll be back to prepare a survival guide for 2019 Brexit. 

Reminiscing -  One amazing event out of 2018 was the PyeongChang winter Olympics.  So we will leave you with these good memories..

        Our Billy Morgan takes bronze

         Shaun White grabs Snowboard Halfpipe Gold

 

Here's to an awesome 2019!