Just a few days into 2021, despite some major victories, including a twice-impeached despot (opens in new tab) no longer chasing power and accelerated global COVID vaccination (opens in new tab), this year is probably not our year yet! It soon became extremely clear that It is expected to take at least until the end of the summer, if not longer, to reach collective immunity against coronaviruses and return to even a modicum of normalcy. National unemployment is still rising significantly, with the worst impact on women and BIPOC workers (opens in new tab). Of course, the first week of the year saw far-right riots (opens in new tab).

If we have learned anything from 2020, it is that perhaps the one thing we can count on to bring a bit of joy and a sense of community to our lives in these tough times is a steady stream of upbeat, hyper-relevant memes (opens in new tab). At least in that respect, 2021 has so far not disappointed. From the escapist TV shows that everyone went crazy for (and their super-attractive stars) to the live events that shocked and delighted viewers around the world (I watched The Weeknd's Super Bowl performance live, AMA), our social media feeds are overflowing with memes Our social media feeds are overflowing with memes. Here are the best of the year so far, in (near) chronological order.

"Who would have guessed that the first big pop culture phenomenon of the year would be a period piece about the Regency London marriage market" Technically, "Bridgerton" (open in new tab) was released with one week left in 2020, but the publicity really hit a fever pitch in early January, didn't go away for weeks and weeks after that, and bit firmly into the clutches of 2021, as viewers of the Netflix series were drawn to the pastel-colored empire-waist dresses (opens in new tab), the headstrong, ahead-of-its-time Eloise, and of course, the Duke of Hastings and his ridiculously chiseled jawline, I was immediately enamored.

It only took Twitter ten years to realize that Donald Trump's feed was in violation of Community Guidelines (opens in new tab). Despite this delay, a win is a win, and many people joined Twitter - where else - on January 8 to celebrate the former president's lifetime banishment from his favorite place to revolt and hurl insults at his opponents. Let's hope the "John Barron" burner account is not real.

In other presidential news, ICYMI, a new president was inaugurated on January 20. Joe Biden's inauguration was filled with inspiring poetry by Amanda Gorman (opens in new tab), eye-popping costumes worthy of the runway, and just enough cheesiness (opens in new tab) to give the nation hope. But in a development that is even more emblematic of this era in history, what struck me most about the day was Bernie Sanders' socially distanced, grumpy old man vibe. I do not believe that there is a situation in this world that cannot be improved by the appearance of a frowning, mittened Bernie, and I am not sure that the audience would have been able to appreciate the fact that the show was not a success if it had not been for his presence.

Whoever heard that The Weeknd would headline the 2021 Super Bowl halftime show and thought it would be a run-of-the-mill performance of his greatest hits. Instead, we were treated to a truly disturbing excursion through a football field's worth of dancers with bandaged faces (opens in new tab) and brightly lit halls of mirrors, all of which spawned countless memes (opens in new tab) (of course, we If only we could all recover from the vertigo).

After a decade of nonstop Marvel Cinematic Universe content, 2020 was the first year without a new vehicle for the Avengers and their various crony superpowers. It seems as if 2020 has snapped its fingers and obliterated many of our favorite things. To make up for it, Marvel and Disney+ plan to release four new movies and up to six new series in 2021, starting in earnest with the undeniably wonderful "Wander Vision" (opens in new tab). The series, which began as a perfect imitation of the classic TV sitcom, has given viewers a deeper look into the tragic story of Wanda Maximoff, brought back a large number of fan-favorite characters from other MCU productions, and is contributing greatly to the ongoing Catherine Ha Renaissance Memer, assembled.