What is our shared experience of life, if not our culture? And what is our cultural life, if not the moments that define us? If culture is the mirror through which we see ourselves and make sense of things, then cultural moments are those bright flashes when the mirror shines brightest and offers the clearest reflection. Sometimes all it takes to make sense of our current situation is a movie or TV show (or song) that helps us see our lives as they really are in the present — the good and the bad parts of them … and of our life itself, in these moments.

This is why watching movies and TV and listening to hit songs is never a waste of time — because at any second we could find ourselves in a new cultural moment that lends deeper understanding to the world in which we live, and that moment will have arrived via the pop culture we consumed.

So without any further ado or otherwise delaying the joy of our shared culture, join me in celebrating the TOP TEN CULTURAL MOMENTS OF 2017:

10. Political moments: “Where are we now?”

9. Racial politics: “Who are we?”

8. Comedies and dramas of relevance

7. Rethinking assumptions

6. Hmm … maybe things really do suck

5. (TIE) Rap music / Women

4. “You’ll never guess what I saw a movie about …”

3. Check your memes and do hashtags

2. Everything has gone crazy and this song describes it perfectly

1. The most relevant — and greatest — cultural moments