Conversely, European audiences on were fixated on a French documentary about food waste, which went massively viral after a clip of a chef crying was used in a meme format.

Using metrics from Nielsen’s "The Gauge" for the week ending August 14:

The true gem of the month, however, was , released earlier in August. It had just claimed the top spot the previous weekend. In retrospect, Guardians was the most important piece of media that month. It proved that Marvel could take obscure characters and turn them into household names. It ushered in the era of the "fun superhero movie" and made a mixtape a plot device, influencing movie soundtracks for years to come.

Leo walked out, pocket square crisp, smile blinding. He took the microphone, basked in the three-minute standing ovation, and then leaned into the camera.

Ultimately, was defined by a feeling of exhaustion. There was no single event that united the culture. Instead, there were a thousand micro-events happening simultaneously.