Wikipedia:2007 Top 50 Report

Annual Top 50
Based on the Zeitgeist data and prepared with commentary by: Kingsif and an anonymous editor *compiled and written in 2021

Commentary


 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Article ! Class ! Image ! About
 * 1
 * George W. Bush
 * George-W-Bush.jpeg
 * The president is in the midterm period of his second term in office. This year, he managed to facilitate successful nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea and pushed through global warming and immigration protections; however, his approval ratings are low at home (second lowest only to Nixon) and abroad (but Israel likes him more than not). Also this year: he vetoed pulling troops out of Iraq and may have dismissed seven U.S. Attorneys out of process.
 * 2
 * Deaths in 2007
 * Michelangelo Antonioni portrait (cropped).jpg
 * Now a redirect; page as it existed 2337, 31 December 2007
 * Deaths in 2007
 * Michelangelo Antonioni portrait (cropped).jpg
 * Now a redirect; page as it existed 2337, 31 December 2007
 * Now a redirect; page as it existed 2337, 31 December 2007

From the old (Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni - pictured) to the young (Marcheline Bertrand, Ashleigh Aston Moore), lots of famous faces died this year.
 * 3
 * 2007
 * Heiligendamm Zaun G8 Schleuse.jpg
 * Disappointingly not the number 1, more people interested in politics and death. Pictured: hidden security at the G8 summit.
 * 4
 * PlayStation 3
 * Playstation3vector.svg
 * Though this home video game console actually hit the shelves in some countries at the end of last year (it became available in Europe and Oceania this spring), the latest of Sony's PLAYSTATION line is not the only sleek gaming device on this list, and didn't dominate even its own market. It is the first video game console to play new Blu-ray discs, and uses the Spider-Man movies typeface for its logo (indeed, the 40GB version released in November comes bundled with a copy of the latest Spider-Man movie – #50 – on Blu-ray), so it became very popular among 10-year-olds (and apparently our readership). Popular enough that Sony couldn't make enough of them: in the first half of the year, one of the year's biggest non-nuclear scandals hit when the company only had about 1/5 of PS3s they needed for the market on release day.
 * 5
 * United States
 * NYSE-NYX.jpg
 * While not all of them, most entries on this list relate to the United States. What is a country if not the sum of its popular culture?
 * 6
 * Heroes (U.S. TV series)
 * ADNHeroes.png
 * After getting a Time Person (Cast?) of the Year shout-out (otherwise awarded to You, especially us), the X-Men heroes returned for the second season of TV's biggest sci-fi show since Buffy. Unfortunately, it was cut short because everything was cut short (#38). It also lost the spark of its first season. After the cheerleader (and the world) was saved, there was little else for the heroes to do, so they all had to suppress or lose their powers so that the discoveries of the first season could happen again. Only this time, each hero is paired with their opposite to create slightly different obstacles: a mean cheerleader, an Irish gangster, an empath, power thieves, a false god, and dads. Lots of daddy issues. It's still massively popular, but I can't help but wonder what it would have been like without the writers' strike. A third season, subtitled "Villains", is planned to be what the last 13-or-so episodes of season 2 should have been, as a contained serial with more (duh) villains.
 * 7
 * United Kingdom
 * The mall.JPG
 * Probably the country from which the second-most readers of the English-language Wikipedia originate.
 * 8
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * Smash Ball.png
 * This game, first announced in 2005, isn't yet released (2008!) but is already so anticipated it has made it to the top 10! An original game for Nintendo Wii video game console (#11), it will include lots of Nintendo IP characters in a beat 'em up game.
 * 9
 * IPhone
 * Apple-iPhone-001.jpg
 * Apple launched a new mobile cellular phone that is connected with their other products and the internet, and uses touchscreen technology that responds to human touch. Available from June, it became one of the fastest-selling products of the year in the United States and is immensely popular.
 * 10
 * Britney Spears
 * Britney Spears car october 2007 (cropped).jpg
 * (2021 note: if I remember 2007 correctly, it was en vogue to actually be quite mean to Britney about her annus horribilis. I've tried to keep a happy medium between the tone of the time and what is really acceptable, especially following her reclamation this year.)
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * Smash Ball.png
 * This game, first announced in 2005, isn't yet released (2008!) but is already so anticipated it has made it to the top 10! An original game for Nintendo Wii video game console (#11), it will include lots of Nintendo IP characters in a beat 'em up game.
 * 9
 * IPhone
 * Apple-iPhone-001.jpg
 * Apple launched a new mobile cellular phone that is connected with their other products and the internet, and uses touchscreen technology that responds to human touch. Available from June, it became one of the fastest-selling products of the year in the United States and is immensely popular.
 * 10
 * Britney Spears
 * Britney Spears car october 2007 (cropped).jpg
 * (2021 note: if I remember 2007 correctly, it was en vogue to actually be quite mean to Britney about her annus horribilis. I've tried to keep a happy medium between the tone of the time and what is really acceptable, especially following her reclamation this year.)
 * 10
 * Britney Spears
 * Britney Spears car october 2007 (cropped).jpg
 * (2021 note: if I remember 2007 correctly, it was en vogue to actually be quite mean to Britney about her annus horribilis. I've tried to keep a happy medium between the tone of the time and what is really acceptable, especially following her reclamation this year.)
 * (2021 note: if I remember 2007 correctly, it was en vogue to actually be quite mean to Britney about her annus horribilis. I've tried to keep a happy medium between the tone of the time and what is really acceptable, especially following her reclamation this year.)

The teen pop idol turned slightly-older pop idol was one of the biggest stories of the year: when gossip hit the broadsheet front page was when Britney had her breakdown. She flipped and tried to shear her head, couldn't even pretend to lip-sync on-stage (#33), and all in all fell from her pop pedestal. Here she is pictured, smiling, driving home from court.
 * 11
 * Wii
 * Wii.svg
 * Another late-2006 home video game console release, the Wii is Nintendo's proprietary device. The PLAYSTATION is black, the Wii is white. The PLAYSTATION has an obvious name, the Wii really doesn't (it's "we", like together...) The motion sensor capabilities and proprietary games means the Wii may not beat the PLAYSTATION on this list (or the one for good names), but it does have more popular appeal across generations that other home consoles haven't really tapped into, with Nintendo games targeting different age groups and families specifically.
 * 12
 * Eminem
 * EMINEM rapping Anger management tour 2003 (cropped).jpg
 * The Real Slim Shady has announced a hiatus. Though he says he's always making music, he's taking indefinite time out from his career, presumably because he's still dealing with the murder of his friend Proof.
 * 13
 * WrestleMania 23
 * Wrestlemania23 17.jpg
 * In 2007 wrestling's main event, John Cena retained the title. It also started a weird feud between billionaires Donald Trump and Vince McMahon (who had actual wrestlers fight on their behalf).
 * 14
 * Harry Potter
 * Harry Potter lines.jpg
 * In July, the last (#16) of the 7-book series was released, causing more late-night queues than a blockbuster midnight release. Bookstores opened at midnight and were descended upon religiously. The sixth film also began filming in September, and in May a theme park in Orlando was announced. On Wikipedia, there's been a lot of complaints about the quality of its American translation.
 * 15
 * Adolf Hitler
 * Adolf Hitler cph 3a48970.jpg
 * Besides some rambunctious young-uns using Wikipedia for history homework, this year Germany wondered if it could (presumably retroactively) strip Hitler of citizenship (he wasn't German after all). It's been a hot year for Germany reconsidering Hitler (again) - in January, the first mainstream comedy about him was released in the country.
 * 16
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Wellington Statue.jpg
 * The aforementioned final book in the Harry Potter series. It's a bit of a doorstopper, so no spoilers, but it sold millions in the first hour of sale, and was released at midnight.
 * 17
 * Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
 * Activisionheadquarters.jpg
 * Announced early in the year and released at the end, this third game is the first since Activision had to hire a new developer to make the Guitar Hero games. The trademark controllers went wireless for the game, and a special version compatible with the Wii (#11) motion remote was released, too.
 * 18
 * IPod
 * IPod Classic 6th Generation 120 GB - front.jpg
 * Apple announces the launch of the 6th generation iPod Classic.
 * 19
 * Barack Obama
 * BarackObamaportrait.jpg
 * The Illinois senator announced in May that he would run for president in the next election - if elected, he would be the first black president.
 * 20
 * The Beatles
 * image
 * commentary
 * 21
 * Cannabis (drug)
 * image
 * commentary
 * 22
 * Borat Sagdiyev
 * image
 * commentary
 * 23
 * Beyoncé
 * image
 * commentary
 * 24
 * Virginia Tech shooting
 * image
 * commentary
 * 25
 * Tony Blair
 * Tony Blair in 2002 (cropped).jpg
 * This year saw the departure of Tony Blair, who had served as the UK Prime Minister since 1997, having won a historic landslide in that year's general election, and won two subsequent elections in 2001 and 2005. He leaves office with his approval ratings significantly lower than they were when he entered office in 1997, largely as a result of his and #1's involvement in the Iraq War. Blair announced he would step down as PM last year and resigned this June, and was succeeded by Gordon Brown (#29), who had served as his chancellor since 1997. I guess things can only get better?
 * 26
 * Paris Hilton
 * image
 * commentary
 * 27
 * Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
 * image
 * commentary
 * 28
 * Chris Benoit
 * BenoitInTheRing.jpg
 * This Canadian wrestler shocked the wrestling world when he killed his wife and 7-year-old son in a double-murder and suicide.
 * 29
 * Gordon Brown
 * Gordon Brown portrait.jpg
 * The UK's new Prime Minister, succeeding #25. Brown previously served as Blair's chancellor.
 * 30
 * The Simpsons Movie
 * image
 * commentary
 * 31
 * Albus Dumbledore
 * image
 * Harry Potter author JK Rowling outed Dumbledore! A few months after concluding the book series, she said that the beloved wizened professor is gay. Already controversial among conservatives because of the magic, the homosexuality really hasn't helped in that area. Rowling says he may have had a thing with a character called Grindelwald.
 * 32
 * Halo 3
 * image
 * commentary
 * 33
 * Gimme More
 * image
 * commentary
 * 34
 * Akatsuki (Naruto)
 * image
 * commentary
 * 35
 * WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008
 * image
 * commentary
 * 36
 * England
 * image
 * commentary
 * 37
 * Blackout (Britney Spears album)
 * image
 * commentary
 * 38
 * 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike
 * image
 * commentary
 * 39
 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
 * image
 * commentary
 * 40
 * Saddam Hussein
 * image
 * commentary
 * 41
 * February 2007 North American blizzard
 * image
 * commentary
 * 42
 * The Departed
 * image
 * commentary
 * 43
 * Avatar: The Last Airbender
 * image
 * commentary
 * 44
 * Global warming
 * image
 * commentary
 * 45
 * 79th Academy Awards
 * image
 * commentary
 * 46
 * 300 (film)
 * image
 * commentary
 * 47
 * Grand Theft Auto IV
 * image
 * commentary
 * 48
 * World War II
 * image
 * There's been no anniversaries so likely related to #15.
 * 49
 * Transformers (film)
 * image
 * commentary
 * 50
 * Spider-Man 3
 * image
 * commentary
 * }
 * commentary
 * 38
 * 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike
 * image
 * commentary
 * 39
 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
 * image
 * commentary
 * 40
 * Saddam Hussein
 * image
 * commentary
 * 41
 * February 2007 North American blizzard
 * image
 * commentary
 * 42
 * The Departed
 * image
 * commentary
 * 43
 * Avatar: The Last Airbender
 * image
 * commentary
 * 44
 * Global warming
 * image
 * commentary
 * 45
 * 79th Academy Awards
 * image
 * commentary
 * 46
 * 300 (film)
 * image
 * commentary
 * 47
 * Grand Theft Auto IV
 * image
 * commentary
 * 48
 * World War II
 * image
 * There's been no anniversaries so likely related to #15.
 * 49
 * Transformers (film)
 * image
 * commentary
 * 50
 * Spider-Man 3
 * image
 * commentary
 * }
 * commentary
 * 47
 * Grand Theft Auto IV
 * image
 * commentary
 * 48
 * World War II
 * image
 * There's been no anniversaries so likely related to #15.
 * 49
 * Transformers (film)
 * image
 * commentary
 * 50
 * Spider-Man 3
 * image
 * commentary
 * }
 * commentary
 * 50
 * Spider-Man 3
 * image
 * commentary
 * }
 * commentary
 * }

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