Whenever a hit movie comes out today, a burst of likes or dislikes is immediately shared in a few tweets, and is immediately retweeted hundreds of thousands of times. Nowadays, movies aren’t deemed “good” unless they get the seal of approval by Twitter users, similar to the effect that Tumblr had in the past. Random internet users that weren’t being paid to do so advertised the movie at no cost to the movie’s budget. The fact that a lone movie was able to resonate so much with an entire generation broke the previous mold created by these franchises and others. Unlike movie series like “The Twilight Saga” and “The Hunger Games,” this movie adaptation was not a franchise and consisted of just one novel and a corresponding movie.
GIFs, hashtags, quotes and memes of the movie flooded Tumblr dashboards and seemed to be the only thing in people’s minds. During 2014, the site was at its peak, and this was one of the first times that social media was used to promote and discuss a major blockbuster. One of the undeniable contributions to the hype surrounding this movie is Tumblr. What is it about this movie that has caused such a stir in youth culture on a global scale? Is it the relatability of two young lovers? The way Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley brought the characters of Augustus and Hazel to life? Is it Green’s writing in general? “The only English movie I’ve ever seen is ‘The Fault in Our Stars’,” she instantly typed back. I asked my Circassian cousin what her favorite movie was. One of the biggest aspects of the year was the movie adaptation of John Green’s young-adult (YA) novel, “The Fault in Our Stars.” You may remember this romantic novel about two cancer survivors as the book everyone was reading and the movie tweens were begging their parents to see. From Ellen Page’s inspiring coming out story to the iconic elevator fight between Solange and Jay-Z, it was a year that most can remember as being filled with hilarious memes and memories. The year 2014 was filled with pop cultural phenomena.