This year marks five years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a time of navigating the unknown and having to stay separated from each other to stay safe. It brought a physical and cultural state of isolation. The pandemic didn’t just take a toll on us individually, but also impacted and restructured the operations of many industries, including the arts. From the shutdown of the concert industry, to the ceasing of film and television sets and designers having to re-evaluate how to share their clothes with an audience, creatives had to find new ways to make art. As our culture was changing in response to the pandemic, creatives changed themselves to still give us the entertainment and art that aided us in coping and handling quarantine.
To reflect on the five years that have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Collegian’s Arts and Living section crafted a special issue that would reflect on the art that came out of that time period. Our special issue looks at our culture around television, the role of musicians in creating closeness between their fans while separated and how visual media captured the realities of working from home. We hope you enjoy our special issue!
– Suzanne Bagia, Assistant Arts Editor
MUSIC
The albums that defined the COVID-19 pandemic by Suzanne Bagia
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the music industry ceased live performances, but musicians continued to create. Music became the comfort that helped us make sense of our emotions through finding joy and reflecting on the feelings we had yet to confront. As we entered a new decade, music was becoming a versatile landscape seeking to answer the social and emotional demands of the pandemic,” writes Suzanne Bagia.
‘how i’m feeling now’ is an honest meditation on pandemic-induced isolation by Riley Greenberg
Greenberg writes of Charli XCX’s pandemic album “how i’m feeling now,” “In 2022, Charli released a documentary, “Alone Together,” which intimately chronicles the process of the album and her connection with her community of fans. Charli held Zoom meetings with the Angels to discuss her progress on the record and Instagram lives to take their suggestions for her songwriting process. She released her stems, encouraging others to send her their remixes.”
FILM AND TELEVISION
‘Quarantine’ is one of the most creative television episodes of its time by Maggie Belanger
“During the start of COVID, the majority of film and TV productions were forced to stop shooting due to Quarantine restrictions. Both filming and airing schedules were dramatically altered, forcing many networks to primarily air older films or reruns. Writers had different approaches to addressing the pandemic both within the universe of the shows and with filming strategies. Some had characters briefly mention the pandemic, while some avoided it, and some, like “Mythic Quest,” released pandemic special episodes,” writes Belanger about the “Quarantine” episode from “Mythic Quest.”
‘The Room Where It Happened’ – when ‘Hamilton’ brought live theatre into our homes by Victoria Tibets
Tibets covers how live theatre adapted to the pandemic, “Thursday, March 13, 2025, marked five years since the COVID-19 lockdown began. Looking back, many cultural events occurred during the pandemic, especially in the entertainment world. The arts, like everything else in the world, were hit hard. Live theatre took a major blow. New York City’s Broadway shows were closed, and Broadway was forced to go dark for 18 months, making a comeback in September 2021.”
CULTURE AND LIFESTYLE
COVID-19, streaming and the rise of binge-watching by Kalana Amarasekara
“In 2020, COVID-19 left people across the world completely stranded in their homes. With nowhere to go and limited opportunities for in-person social interaction, people began to form new habits, to remain occupied or to cope with the stress of not being able to leave home. One such habit that many people picked up was binge-watching, which is defined by Merriam-Webster as ‘watch[ing] many or all episodes of (a TV series) in rapid succession,’” writes Amarasekara on the widespread nature of binge watching during quarantine.
The rise of Twitch streamers by Reem Fan
“It was not just Minecraft streamers; gamers, artists, models and more all thrived on Twitch. Even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez streamed herself playing popular multiplayer game “Among Us” in what became one of the most-viewed streams at the time. From leftist creators like Hasan Abi to right-wing influencers like Adin Ross, Twitch had something for everyone,” writes Fan on the popularity of Twitch during the pandemic.
