pop culture trivia questions

125 Pop Culture Trivia Questions That Challenge Your Knowledge

Are you ready to take a nostalgic ride through the vibrant world of entertainment and media? Pop culture trivia questions offer a fun and engaging way to revisit the memorable moments that have shaped our social landscape.

From the groovy tunes of the 80s and the radical shifts of the 90s to the digital explosion of the 2000s, these questions will challenge your knowledge and bring back the joy of various decades. Whether you’re a trivia night enthusiast or just looking for a lively discussion with friends, get set to test your mastery of all things pop culture!

Pop Culture Trivia Questions and Answers

80s Pop Culture Trivia Questions

80s Pop Culture

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  1. What 1982 movie featured a young boy and his alien friend who just wanted to “phone home”?
    Answer: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
  2. Who directed the blockbuster hit “Back to the Future,” which premiered in 1985?
    Answer: Robert Zemeckis
  3. Which hit song by Michael Jackson, released in 1983, featured an iconic music video with a zombie dance routine?
    Answer: Thriller
  4. Name the first video ever played on MTV, launched on August 1, 1981.
    Answer: “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles
  5. Which action movie released in 1988 has become synonymous with the phrase “Yippee-ki-yay”?
    Answer: Die Hard
  6. In what year did the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) debut in America?
    Answer: 1985
  7. What was the best-selling album of the 1980s?
    Answer: Thriller by Michael Jackson
  8. Who wrote the novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which was first published in 1985?
    Answer: Margaret Atwood
  9. What sitcom, which premiered in 1989, was set in New York and focused on the life of a stand-up comedian and his friends?
    Answer: Seinfeld
  10. Which 1980 film featured a haunted hotel and Jack Nicholson’s famous line, “Here’s Johnny!”?
    Answer: The Shining
  11. What was Madonna’s first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100?
    Answer: “Holiday”
  12. Which classic 80s movie featured a group of kids hunting for pirate treasure, and was directed by Richard Donner?
    Answer: The Goonies
  13. Who was the U.S. President for most of the 1980s?
    Answer: Ronald Reagan
  14. Which iconic 80s TV show featured characters named Crockett and Tubbs as undercover cops in Miami?
    Answer: Miami Vice
  15. Name the artist behind the hit single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
    Answer: Cyndi Lauper
  16. Which 1987 romance film featured the line “Nobody puts Baby in a corner”?
    Answer: Dirty Dancing
  17. Which science fiction film trilogy began in the 1980s and included a character named Marty McFly?
    Answer: Back to the Future
  18. What popular fitness trend and video series was launched by Jane Fonda in the 1980s?
    Answer: Jane Fonda’s Workout
  19. Which arcade game, popular in the 1980s, involves eating dots and avoiding ghosts in a maze?
    Answer: Pac-Man
  20. Who is credited with popularizing the Moonwalk dance move?
    Answer: Michael Jackson
  21. Which comic strip, created by Bill Watterson, debuted in 1985 and features a boy and his tiger?
    Answer: Calvin and Hobbes
  22. Which 1986 movie directed by Tony Scott was a major box office success and starred Tom Cruise as a fighter pilot?
    Answer: Top Gun
  23. What iconic toy of the 80s was originally marketed as a “Puzzle with a Billion Combinations and only one Solution”?
    Answer: Rubik’s Cube
  24. Which 1984 supernatural comedy film involves a group of eccentric parapsychologists in New York City?
    Answer: Ghostbusters
  25. What was the original name of the charity single “We Are the World,” recorded in 1985 to aid famine relief in Africa?
    Answer: It was always known as “We Are the World.”

90s Pop Culture Trivia Questions

  1. What year did the iconic TV show “Friends” first premiere?
    Answer: 1994
  2. Which movie, released in 1993, featured dinosaurs and became a landmark in special effects for films?
    Answer: Jurassic Park
  3. What was the name of the virtual pet toy that became a craze among kids in the late 90s?
    Answer: Tamagotchi
  4. Who sang the 1995 hit song “Gangsta’s Paradise” which was featured in the film “Dangerous Minds”?
    Answer: Coolio
  5. What 1990 film starring Macaulay Culkin became one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time?
    Answer: Home Alone
  6. In 1992, which animated Disney film was released that featured a princess and a street-rat who fall in love?
    Answer: Aladdin
  7. Who was the U.S. President during most of the 1990s?
    Answer: Bill Clinton
  8. Which 1999 movie directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski explores a dystopian future where reality as perceived by humans is actually a simulated reality?
    Answer: The Matrix
  9. What 1991 film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster includes a character named Hannibal Lecter?
    Answer: The Silence of the Lambs
  10. Who became famous with the release of the album “Jagged Little Pill” in 1995?
    Answer: Alanis Morissette
  11. Which TV show, known for its mysterious plot and supernatural elements, began in 1993 and included characters named Mulder and Scully?
    Answer: The X-Files
  12. What was the first fully computer-animated feature film, released in 1995 by Pixar?
    Answer: Toy Story
  13. Which band released the hit song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1991 that came to define the grunge music movement?
    Answer: Nirvana
  14. What popular video game console was released by Sony in 1994?
    Answer: PlayStation
  15. Which 1990 teen drama TV series featured characters living in Beverly Hills?
    Answer: Beverly Hills, 90210
  16. Who won the FIFA World Cup in 1998?
    Answer: France
  17. Which pop artist was famously criticized for lip-syncing on “Saturday Night Live” in 1990?
    Answer: Milli Vanilli
  18. What late-night sketch comedy show did comedians Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, and Tina Fey join in the 90s?
    Answer: Saturday Night Live
  19. Who wrote the bestselling book “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” published in 1997?
    Answer: J.K. Rowling
  20. What 1997 film directed by James Cameron went on to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture?
    Answer: Titanic
  21. Which 1990s fashion item became synonymous with the decade and featured tiny, colorful, elastic pieces worn as jewelry?
    Answer: Jelly bracelets
  22. What popular ’90s TV show featured a main character who worked in a coffee shop named Central Perk?
    Answer: Friends
  23. Which technological innovation became a significant part of youth culture in the ’90s and included the Walkman and Discman as popular variants?
    Answer: Portable music players
  24. Which “Spice Girls” song became an anthem for female empowerment and is one of the best-selling singles by a female group?
    Answer: Wannabe
  25. What 1999 teen comedy film involves a high school pact and an infamous pie scene?
    Answer: American Pie

2000s Pop Culture Trivia Questions

  1. What was the name of the reality TV show that made Kim Kardashian famous?
    Answer: Keeping Up with the Kardashians
  2. Who won the first season of “American Idol” in 2002?
    Answer: Kelly Clarkson
  3. Which movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2001?
    Answer: Gladiator
  4. What was the name of the virtual pet that became a craze in the early 2000s?
    Answer: Neopets
  5. Which song, released by Beyoncé in 2003, became her first solo No. 1 hit in the USA?
    Answer: Crazy in Love
  6. What is the name of the wizarding school Harry Potter attended?
    Answer: Hogwarts
  7. Which 2004 movie popularized the phrase “That’s fetch!”?
    Answer: Mean Girls
  8. Who performed with Janet Jackson during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show when the infamous ‘wardrobe malfunction’ occurred?
    Answer: Justin Timberlake
  9. What device did Apple introduce in 2001 that changed the music industry?
    Answer: The iPod
  10. Which series, first aired in 2004, starts with a plane crash on a deserted island?
    Answer: Lost
  11. Which book series released its final installment in July 2007?
    Answer: Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
  12. What popular Disney Channel movie, released in 2006, starred Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens?
    Answer: High School Musical
  13. Who sang the 2000 hit song “Oops!… I Did It Again”?
    Answer: Britney Spears
  14. What was the best-selling video game console of the 2000s decade?
    Answer: PlayStation 2
  15. Which television show, premiered in 2004, featured characters named Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows?
    Answer: Prison Break
  16. What 2000s film trilogy featured a cursed pirate named Jack Sparrow?
    Answer: Pirates of the Caribbean
  17. Which 2000s teen drama TV series was set in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina?
    Answer: One Tree Hill
  18. What was the name of the social networking site launched by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004?
    Answer: Facebook
  19. Who wrote the song “Hips Don’t Lie,” which became a massive hit in 2006?
    Answer: Shakira
  20. What popular 2000s television show featured a chemistry teacher turned meth producer?
    Answer: Breaking Bad
  21. Which animated film featuring a green ogre won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2001?
    Answer: Shrek
  22. What was the title of the first film in the “Transformers” series, released in 2007?
    Answer: Transformers
  23. Which reality show, first aired in 2000, strands contestants in remote locations to outwit, outplay, and outlast each other for a million dollars?
    Answer: Survivor
  24. What 2000s song, performed by OutKast, won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2004?
    Answer: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
  25. Which device, launched in 2007, revolutionized mobile technology and is considered a precursor to modern smartphones?
    Answer: iPhone

Black Pop Culture Trivia Questions

Black Pop Culture

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  1. Who was the first Black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, and for which film?
    Answer: Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball” in 2001
  2. What TV show, premiering in 1989, was groundbreaking in its portrayal of a Black family and starred Bill Cosby?
    Answer: The Cosby Show
  3. Which artist released the album “Thriller,” the best-selling album of all time?
    Answer: Michael Jackson
  4. What is the name of the groundbreaking 2018 superhero film directed by Ryan Coogler that featured a predominantly Black cast and crew?
    Answer: Black Panther
  5. Who became the first Black President of the United States?
    Answer: Barack Obama
  6. What late singer is known as the “Queen of Soul” and famous for hits like “Respect” and “Think”?
    Answer: Aretha Franklin
  7. Which novel by Toni Morrison, published in 1987, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988?
    Answer: Beloved
  8. Which rapper and mogul released “The Blueprint” album in 2001 and founded Roc-A-Fella Records?
    Answer: Jay-Z
  9. Who was the first Black woman to be crowned Miss America, in 1983?
    Answer: Vanessa Williams
  10. Which influential Black comedian and actor created the sketch comedy show “In Living Color”?
    Answer: Keenen Ivory Wayans
  11. Name the groundbreaking HBO series created by Issa Rae that explores the experiences of Black women.
    Answer: Insecure
  12. Who is known as the “King of Pop”?
    Answer: Michael Jackson
  13. Which artist’s album “Lemonade” became a cultural phenomenon for its exploration of Black womanhood, infidelity, and resilience?
    Answer: Beyoncé
  14. What is the name of the first African American woman to travel into space, in 1992?
    Answer: Mae Jemison
  15. Who won a Best Original Score Oscar for “Black Panther,” making him the first African American to win in this category?
    Answer: Ludwig Göransson
  16. What Spike Lee film, released in 1989, explored racial tensions in a Brooklyn neighborhood?
    Answer: Do the Right Thing
  17. Name the poet who read “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
    Answer: Amanda Gorman
  18. Which singer, known as the “Godfather of Soul,” had profound influences on the music genres of funk, soul, and R&B?
    Answer: James Brown
  19. What 1990s sitcom starred rapper and actor Will Smith living with his wealthy relatives in California?
    Answer: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
  20. Which film, directed by Ava DuVernay, tells the story of Martin Luther King Jr.’s march from Selma to Montgomery?
    Answer: Selma
  21. Who is the groundbreaking ballerina that became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre in 2015?
    Answer: Misty Copeland
  22. What influential hip-hop group released “Straight Outta Compton” in 1988, marking a significant moment in hip-hop history?
    Answer: N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes)
  23. Which singer-songwriter is known for blending soul, jazz, and blues and won multiple Grammy Awards for her 1999 album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”?
    Answer: Lauryn Hill
  24. Name the groundbreaking series on Netflix created by Justin Simien that discusses racial tensions at a predominantly white Ivy League college.
    Answer: Dear White People
  25. Which pioneering hip-hop artist is known for hits like “Walk This Way” and “My Adidas”?
    Answer: Run-D.M.C.

Current Pop Culture Trivia Questions

  1. What film won the Best Picture award at the 2022 Oscars?
    Answer: CODA
  2. Who performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2022?
    Answer: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar
  3. Which movie became the highest-grossing film of 2021 worldwide?
    Answer: Spider-Man: No Way Home
  4. Which television series, based on a series of fantasy novels, premiered on Amazon Prime in 2022?
    Answer: The Wheel of Time
  5. Who won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2022?
    Answer: Jon Batiste for “We Are”
  6. What is the name of the 2021 Netflix series that became the platform’s biggest series launch ever?
    Answer: Squid Game
  7. Which artist broke the record for most streamed song on Spotify in one day in 2021?
    Answer: Adele with the song “Easy On Me”
  8. Who hosted the Oscars in 2022?
    Answer: Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes
  9. Which animated movie won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2022?
    Answer: Encanto
  10. What is the name of Taylor Swift’s 2021 re-recorded album?
    Answer: Red (Taylor’s Version)
  11. Which 2021 film directed by Denis Villeneuve is a remake of a 1984 sci-fi classic?
    Answer: Dune
  12. Which artist became the first female rapper to have a diamond-certified song by the RIAA in 2021?
    Answer: Cardi B
  13. What popular gaming console was still in high demand and frequently sold out throughout 2021?
    Answer: PlayStation 5
  14. Which Marvel series on Disney+ in 2021 featured a character with super soldier serum?
    Answer: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
  15. Which song by The Weeknd became widely popular and sparked a TikTok dance craze?
    Answer: Blinding Lights
  16. Who was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2021?
    Answer: Elon Musk
  17. Which 2021 movie features a performance by Lady Gaga as the wife of a famous murdered fashion mogul?
    Answer: House of Gucci
  18. What controversial event occurred at the 2022 Oscars involving Will Smith?
    Answer: Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage.
  19. Which hit HBO show starring Zendaya as a troubled teen aired its second season in 2022?
    Answer: Euphoria
  20. Which social media platform introduced a feature called ‘Reels’ in 2020, mimicking TikTok?
    Answer: Instagram
  21. What is the name of the viral online word game that became a sensation in early 2022?
    Answer: Wordle
  22. Who wrote the novel that the 2021 film “The Last Letter from Your Lover” is based on?
    Answer: Jojo Moyes
  23. Which British royal couple gave a revealing interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021?
    Answer: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
  24. What 2021 hit TV show on Netflix is set in the Regency era and produced by Shonda Rhimes?
    Answer: Bridgerton
  25. Which 2020 documentary series detailed the life of a zookeeper and sparked widespread media attention?
    Answer: Tiger King

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