The Leo phase started off primarily with the War on Terror following the 9/11 attacks. At the time as in my life most people were being lied to on a grand scale. Shows like The Simpsons encouraged people to be stupid so they can be easily brainwashed. Shows like Criss Angel & The Carbonaro Effect were just outright lies where actors pretend to be bystanders. The viewer is duped endlessly.
Entertainment became all-pervasive. Self-promotion and selfishness became a virtue. Besides this, being positive, easygoing, outgoing, a travel bug, a foodie, all these are Leo behaviors that were forced on people through brainwashing. The only acceptable mentality was the glass half-full kind. The more planets one had in the fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) the more adept one was at these kinds of behaviors and hence more successful than others during this time.
Movies were flashy, slick, shiny and had more than one explosion for some reason or other. Actors & actresses had to be fair-skinned most of the time – like the sun, which rules Leo. It became acceptable to trample on others for personal glory but unlike in the Aries phase this fire phase needed a greater degree of concealment of racist motives while covert, active pursuance of the same was the norm.
