Pop star Taylor Swift (33) was named the 2023 “Person of the Year” by Time, an American weekly magazine.
“Swift has found a way to become a source of light beyond the boundaries of the world divided into light and darkness,” Time said, explaining the reason for the selection, “No one on Earth has touched so many people today.”
“His popularity has risen over the decades, but this year is especially the year Swift unleashed a kind of fusion-like energy in terms of art and commerce,” he explained. “It was a year that reminded us of the question of who makes and owns our cultural expressions,” he said, adding, “He is also a symbol of generational change.”
It is the first time that a person in the entertainment industry has been named Time’s Person of the Year as his main job. It is also the first time that a person in the entertainment industry has won the award alone.
Earlier in 2005, Irish rock band U2 leader Bono was named Person of the Year, but this was because he was recognized for his dedication to solving the poverty problem. At the time, Bono was named Person of the Year along with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife.
Swift was also named the Person of the Year. However, she was included in the list of five people who broke the silence with actress Ashley Judd in 2017, which was a separate reason from her main job.
Time has usually selected a person who has had a great political and social influence throughout the year as the “Person of the Year.” The media explained, “This choice has tended to follow a certain pattern over the years, and men who hold traditional power, such as politicians or industry tycoons, have generally been selected.”
“Now he is the first person of the year to be recognized for his success in the arts,” Time said, adding that Swift is the fourth person to be named the “person of the year” alone in the past 50 years.
Swift became very popular this year with her “The Eras Tour,” which began in North America and performed around the world. His concert hall was always full of audiences, and a 2.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded due to the movement of fans at a concert held in Seattle in July with 70,000 spectators.
Sales of restaurants and hotels have increased significantly in each region where Swift’s performance is held, and a new word called “Swiftnomics” has been created.
As Swift’s cultural and social influence has grown, some universities have opened new classes to explore her. Harvard, one of the most prestigious universities, has decided to open a new class called “Taylor Swift and Her World” in the spring semester of next year.
Stanford plans to teach “All to Well” named after Swift’s song, while Arizona State University plans to teach psychology related to Swift’s work. The University of California, Berkeley, will teach “Artistry and Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version” next year, and the University of Florida will teach “Swift’s Storytelling.”
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
