Taylor Swift has been a star for many years now. With an ever-growing fanbase, large tracklist, and vastly different span of genres, Taylor Swift has a knack for what she does. As a “Swiftie”, or Taylor Swift fan, I was very surprised and pleased that she had won Time Magazine’s person of the year. It was a delight to see someone who I have held in such high regard to be praised to that level. However, when the list of other possible candidates was revealed, I was disappointed in the choice made by the higher-ups at Time Magazine. Time characterizes their person of the year as someone who had “shaped the headlines for better or for worse” and “who they believed had a strong influence” on the world around them. I believe that the Hollywood strikers and Barbie, two other possible candidates for Time's person of the year, were better suited to be given this honor. 

While Swift is a massive celebrity and has been rocking out on her “Eras Tour”, I believe that both Hollywood strikers and Barbie have made larger and long lasting impressions on the world. Looking back on the year, Barbie was a huge deal. It took over the entire summer, people were attending the film in pink costumes and praising the fantastic soundtrack. It was a movie for the ages. It brought together people of all ages and was the highest grossing domestic film of 2023. It connected mothers, daughters, and complete strangers in irreversible ways and it was all anyone was talking about for the entirety of summer. Even in the new year, people are still talking about the impact Barbie has on the world. TikToks are still being posted about the way the Barbie movie, how has made people feel, and how it connected souls. The Barbie movie  also featured representation and diversity in their characters as well as in their movie watching experience. When Barbie reached the streaming service MAX, previously known as HBOMax, a feature was added where deaf individuals could watch the film with a sign language interpreter at the bottom of the screen. This has made the movie more accessible for countless individuals. Barbie has touched lives in many different ways, and while Taylor Swift has done the same she has not yet brought together such a large group of different individuals together in her career. 

The Hollywood strikers were also a large part of the media in 2023. For countless hours actors, actresses, and writers were on strike against the usage of AI and unfair payment inside of Hollywood. The usage of AI, or artificial intelligence, to write stories, create digital visuals of individuals, and auditory sounds of people talking have been more prevalent in society these past few years. The way people have had parts of them stolen and used without permission is harmful to the writers and actors in Hollywood. These strikes were done for people to have a clear set of parameters for the usage of artificial intelligence. Many projects, such as Cobra Kai and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, have been postponed for a few years or indefinitely because of this. Movies were not promoted by actors and red carpets were canceled. This strike had rocked the television and film industry in ways unimaginable. Many people were out of jobs with no way to support themselves but the writers and actors kept fighting. They put in the work to make active changes to a broken industry. The changes they wanted were met and birth strikes were respectively disbanded. 

Overall, I do not believe that Taylor Swift was the right choice for Time's Person of the Year award.