As December progresses, so does end-of-year content. Words, books, movies and, famously, a person. Concretely, TIME's Person of the Year, a tradition the magazine began in 1927 and which it continues to introduce with fanfare every year.
The person will be announced on Wednesday, but TIME published on Monday a nine-candidate shortlist as it drums up the hype before the reveal. Public officials, artists, an entrepreneur, a new king and even a collective of people are featured in the list, which, however, doesn't include any Latinos.
This means that the only member of this demographic to ever be named TIME Person of the Year is still Argentina's Pope Francis in 2013. "He took the name of a humble saint and then called for a church of healing. The first non-European pope in 1,200 years is poised to transform a place that measures change by the century," read the summary of his profile back then.
This year, the list features the following characters: Hollywood strikers, Xi Jinping, Taylor Swift, Sam Altman, Trump prosecutors, Barbie, Vladimir Putin, King Charles III and Jerome Powell. TIME doesn't give any hints about its choice, providing a brief description of its rationale for each candidate.
With regards to Xi Jinping and Putin, TIME said about the former that he has solidified his role as one of China's most powerful modern leaders after securing an unprecedented third term. About Putin, on his end, it said that he "faced a brief threat to his power in 2023 during the Wagner rebellion, but his influence was only reinforced in the end, as the mercenary group retreated when a deal was struck by Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko."
Barbie and Taylor Swift are in the artists group. "Greta Gerwig's third feature was the highest-grossing film of 2023, earning $1.4 billion and causing an explosion of pink fashion, accessories, and other merchandise in stores across the world," said TIME about the movie. As for Swift, it added that she "has had a major year, from re-releasing her albums with record-setting streams to making one of the most successful concert films in history." "Swift's Eras tour is also on track to become the highest-grossing global tour of all time," it added.
Trump Prosecutors and Jerome Powell are the public officials who made it to the shortlist. The former for being the first ones in history to indict a U.S. President, the second one for playing a "key role in managing high in the U.S., trying to architect the so-called "soft landing" of reducing inflation by raising interest rates without causing a recession."
About Sam Altman, TIME highlighted that he has "countless headlines for his departure (and swift return) to his position as CEO of OpenAI, the company that released the groundbreaking ChatGPT, which has defined today's AI landscape." And about King Charles III that ""after a decades-long wait for the throne," he "took his position" in May.
Finally, Hollywood Strikers (both actors and screenwriters) are highlighted by the publication for "putting a pause on the creation and filming of new and current shows and movies—a rare show of the power of both labor and the entertainment industry."
Last year's TIME Person of the Year was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the "spirit of Ukraine."
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