Art by Samantha Dunn

2023 has seen countless shifts in pop culture, and there have been many events that stand out as country-wide – or even world-wide – phenomena. Here are some of the most memorable aspects of this year:

Hitting 100 million active-monthly users in January of this year, ChatGPT took the world by storm, bringing one of the most frightening and futuristic technologies to the forefront of everybody’s mind. Most importantly: homework will never be the same.

On Feb. 4, The US Air Force shot down a large weather balloon which originated in China off South Carolina’s coast. An event that at first spread through the internet causing conspiracies and countless questions, it also led to furthering the tension between the United States and China – who, in a recent meeting between their respective leaders, seem not to have fully forgotten the conflict.

Former President Donald Trump now faces 91 total criminal charges in four separate states. His trials have been massive news for anybody involved in politics at all, and will have undeniable effects on the next presidential election. Court challenges in three states have been filed, jeopardizing his ability to run for office next year.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all seven charges of different types of fraud related to his multi-billion dollar scam, which affected millions. Bankman-Fried’s once highly respected and down-to-earth reputation makes society’s new perception of him much worse, with many comparing him to Bernie Madoff.

On Sep. 13, Mexico’s Congress heard testimony regarding supposed mummified aliens. These three fingered “beings,” presented to congress by a self-titled “UFO Expert,” are claimed to be unrelated to other life on Earth and proof of extraterrestrial life. This sent shockwaves through the internet, and to this day, information regarding scientists’ official statements is skewed and untrustworthy. What is known is that the same man who presented these remains has presented remains in the past that have been debunked as human bones and glue, making him, in many eyes, completely untrustworthy.

A staple of this summer’s large, fun events, was the conflict of which movie to see first. The Barbie movie and Oppenheimer both had stacked casts, featuring actors Cillian Murphy, Ryan Gosling, Robert Downey, Jr., Matt Damon, Margot Robbie and more famous names between them, as well as a song by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj. Barbie, having now made upwards of $1.5 billion, is Warner Bros’ highest grossing movie and the 14th highest grossing movie of all time.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was incredibly successful, as her first 56 American shows alone skyrocketed her networth past $1 billion – making her the first billionaire whose main source of income is music. There will be a total of 151 shows between five continents, each show having completely sold out and often raking in eight figures. Uniquely, each tour performs music dating up to 15 years old, from her first album in 2008 when she was 16 years old.

Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape, Travis Scott’s long-awaited Utopia, Drake’s For All The Dogs, SZA’s SOS and Taylor Swift’s 1989 (TV) all released this year, totaling 113 songs over 7 hours among them. All of the albums have passed one billion streams on Spotify, with the song “Kill Bill” from SOS having nearly 1.5 billion streams alone.

Natural disasters have devastated numerous communities this year, including floods in Libya, earthquakes in Turkey, Morocco and Afghanistan and wildfires in Maui. These events have resulted in massive property damage and loss of life. The most local of these was Maui’s northwest oceanfront town Lahaina being leveled in a fire, resulting in conspiracy theories pushed by the far-right, another constant of 2023.