As we say goodbye to summer and head into the fall, two pop culture behemoths are poised to make a huge comeback. The Hunger Games franchise will be releasing one of the most anticipated 2023 new movie releases, the prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift will continue her seemingly unstoppable run on the Billboard charts with the re-release of her beloved album 1989. This is exciting news for moviegoers and Swifties alike, but it also has some (including myself) wondering if we’ve possibly traveled back in time to 2014.
When Taylor Swift used a recent Eras Tour stop to announce the re-release of 1989, her fans were understandably thrilled. But it didn’t take long for some fans to notice that pop culture history is repeating itself. As one X user noted:
huge fall for teenage girls in their twenties https://t.co/t2eDkmb3QnAugust 10, 2023
Okay, so maybe most of us are no longer teenage girls in our twenties -- that doesn't mean we're not experiencing a major flashback moment right now. In 2014, it was pretty much impossible to escape the Hunger Games juggernaut. After the worldwide success of the first film in the franchise, The Hunger Games - Catching Fire hit theaters in November and dominated the box office, eventually raking in nearly $450 million.
And while Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss navigated some less-than-favorable odds in the Quarter Quell on the big screen, Taylor Swift shook off some bad blood at the top of the Billboard charts with her pivotal pop album, 1989. Needless to say, it was a good year and one that remains in the memories of a number of fans.
Nine years later, the pop culture landscape has changed in many ways. But the fact that we’ll be getting a new Hunger Games movie and Taylor’s Version of 1989 within weeks of each other has devotees feeling understandably nostalgic. As we get closer to the release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, fans who were teens in the 2010s have rewatched the first four films with the use of a Prime Video subscription and re-examined the Hunger Games movies through a more adult lens. Likewise, Swifties have been deep in their feelings all summer as the Eras Tour has made its way across the United States and reminded them of all the ways Swift’s music was the soundtrack to their adolescence and early adulthood.
There will be significant differences between 2023’s Hunger Games and 1989 releases – we won’t see Jennifer Lawrence in Panem this time, and Taylor Swift has included some new tracks from the vault for Swifties to enjoy. But it’s still fun for fans to draw connections between the past and the present, as they look forward to a busy and nostalgia-filled fall. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) will be released on October 27, and Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hits theaters on November 17.
