“The worst year ever”: the US weekly Time says goodbye to 2020, without any regrets, marked by the nightmare of the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. “This is the story of a year that you will never want to see again”, is the opening line of the article by film critic Stephanie Zacharek. The issue to be released on December 14, features a white cover where a 2020 in black in large letters is marked with a red cross.
TIME's new cover: 2020 tested us beyond measure. Where we go after this awful year https://t.co/5raFYUSgeZ pic.twitter.com/im3NWiBqJC
— TIME (@TIME) December 5, 2020
“There have been worse years in the history of the world, but most of us had never seen anything like it,” writes Zacharek, recalling that one would have to be over 100 years old to remember the devastation of World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic; about 90 to get a sense of the economic deprivation caused by the Great Depression; and 80 to keep a reminder of the Second World War and its horrors.
Covid was not the only event to make 2020 a year to forget. The article also talks about natural disasters and the disappearance of figures such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Lewis, Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman and George Floyd. “We learned a lot in 2020, but what exactly did we learn?”, The author then asks. “We slowed down. We learned what was important. We played board games and puzzles and really talked and listened to our children. “ A general rediscovery of small and obvious things. One among many how important our freedom is once it is taken from us.
If this is the premise, the wait to find out who will be the “Person of the Year 2020” nominated each year by the weekly, is now growing further. What will Time focus on? On one or more figures linked to Covid-19 or it will look for the surprise effect? It will be known on Thursday evening, when a specific TV special will be broadcast on NBC.
