VOA新闻杂志2022--霉霉票务问题“可能导致粉丝参与政治”

Taylor Swift Ticket Trouble Could Drive Political Organizing

Ticket sales for popular singer Taylor Swift's first live performances in years went very poorly this month —and her fans are angry.

Swift's fans want people to know that they are not young anymore. They have jobs and resources. That is a powerful political driver, researchers say.

The problems started November 15 when millions of young people tried to use the service Ticketmaster to buy tickets for Swift's Eras Tour. But their efforts resulted in computer problems, long waits and hurried purchases. Two days later, Ticketmaster had canceled the sale, saying there were not enough remaining tickets. Swift herself said she was upset.

Ticketmaster, a company based in Beverley Hills, California, apologized. But now fans, who call themselves Swifties, and politicians have started acting¹ on the frustration².

U.S. House Representative from New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez directed Swift fans to the U.S. Department of Justice to make complaints. Several state officials have announced investigations³.

Stephanie Aly is a New York-based professional who has worked on community organizing for political causes. She thinks using groups of fans, called fandoms, for social progress is a good idea.

"Fandoms are natural organizers," said the 33-year-old Aly. "If you find the right issues and you activate⁴ them and engage them then you can effect real change."

For example, K-pop fans, who follow Korean popular music groups, organized to support the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

Aly and other Swifties who work in different industries have teamed up to create Vigilante Legal. The group is made up of people with experience in law, public relations, cybersecurity and other fields. It is targeting Ticketmaster by creating emails to petition top state lawyers, or attorneys general, and to provide antitrust information. Thousands have expressed interest in helping⁵.

"The level of anger that you've just seen in the country around this issue is astounding⁶," said Jean Sinzdak. She is with the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Jersey⁷.

Sinzdak said the ticket problems are giving Swift's many young fans a direct line to learning how policy is created. The movement also is targeting young women who politicians often do not consider during election season.

"Nobody goes out and thinks, ‘Let's target young women,'" said Gwen Nisbett, a University of North Texas professor. She researches the connection between political activism and popular culture. "Be it about abortion⁸ or student loans, that age group is super mobilized and young women are super mobilized."

Being part of a fan community increases the chance of mobilization, Nisbett said. She has studied developments that took place in 2018. At that time, Swift, who had been non-political, gave her support to Democratic candidates for office on social media. Nisbett found that such social media efforts do not decide fans' votes. But they influence fans to look for more information and to possibly vote.

This is not the first time fans or artists have targeted Ticketmaster. The band Pearl Jam targeted the company in 1994 although the Justice Department decided⁹ not to bring a legal case against the company. More recently, Bruce Springsteen fans were angered over high ticket prices because of Ticketmaster's pricing system.

Aly noted¹⁰ that many of the members of her group did get tickets. But she said the issue is bigger than Ticketmaster.

"...There are always enough of us to make a difference," Aly said. She added: "Your involvement may be the thing that pushes it over the edge that forces the government to act."

Words in This Story

frustration –n. a feeling of anger caused by being unable to do something

complaint –n. a written statement of dissatisfaction that might also call for some action

engage — v. to get involved in something

petition — n. a formal request to officials that some government action should be taken

antitrust — n. related to legal efforts against unfair business methods that limit competition and control prices

astounding — adj. causing great surprise or wonder

abortion — n. a medical operation that ends a pregnancy¹¹ by ending the life of the fetus¹²

mobilize — v. to get people involved in political activities or community events

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

4 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

12 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。