Taylor Swift Sparks 588% Search Increase for Dead Poets Society

The new data emerges after several tweets referring to the classic film went viral upon announcement of the upcoming album. One user tweeted, ‘the tortured poets department in question’ alongside an image from the 1989 movie, which attracted more than 227,000 likes. 

Many people drew comparisons between the two titles, with people likening ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ to the boarding school students, who were inspired by the unorthodox teachings of their English teacher (Robin Williams) and seek to revive the school’s Dead Poets Society.

Fans attempted to decode the meaning behind the title, with one user tweeting, “fun fact to note: The Dead Poets Society was released in 1989” – making the connection between the film and Taylor Swift’s birth year, which was also the title of her recently re-recorded fifth album.  

Others admitted to confusing the album’s title with the film, with one fan posting, “*quietly asking* is anyone else repeatedly calling it dead poets society in their head?” Another tweeted, “me trying to say “the tortured poets department today “the dead poets society” “the dead poets department” “the tortured poets society”” alongside a Spongebob gif, noting the similarity between the titles.   

The album announcement came as a shock to fans and created instant discussion as to what the new songs would be about, with many speculating that Swift’s ex Joe Alwyn would be the main subject. This was fueled further when headlines resurfaced of Alwyn sharing his “Tortured Man Club” group chat with fellow actors Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott.  

This discourse sparked renewed interest in the ‘tortured poet/artist’ concept, with many people creating memes of Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson and Little Women’s Jo March among other real and fictional literary figures.  

Dead Poets Society also saw a bump in activity on film cataloging platform, Letterboxd. The app, which allows users to log and review films, saw 2,862 users log that they had watched the movie, 623 users add the film to a list, and 1,417 users like the film, between 5 - 6 February. A number of user reviews of the film also made reference to Swift’s new album.