Synopsis
“In this revealing documentary, Taylor Swift embraces her role as a songwriter and performer – and as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice.” – Netflix
Forget about every bad thing you’ve ever heard or said about Taylor Swift. Forget about the 15-year ugly media blasts about her. Put aside your opinions about her image, personality, love life and music. Put it all aside for an hour and twenty-five minutes to watch Swift’s new Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, directed by Lana Wilson. Now, because I’ve always been a fan, I can’t say with absolute certainty that it will change your opinion of her, but I think that maybe, quite possibly, it will. Not because her bubbly and excitable personality is contagious, or that her relatable lyrics are at the forefront, but because this documentary dives into a side of Taylor’s life she’s never shown us before outside of those personal lyrics.
Miss Americana gives us a glimpse into Swift’s creative songwriting process, her relationship with her mom, a smidge of her most private relationship yet, how her sexual assault trial influenced her decision to finally speak up politically, and the anxiety that comes along with that political stance after twelve years of feeling silenced. These are all nice aspects to see, and I’m sure many are happy she’s finally taking a political stand, including myself. However, those aspects aren’t the ones I found most important or relatable. What really got me – by this, I mean brought me to tears and raised goosebumps all over my arms – were the major themes of the pressure to be the perfect “good girl” who didn’t speak her mind and the growth of overcoming that these last few years. Now 30 years old, about to turn 29 at the time of the documentary, Taylor has learned a lot over the last 15 years and has grown into the woman, songwriter, and musician that she’s no longer afraid to be.
Taylor Swift is a superstar. She’s a hardworking performer. She’s a talented musician. She’s an incredible songwriter. She’s a countless award winner. She has millions of fans and millions of others who love to tear her down by criticizing her every move. Taylor Swift is also a daughter, a sister, a best friend, a girlfriend, a giver, and a woman with a voice that does more than just sing pretty lyrics. Taylor Swift is a human being with real feelings. Just like you and me. She hurts. She cries. She feels disappointment. She feels fear. She gets giddy over finally perfecting that lyric and planning music videos and seeing her boyfriend. She also feels that pressure to be and do and say (or not say) and act and look the perfect way. Only, for her, it’s magnified times ten because she lives under a microscope of millions of people who get off on criticizing her and 126 million more who love and look up to her. That is what Miss Americana shows.
It also shows that Taylor no longer cares, or at least tries not to most of the time, what the critics say or what the photographs look like. She’s been through the darkest stage of her career, in which she disappeared from the public eye for an entire year because she believed that’s what everyone wanted and came out stronger because of it. She ditched the narrative of her reputation, found love and found her voice for the things that matter. No longer is she falling prey to how women are trained to act. No longer is she being silenced by the masking tape across her lips. And no longer is she apologizing for it. Miss Americana is a beautiful and, to be honest, heartbreaking look into the life of a superstar. More importantly, it’s a beautiful and heartbreaking look into the life of a human being who just so happens to be a superstar. I’ve been a fan of Taylor Swift since high school because of her music and the way she loves her fans. I turned 28 a week before she turned 30. Now, thanks to this documentary, I’m a fan because she’s real and honest and human.
Quotes
- “We’re people who got into this line of work because we wanted people to like us, because we’re intrinsically insecure, because we liked the sound of people clapping because it made us forget how much we feel like we’re not good enough. And I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and it’s just, I’m tired of it. I’m just tried of the… just… It just feels like it’s more than music now at this point, and just most days I’m like ‘okay’, but then sometimes it just gets loud.”
- “I’m trying to be as educated as possible on how to respect people, on how to deprogram the misogyny in my own brain. Toss it out, reject it, and resist it. Like, there is no such thing as a slut. There is no such thing as a bitch. There is no such thing as someone who’s bossy, there’s just a boss. We don’t want to be condemned for being multifaceted.”
- “I wasn’t happy in the way that I’d been trained to be happy. It was happiness without anyone else’s input.”
- “We do exist in this society where women in entertainment are discarded in an elephant graveyard by the time they’re 35. Everyone’s a shiny new toy, for like, two years. The female artists that I know have reinvented themselves 20 times more than the male artists. They have to… or else you’re out of a job.”
- “I want to still have a sharp pen and a thin skin and an open heart.”
Stream Miss Americana on Netflix now!
Featured Image: Taylor Swift’s Twitter