So Good.
Last night, I stayed up late into the evening to finally watch Miss Americana , the Taylor Swift documentary on Netflix. Almost every podcast that I enjoy has mentioned it since the release last week, so I was a little curious to see if it was actually interesting…or just concert footage and a lot of outfit changes. I’m here to say IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. If you are interested in a frank discussion about the way we encourage young women to find their self-worth in our culture and what we expect of celebrities in entertainment now, log in and watch it asap. And if you marginally care, here is what I find myself thinking about:
Taylor essentially based her self-worth on the applause of the crowd and the adulation of fans. And keeping that going meant a constant re-invention of herself, her look, and her music with the frantic energy that it all could end if she didn’t do it just right. That’s pretty real, whether you have five fans or five million fans. It made me sad because the pressure had to be enormous for her, but it also comforted me a bit because who can’t identify with that when you are selling goods or services that require a fan base?
She really felt that her identity as a “good girl” meant she never objected to anything or disagreed with anyone or spoke out based on how she felt…and that is an epidemic for women, right? Learning to say what you think in a thoughtful and tactful manner without apologizing has to be one of the most difficult skills to learn. I’m still not good at it and if I do manage to do it, I usually apologize for it and overthink it. You wouldn’t think that would be the case in 2020, yet here we are.
She addresses the whole Kanye West incident, including showing concert footage of every person at his concert screaming they hate her (well, that’s not exactly what they said but this is a family friend blog and you can probably guess what they actually said). I keep thinking that if I saw footage of the same being said of myself, I would probably take to my bed and never be able to get up again. She actually takes a year where she drops out of the public eye because she felt like that’s what people wanted. I totally get it.
She also addresses the need to consistently level up to keep her fans engaged and nothing could be more true of the world we live in now. Frankly, I’m the worst. I’m a super fan of interesting people with interesting ideas. And that makes me evaluate if I’m thinking and reading and experiencing enough to keep myself interested in myself, if that makes sense.
And she shares a lot about her mom’s cancer diagnosis and how well she is understood by her mom, even as she has changed from her earliest days as a country music artist to international superstar. And it is a solid reminder to not take Jeanne - or my own role as a mother - for granted, which is so easy to do. Can you imagine how Taylor Swift’s mother had to learn to navigate watching her daughter become one of the best selling artists of all time, all while supporting her mental health and wanting the best for her? Gah.
