Hopefully you have all had the time to go out and watch the fantastic documentary, Miss Americana about Taylor Swift. (If you haven’t you need to it is amazing) Now I am biased as I am a huge swiftie… but in all seriousness this documentary will show you the flaws within the music industry as well as give an insight into the life of a pop star and the way that they are a human too and sometimes we forget that. We forget that Taylor Swift has insecurities just like the rest of us.
Some of the things we learned in the documentary:
1. She was extremely honest, vulnerable and admiring in the way she discussed her eating disorder and her issues with her body image. She talked about the ways in which seeing yourself in photographs everyday was not good for her mentally and she would scrutinize every inch of her body to find a flaw, and she would find a reason then to not eat. Not only was this eye opening to the ways in which she continued to perform while feeling like she was going to pass out, but it shows the ways in which she is just like everybody else. The media forgets that the people they talk about and report about are humans too. The internet and the power of the screen has allowed us a distance to believe that these famous people aren’t actually like the rest of us, but they bleed red just like us.
2. Her relationship with her mom is so pure. She talks about how her mom is her favorite person and her best friend. Her mom goes everywhere with her and their love and devotion for each other is so clear in the way that Andrea Swift speaks up for her daughter. Seeing their relationship really pulls on the heartstrings because we now know that Taylor’s mom has been dealing with a brain tumor and that the news has been extremely difficult for their family to handle.
3. Taylor is passionate about what she believes in. Watching Taylor fight for her right to voice her opinion on her social media platform was powerful. We always think that famous people can do whatever they want, but Taylor had to fight for the right to post on her own instagram. She stood up for what she believed in and she urged others to do the same.
4. Her relationship with Joe Alwyn is amazing. There is a scene where Taylor runs off of her concert set and straight into his arms. It shows them standing and hugging before he kisses her on the head and they walk away arm in arm. It is evident that they love each other deeply and that Taylor has found the person that she wants to call after she achieves something.
5. There’s a scene in the documentary where Taylor is crying to her mom saying that everything becomes so loud and she doesn’t know how she is supposed to handle it. That moment felt so real and so relatable and brought me to tears. This woman is under a magnifying glass for everything that she does, and at the end of the day she is just like everyone else. She gets tired of the world coming after her for every little thing, and she’s scared of what her fame has caused her life to be.
Overall this documentary is a must see because it allows us to understand that at the end of the day we are all the same. We all can be hurt and we are all struggling with something. Taylor Swift is strong and talented and will continue to amaze and relate to people through her incredible storytelling in her lyrics.