On January 31, Netflix dropped its newest original project, “Miss Americana”, a documentary centered around the sensational pop star, Taylor Swift, for audiences across the globe.
The film offers an intimate glimpse into the life of Swift, exploring the more vulnerable parts that have influenced the much more outspoken music on her most recent album, “Lover.” It delves into her experience as a female artist, documenting years of systemic and ingrained misogyny that shaped the wide-eyed, American sweetheart public persona, the journey and aftermath of her 2017 sexual assault trial and her decision to break her career-long political silence.
The feature is raw and personal, speaking to the divisiveness of fame, popularity, awards and the music industry. In the beginning, Swift finds herself distraught and lonely, caught up in the drama of ruthless news cycles and the whirlwind of hashtags on Twitter and Instagram. After reaching the top of the top, she’s stuck, mulling over and evaluating her life, regrets and past mistakes. She’s left thinking about how things could’ve been different.
And it’s in her lowest state that she harnesses the strength to find her voice and finally speak her truth. In the end, she finds herself growing out of the shell she was trapped in as a sixteen-year-old country singer and following her own moral compass. She gives herself the liberty to prioritize the things that matter, which manifests into songs like “The Man” and “Only the Young,” a strike against Republican Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn during the 2018 midterm elections, and becoming a vocal champion of legislation that supports women and the LGBT+ community. In her own words: “I need to be on the right side of history.”
But the film does more than highlight the evolution of Swift. It reveals the immense scrutiny and double standards that female artists face in light of newfound fame and success, showcasing the ways in which the media and the industry capitalize on their insecurities and take away their independence. It offers an entirely new perspective on the careers of female musicians, demonstrating the ways in which marketing teams and executives take advantage of their dreams and naïvety, molding these women into people they’re not and shushing them until they’re too afraid to speak up.
It’s an empowering piece that shies away from focusing on the trivial things like Swift’s love life. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of maintaining meaningful relationships with family, friends and romantic partners, mental and physical health and sticking up for one’s values. It unmasks the cryptic and mystifying guise of fame, exposing it for the chauvinistic beast that it really is. It aims to unite women, encouraging them to support each other and empathize with one another.
Most of all, it shares the harrowing journey that so many people can relate to as Swift confronts the dark forces holding her back and finds the will to speak up for what she believes in.