Taylor Swift’s new documentary “Miss Americana” dropped on Netflix on January 31st. Being the diehard Taylor Swift fan I am, I stayed up until 2 am to watch the release. I expected this documentary to be interesting, but what I didn’t expect was Taylor’s vulnerability and openness regarding issues that plague today’s society. Here are some of the topics Taylor speaks about in the film and why they matter.
- Mental Health
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Taylor talks about how her career has affected her mental health. It explains how she stayed away from the public eye for an entire year due to stalking by fans, tabloids/gossip, and extreme cyberbullying. This documentary clearly shows how celebrities deal with a lot and often need to step away to take care of their mental health.
- Body Image Issues
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As a result of the issues mentioned prior, Taylor developed an eating disorder. She mentions seeing tabloids talk about her gaining weight and using food as a means of control in her life. She talks about starving herself and feeling faint after shows. This is a rare topic for celebrities to talk about in our culture, so it is brave of her to tell her story of recovery.
- Feminism
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One of the big themes of the documentary was how Taylor was always portrayed as a good girl. Taylor mentions feeling the need to always please people’s expectations and be polite due to fear of not making it in the industry. As one reporter mentions in the film, female celebrities are told to just “shut up and sing”. This sheds a light on the gender roles that are often associated with women as they are told to be polite and quiet.
- Political Activism
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I would say political activism is the biggest part of this film. Taylor talks about how women in the country music industry are shamed for talking about politics which was shown in the downfall of the Dixie Chicks. She talks about being afraid to voice her opinion, and then ultimately (after fighting her whole management team) deciding to speak out on politics. This is followed by insults of the President and a rise in voter registration. An important theme of the documentary is Taylor finding her voice to speak out about politics and why it was the right decision.
- LGBTQ+ Rights
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By now, most of her fans know that Taylor is pro-LGBTQ+ due to her song “You Need to Calm Down” and the following music video. The filming of the music video is shown in the documentary which solidifies how important it is that Taylor is an ally, which is shown in her conversations on camera during the film with people like Jonathan Van Ness and Todrick Hall. This is also a big step in her political activism as she created a change.org petition for the Equality Act in conjunction with the video.
- The Power of Youth
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Continuing on the topic of politics, Taylor also released a promo song for this film called “Only the Young”. She wrote the song after the election of Donald Trump and it talks about how the youth have the power to change our political climate. This song is arguably the most important song Taylor has ever written as it gives a motivational message and tackles hard-hitting issues such as gun violence.
- Sexual Assault
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The documentary also covers Taylor’s sexual assault trial from 2017. She details what it is like to be a survivor of assault and having to fight in a trial against her assailant. She sues the DJ who assaulted her and every single dollar of the money she was awarded went to raising awareness for survivors. She explains how lucky she was to have been believed by others and how she now speaks out for other survivors who have not had the same verdict as she did.
- Cancer
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The documentary talks about Taylor’s mother Andrea’s diagnosis of cancer. This is a topic that Taylor has not often talked about, except in her song “Soon You’ll Get Better”. This shows Taylor being vulnerable and shows how cancer affects everyone involved in the life of the person who is diagnosed. This is important as this is a common issue that many families deal with and it often goes unnoticed by others.
- Cyberbullying
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As touched on earlier, Taylor spent an entire year out of the public eye. This was mainly due to the cyberbullying she received on the internet after her very public feud with Kanye West. As she talks about the feud and internet comments are shown, it displays the impact of cyberbullying on a person. It also shows that celebrities are also people with feelings and that negative comments still really affect them as a person.
- Sexism
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Taylor recently released a song called “The Man”. This song talks about how men and women are viewed differently in terms of success. This documentary shows parts of Taylor writing and recording this song. This song is important because it directly addresses the sexism women face in their day to day lives.
Even if you don’t like Taylor Swift, there’s no denying that after this documentary, you gain respect for her. This documentary made me more proud to be a fan of hers than ever, and I’m so excited to continue to watch her journey in the future.