I don’t believe in telling someone to “shut up and sing,” but in today’s political climate all I wanted to do was watch a Taylor Swift documentary about her cats, the album and her life leading up to this era.
Whether it’s the masterpiece of Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, or One Direction’s concert film This Is Us that I watched on repeat when I was way too old to admit so, you don’t have to be a superstar for a movie to be made about you, but you do for people to actually watch.
Taylor Swift has been unarguably one of, if not the biggest, female singer for a decade now. She’s won the most American Music Awards in history, ten Grammy Awards, broke the record for highest annual earnings of a female artist ever in 2017, eleven #1 hits.
So, why wait until now for her documentary debut?
Miss Americana makes this clear—Swift wanted to wait until she had a voice.
The whole premise of the documentary is about her “comeback” after being hated by the entire world, a sexual assault case and decades of being told she needs to just shut up and sing.
It’s told through the lens of her newest album, Lover, which with 18 tracks of polarizing ideas could be broken up into at least two separate albums, tossing some of the ones I just cannot figure out where they came from (I’m talking to you, “I Think He Knows”). The film follows Swift through her songwriting process, helping us experience with her what pushes her to write.
She tackles difficult topics, including her mother’s battle with cancer, suffering from an eating disorder and the sexual assault case she faced in 2017, when Swift countersued her assailent for a symbolic $1, taking back her truth, for nothing but her emotional healing.
The documentary was touching, but only to a point.
I admire Swift’s ability to come forward with so many things that could destroy a person, only to come back stronger with Lover, but her story took a turn when it only became about politics.
Taylor Swift had long been quiet about her stance, saying in the film that she had been told to stay quiet and focus on music, even being told by her own father and someone on her team to not come forward with her political views.
Of course, she should have a voice. Of course, she should be able to post something on Instagram about how she feels without being in hysterics about it and needing hype from her mom and friend. However, we absolutely cannot look anywhere without getting opinions and news shoved down our throats.
It’s important to share the news and spread awareness, but I did not think at any point of this documentary I would be having to sit through Taylor sobbing about a Tennessee election, particularly considering her absolute radio silence about the subject beforehand.
Lastly, I never want to hear about Kim and Kanye ever again if it’s from the mouth of Taylor Swift. Absolutely ever. I love Taylor, but I stand with KimYe for life.
Swift takes important and typically taboo subjects to the screen, which I admire. However, if I have to sit through another political tirade with the cherry on top of playing the video of Kanye stealing her AMA in 2009, I think I’m going to stick with Bieber’s documentary.
Words by Olivia Hawkins (@liivhawk)
Graphic: Courtesy of Netflix, Miss Americana 2020