What Everyone can Learn from Taylor Swift’s New Documentary, Miss Americana.
Pop singer Taylor Swift recently came out with a Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, directed by Lana Wilson. Miss Americana goes behind the scenes of the singer’s private life revealing personal struggles, creating new music, her sexual assault trial, involvement in politics and more. Swift discusses the obstacles she has overcome throughout her career and the direction she wants to move forward in as she approaches her 30’s.
The documentary begins with Swift reading old diary entries. In a New Yorker article the author writes about Swift discussing her morals in Miss Americana. The article discusses how Swift always felt the need to be good and do the right thing. She explains how this belief system led her down a dark path where she was so wrapped up in what other people thought of her and trying to constantly please people.
Swift briefly talks about her mother, Andrea, being diagnosed with cancer. An article in USA Today discusses Swift talking about her mother’s cancer in the documentary. Swift explains how her mother being diagnosed with cancer was hard on her because she is her favorite person. We see Swift spending time with her family as she explains, “It woke me up from this life where I used to sweat all these things. But do you really care if the Internet doesn’t like you today if your mom’s sick from her chemo?”
Although Miss Americana is at times lighthearted and shows a fun, playful side of the pop-star, the documentary touches on serious experiences Swift has been through, such as her sexual assault trial. In 2013, Swift was sexually assaulted by a DJ during a meet and greet. An article in NBC News goes over the details of the case. The DJ sued Swift for $3 million, claiming that he had been wrongfully fired from his job and Swift countersued him for $1. The jury sided with Swift and she won.
In Miss Americana Swift explains how after her sexual assault trial she wouldn’t be silent anymore. The next time there was a chance for her to speak up, she would use her voice. This led to her involvement in politics. Throughout her career, Swift was always told to not force her opinions on people. She explains, “A nice girl smiles and waves and says thank you. A nice girl doesn’t make people feel uncomfortable with her views.” However, Swift decided it was time to speak up for what she believed in. After thorough debate with her team, she posted on social media encouraging people to vote for Phil Bredesen for senate and not to vote for Marsha Blackburn, who Swift believes does not represent Tennessee Christian values. Swift explains how she wants to have a more active role in politics moving forward in her career and stand up for the double standards in society, something she wishes she had done a long time ago.
Swift also discusses struggling with her body image throughout the years. She talks about how it isn’t good for her to see photos of herself everyday, which is difficult because she is constantly being followed and photographed, something we see on multiple occasions in the documentary. She explains that seeing a photo of her where she thought she looked fat or an article questioning if she was pregnant would cause her to stop eating, which is something she says she is not proud of. A Variety article includes a quote from Lana Wilson, explaining how Swift opening up about her eating disorder was one of her favorite parts of the documentary. She says, “That’s one of my favorite sequences of the film… I was surprised, of course. But I love how she’s kind of thinking out loud about it. And every woman will see themselves in that sequence. I just have no doubt.”
Miss Americana is no doubt a documentary that will make Taylor Swift lovers laugh and cry. Swift shares a whole new side of her life with the world. The documentary ends with Swift reading her diary from 2003, an entry from her 14-year-old self, encouraging herself to relax and keep trying to reach her goal of becoming a singer. The last clip we see is Swift, on a stage ready to perform her new album and start a new chapter in her life, this time wiser and happier than ever before.
