Written by Jasmeen Arechiga
“Miss Americana” is a must see documentary that gives the viewer a rollercoaster ride of the ups and downs of the past 15 years Taylor Swift has gone through living a popstar life
The documentary covers a multitude of topics in her life first showing the audience the day of the Grammy nominations in 2018, where she gets a phone call informing her that her record “Reputation” had not been nominated in three big categories.
The viewers see the raw emotion of disappointment that takes over, but Swift’s work ethic and determination push her to make a better record, which begins the process of her writing “Lover.” Another album that would unfortunately be rejected by the Grammys.
“My entire moral code, as a kid and now, is a need to be thought of as good. It was all I wrote about, it was all I wanted. It was the complete and total belief system that I subscribed to as a kid.”Swift said.
For a female pop star documentary, Miss Americans is runner up to Lady Gaga’s Five Foot Two. It’s raw authenticity of the film gives the viewer an up close and personal perspective of how this industry and society make these celebrities feel.
The movie takes the viewer down a record of events about her life growing up in the spotlight as the good girl she felt she had to be. But why is it so important for her to be seen as a good girl, or so important to have people’s approval? It’s simply due to human desire.
She was taught that if people praise her for her accomplishments and hard work ethic then she’s on the right path. So what happens when the image you’ve been portraying to the world most of your life gets away from you in a split moment?
Swift touches on the pinnacle moment she starts to struggle with her “public image” after winning her first VMA back in 2009. What was supposed to be one of the best moments of her career, revolves around Kanye’s VMA moment of “imma let you finish.” At just the age of 19 swift described it as, “For someone who built their whole belief system on getting people to clap for you, the whole crowd booing is a pretty… formative experience.”
At the time, hearing the audience boo Kanye, caused her to believe they were booing at her. The documentary showcases Swift transitioning from perfect good girl who sought out approval from others in order to feel like she was doing everything right to a woman who found self empowerment in her desire to be on the right side of history
The purpose of this documentary is image rehabilitation, and the strengths of the hard work she goes through to show the world the real Taylor Swift. Though it is considerably a short documentary it touches on the topics of the life that made Swift an empowering woman today.
