On January 31st, Netflix launched the documentary "Taylor Swift: Miss Americana" . As the name suggests, this is a documentary focusing on today's music superstar Taylor Swift.
When I first heard about this documentary, its translation was called "Ms. American" . At that time, I was quite surprised: Taylor Swift, who just passed the threshold of thirty years old, what documentary did he make? Where does the self-confidence come from the name of the country?
After the film was officially launched, the official translation was changed to "Miss Sweetheart of America" , which was a bit more modest, but felt a little less meaningful.
After watching this 85-minute documentary, I look back and think about the translation of the title. The general idea is: The first half of this film is Taylor Swift, the "Miss Americana", and the second half is toward "Miss Americana." "The proposition, the real "Mrs. America."
American sweetheart halo faded
As I mentioned earlier, Taylor Swift, who was born in 1989, was just 30 years old. Artists at this age began to make documentaries. It is more or less confusing—what to shoot?
Take pictures of her childhood? Dream of music since childhood? The acting experience of becoming famous step by step? The story behind each album? Well, there is not much content on the seven albums? Besides, most of the celebrity anecdotes are familiar to netizens at the moment, and it seems that there is no need to make a special movie and put it on the table, right?
In the first act of the film, Taylor is sitting in front of the window sill, holding a small diary, telling about his so-called "belief system", which is "needs people to think that they are a good person . "
It seems that a pop star is trying to deconstruct itself, and it also made me curious about the expressive intention of the film.
The first half of the film, as we expected, is all well-known content, from the 12-year-old Taylor to the stage, to the rise of fame as the little princess of country music, and then to the "welcome to New York" after "out of the village". A great success, but in such flashy flashes, the picture will always freeze at some not-so-brilliant moments:
For example, the famous scene where Kanye snatched her microphone during her acceptance speech. The 19-year-old Taylor was full of hurried and helpless faces; for example, when she attended the ceremony, she was asked by the hostess to show her legs, and she was also asked how many men she planned to bring back tonight. Home, Taylor’s face is embarrassing and forbearing; for example, when he learned that his new album was not nominated for Grammy at home, the lonely Taylor endured tears and said that it’s okay-"I need to make a better record."
You will find that in this documentary, Taylor Swift, a superstar who has almost always shown pure health and kindness since his debut, has in fact, like any ordinary girl, has had moments of inferiority, hesitation, sadness and discouragement. To a certain extent, the documentary seems to be breaking the halo of this "American sweetheart" star.
Restart at thirty
The phone recording incident between Kanye and Kardashian was the biggest public relations crisis since Taylor’s debut. Taylor could not prove that the recordings released by Kardashian were forged, but Kanye who promised to release the complete recording afterwards was also hacked by Taylor. , Has failed to fulfill his promise so far, so the truth is no longer known, and no one cares anymore.
But from this incident and all the incidents that have been hit by public opinion and the industry in the past, Taylor has gradually begun to disintegrate the belief system that he has always pursued that "people need to think of themselves as a good person".
Taylor gradually realized that "to be a good girl" itself is a false proposition, and no one can be loved by everyone, just like being picky about women's body-too thin, no butt, and if you have a butt, you don’t necessarily have it. Smooth and slender waist and abdomen.
Taylor has always been someone who has a clear understanding of herself, just as she said at the beginning of the film that "in the music industry, my greatest specialty is storytelling."
Even people who don't listen to Taylor's music at all may know that she will write each of her love affair into the song, and those who are familiar with it know better that in the pop music circle, there are few Taylor's personal music.
If you spend two hours listening to the latest "Lover" from the first "Taylor Swift", it is almost equivalent to witnessing her life journey from 17 to 30.
Taylor’s early country music often had a lively melody, but the arrangements were mostly around simple instruments such as guitar, piano, banjo or ukulele, just as simple as an ordinary girl next door.
Even in Taylor's "Demura" work "1989", although electric guitar, bass, and mixing synthesizer have become the main voices of the arranger, many of them are still Taylor's iconic little girl tone in terms of creative style. .
But in "Reputation", everyone can see the great changes in Taylor's music, not only in terms of arrangement and creation, but her lyrics and tone have become more powerful, and there are even some attacks. sex.
Taylor, who is good at storytelling, uses her music to convey her growth to everyone. She no longer tries to please everyone, but begins to be herself bravely and express her opinions.
In the "Reputation" concert tour, Taylor changed his slender and moving stage image, and was criticized by many netizens as "the legs are too thick", "you are fat", "the body management is too bad" and so on.
But only Taylor, who once relied on not eating to maintain her figure, knew that “looking fat is better than sick herself”, and she no longer demands a perfect figure to make everyone like it.
Seeing the second half of the film, I believe that the audience will gradually understand that this is not a documentary intended to summarize Taylor’s career, but Taylor, who stands at thirty, and wants to use this film to show the world a new start. Of yourself .
American lady is more than politics
One of the biggest points of the film is Taylor's detailed account of her process of publicizing her political stance.
As someone who has been listening to Taylor's "mold powder" since 2009, I have never heard Taylor say anything about politics.
In the 2016 "War of the Century" between Trump and Hillary Clinton, although Taylor called on his fans to vote and even posted online updates while standing in front of the voting room, he still remained silent about his political leanings. You must know that the fruit sister next door has already put on a cloak that says "I'm with the female president".
Taylor's silence made everyone think that she was a "secret Republican Party." After all, in an environment where the entire American literature and art circles support the Democratic Party, it is obvious that the advantages of publicly criticizing Trump outweigh the disadvantages. There is no silver left here.
In this documentary, we learned from Taylor’s tone that the reason why she is unwilling to disclose her political leanings is that on the one hand, the company and the team’s requirements, I hope she will not repeat the mistakes of the "Southern Chicken", on the other hand It is also her self-discipline of "to be a good girl", and she is unwilling to talk about political issues that will inevitably offend some people in the United States.
Until she herself experienced sexual harassment lawsuits, until the 2018 midterm elections, when the lawmakers who opposed women’s equal pay for equal work and the resumption of the Anti-Violence against Women Act were about to enter the Tennessee Senate where Taylor was located, Taylor could no longer maintain Silent.
Even if she knows that once her political leanings are announced, she will no longer be able to remain a pure singer-songwriter, and will inevitably be pushed to the position of an opinion leader, even if she knows that once her political leanings are announced, her concerts may be reduced. Half of the audience, she still chose to speak, making her life more complicated in an instant.
Although Taylor’s voice did not change the results of the midterm elections, she was not discouraged, and turned around and wrote a song like "Only The Young" that encourages young Americans to participate in politics and make her country better. song.
In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the launch of "Taylor Swift: Miss Americana" and "Only The Young" at this point in time has a certain political significance, meaning that the 2020 US presidential election is about to come, just like the one funded by Obama. "The American Factory" is the same, but this is not why Taylor dared to call himself "Miss Americana".
Whether it is a change in his own musical style, or the reconstruction of his own belief system, whether it is the calmness of his appearance and figure, or the expression of his political views, what Taylor, 30, wants to express most, is actually in the film In a paragraph.
"In this society, once a woman engaged in an acting career reaches 35, she may be abandoned and depressed... Female artists reshape their image 20 times more than male artists because they have no choice or they will Unemployed... I am almost 30 years old. I will work hard while the society can tolerate my success."
In fact, in society and in the workplace, women are forced to reach the ceiling once they reach the age of 35. Not only in the performing arts industry, but also in the United States? To a certain extent, Taylor used his own experience to explain the plight of modern women in society.
From this perspective, it is not too much to call her "Mrs of the World" with bragging words.
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