3 Lessons From Miss Americana
When it came out, I joined what was likely every single fan of Taylor Swift in pouring a glass of wine and tuning in to the Netflix Film documentary Miss Americana. With its title as a nod to one of the songs from her recent album Lover, the film is described as being a “revealing documentary, [in which] Taylor Swift embraces her role as a songwriter and performer — and as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice.” And man did it deliver. Not only was it an insightful and entertaining look into Taylor’s songwriting process, but this documentary did one thing really well: it opened up the doors — and the eyes of all who tuned in — to one of the most successful, talented, and often misunderstood celebrities of our time. It was full of some especially thought-provoking nuggets that, after watching (three times and counting), I will think about for a long time. Here are some of the biggest lessons I learned from watching Miss Americana.
1. Taylor is — as I believe most of us have always suspected — a songwriting genius.
In the documentary, she explicitly shares with the audience that she knows that her “thing” is her storytelling; that the songs that she writes are able to paint a vivid picture and bring listeners into the narrative in a way that is rare. And with that, she knows that she has to deliver with any new projects. When you think back and/or listen to some of her earlier albums, like Speak Now, you can just feel it: the storylines in her songs are rich and romantic. And even with her damn near seamless transition into pop (thanks in good part to her fourth album Red, which was the perfect hybrid of country/pop), her songs have continued to be ones that are remembered because they are the kind that listeners can see themselves in . . . and that’s the mark of a good storyteller. I loved seeing glimpses of her process play out, because whether it started with a beat, a lyric, or a melody, watching Taylor and her collaborators work together to build a song from scratch was fascinating. Lesson: Taylor’s intrinsic talent and work ethic are often underrated, especially for her age.
2. It doesn’t matter who you are or how famous you are, we all have insecurities . . . and we get to decide what we do with them.
Live for the applause? Or choose to let our private, quiet lives be our space of fulfillment? I so clearly remember that moment at the 2009 VMA’s when Kanye infamously interrupted Taylor’s acceptance speech, but — wow — I never stopped to consider the impact that it might (and did) have on her. Being that I am the same age as Taylor, when I think back to myself at nineteen years old — I mean, what an awkward, formative time of life — I can’t imagine the psychological effect that brief moment in time likely had on her psyche, not just as a young adult but as one who was and still is mega-famous. At the same time, we started to gather that Taylor believed she’d be able to find fulfillment and happiness from the acceptance and applause of her fans and fellow artists, but after years of trying to find her identity / purpose / etc. in that space, she seemed to realize that it was shaky ground to build a foundation on. She then became reclusive for a few years, working on her album Reputation, after which she emerged into the daylight with a new sound, having learned from the things she’d been going through. At what was seemingly one of her lowest moments in the public eye, she learned to find real happiness, grounding, and a new voice in the company of those closest to her instead of hoping to gain those things from the crowds. Wouldn’t you know it, but celebrities — they’re just like us. Lesson: insecurities are real and words can be powerful if we entertain them, but we ultimately get to choose where our confidence, joy, and fulfillment come from.
3 . We all have a voice and we should be using it.
If there was one thing we all undeniably witnessed throughout the documentary, it was that Taylor was continually grappling with when, why, and how to speak up. After her assault trial, in which she symbolically countersued a DJ for $1 — he was suing her for millions of dollars in damages after he lost his job because he inappropriately reached under her skirt during a meet and greet . . . like, actually, what the hell — something in her seemed to change as “a light switched off in [her] personality” (source). That incident happened in 2013, just a few years before the whole Kanye/Kim showdown of 2016 during which Taylor was infamously a snake (something she would eventually reclaim in her Reputation phase), while her court date happened one year later. We were able to see more of how those different situations in Taylor’s life helped re-form her thoughts on standing up for and speaking out against issues that are — simply put — not okay, and the documentary so rawly showed the process she went through with her family. her team, and even herself to speak up for the things she believed in. Regardless of our political views, religious beliefs, etc., that is a HUGE thing we should all take from Miss Americana: that we have so much more power than we realize and so we should use it, Lesson: we all have a voice, we should refuse to be muzzled by ourselves or by others, and we should stand up for the things that we believe in.
And in the same vein, I would remiss not to mention that if, like me, you are a woman, there is one more thing I have to bring up, which is that we desperately need to reevaluate both why we do what we do and why we may think the things we think, and then to look at it all through the lens of, “Is this really who I am, what I believe, etc., or is this a form of the “good girl” I’ve been influenced/taught / groomed to be?” I would love nothing more than for us to begin to ask ourselves questions like:
Do I feel like I need to be quiet or keep my opinions to myself, because I’m a woman and not a man?
Do I say sorry for things that I have no reason to legitimately apologize for, because I am a woman and not a man?
Do I feel like I’m incapable of getting after my dreams, because I’m a woman and not a man?
Do I feel unworthy of equal respect, treatment, or pay, because I am a woman and not a man?
Do I think I can’t “have it all” (whatever that may be), because I am a woman and not a man?
Because yes, I’m pretty sick of seeing any lies like these infiltrate the psyches of my friends, my loved ones, and even myself. In the words of the beloved Miss Swift:
”We don’t want to be condemned for being multifaceted.”
Amen, Taylor. We don’t, and we won’t.
And because I need you to read this, here is what my friend Sara said she loved about Miss Americana: “Her brilliance. Her utter humanity. Literally no one is above being bullied. Cheers to being from TN and Christian and standing against political BS. Backpacks are important. Wow she wears a lot of baggy clothes behind closed doors and I’m honestly here for it.” 😂
