So a laudatory biographical documentary about a popular pop star isn’t something that I would ordinarily be interested in but the critical response to this is undeniable. To be fair, this isn’t anything like a raw exposé of Taylor Swift. This was made with her full cooperation and is thus very much part of her messaging to publicize her newfound wokeness. Yet what Swift wants to say is so fascinating and so noble in her stated intentions that it’s still worth watching.
Like all biographies, this film covers the basics such as how she loved performing and writing music from an early age, her first successes and her incredible joy when her song is first played on the radio, when she first gets an award and so on. But what makes this exceptional is that it carefully chooses certain episodes of her life to highlight. This includes the time when Kanye West burst onto the grab the microphone from her, her decision to stop trying so hard to be thin and tell herself that it’s okay to eat real food, the moment when she stops being universally loved and starts being accused of being fake and manipulative, her decision to prosecute a sexual assault case, and most important of all when she decides to stop being apolitical and take a stance on the issues she believes in, beginning with overtly supporting the Democratic candidate for senator of her home state of Tennessee. The effect is a carefully curated campaign to show a new, woke and politically active Taylor Swift.
This way of putting it makes it sound bad but of course all documentaries are made to advance a particular message. It is unusual in that this was made to reshape Swift’s image at the instigation of Swift herself. It was directed by Lana Wilson who seems to be a documentary director of some repute though I have yet to watch any of her other films. But there is zero doubt that Swift is in the driving seat of this project the whole time. She was the one who initiated the project, she picked the director and it’s obvious that she decided what could and could not be filmed and what the overall message should be. This is pretty much Swift’s side of the story and how she wants the world to see her. A case could be made that this seems so planned and calculated but I’m delighted to see that Swift herself directly addresses this. She notes that she has deliberately tried hard to educate on how to think and speak in ways that don’t cause unintended offense, even unconsciously, and she is careful in what she says because she is aware that everything that she says would be scrutinized by everyone with a magnifying glass. The converse would be to be spontaneous in order to come across as being authentic. But that runs the risk of making mistakes and doesn’t being willing to learn and take the time to step carefully itself prove that she means well?
Even so, this film is fascinating in all kinds of ways, not all of which may be what Swift intended. She repeatedly claims that her primary motivation has always been to earn the adulation and approval of the masses and this extends to being seen as a good girl. Even though she later realizes that it is unhealthy to try so hard to live up to the impossible expectations of the public with regards to her body shape, she never really walks back on needing to be loved by everyone. This is of course despite the fact that she is already the most popular musician in the US and has nothing left to prove. She seems resigned to the fact that her popularity has a limited shelf life as she ages but doesn’t say anything about what might come next for her. Then there’s the way that she consistently portrays herself as a victim, by having to conform to how female celebrities are expected to behave or being forced to live under such intense scrutiny. Yet it can’t be denied that she is someone who has successfully worked within the system to reach a position of incredible wealth and power. It could be argued that at least prior to her newfound wokeness, she was an enabler of the system that she now claims to detest.
The one thing that this film unambiguously proves is that Swift is a person who is not to be underestimated. Her musical talents and creativity are of course a foregone matter but she is also clearly someone with a fierce intelligence, is always intensely on top of her reputation and where she stands amidst current events in the US and above all, she is the one who is always in charge of her life, her career and her music. This documentary doesn’t mention it but apparently her former label fought with her over being allowed to use her older music in this film and she is well known for being willing to push for greater control of her music and how it is sold. This is aspect of herself that she seems reluctant to talk about but I think a documentary about Taylor Swift the businesswoman would be just as fascinating as this one.