Netflix successfully humanizes Taylor Swift


“Taylor Swift: Miss Americana” looks into the pop star’s life on and off stage as she steps into her political voice. (Photo courtesy of IMDb )

Taylor Swift is a human being. That’s the lesson at the core of her “Miss Americana” documentary.

Since the infamous Kanye West moment at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, it’s easy to see how Swift’s humanity might have been lost. In a world where celebrities become products to market on social media, “Miss Americana” is a fresh reminder that people — even those with millions following them on Instagram or buying their albums — have private lives, problems and emotions.

If you are a fan of Swift, the documentary does not reveal anything terribly new. Rather, it takes viewers into the processes of creating a No. 1 album, caring for family and posting a picture on Instagram that reaches more than a hundred million people, eliciting a reaction from the president of the United States.

Having built a reputation (pun kind of intended) of calculation, strategy and likeability, Swift is vulnerable and confident in the notion that she does not have to please everybody. For Swift, the personal becomes political. And the documentary shows why she’s not wrong to do so.

“[I was] frozen at the age I became famous,” said Swift, who first appeared on the Billboard charts at 16 years old. In some of the most emotional scenes in the film, Swift discusses her battle with an eating disorder, a sexual assault and how these trials and tribulations led to her political awakening.

In the back of a car on the way to a sold-out stadium show, Swift leaves her New York City apartment in a scene of the documentary with a huge crowd of fans and paparazzi alike waiting outside her front door. She references a picture from the previous day and says looking at that picture almost sent her spiraling back to 2015 when she wouldn’t eat for days. Swift points out that society makes it “impossible” for women to exist in their bodies due to constant criticism — a moment that showcases her newfound social consciousness. It’s clear throughout the documentary that she feels a stronger affinity to fight against the mistreatment of women, culminating in the urgency of her sexual assault trial.

After the scene discussing her sexual assault trial in Colorado, where she notably won her suit for a single dollar, we see Swift face the political head on. In her dressing room, she battles with her dad on whether to endorse former Democratic Tennessee  Gov. Phil Bredesen and speak out against Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn. This moment captures the intertwinement of the personal and political for Swift. She points out to her dad that Blackburn is not in favor of the Violence Against Women Act, which protects women from domestic abuse and stalking. She emphasizes the importance of the act to protect against stalking, referencing an incident where a man broke into her house and slept in her bed while she was on tour. 

As a theme, the documentary traces professional highs with personal lows. When Swift won Album of the Year in 2016 for a second time for “1989,” she felt alone. 

“Shouldn’t I have somebody that I could call?” Swift said. “I had nobody to share the moment with.” 

On the flip side, the film also illustrated her personal highs along with her professional lows. When the whole world was partaking in the #taylorswiftisoverparty, she met her boyfriend English actor Joe Alwyn. 

“It was happiness without somebody else’s input … just happy,” Swift said. 

Lana Wilson, director of “Miss Americana,” effectively captured the nuances and continued difficulty of growing up in front of the world. Now that Swift seems to have captured a perfect balance of living privately and being a public figure, she appears to be more confident than ever. 

In the final moments of the documentary, we watch Swift perform at the VMAs once again. This time on her own terms, keeping the microphone in her own hands, coming full circle from the 2009 incident. And, as that moment plays on screen, we hear lyrics from “The Archer:” “Combat, I’m ready for combat.”

Collectively, this final scene says it all. It’s her voice. It’s her words. And she isn’t backing down any time soon.