Documentary Miss Americana (Netflix)

I don't think there's going to be a single person who agrees with my general opinion since the doco has been quite well received. My opinion is not so much about the doco itself - but about Taylor, hence, I felt this was a safe judgment-free place to discuss this (if not, you don't have to reply!).

I don't think Taylor's insecurity has been much of a secret. During the Shake It Off era (when she was supposed to be shaking off all the hate), some troll commented how they didn't like Bad Blood, and she responded to them, with "#1 in (however many) countries!!!!" or something to that effect. Most people's responses to that were "Yas Queen!" etc, but mine was just ?? Why bother responding to a troll when you're Taylor freaking Swift?? I?? And that was when I began to get really confused between what she was trying to convince herself and what really was, and clearly, despite being Taylor Swift, she was still insecure and bothered by these little things.

The doco brought this whole state of mind to the forefront. And Taylor admitted that by now, in her late 20s, it was time for her to grow up. I enjoyed the insight the doco gave but I feel it's only really 'great' for fans, and casual viewers may not necessarily understand everything that was covered, given it was about her career, and not just a general look into the music industry itself.

So here are my questions - why did it take Taylor so long to break away from this unhealthy mindset? Why was she unable to focus on the fact that she's the most successful artist of the last decade? Why did she place so much of her validation on all the media drama when her fans have been by her side from day dot and she can sell out stadiums within minutes? I do get how soul destroying it would be to see that #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty as #1 trending. That would have been excruciating. But beyond that, why is she so obsessed with making a 'better record' each time? It's a great goal to have, but not if it's for the wrong reasons. Why has it taken her 10+ years to go "Oh, I am the biggest pop star in the world. I need to listen to my own advice and stop allowing other people's opinions to define my self-worth."

If this was someone who wasn't globally successful, rich, and didn't have a great support system, it would make a lot more sense to me. I guess I'm struggling to understand if the doco is trying to illustrate Taylor's career as a 'struggle' (which really doesn't sit well with me) or what. The girl has had the world at her feet for a decade. And it's taken her this long to slow down and appreciate the amass of what she has? From the doco, I didn't get any sense of her appreciation (even though I know it was only a snippet from her life), it's a stark contrast to seeing her bubbly and 'all about the fans' 🤷‍♀️

Please no hate, I think good points were made during the doco, I'm just a commoner watching the highest-profile celebrity place so much value on the negative 😬

I just want to add a disclaimer and say that I'm not trying to be bitter and I still like Taylor, but today an article popped up about her $83 million real estate portfolio, and in the doco as she leaves her condo and the mass of fans she says, "I realise that is not at all normal." But it's also not normal to own more mansions and condos than I can count on one hand, fly wherever you wish on a private jet, afford 24/7 security, have a self-sacrificing and incredibly supportive family, etc... Anyway I wish her the best in defeating her demons, I'm just sorry it took her so long to 'wake up', for lack of a better expression 😬

I can see that they've tried to thread a fight-the-system theme, but when it's about your own unattainably privileged life, it comes across as conceited.

It's an intriguing glimpse into her life for fans, but that's it. If the intent is for the greater good, where will proceeds go?

If I have totally missed the point of the film, please call me out. I feel a little lost and alone in the dark here rofl

This would be an unpopular opinion but as I've posted before about how I dislike her boyfriend, when there was a video of Taylor driving (obviously in the U.K. on the wrong side of the road) and she kissed his hand I just about barfed. Now that I read how someone online said they look like siblings, I won't be able to get that out of my head. Her own damn brother looks less like her than her current boyfriend does.

Hi, I'm sorry if any of this comes off as rude.

I know Taylor's rich. I know she's privileged and I believe she knows she is, too, but her problems and feelings are still valid. Yeah, when you start comparing hers to a normal person's, obviously hers don't look nearly as important anymore. But why would you do that? She's still a human. This treatment that celebrities get really irks me. Money's not going to fix your mental health. Putting them on a pedestal, making them feel like they always have to be happy, acting like they have to fix the world, is crazy. I'm not trying to accuse any of you for acting like this. Maybe I'm wrong and not understanding you guys. I think I've been wanting to get that off my chest for a while because I can see how people are like "How is *celebrity's name here* sad when they have all this money?" and my feeling is, money's not going to make you happy if you have deeper problems going on.

As far as why it took this long for her to see her worth, it is hard to break out of that mindset when it's like the only thing your brain tells you. You've only been feeling validated for so long because other people were praising you. You want to please everyone and make them like you. I'm sure the people close to her pointed this out but they couldn't make her see it until she realized she needed help. It's a long process to heal and recover from the negative things we teach ourselves. There's no timeline. Something she'll have to work on every day. I'm really happy to see the place she's in. I hope she's proud of herself for getting through all of these things and finding her voice, politically and in general.

Also, her saying it's not normal for her front yard to be full of fans and how she was looking around scared, I felt like, STABBED ME IN THE HEART. I feel awful about it because, before that, there was a part of me that still considered being like the fans that go to her New York apartment and take a picture on the steps. Not anymore. That's her home. You're supposed to feel safe there. Wasn't there a scene where she was talking about a stalker breaking into one of her places and sleeping in her bed? She seemed so nonchalant about it and that's freaking sad. That shouldn't be her normal. That shouldn't be her life. So I will never ever pose outside of one of her houses because how does she know I'm not a stalker? It would be creepy enough to know her address. I can look at it like how I feel when a stranger knocks on my door. Happened just a couple of days ago. Didn't know who it was and I could see him through the window and his body language was kind of coming off angrily. The door wasn't locked and I was thinking in my head "Please go away. Please don't open the door. Where can I run to and lock the door if he does?" and if Taylor has that same feeling multiple times a day, that is horrible. I no longer have any respect for the "fans" that are happy to look up her addresses, post their pictures in front of her houses, and TAG HER IN THEM.

All in all, we gotta think, too, she's only going to show us what she wants us to see. She's only going to let us in so much. We'll never know her like how Joe knows her, her parents, or her close friends. I think all of us are going to take away different things from this documentary. Just depends where you're at in your own life and what you're going through at that moment. If she ever does anything like this again, I think it would be amazing. It was nice to see her view of things.

I mostly miss going into detail on things. Why make a documentary if you revealed way more about subject in recent interviews? For example it could've been exclusive that her mom has brain cancer or how Taylor said her mom is her go to person like a therapist. Now they only touched on it that she's sick and has cancer. I agree with Tara that there's not much self reflection and growth. Obvious things, like millions of people loving her outweighing the superficial comments of one troll, should've landed by now. It's almost like she's using those comments as fuel to put herself down or show how hard her life is. I understand that Taylor has an identity crisis, because she missed out on normal teen years and she doesn't know how to move on from being on top of the world. But is that really a reason to neglect the dream life she's having and try to make people feel sorry for her?

Several things in this documentary were really strange. Why drag up the 2009 K*nye thing again? It was pretty obvious a few days after that nobody booed Taylor. The support for Taylor was overwhelming. Or why complain about having good manners, being humble and treating people with respect? Taylor painted it like she was silenced against her will. But that doesn't add up. She always said she wanted to be kind to people. Or does she really aspire to go off the rails like Miley?
The eating problems also don't entirely make sense. Yes, it was good she recognized that starving yourself is not a good thing. But I don't buy that she almost passed out during concerts. She never looked more energetic and enthusiastic than during the 1989 tour. I also don't buy her "I'm okay with being a size bigger". For award shows and other public appearances, she still wants to look thinner, like when she got strapped into that silver dress she couldn't breathe in.
The scene with her crying over not being nominated for a Grammy was also pretty odd. She cried about it, mumbled that reputation wasn't good enough and that was it. No further commenting or explaining. It looked quite staged. Like a desparate attempt for people to pity her and deny that reputation wasn't good enough. And there's more besides a Grammy. Every album still sold millions of copies, much more than any other artist.
Moving on to the scene on the plane. That was quite surreal. They touched on her mom's illness, without any follow up whatsoever. Meanwhile they take off and have to hold down the food and silverware. What was this supposed to express? That her life's a b*tch because her caviar almost fell into her lap on her Gucci clothes because her private jet experienced turbulence?

I think the behind the scenes of the songwriting pretty much showed her biggest problem at the moment. She looked exhausted and uninspired. She's not happy writing songs at the moment. That's sad and I sympathize with her. But why not take a break from it and come back when she's ready again? Or call it a day and do something else. She can do whatever she wants.   

I think I posted this before but I was quite surprised there was nothing on the cancer. I was expecting to cry from the documentary but I didn't. They literally touched on it and nothing more. She mentioned it in passing and then it was over. No actual mention or talking about it. I guess it's a sore subject but it could really have made people feel even more connected or related to Taylor if she showed her vulnerability with that. She showed herself crying and being very upset about it "not being about the music anymore".

That was something that confused me too. The words she used for saying she was a "nice girl" and nice to everyone took me back a little because it almost made her sound like she was saying she's not going to be nice anymore. I think I know what she's saying but the way she said it made me confused. It was like she was saying she's not going to be nice anymore. I hope she just means to the people who don't like her and are mean to her and she doesn't have to be fake anymore and act like everything is okay with people who are mean to her.

I like the bolded part. I don't know what "This is a Rihanna shirt" is supposed to mean or get at...

She seemed mostly down or less happy than I expected her to be especially during the pre-'Lover' era when she was writing the album. The album makes her seem like she's so happy but she didn't seem overly happy in most of the documentary.

I think (or hope) I'd be a somewhat healthy fan because I certainly wouldn't make a spectacle out of her house, but I would still love to even drive by it or walk by it and take a quick picture to say I saw her house because that's cool to think she lives there. I wouldn't stand outside her house for hours either and waste my time because I recognize that's wrong, unlike some people. But if I was somehow in the right spot at the right time outside her house, I'm not going to say I wouldn't stand by or with other fans outside her house if she was coming out of her house right that second, just to see her. I would not scream at her (because I'm not that kind of person and I'm quiet) but to see her would be cool.