Netflix’s much-anticipated documentary “Taylor Swift: Miss Americana,” directed by Lana Wilson, was released Jan. 31 to rave reviews from fans and mild compliments from critics, who applauded Wilson’s ability to get at the “real” Taylor.
Promoted as an intimate look at one of the music industry’s biggest megastars, the documentary actually spends very little time on Swift’s rise, her switch in music genres, or anything personal that isn’t already a matter of public record. “Miss Americana” instead spends a lot of time on politics, and Wilson delivers an inside look at Swift’s decision to reverse her much-criticized policy of staying out of the political arena.
Taylor Swift’s Journey to Wokeness
“Miss Americana” is really about how Taylor Swift got woke. Conservatives like to gloat about how little influence celebrities have on elections, but Swift’s decision to come out in favor of Democrat Phil Bredesen in the 2019 midterm election may have affected youth voter turnout in Tennessee.
The documentary claims more than 50,000 young voters registered last-minute, allegedly due to Swift’s plea to her fans to get involved, although election trends indicate spiked voter registration before an election is the norm. She posted her political coming-out statement on Instagram, where she has 126 million followers. As Swift notes at one point, millions of them will soon be voters, and she plans to use her platform to shape their views. It’s possible, however, this statement actually unintentionally spurred voters to hit the polls for Marsha Blackburn, since Tennessee is a red state.
Swift’s supposed metamorphosis is so painfully wooden, one suspects she green-lit the documentary specifically to plug her leftist bona fides. At one point she actually clinks her wine glass and announces, “Cheers to the Resistance!”
“Miss Americana” is the saga of Swift’s willingness to “run from fascism” — yes, she said that — and it plods through her throes of conscience, her argument with her handlers over whether she should go political, and the tremendous weight that apparently lifted off her shoulders when she joined the other courageous celebrities who have dared to brave the backlash and step out against Donald J. Trump.
“I feel really good about not being muzzled anymore,” she says at one point. In what is clearly supposed to be a climactic and moving moment, “Miss Americana” highlights her tearful reaction to Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn’s Senate victory over Bredesen, with Swift calling Blackburn “Trump in a wig” and “the kind of female” who appeals to “the kind of female males want us to be in a horrendous, 1950s world.” Swift just doesn’t understand how someone so evil could have accrued so many votes.
‘Miss Americana’ Also Demonizes Christians
Considering Swift’s astronomical popularity among young people, conservatives should think twice before shrugging off her potential influence. “Miss Americana” revealed Swift isn’t just going to release the occasional political bromide to fend off her progressive critics. She’s going to go after conservative Christians with all the venom of a new convert.
In fact, she’s started already: The documentary features her claiming religious liberty laws do not represent Tennessee values nor Christian values, which she knows because she’s from Tennessee, and she’s a Christian. With that, she goes on to repeat the absurd left lie that Christians want gay couples to be refused service in restaurants.
She was motivated to intervene in politics, she says, because she feels like a hypocrite saying, “‘Happy Pride Month, you guys!’ when someone is literally coming for their neck.” She doesn’t explain who, exactly, is “literally” coming for anyone’s neck, or what that might look like. Perhaps it’s just ignorance, but for tens of millions of Taylor fans to be told by their idol that Christian politicians are “literally” coming for the necks of LGBT folks and want them tossed out of restaurants is hugely going to accelerate the demonization of conservative Christians in America.
What better way to demonize the white-trash Christians than to release a music video exposing them as the snaggletoothed, stupid hicks they are? In June 2019, Swift came out as an official ally with “You Need To Calm Down,” which features a squad of her new LGBT friends taking over a trailer park, where illiterate haters flail helplessly against their collective fabulousness.
While trans activists such as Laverne Cox prance about, ugly, angry, illiterate people protest with signs featuring slogans such as “Homasekualty Is Sin!” This is in stark contrast to men tenderly kissing each other and twerking LGBT activists who obviously just want to have fun. Swift’s lyrics make it crystal clear:
You are somebody that we don’t know
But you’re comin’ at my friends like a missile
Why are you mad?
When you could be GLAAD? (You could be GLAAD)
Sunshine on the street at the parade
But you would rather be in the dark age
Just makin’ that sign must’ve taken all night.
Taylor Swift Is Just Trying to Stay Relevant
“Miss Americana” shows a few behind-the-scenes glimpses of the music video’s creation, highlighting Swift’s almost pathetic and over-the-top eagerness to please her LGBT friends. “Literally just call me for anything,” she tells Jonathan Van Ness, the gay activist and expert for Netflix’s “Queer Eye.” Unsurprisingly, “You Need To Calm Down” won a VMA, and Swift used the platform to advocate for the Equality Act, which critics warn could wipe out pro-life laws and religious liberty protections in all 50 states overnight.
Interestingly, Swift inadvertently reveals what might be one of the key reasons for her transformation when she explains that female artists in the music industry must constantly reinvent themselves to stay relevant and to maintain their popularity. “Miss Americana” moves smoothly and obliviously from that point to Swift’s much-lauded entrance into the Resistance, telegraphing a loud-and-clear message to her progressive critics: You told me to pick a side; I did. With that, Swift has reinvented herself again, and her career has taken on new significance as LGBT activists nod approvingly at her genuflection.
“I’m trying to be as educated as possible on how to respect people,” Taylor tells the camera blithely as she explains her re-education. She doesn’t explain how that fits in with her award-winning portrayal of conservative Christians as illiterate trailer-park trash, but then again, she doesn’t have to. Swift is now, as she says at one point, on “the right side of history,” and the pathetic rubes on the other side don’t deserve her respect.
“Miss Americana” ends with the words of one of Swift’s latest songs:
Combat, I’m ready for combat
I say I don’t want that, but what if I do?
‘Cause cruelty wins in the movies
I’ve got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you
Taylor Swift has picked a side, and she’s ready for combat. With who? I think we know.
