Ever since I first heard “Love Story” one random day on the radio at 7 years old, I have been a fully-devoted Swiftie. Though many have different opinions and thoughts on her artistry and persona, I have grown up with Taylor throughout my elementary years, adolescence, and now my transition into adulthood. Her music means a great deal to me personally; Being a fan of hers has helped me cope with many hardships I have worked through – listening to her storytelling was (and still is) a healthy form of escapism for me. She even inspired me to start playing piano when I was in 4th grade and to write poetry as I moved into middle school. Her live concerts gave me a way to connect with my long distance family too, as my older cousins were huge Swifties as well and we attended 3 world tours together – Speak Now, Red, and 1989.

Therefore, when I saw the film Miss Americana as a suggestion on my homepage, I felt an overwhelming push to watch it. In just previewing the trailer, I was so intrigued to hear what was going on in her head throughout different album eras that I lived and personally evolved through. From the infamous Kanye West VMA incident to disappearing after her 2016 Album of the Year win with 1989, I wanted to know Taylor’s truth beyond the tabloids.

The beginning of the documentary opens with her finding out the news of getting zero Grammy nominations with her comeback, electro-pop album reputation, in which she simply states she needs to “just make a better record”. From there, it looks back retrospectively into the start of her time in the spotlight and how her “happiness” became purely derived from the positive praise of others. It was constantly built up from staying in the good graces of label executives to listening to cheering fans night after night on tour. Taylor points out that this way of thinking led to many paths of psychological spiral for her with the 2009 VMA interruption as the starting point. In fact, when the crowd started booing at Kanye for his stunt, Taylor thought they were booing at her. 

In moving into her 20’s, the film chronicles how she worked incredibly hard to “not get into trouble” and to be nice, smile, and not force her opinions on anyone. Along with this, she was privately dealing with an eating disorder and abundant self-scrutiny, as many media outlets continued to run with “how many ex-lovers does she have” and “anti-model squad” narrative. When she became the first woman in history to win Album of the Year twice with 1989, Taylor recounts feeling lost, like she got to the top of a mountain alone and had no idea where to go because the validation in that award was all she was craving.

Then going into the Kanye West and Kim Kardashian drama soon after, there’s coverage of her time in secrecy crafting reputation and deconstructing her prior belief systems about her own career, self-image, and new found love. Finally, her successful breakthrough is beautifully portrayed with maturity through her Reputation Stadium Tour and the making of her following album, Lover. This is also the time Taylor becomes vocal about politics and the music industry for the first time in her career, saying straight to the camera that she’s glad not to be “muzzled anymore”. 

In all, I really enjoyed Miss Americana. Even if you aren’t a fan of hers, I think it was incredibly well-made and gave an interesting look into her side of the story throughout the years. The film was paced perfectly and gave the viewer time to digest what she was describing and saying from scene to scene. What I found the most validating (and positively ironic at the same time) was that this was the first big-media piece covering Swift that didn’t constantly analyze her dating life for once. Instead, it briefly mentioned her current lowkey romance with boyfriend Joe Alwyn through a subtle kiss on the hand and an after-show hug. Moreover, it purely focuses on Taylor’s journey to finding self-love and true happiness she deserves.

And as a fan, it was incredibly heart-warming to see her learn and grow as a person just like I did too, many years ago and even now.