Miss Americana: It’s Always Harder if You’re a Woman
The review:
Lana Wilson shows different facets* of Taylor Swift in Miss Americana from her early days as a teenage country singer to her most current reinvention as a pop superstar.** I’m always a little leery of how accurate the portrayal of the subject is in documentaries of high-profile people—I’m cynical enough to suspect there is some give to get access—regardless, there’s a lot to chew on here.*** Also interesting was seeing how the kids today make music which seems to involve voice recorders on phones and not very many instruments.****
The verdict: Recommended
Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home
Consider also watching:
- Amy
- The Wrecking Crew
- Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
- 20 Feet from Stardom
(Note: I’m terrible at watching documentaries. This is a list of films I want to see!)
Further sentences:
*From awards show ready in a dress that didn’t let her lift her arms higher than her waist to writing songs without makeup and in lounge wear.
**Swift points out that women artists have to reinvent themselves 20 times more often then men do and that is on full display in this documentary.
***I loved that she discussed how seeing images of herself on a daily basis isn’t good for her and lead to disordered eating. It was interesting to see her weigh speaking out about a particular political candidate with potential fan reaction. The isolation was also interesting, and every scene with her cat was a winner.
****I’m always up for music creation sequences and it’s fun to watch the energy grow as the song comes into being.
Questions:
- Has a documentary about a musician ever changed the way you thought about that person’s music?
- What profile of a musician would you like see?
Other reviews:
Also good: I want to work really hard while society is still tolerating me being successful.
