Miss Americana is a new Netflix documentary about the pop star Taylor Swift. The film had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
It will debut on Netflix on Friday 31. So let’s find out some trivia and facts about this documentary!
- Miss Americana is a documentary film
- It is also known as Taylor Swift: Miss Americana
- It is directed by Lana Wilson
- The documentary follows American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her life over the course of several years of her career
- Netflix described the film as a “raw and emotionally revealing look” at Swift “during a transformational period in her life as she learns to embrace her role not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice”
- Miss Americana debuted at the opening night of 2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2020
- It will be released on Netflix and in select theaters on January 31, 2020
- The film covers a number of events in Swift’s life and career
- Including the making of her seventh studio album Lover (2019)
- Her past battle with an eating disorder
- Her sexual assault trial
- Her mother’s cancer diagnosis
- And Swift’s decision to go public with her politics
- Swift expressed interest in making a documentary with Netflix following the release of the concert film Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour on the streaming platform in December 2018
- She was provided with a list of potential directors, of which Wilson was one
- The title of the documentary is borrowed from “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince”
- This is the seventh track on Swift’s album Lover
- In the song, Swift expressed her disillusionment over the current state of United States politics
- Swift revealed the documentary in November 2019
- Then she said the owner and founder of her former label Big Machine Records, Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta respectively, blocked her from using older music and performance footage for the documentary
- She added that the documentary does not mention Braun, Borchetta, or Big Machine
- Big Machine denied the accusations in a statement
- In response, a representative for Swift published an email from a Big Machine executive refusing to issue licences in connection to the documentary
- In December, Variety reported Big Machine has cleared the use of Swift’s older material for the film
- In an interview with Chris Willman of Variety, it was revealed that the opening act of the film deals with “juxtaposing the joys of creation with the aggravations of global stardom”
- While the second half is a “provocative turn focused on why Swift became a political animal”
- Willman wrote that the film further features clips capturing Swift’s increasing LGBTQ allyship, Swift’s reaction to her mother’s cancer diagnosis, and Swift’s response to her 2017 album Reputation not receiving any nominations in general categories at the 2019 Grammy Awards
- Wilson stated that she views the movie as “looking at the flip side of being America’s sweetheart”
- The documentary is meant to shed light on the less-glamorous side of fame and stardom
- Swift said in the interview: “I needed to get to a point where I was ready, able and willing to call out bullshit rather than just smiling my way through it”
- On January 15, 2020, Swift revealed the release date and a poster of the film through her social media accounts
- Six days later, an official trailer to the film was released on YouTube and on Swift’s social media accounts
- The documentary includes the song “Only the Young”
- The song plays during the end credits of the film
- Swift wrote the song after the 2018 United States elections
- Though it was not included in her album, Lover
- The film holds an 83% approval rating with an average score of 7.69/10
- Based on 30 reviews, on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes
- The site’s critics consensus reads, “Taylor Swift: Miss Americana provides an engaging if somewhat deliberately opaque backstage look at a pop star turned cultural phenomenon”
- On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100
- Based on 13 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
- After premiering at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, the film received critical praise and a standing ovation from the audience
- Miss Americana is described as “empowering”, “genuine” and “funny” by film critics
- It was complimented for Wilson’s direction and its “intimate” portrayal of Swift’s political voice and creative process
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