Taylor Swift needs a pause for reflection
Taylor Swift didn't say anything last year. As America began to buckle under the presidential candidacy of a freaked narcissist named Donald Trump, the hugely popular and influential singer fell silent. Even when Trump demonstrated that he is in direct opposition to LGBTQ rights, feminist values, and various other causes that Swift has, at least tangentially, supported, he did not speak. The only time she ever came close to talking about politics was on election day, when she instagrammed a photo of herself standing in line at the polling station with the caption: "It's time. Get out and VOTE." He also included the American flag emoji, but without expressing any preference. Indeed, at a time when her loyal army of millions of fans was ready to listen, she just smiled without speaking.
There are a couple of theories as to why Swift kept her political views to herself. Many have speculated that she is secretly conservative, who privately espoused the values of Make America Great Again. This theory is certainly welcomed by the white supremacist Trumpians and neo-Nazis of America, who have taken his refusal to denounce Trump's political agenda as tacit support. Sites advocating white supremacy like the Daily Stormer have adopted Swift as the Aryan goddess as, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, she looks like the pop star of Hitler's dreams.
Another theory speculates that his silence is aimed at protecting his interests. Swift is, first of all, a business woman. Her every move is the result of a calculated decision to reach the widest possible audience and to sell her brand, a strategy that has earned her a net worth of over $ 250 million. Going into politics would only alienate parts of his fan base. Why speak out against Trump when his followers are paying customers like everyone else? Why distance yourself from racist organizations when they too stream your songs? Their swastikas may be red, but their dollars are green like everyone else.
The fact is that Swift hasn't said anything throughout 2016, neither on social media, nor at concerts, nor in lyrics. The other pop stars have come out against aspiring fascist Trump, or at least have given their support for his opponent Hillary Clinton. From Madonna to Bruce Springsteen to gold duo Jay Z / Beyoncé and John Legend / Chrissy Teigen, everyone has made their opinion heard. Her friend / foe Katy Perry also wrote a pro-Clinton anthem. But Swift's voice still didn't join the chorus. Celebrities are under no obligation to speak out politically, of course, and in some cases they do well to keep quiet instead of opening their mouths and revealing their abysmal ignorance (if you want to open a Pandora's box, google "celebrities + all lives. matter "). But Swift had a unique power during the 2016 election. She is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, if not the biggest, and her fan base is made up largely of women, a demographic that voted Trump 53 percent. despite his lifelong misogyny record, the taping where he boasts about grabbing women by the pussy and his various incestuous comments about his daughter like "if Ivanka wasn't my daughter, maybe we'd be engaged". There is no way to say for sure that a conviction from Swift would have changed the course of the election, but his ultra-American image would have had an impact on the central states that liberal celebrities from big cities on the coast certainly cannot. to reach. If nothing else, the highly protective Swifties would have taken it out on Twitter President who, no doubt, would have written 140 characters of poison directed at their idol within an hour. The tweet writes itself: "Taylor Swift, who is said to be very overrated, attacks me to sell a few more records after being left by Calvin Harris. How sad!"
There is no point in speculating about the direct impact Swift could have had on the election, though, because what's done is done, and we're now stuck with a Trump presidency in which Americans face an increasingly anguished hell every day. and embarrassing. Post-election stress and anxiety levels have risen dramatically across the nation and for people of all political orientations, stuck in the back seat of a car driven at full speed by a dangerous and underqualified barker in a red hat. Americans fear losing health insurance, being deported, and pulverized by a North Korean atomic bomb in case the equally unstable Kim Jong Un is angered by Trump, a man who hasn't even been able to meet the Boy Scouts. without scazzare so explicitly that the organization itself had to publicly apologize. The ideological confrontation has become particularly violent recently. The racists felt safe enough to march proudly through the streets and violence erupted between them and those who tried to oppose them. Blood was shed, a life was sacrificed.
It is in the midst of this national pressure cooker that could explode at any moment that Swift has decided to return with new music, giving the world a chance to get a glimpse of what has occupied his thoughts over the past year as he the world around her burned. And, surprise: it's all about himself.
Last week, he announced his return with a couple of ten-second videos of a snake in CGI, a particularly clumsy anticipation of an attempt to have himself portrayed as an antagonist ready to hit whoever has gone wrong, throwing all the bullshit out the window. like "haters gonna hate / who cares" with which he led her out the window for a year. Soon after came the official announcement of his sixth album, Reputation, with Swift on the cover drastically re-branded in a bad sense. Dark lipstick, tight necklace, and ripped shirt, this menacing character suits her in the same comedic way as Olivia Newton John smoking a cigarette while wearing a leather jacket in Grease.
Shortly after the release came the single, "Look What You Made Me Do". But it's not clear what Taylor was forced to do, as the song is, to quote one of the President's moron children, a no-burger. Lyrically, she lacks the specific address of a diss, the goal is vague for the listener to guess who, in her large stable of rivals, the song is aimed at - Katy Perry, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, the press, you choose. It is so general that the listener can even project their own personal revenge on his words, as the right-wing junk newspaper Breitbart did after the song was released, by tweeting the lyrics of the song along with links to their posts. It's hard to say how a site with a background of xenophobic positions could interpret a verse like "I don't like the keys to your kingdom, they once belonged to me. You asked me for a place to sleep, you locked me out and organized a banquet" , but we can try to imagine it.
It's the "Look What You Made Me Do" video that does the dirty work for Swift, displaying layer upon layer of visual references to her enemies. Some are frivolous, like when she holds a Katy Perry-style Grammy in her hand, implying that she has won ten and Perry not one. At other times they are more mischievous and nasty, like the sequence in which he is in a tub full of jewels (estimated value: $ 12 million), making the sign of the gun with his fingers, which seems a reference to the scene described by Kim. Kardashian last October in Paris when she was robbed of her diamonds under the threat of a gun while criminals forced her to stay inside the bathtub.
This is the self-obsessive bubble that Swift lives in. In a cultural climate filled to the brim with serious and pressing problems, she uses her enormous influence to dig up old grudges that she thinks the world eagerly awaits resolution, completely unaware of the real concerns of real people. Instead of evolving as an artist and a human being, he revels in dislikes and struggles with other millionaires that the public might have enjoyed in 2015, but are simply out of place today. It's easy to say that Reputation arrives two years late that Swift is stuck in the past, but that's not quite the case. She is stuck in the Taylor Dimension, an alternate plane of existence where she is the perpetual center of the universe.
The particularly selfish thing about Reputation's release is that, as horrendous as last year was, the only positive effect it had was to push many artists to promote worthy causes and try to make their own contribution to change. positive social. Even artists who have always kept their beliefs to themselves have been pushed to action. The front was so united against Trump that he struggled to find someone to play his inauguration ceremony and had to settle for the undead like Three Doors Down. But now that force is being eclipsed by the cloud of toxic smoke emanating from the Swift industries. His very presence takes away the air from the rest of the music industry and, with nearly three months of promotion ahead of him, he will monopolize the press throughout the Christmas season, until 2018.
The advance of Battleship Swift has already begun with some key sponsorship deals. It has partnered with Ticketmaster #VerifiedFan to encourage fans to participate in "activities" that increase their chances of purchasing concert tickets. But in a "really funny way". These activities, of course, include declarations of loyalty to his #squad, mostly in the form of money. Fans can purchase gold snake-shaped t-shirts and rings or pre-order the album to formalize their allegiance to Queen Taylor. He also has a deal with UPS to make sure people buy physical copies of the album. Target also offers an exclusive version of the record that includes two magazines to collect.
This carefully organized commercial blitzkrieg will bring Swift millions of dollars. "Look What You Made Me Do" already has YouTube and Spotify records for the most listened to launch in history. This is why you have no interest in stirring things up with politics. Drama is the core product of the Taylor Swift company, and business is good. As CEO of Dramma SPA, he has to pay attention to his profit, but instead of blaming the bigger target, Donald Trump, he has decided to continue blaming the little ones, with whom he risks nothing.
