With the recent Scooter Braun scandal coming to a close and her Lover album frenzy turning into a feeling of contentment among fans, I didn’t think that Taylor Swift would put out anything new for awhile. Being a fan of previous albums, I was excited to hear that she put out a documentary. Miss Americana was relatively easy for me to watch since it was launched on Netflix. The basis for the film was not what I was expecting when I went in to watch it. I expected it was going to be yet another celebrity-centered film on how they made it to fame.

The 96-minute film is an interesting look into how a celebrity with a wide fan base can use their voice to inspire change even through personal struggles. The documentary spans a total of about two years from the time of her Grammy news to the day she releases her album Lover. Within the documentary, Swift guides the audience along the process of her finally speaking out about her political views and about challenges in her career. There is a unique scene in the documentary where Swift receives the news from what sounds like her manager that she has not been nominated for Best Song, Best Album and other big name categories. She handles it amazing stating that she has to make a better album despite her manager’s reassurance that Reputation was good.

Along with showing the making of new songs and other songwriter tasks, the Miss Americana singer opens up about personal hardships. She mentions in the film that she had this whole foundation of being the “good kid” and being happy when people liked her. Her mentality was always trying to do the right thing and not cause trouble when “not needed.” She admits that she had to struggle to scrap that mentality and build a new one during the time between Reputation and Lover. Swift also discusses how she has struggled with how she viewed her body. The one thing she didn’t discuss was the conflict that made huge news which was the Scooter Braun conflict.

 Miss Americana is a must watch considering how well it shows Swift to be a serious and talented musician. The documentary takes you behind closed doors and into the process of songwriting and how Swift has become the person she is today. At points it felt as if you weren’t watching a celebrity’s film but an inside look at another human’s story.