i think what people are missing most about showgirl is that the "showgirl" is a character. it is an album written from the perspective of a caricature of who taylor swift is perceived as. the life of a showgirl is not taylor swift's life. it is a calculated image that has been constructed for her and put upon her. i find it interesting that we only got two videos from ttpd: the first where taylor the poet has been chained up and locked away and she was only let out when she took the drugs they gave her. and she became the perfect puppet that she was refusing to be. and the second is a tour video where she is "on" and performing and pretending to be happy when in reality she is miserable.
showgirl is a continuation of this narrative. i've said this since the night it came out: the life of a showgirl is as if blank space was an album. you don't know the life of a showgirl! this is who you think she is, what you have turned her into. elizabeth taylor is a perfect example of this, acting as if all she cares about is image and designer brands and fancy hotels. she knows the power of her celebrity. she is 20 years into this game, she knows how to use her art to play with how people see her.
this album is not confessional like any of her earlier albums because she is not confessing anything with it. she is only showing you what you already know (or what you already think you know). she is a shallow, vapid pop star. this is what you think she is! so fine! that is what she will be! all she ever is is a prop for people's entertainment.
and imo her "relationship" with travis is part of this narrative. it's all a part of the show, it is why he was so involved in the rollout, with the podcast and the suspicious timing of the engagement. even her comments on the relationship in the doc tell this: she likes travis because her fans like him.
the poet, the confessional artist has been punished and caged and cannot be honest. all we have now is the showgirl. the sparkle, perfect cookie cutter relationship that everyone was asking for.
the general public got what they wanted. a perfect, heterosexual pop star who makes catchy tunes about loving her football player fiance.
but the emptiness in this persona is impossible to ignore. it's inauthentic, its hollow. but the people have never wanted the real taylor swift. she is too messy, too queer, too imperfect. she will never win, and she knows this.
this is what was asked for. this is the show.
sugurugetos
stormborns
snowghoul
yousharknotpass
