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The Swiftaissance: The Anomalous (re)Dominance of Taylor Swift

an explanation essay by vincent hernandez of bs psy 2a

Taylor Swift, the American singer-songwriter has been a staple name in the music scene since her 2006 debut. Being once branded as the American Sweetheart, the former girl-next-door popstar has culminated a wide variety of hit songs under her pen. Spawning eleven ultimately successful albums during her 17-year pop culture residency, Swift’s dominance has had its own ups and downs. Back in 2016, the singer suffered from one of the worst cases of cancel culture, and just when almost everyone thought her career was far beneath salvation, she came, saw, and conquered. When seen in today’s perspective, she has ironically achieved new heights of fame, causing mass hysteria and accummulating unfathomable numbers of sales and streams, solidifying her status as this generation’s defining superstar, and even being labeled as an “anomaly” in today’s lineup of disposable artists. Her renaissance, or the Swift-aissance, raises a number of questions about how a celebrity, whom the general public has seemingly chewed up and begrudgingly spit out just a few years back, could rise and even breach a newfound caliber of power in the current landscape.

You might have heard the name, Taylor Swift, once or a thousand times, despite who and where you are. Inescapability might even be her middle name, a phenomenon which is quite unheard of, especially when you look at the myriad of artists that have undergone a massive hate train. Take a look at the once-staples Piers Morgan, Lea Michele, and even the legendary Ellen DeGeneres, who all were harshly discarded by the masses once they exposed for their behaviors deemed unacceptable. Most of the artists who undergo this type of treatment typically get blacklisted, deplatformed, and labelled unpalatable—in other words, their careers pretty much are put to graves. This, then, raises the question of what constitutes unacceptability. Let us elaborate.

A behavior is considered unacceptable in various circumstances. Here are some: (1) They are exposed for crimes, depending on the severity, an artist might be rewarded with a few hundred or millions of hate tweets and Facebook posts. Lindsay Lohan, for example, has been involved in a myriad of altercations during the peak of her stardom in the late 2000’s, being arrested for DUI’s (driving under the influence), shoplifting, and almost for attempting to kidnap a homeless kid. The Mean Girls star, unsurprisingly, has lost the public’s interest, and along with it, her hopes of regaining her lost prominence. (2) Their rudeness and/or insufferability is uncovered. Diva personality is far from being unheard of in the hollywood scene—it all boils down to the celebritiy’s ability of concealment. Unfortunately for Lea Michelle, her closet of bones, and in this case, her bullying tendencies, racist, and explosive treatment against her co-stars got unearthed for the whole internet to follow. If one is hypothetically dared to view her Instagram and compile all the hate, scrutinizing comments under her posts, they are in for a never-ending task—there are basically millions. (3) They are caught lying. Ironically, the internet, where nine out of ten of the people you encounter hide under a mask of grandiosity and feigned integrity, has very little tolerance against celebrities caught in lies. Taylor Swift, the American queen herself, has unfortunately fallen down into this category of cancellability, and of course, in no fault of her own. Why?

The year was 2016, and Taylor Swift was on top of the world. Having just released her 2014 blockbuster album, 1989, accompanied by its just-as-successful 1989 World Tour, she had just won the very coveted award for Album Of the Year on that year’s Grammy Awards. Prior to the ceremonies, Kanye West has released his highly controversial single off his album, The Life of Pablo, entitled Famous, containing the lyrics, ‘I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, why? I made that b*tch famous!’ Unsurprisingly, Swift has claimed unawareness of such misogynistic line and has denounced West for releasing such a song. It all went downhill for her once West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, has posted a highly edited video of Swift’s and West’s phone conversation which included Swift’s apparent approval. Naturally, the whole internet has sided with West and had all the ammunition they could ever need to drag Swift to utter filth. The hashtag #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty was the number one trend on Twitter for weeks, and all the media, written, audio, or visual, had a widespread coverage of the scandal, instigating further scrutiny for the artist. All the negativities have seemingly made their way onto Swift’s own mind, forcing her to go into hiding, deleting all her posts from all of social media, and disappearing from the public eye for a whole year. After her blackout, she made her way towards regaining the world’s    adoration and acceptance of her and her music. It was a long process, but was ultimately fruitful, and let us expound further.

Swift’s attempts to reclaim her once-untouchable status were commendably intricate. However, it is ultimately due to four factors that had led to the artist’s current renaissance. First, her seeming acceptance of her tarnished image. Her 2017 album, Reputation, marked the artist’s shift from being the girl-next-door to a darker, edgier side. In this era, she has embraced the snake image the whole internet branded her to be—making it the whole aesthetic during these times. As if it were calculated, the public was intrigued and was tuned in for what she has had up in her sleeves. Having the world’s eyes upon her once again, the second factor was in play: her unchanging artistry. Despite her rebrand, underneath all her subsequent albums upon the scandal was her personal, relatable songwriting she was known for throughout her career. Moreover, her creativity was reflected with all the albums she put out with the help of the third factor: her unmatched hardwork. Garnered with this was the mass’ applaud of her unparalleled abilities, and the loyalty of the fourth and last factor: her fanbase. Swift’s fans are regarded all throughout as unrelenting and incredibly attached to the artist. Her attempts would not have been as successful as they were if it were not for the Swifties who stuck up for her in spite of the world’s rejection. Upon these was her successful reclamation of the throne she once lost. How so, one might ask?

Now, we can see Swift once again dominating, even more powerful than before. Having spawned four studio albums, each one being more successful as the last, after the unfortunate happenstance has engraved her resistance to being devalued. Her latest, Midnights, has set forth a number of broken streaming and sales records, even producing the worldwide hit, Anti-Hero. Recently, she has even broken the news for causing mass hysteria with her ongoing concert, the Eras Tour, selling out just in a matter of mere minutes. It is even projected to gross billions of dollars for Swift and her equally-hardworking team. With two more Grammy Awards under her belt, one for her fourth album of the year (first for a female), tremendous selling power, and even more widespread influence, we can infer that we are under a new historical timeline: the Swiftaissance. And it is here to Stay, Stay, Stay.

[chlocent]

"they are just husbands. i am evelyn hugo."

a blog by chloe denise nunag of bs psy 2a.

taylor jenkins reid is an american author, well known for her works like daisy jones & the six, malibu rising, after i do, and most notably, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo.

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo is one of the most treasured pieces of literature in the book community. but what is it about, really?

this is a peek into tshoeh, an unbiased and non-spoiling review to get you to read it as well.

for a short background, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo is centered on hollywood movie icon, evelyn hugo. decades have passed since her peak and golden days, and now, she is finally ready to let the public in on the truth about her rather scandalous (love) life.

scandalous, how? well, as the title indicates, hugo married seven times in her life, and this has been a hot topic among the people for years and counting.

with this, monique grant, a journalist for a prestigious magazine, is contacted for a sit-down with hugo. now, hugo has never done exclusive interviews throughout her career, especially not about her private life. so for grant, this could be the scoop that will boost her position in the company and change her career forever.

hugo tells grant about each of her marriages in detail from the first to the last, and grant listens and takes careful note of each one. however, as the book progresses, one would realize that it is not simply a coincidence that hugo personally chooses grant to write her biography.

why?

well, that's reason number one for you to pick up a copy and start diving into hugo's vibrant life.

the story in itself is captivating, but the characters you will definitely fall in love with; evelyn hugo is complex and sometimes morally gray, not often by choice as she was only ever navigating her way through the messy hollywood scene. she is the personification of the idea that is beauty and brains: beautiful, sexy, smart, sensual and ambitious. but she is also mean and calculating, having used people to get what she wanted.

and i'd talk about her seven husbands in detail, but as this review is spoiler-free, i will describe them the way hugo did; poor ernie diaz, goddamn don adler, gullible mick riva, clever rex north, brilliant, kindhearted, tortured harry cameron, disappointing max girard, and agreeable robert jamison.

then, there is also celia st. james, another one of the most famous actresses of hollywood's golden age alongside hugo. being "america's sweetheart", st. james intimidates hugo with her talent in acting, which sparks a rivalry between the two.

of course, there is monique grant. she is charismatic, driven, and like hugo, ambitious. she is a commendable black woman in journalism, consistently standing out for her works, notably for her piece on the right to die.

and that's reason number two for you to grab a copy, physical or virtual.

lastly, aside from the story and the characters, taylor jenkins reid has a way with words that will engulf you in hollywood's golden age and the present time. she stripped bare the movie industry, and she will make you question the truth about the celebrities we know and the lives they present to the public.

she will also make feel a (crazy) range of emotions. one second, you love evelyn hugo, then you hate her the next. reid will make you laugh, then cry. you will be filled with fury with the actions and words hugo leaves, then feel for her and the things she has to go through.

then, there are also the newspaper articles and letters from the past, as well as the features of the present.

more importantly, it is real and raw in a sense that it shows the reality of life and love—how it's never easy, how it's not as glamorous as presented in other forms of media; life is full of twists we never expect, and love will consume you alive.

ultimately, the book was structured and written in a manner that will leave you wondering about what comes next until you are just incapable of putting it down.

yes, that's reason number three of why you need to get into tshoeh as soon as you can.

overall, i can say that the seven husbands of evelyn hugo left me with no words. but at the same time, i have a million things to say. when i first read it, i completed it in one sitting. it was 4 in the morning when i bawled as quietly as i could as to not wake up and alarm the other people in the house.

it's that good.

so, it's your move now. (cmon, put tshoeh in your shopping cart, and check it out Right Now.)