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CRITIQUE – The phenomenal success of the American singer is analyzed in a documentary narrated by Mathilde Serrell, journalist at France Inter.
200 million albums sold worldwide, 500 million subscribers on social networks, 14 Grammy Awards, a fortune estimated at more than 1 billion dollars just with income from music… The figures around Taylor Swift are dizzying. The tour that she ends at the beginning of December in Indianapolis too. The “Eras Tour” is more than 152 concerts lasting 3 hours in 22 countries around the world. In short, the most lucrative tour ahead of those of the Rolling Stones and Elton John. Two days after the re-election of Donald Trump, France 5 devotes a documentary to the biggest pop star of our time. From Nashville to New York, and from London to Lyon, Mathilde Serrell, journalist at France Inter, tries to understand the phenomenon.
Because, with this popularity, Taylor Swift could have represented a weight in the last American presidential election. When she supported Kamala Harris on September 11 on Instagram, Donald trembled. And he replies. “ I hate Taylor Swift ! » he writes on the social network Truth Social. Ultimately, the queen of pop's post will have little impact on the results. Too bad the documentary was broadcast after the event, it almost becomes obsolete. The title Taylor Swift, first American power is even questionable. Nevertheless, a testimony from a conservative voter in Miami sheds some light: “ I don't think she makes many women dream, she prioritized her career »she believes. At 34, Taylor Swift, not yet married and without children, is often reduced by her detractors to the image of the “cat lady”, a recurring sexist stereotype against single people.
A time-lapse portrait
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The “swifties”, a nickname given to the singer’s fans, will learn nothing from this documentary. As for those who discover the star born in Pennsylvania, they will be able to better understand her without knowing her. This accelerated portrait, lasting 50 minutes, covers the broad outlines of his career, without going into detail. There are even omissions. Taylor Swift's new companion, American football player Travis Kelce, with whom she forms a highly publicized couple, reinforcing her omnipotence, is not even mentioned. Fortunately, the journalist takes us to New York to discover “Taylor Swift mania” and follow a guide who offers fans a tourist tour of the places dear to the artist's heart. For example, in the bohemian district of Tribeca, on Franklin's Street, the street where the star lives, since renamed “Taylor Swift's street”. In London, Mathilde Serrell was miraculously offered a concert ticket just a few hours before the show by a swiftie, which shows the generosity of the musician's community who does not hesitate to pay an average of $1,200 to attend a concert across the Atlantic.
This documentary is unfortunately offered late, after a string of other films devoted to Taylor Swift. Since the passage of the interpreter of Shake it Off in France, last spring for a series of concerts in Paris and Lyon, French television channels are in fact riding on the success of the one which increases the GDP of the regions where it is broadcast. Starting with Arte which, since the end of October, on its online replay, has been telling the behind-the-scenes story of the success. Ambre Chalumeau, columnist in “Quotidien” on TMC, last week brilliantly deciphered the phenomenon while traveling the United States. Almost 450,000 viewers were counted in prime time, or 2.8% market share. Without forgetting the podcasts which are multiplying on online platforms. Particularly from the public service and France Inter, particularly curious about the enthusiasm generated by the American.
