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发帖数: 17225 | 1 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/24/the-guardian-view-on-
taylor-swift-an-envoy-for-trumps-values
The Guardian view on Taylor Swift: an envoy for Trump’s values?
In the year since Donald Trump was elected, the entertainment world has been
largely united in its disdain for his presidency. But a notable voice has
been missing from the chorus: that of Taylor Swift, the world’s biggest pop
star. Her silence is striking, highlighting the parallels between the
singer and the president: their adept use of social media to foster a
diehard support base; their solipsism; their laser focus on the bottom line;
their support among the “alt-right”.
Swift’s songs echo Mr Trump’s obsession with petty score-settling in their
repeated references to her celebrity feuds, or report in painstaking detail
on her failed romantic relationships (often, there is crossover). The
message is quintessentially Trumpian: everyone is out to get me – but I win
anyway. Seeded with clues to the identities of her famous associates, her
lyrics reel in and solidify a hardcore fanbase – usually young, female
followers known as “Swifties” – who passionately defend her honour on
social media by attacking her detractors.
Mr Trump realised it was more effective to target a core group than attempt
blanket appeal in his campaign – but Swift worked it out first. For years,
she has directed her extraordinary self-promotional skills towards
cultivating a dedicated and emotional army of followers, handpicking
particularly loyal fans for private listening parties and, on her latest
tour, allowing members of the public to buy tickets only once they have
proved their allegiance through their purchasing history. Her new album,
Reputation, is not available on Spotify – anyone wishing to hear it must
buy it.
To some that makes her an artist wresting control, and a strong woman
asserting and celebrating herself. The articulation of her inner life might
be labelled introspection or splendid, swaggering confidence if it issued
from a boy with a guitar. She calls herself a feminist. In August, she won a
court case against a DJ who had groped her in 2013, taking a clear stand
against the kind of sexual harassment that has long been trivialised in
society, and foreshadowing the Harvey Weinstein allegations and the #MeToo
campaign. She has been a target of the kind of misogyny that Mr Trump
espouses.
Yet notably her much-publicised “squad” of female models, actors and
musicians is largely thin, white and wealthy. In a well-publicised Twitter
exchange with rapper Nicki Minaj, she treated the discussion of structural
racism as not only incomprehensible, but a way to disempower white people
such as herself – though her lawyers have taken action over articles that
associate her with the far right, and have taken issue with claims that she
has not sufficiently denounced white supremacy.
By focusing only on her own, extremely profitable, business, Swift appears
at first glance to be an apolitical pop star, keen to attract people of all
leanings. She began her career in country, a genre whose fans have
historically identified as Republican (early on, she wrote that “
Republicans do it better”, though after Barack Obama’s victory she said
she was “so glad this was my first election”). But these days, even
heartland country singers are mocking the president. Her silence seems to be
more wilful: a product of her inward gaze, perhaps, or her pettiness and
refusal to concede to critics. Swift seems not simply a product of the age
of Trump, but a musical envoy for the president’s values. | P*O
发帖数: 4324 | | I*********p
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【在 P*O 的大作中提到】
: 长得白有罪，歌唱的好有罪，不谈政治更有罪哈。
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