The Taylor Swift docuseries finally turned me into a Swiftie

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — “You are not to be a fan, but you have to represent the fans.”

That phrase was said to me years ago by someone in a newsroom and it stuck. My job as an entertainment journalist is to cover celebrities, not to be enchanted by them.

When it comes to Taylor Swift, I was successful at that for years.

Then Disney+ dropped the first two episodes of Swift’s new docuseries “The End of an Era” and something in me shifted.

Yes, that sounds dramatic, but so is documenting the most successful music tour of all time by an artist who is in a league of her own.

I can’t believe I just typed that.

Let’s be clear: I was never a Taylor Swift hater. I have always thought of her as an extremely talented songwriter and was most impressed by her love and care for her fan base, known as the Swifties.

I even understood the ‘come one, come all’ fandom given that a few years ago my bff and I proudly posted videos and photos from a Justin Bieber concert using the hashtag “GrownBeliebers” after our fellow concertgoers kept asking us where the kids were that we brought to the show.

That would be us. We were the kids.

When it came to Swift I will admit to side-eyeing the complete and utter loyalty of it all. From the friendship bracelets to the way some Swifties refuse to allow any criticism of their queen (that’s been tested lately, by the way), I thought it was as extra as the singer’s bread puns once she became obsessed with baking sourdough.

Watching the first two episodes of her recently released “The End of an Era” docuseries not only gave me insight into the why of it all, but also the how.

The series is a behind the scenes look at her Eras Tour, which took Swift around the world, raked in billions of dollars and firmly established her as one of the top artists in the world.

The project, or at least its initial episodes, is also a master class in being an intentional celebrity.

Swift has been pretty fearless for most of her career, and clearly understands not only her audience, but also what they want and need from her.

Which is why I found myself being moved watching her anxiety over a thwarted terrorist attack at her planned show in Vienna. My eyes misted seeing her tears after meeting with the young survivors and the families of the victims of a brutal knife attack in the UK that happened during a Taylor Swift dance party.

The pop star’s emotion was a good reminder that she is a human being.

That may sound simplistic and obvious, but in an American culture that has substituted celebrities for royalty, it’s easy to forget that behind the glitz and glamour there is humanity.

Swift’s ability to be the brightest star while at the same time being incredibly relatable is not new.

This is a woman who used to host secret listening parties for her fans and slid into their comments in the early days of Instagram to drop emojis because she knew all too well what it meant to those who support her.

Which is why I immediately clocked what she was doing when in one of the episodes we get to know one of her backup dancers, Kameron Saunders.

A plus-sized black man, Saunders speaks in the docuseries about being raised by a single mother who sacrificed a great deal to help him and his brother achieve their dreams. He is the perfect example of Swift’s desire to have her show be inclusive, and I cried right along with him and his mom, who makes an appearance in what is one of the most heartwarming moments shown so far.

Saunders is also the person Swift asks to read a handwritten note that she gives to all the backup dancers as she shares their bonuses with them (everyone who worked on the tour got a bonus and a personal note from her, we learn).

While the exact amount of the gift is bleeped out, it’s clear that it’s life-changing, given the shock among the dancers, some of whom break down in tears.

The scene alone shows the genius that is Swift. When Swift handed out $100,000 bonuses to truck drivers on the tour, the move made headlines and Swifties held it up as just one example of why their allegiance is so strong. To learn in the series that her largesse extended well beyond just that group not only bolsters the feeling of picking the right rich and famous person to support, but also boosts her reputation even more. Allowing viewers to witness others also be blessed financially by her, while devoting part of an episode to allow for Saunders’ story, is not just the generosity her fans have come to expect, it’s part of what they have come to love.

Perhaps it’s because I woke up at 3 a.m. to watch the episodes as soon as they dropped, but my time spent with the show, as the rest of my household slept, felt intimate.

If you do intimacy right, love is sure to follow. And for me, it did.

Look what you made me do, Taylor Swift.

The-CNN-Wire
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