While Swift has been “reluctant to publicly voice [her] political opinions,” she has recently changed that mindset due to “several events in my life and in the world in the past two years.” Since President Donald Trump’s administration started two years ago, she could be referring to the policies and attitudes of the Trump administration and the #MeToo movement, especially since she recently sued a former radio disc host for allegedly inappropriately touching her.
In this post, Swift endorses Tennessean Democrats Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives, believing they have a past voting record that aligns with her values of racial, gender, sexual and orientation equality. These ideas that Swift advocates for Bredesen and Cooper demonstrate the changing demography of the United States where those who used to be the minority are slowly becoming the majority (minority majority) and wanting fair and equal representation.
On the other hand, Swift also denounces Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn who is running for Tennessee Senator. She highlights the idea that Blackburn does not support women or LGBT rights, citing Blackburn’s homophobic beliefs and examples of Blackburn’s voting record against Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and against equal pay as reasons to vote against the Republican candidate.
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| Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images from Insider |
Politicians and fans have responded to her opinions. While liberal fans are pleased with Swift’s support, other fans claim that it would be better if she did not dive into politics, only sticking with her music career. Trump, an avid supporter of Blackburn, publicly stated that Swift “doesn’t know anything about [Blackburn]” and that he likes “Taylor’s music about 25% less now,” emphasizing Trump’s support of Republican candidates and his mockery or dislike of Democratic and liberal values.
In a Fox News interview, Blackburn responded to Swift’s criticisms. Blackburn asserted that she advocates for equal and maximum pay for women, is actively involved in abuse shelters and child advocacy centers, and even directed the Music Modernization Act, which would help royalties, performance rights, etc. for songwriters. Therefore, Blackburn believes that she not only supports equality and safety of women, which would contradict Swift’s claims, but she also helped navigate a bill that directly helps songwriters and celebrities like Swift.
Conversely, Bredesen publicly voiced his excitement and appreciation for Swift’s praise and promise in voting for him, even incorporating Swift’s song lyrics for a clever tweet.
As textbook Chapter 6 talks about public opinion and action and Chapter 7 talks about the media, this article clearly relates to our chapter. Through Swift’s Instagram post and her acceptance speech at the American Music Awards, Swift, along with other celebrities, engages in political participation where she uses the platform and the electronic media to influence the selection of political leaders. Arguably, her 112 million Instagram followers and fans reach a larger audience than Fox News, causing her post to generate more attention than Blackburn’s response to Swift’s criticisms. Therefore, there is danger for each individual’s reputation due to the widespread impact and audience of electronic media and social media. However, whichever news receive more attention is also attributed to the idea of selective exposure where people pay attention to news that affirms their beliefs and rejects news that disagrees with their beliefs. Consequently, for example, conservatives might agree with the Fox News interpretation than with Swift’s post. In fact, celebrities like Taylor Swift can impact on a person’s political socialization (individual’s formation of political thoughts) or public opinion, as seen through her fans who admired or disliked her post. Her thoughts could influence a fan’s politics due to selective exposure by agreeing with Swift due to admiration and respect for her, impacting their political socialization.
In my opinion, Taylor Swift is obviously a major influence in our modern culture. And with 112 million Instagram followers, she definitely has the public platform to express her beliefs and message. The fact that her post caused 65,000 people to register to vote astonishes and delights me in that people are willing to vote with encouragement from public attention and media, understanding the importance of voting. However, this huge platform also comes with caution and responsibility. I definitely support the importance of being aware of current events, being involved in choosing our representatives in government, and educating yourself in the world around us. I also support Swift in her political stance, pleased that she is using her platform for the good of education and voting in our society, especially in light of recent events in the Trump administration.
Aforementioned, fans of Swift have broken her record due to her political post, believing that she should not express such ideas. This belief reminds me of the main argument of those who side with the NFL’s coaches with Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the National Anthem, claiming that he should not express political beliefs on that platform and should only stick to football. I believe that any person should be able to express their political opinions due to the First Amendment’s right of freedom of expression. While some places, such as schools, prevent authority figures to express their political standing, I believe that a person who has this much influence should be allowed to say what they want to say. Of course, saying opinions without thinking beforehand is dangerous, and therefore, I advise that famous people should encourage their supporters to vote and to be aware of current events, outside of Hollywood. Her fans should not be upset with her for expressing her political belief since she even acknowledged other opinions and the importance of education in voting in her post, proving her open-minded attitude. The idea that Swift’s public opinions could jeopardize her career did not stop her from posting (even though she was reluctant in years past), which makes me admire her will and education. Her positive involvement in politics with her open-minded and fair beliefs help stimulate the younger generation in education and awareness. If you would like a different analysis on this topic, check out this CNN opinion article about Swift and her advocacy.
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https://www.thisisinsider.com/american-music-awards-taylor-swift-wins-political-message-2018-10
8 comments:
Misinformed as she may be, Taylor finally openly involving herself in politics is a huge step up. I've been wary of her past activism, which at times has seemed shallow and performative due to her natural inclination to play things safe (labeling herself a "feminist", a label many see as inherently political; encouraging others to vote without taking a stance on a specific candidate); she has finally shown that she understands the power of her platform and the impact she has on her audience, especially young women. (It is a bit interesting that all this comes about around the time Kanye West stirs up controversy yet again by meeting with Trump...but I'll assume that's mere coincidence, and not an attempt at one-upmanship.)
Finally! Taylor Swift has avoided politics for so long, completely missing out on an opportunity to educate young people and urge them to vote or participate in politics.
Maybe not a lot of people share this belief, but I think that all celebrities (especially ones that benefit from immense white privilege like Swift) have a responsibility to use their platform for good. Whether endorsing democratic candidates is "good" or not is obviously up to someone's own interpretation, but encouraging young people to vote or register is undoubtedly a great thing.
People who are against this (specifically the part of the post that encouraged voter registration) and say that she's manipulating young people into voting ... how is making our elections more democratic and encouraging young people to be political aware bad again?
Expressing your political opinions, especially when you have millions of supporters, is still a risky thing to do. Taylor Swift and Kanye West were more fortunate than others -- some musicians almost lost their entire career just because of something controversial they said. One example was the Dixie Chicks: during a gig in Britain in 2003, the lead vocalist voiced her opposition against Bush and the Iraq War, and in response people boycotted their albums, talk shows denounced them, and the public was outraged. The group wasn't able to tour again until 2010.
I think both Swift and West knew that there were enough supporters out there that voicing their opinions wouldn't destroy their career, or maybe because it's 2018 and not two years after 9/11.
I would agree with previous comments, especially Andre's, in that celebrities with major fan bases can have a huge impact on the youth that follow them. While some may see danger in the influence a celebrity can have on a young person's political socialization, these people have a right to express their opinions. In doing so they can either cause outrage and risk harm to their careers, or they can promote an increase in political participation and awareness. In my opinion, Swift encouraging her supporters to get out and vote in the midterms is an example of a positive use of such a large media platform.
I agree that taking a political stance can often be risky for celebrities because they could lose their fan base and their career if their opinions are unpopular. However, I do not believe that in this particular instance, Swift was risking her career. Her post has been generally positively received by her fans, and I'd guess that this is because Trump's approval rating is low which reflects poorly on the Republican party, so more people (especially the young people that support Swift) will be accepting of her political stance and encouraged to vote for Democrats by her words because they are closer to matching public opinion from that demographic. Kanye, on the other hand, has received a lot of negative attention from his fan base from his pro-Trump stance, but then again, his fortune is already established through his business and his music so I doubt that this negative attention will have significant consequences.
I agree about the power that celebrities have on their followers. Many celebrities do not even have to be immensely popular or mainstream to have a major impact. Encouraging young people to vote and take a stance on things they believe in can be helpful or detrimental. In one way it can help the child fight for something good and that they believe in. On the other hand, it can be brainwashed to blindly follow someone just because you look up to them. Celebrities may not always be the most informed on the issue or have an extreme view which can cause problems creating something that may resemble a cult for his followers. I also agree with what was said of it being a risk to their careers and understand if someone who is not as active in politics might be wary of what they promote and say in fear of backlash or loss of support.
I'm not sure why their is so much value placed on certain celebrities to voice their political stances, or more so, why people find it a necessity to know. I understand the concept of disapproving of one's belief system, or approving and supporting, but placing so much value on her opinion doesn't make too much sense to me. Celebrities do have a lot of power and I do get how their voices have the power to influence opinions. I do encourage celebrities to advocate to get their audience to vote. But I guess with great power comes great responsibility.
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