Can we talk about Taylor Swift for a moment? Last week an opinion piece by John Mac Ghlionn was posted to Newsweek titled "Taylor Swift Is Not a Good Role Model." Well, it sent the internet into a tizzy. (And it blew up my phone because everybody was texting me about it.) It basically said that Swift isn't a good role model because she's single. Let's get into this one, shall we?
When I saw this trend online, I kept thinking to myself, "Who cares? She's a pop star." That's kind of my ignorance with music, because I was raised to admire artists for their talent and look to my parents and other adults in my life as the picture of role models. Maybe that's just me, but isn't that how it should be? Like, it's not the kid's money being spent on Taylor Swift tickets, they're using their parent's money. So, if you don't want them to admire someone like Taylor Swift, maybe don't let them go to the show?
A great example of this is a response to that first opinion piece titled "I'm a Seven Year Old Swiftie. Here's Why Taylor Swift Is a Role Model for Girls Like Me" by Amaya Grace Montgomery. "You don't have to be married and have kids to be a good role model," Montgomery writes. "To be a good role model, you have to be kind, sweet, generous and smart. And you have to give girls a feeling like they have power—girl power—and that we can make our own decisions. A good role model makes you feel like you're powerful, and that you have to use your power to be kind and generous."
And you know where she learned that? From her parents. Because the parents should be role models.
But I decided to dig a little deeper on this one. I invited writer Kate Stayman-London, who is the biggest Swiftie I know, on the podcast to respond to the original opinion piece and give her take on why Swift is a role model. One of her points that I agree with is why are we even holding Swift up to these standards? Do we ask male pop stars like Harry Styles to be role models? No, we don't. So why is Swift different?
My big takeaway from all of this is I still am not a Swiftie, but I respect her for what she's been able to do. I mean, anyone with that many fans must be doing something right.
Keep scrolling for more entertainment news. Have a great 4th of July! (I'll be eating many hot dogs.) See you on Friday!
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By H. Alan Scott
In the 1980s, a group of actors called the "Brat Pack" came to define a generation. Turns out, the term came from one sentence in a New York Magazine article. Now, 40 years later, one of those stars, Andrew McCarthy, is reevaluating the impact that description had in his new documentary Brats (on Hulu).
"It just became the catchphrase." In the film, McCarthy meets with fellow Brat Pack-ers like Rob Lowe, Demi Moore and Emilio Estevez—some for the first time since the '80s—to find out why they took such offense to the moniker. All agree the article wouldn't have the impact today it had back then.
"As Malcolm Gladwell said in the movie, there is no unifying pop culture anymore." And regarding the broad impact of the phrase, McCarthy is now able to see how the public views this crop of actors, with affection. "It took me a long time to realize that, until people came up to me on the street after so many decades. When they see me, they go, 'Oh, my God. When I was a kid...' I realized very quickly, they're not talking to me anymore, they're talking to their own youth."
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