Three Artifacts: Taylor Swift, Queen and The Handmaid's Tale

Bohemian Rhapsody: Pushing the Boundaries of Rock

Bohemian Rhapsody is known as one of the most popular songs nationwide. Written by the legend himself Freddie Mercury and performed by one of the most well-known rock bands Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody is considered one of the greatest songs to ever hit the radio.This song skyrocketed to number one on the charts for nine consecutive weeks. This song broke many barriers in the industry of music at the time, due to it having no chorus and being about six minutes long. Through the song Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen pushed the limits as to what a Rock N Roll song should sound like during the time of the 70’s.

I have been a Queen lover for as long as I can remember. I can remember always singing the songs with my mom when I was very little. What got me even more interested in this song was the movie that just came out in 2018. I became so intrigued with how he wrote it in the movie, when it came time to pick an artifact for this class this song came to mind. I started to do my own research to find the factual evidence of how he wrote the song and why he wrote it. The song consists of an introduction, ballad, guitar solo, opera, hard rock, and outro. This is very unusual for a rock song, especially during the era of the 70’s. Freddie is singing about his own life in a very symbolic way. I am curious about diving into what every single line in this song truly means because there are so many things to unpack in it. This artifact is interesting to me because I have loved this song for all of my life but never truly understood the actual meaning behind all of his words.

Miss Americana: Taylor Swift's Journey

Miss Americana, a documentary that just hit Netflix dives into the life of Taylor Swift. This documentary goes through her life in a way that shows the struggle of starting out in this industry and having to reinvent herself in order to stay relevant to what people want. This documentary also shows Taylor finding her voice in a world that is so loud with criticism. Throughout her life she has gotten backlash and hate with her dating life. Taylor Swift, proves to the audience that she is no longer okay staying silent with the double standards society puts on women.

Taylor Swift has been one of the most private celebrities in the world. She does not share a lot of her personal life on social media. Although, she does share a lot in her song writing. This documentary is the first we have seen her talk about the struggles of her life, eating disorders, and her stance on politics. One of the key points that intrigued me to this topic is a common theme throughout the documentary. She explains that when she first started out in the music industry she did whatever anyone told her to do. She just wanted to be the sweet girl and never wanted to talk about controversial topics. Taylor wanted everyone to like her, but then she lost herself in this process. I think this is interesting to me because I feel like women in general sometimes have a hard time speaking out because they want to be liked. I personally have felt this way numerous times in my own life. I have felt at times that maybe I should not say certain things because people will not like me. I have experienced some of the things she has gone through on a MUCH smaller scale. Another topic that is talked about in her documentary that is important to highlight is the song “The Man”. This song talks about how if she were a man, she would be the man. It talks about society praising men for being with women and flaunting their money but if Taylor is seen doing this she is called a slut.

Dehumanization and Control in The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale book was written by Margaret Atwood and was adapted by Hulu for a TV series. This show is set in a futuristic society called “Gilead” after the United States has failed due to low reproduction rates. This show exemplifies a hierarchical order where the men are in charge of everything. This show manipulates women by using biblical references as well as power to dehumanize them in order to create new life.

This show dehumanizes women by having complete utter control of the handmaids. They are assigned to elite couples to bear their children. They are given clothes, told what to do, and not allowed to go anywhere other than a few specific places that their commander allows them. I think the message that is portrayed here on a greater scale is the ability to control women. We can talk about how our current president is trying to ban aborotion. He is telling us what we can and can’t do with our own bodies. I also think that this show is interesting because it reflects our society in a way. The elite can get away with a lot more than the average Joe. The elite have more resources available to them. I like this topic because it is very relevant to some things that are currently going on in our world today.

Final Thoughts

After going a bit more in depth in this brainstorm , I have realized I am leaning more towards the Miss Americana documentary. Taylor Swift has gone through a lot in the media and her documentary goes in depth with her struggles. This documentary sends a lot of underlying messages that are relevant in our world today. Some of the messages that are prominent throughout are the double standards that are put on women, staying silent so one does not offend others, bullying online, and body shaming. I think this topic will give me a lot of to write about for this research paper!