After months of expectation, Taylor Swift has released Miss Americana, a documentary about her life under the public eye and her struggle with fame.

Initially, I was sure that I would not enjoy the documentary. Although I love Swift’s music, I anticipated the film to be an hour and a half of dramatized complaining about whatever unfortunate downsides come with being one of the richest and most well-known celebrities in the world, which the average person can not sympathize with.

However, I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the documentary did focus on the more difficult side of being a celebrity, but rather than being insensitive and callous, Swift’s perspective was enlightening as to how life can change when a person becomes famous.

“It just feels like it’s more than music at this point,” sobs Swift to her parents in a particularly candid clip narrating the struggles of being “cancelled” (“do you know how many people have to be Tweeting that they hate you for that to happen?”) and the constant magnifying glass that the media keeps on celebrities, which led to Swift developing an eating disorder several years ago.  

It was a treat for fans to see a more personal side of Taylor than we’re used to. In recent years, Swift has been more open about her personal life, political stances and struggles than ever, which allows fans to connect with her even more and appreciate her as a human being rather than just another celebrity.

“I like the documentary a lot because Taylor is so vulnerable and honest after being so careful about everything she said or did for so long. She finally let herself live freely and be true to herself and her fans, which only makes me admire her even more. She has been through so much but still writes music and performs it onstage just for the sake of doing it, not for fame or approval, which is an incredible example to set,” senior Meaghan Fleming said.

“It’s really cool that we get to watch Taylor slowly become more open with the public again after the whole 2016 thing [a public feud between Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift over West’s allusion to Swift in his song ‘Famous’], because she’s found a way to still be able to speak her mind without feeling the need to apologize for her opinions or her truth, even if it offends someone else,” senior Maggie O’Toole said.

However, other fans were not so appreciative.

“I think that this documentary was unnecessary. Beyond her reflecting on her struggle with an eating disorder, everything else in the documentary was information fans would already know about her. Many parts of it also seemed incredibly ingenuine. She emphasizes so heavily that she ‘disappeared for a year,’ yet she was filming for this documentary the whole time. That leaves me to believe the whole documentary was just a well-planned out movie to perhaps get the final word in the endless stream of scandals she gets herself into. Overall, I was pretty disappointed,” senior Emma Henke said.

Whatever your opinion, Miss Americana lets Swifties everywhere get a better look at the singer behind hits from “You Belong With Me” to “Shake It Off.” Make sure to view the new release on Netflix!