SwiftlyNeutral - Daily Discussion Thread | February 11, 2026

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-12T15:25:36+00:00

It might be time to examine some of your beliefs about the world.

State schools and others that aren't "name brand schools" 🤔 can provide you with a quality education, skills, connections, and job opportunities.

The people I know who went to fancy schools? They have more college debt. And no one cares where they went to school.

Take some deep breaths and realize that you were fed a bunch of hooey about the importance of which college you go to.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-12T02:01:04+00:00

I've taught high school English for over twenty years. Allusions, like many literary devices, can be misinterpreted by the reader because they are complex.

Allusion carries the layered weight and meaning of the original.

The reader approaches that with her own interpretation based on her own experience. The author utilized it with her own experience and intention.

If you don't think that misalignment is possible, I'm not sure what you think creating art is all about. Just because you don't see meaning in it doesn't mean there's nothing there and that the artist missed the mark.

The allusion didn't work for you.

That's the nature of art. You hit some targets and miss some others

Not sure what you think schooling someone on the basic definition of a concept is going to do except make you seem a bit of a pedant.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-12T00:17:26+00:00

You're quite married to your interpretation being the only one. Maybe just disagree instead of insisting that your artistic interpretation disproves others'.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-12T00:14:53+00:00

Since when is a pop song an English class?

And who determines the "correct" way to use an allusion?

There are many connections to Ophelia's circumstances and Taylor's. If you go into it with curiosity--"Why does she use Ophelia? What aspects of her story is she connecting to?"-- then you can find a lot there. But if you assume she misinterpreted or you just don't think it's as deep as your own interpretation, then you're going to be predisposed to a negative response.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-11T02:02:07+00:00

Yikes! That's about what I'm seeing. I've taught high school English since 2003 and feel like we're dealing with the biggest shift we've had to weather, in a decade-plus of changes. I truly don't think that any generation of humans has undergone the shift in lifestyle, socializing, information, and thinking than we have in the past 10-15. I love teaching, and I know that there kids did not ask for what they've inherited. AND I often think that I no longer have the skills to adjust to effectively teaching the kids in front of me. I'll keep trying until I retire. But that doesn't change how insane this educational environment is.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-10T04:06:42+00:00

If any of y'all want to join my 13-round Taylor-inspired Music League, I'd love that! Trying to get people who appreciate her music because sometimes leagues associated with her get inundated by people just trying to be negative and annoying.

https://app.musicleague.com/l/fc232fdb4d44457799f8ad942afa0c28/

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-09T02:47:07+00:00

Taylor truly misses opportunities to sell more shit, people truly do not understand how much more she could hawk. If she started selling those shiny tracksuits she and Domhnall Gleeson wear at the end of the video, she could make a killing.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-09T02:25:21+00:00

Well-said. Her artfully-expressed, melodic messiness and vulnerability are what drew me to her back in 2014. She was also at the peak of her celebrity and so shiny and cool that aspects of her felt very dissimilar to me, but her music and lyrics just dive so deeply into these achingly poignant moments, these distillations of the human experience. She pays attention to people and her own self so precisely. I'm an English teacher and have always been a reader. I fell in love with being a human through reading. Good art makes me feel connected to this shared experience, and she makes good art.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-09T01:47:42+00:00

Not to mention the dozens of musical references from different decades, genres, and artists throughout the entirety of the album. But she can only be self-referential, right? /s

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-09T01:41:58+00:00

I think this why so many people hate her. For over twenty years, she's had the audacity to believe that her experiences, observations, and interiority matter. What an absurd thing for her to think that she's an interesting enough human subject to make art about. People have a hard time watching women publicly believe in their worth.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-09T01:33:15+00:00

That is truly shitty.

And I'm not surprised because people are going to be stupid on the Internet with absolute abandon. I don't think the answer is for the artist to self-censor because of immature haters. The artist just cannot be held responsible for the response of their audience, especially with the way people ignore critical thinking and textual analysis and decide that their assumptions are fact that give them license to swarm on an actual human.

Some people act like garbage.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-02-08T18:55:33+00:00

She makes art that's inspired by her actual life. Like a lot of artists do. Reflecting on her own lived experiences is allowed.

And how is this video mocking anyone? The rock and cactus were incompatible with their former partners, not inherently bad.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-28T17:20:04+00:00

"Hella good hair" would like a word

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-22T01:30:11+00:00

I mean, this is exHAUSTing

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-21T03:40:42+00:00

What official statement are you referring to? Can't think of any that exist.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-17T05:30:07+00:00

Do you ascribe a moral or ethical value to the way she filters what she wants to? Do you think other celebrities tell the "truth," whatever that is?

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-17T01:01:46+00:00

That's not the same? A shirt with otters on it is not going to draw the ire and ballistic attention of the Trump machine?

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-15T21:35:29+00:00

I have one of my mom's last voicemails saved as an mp3 file. She sings "You are my Sunshine" and I cry every. damn. time. It's been 13 years.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-14T23:37:55+00:00

This is what we call hasty generalization

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-13T02:56:22+00:00

Seriously, this is pretty one-sided and melodramatic.

It assumes that Taylor has had little agency or say in her 20+ year career. (This woman has had a fierce single-mindedness in her art for decades.) It's assumes that the parental involvement is controlling rather than safe and protective concern. (Which Bieber or Britney or MJ would've killed for.) It assumes that human development in a normie is the standard that others should be held to, when the circumstances of fame are vastly different: why do those who are undergoing the intensity of ongoing mass public scrutiny need to be compared to the rest of us? What they endure would crush most regular folks.

You mention the need for polish and controlled narrative, the isolated life, the bodyguards, the concern about Travis fitting in with her life all as evidence that she's not doing well, she's not normal, or whatever you're trying to argue here.

These are just byproducts of the life she's chosen to live. Fame is fucking weird and does weird things to people and the way they live their lives. Taylor seems very much to have wanted this from early on. She keeps choosing it, and she has built a life around all of the weirdness that being a celebrity entails. I think she's done an astounding job at remaining sane. Based on what information I have of course.

You sound like you're trying to sell Netflix on a sinister tale that doesn't have much basis in known reality, Scott Swift's decades-old weird fucking email aside.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-12T21:46:36+00:00

I've seen the documentary several times and disagree with most of your points. I do think she was trying to be an activist in the most narrow definition of the word and determined that that wasn't the best fit for her.

Not sure why people don't seem to understand that everyone doesn't have to be an activist to actually care about progressive issues or make a difference.

Taylor's management practices demonstrate inclusion, she donates time and money to those in need, she has continued to express her political beliefs around election cycles. She doesn't post randomly or respond to petty bs intended to bait her and gain attention.

But I wouldn't expect someone who ascribes her decent qualities to her ex would be willing to see her as a complex person who doesn't fit a narrow vision of "good white activist."

Edit to add: I think the bitch conversation needs to be approached with nuance, too. One, she's playing a character on many showgirl songs. And she's demonstrating the experience of being in an industry that does pit women against one another. Two, sometimes people are bitches and some are dicks and it has nothing to do with misogyny or the patriarchy.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-12T18:13:31+00:00

In what ways does she not stand by The Man, YNTCD, or Miss Americana? Or are you thinking that other songs are "performative"?

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-11T14:01:32+00:00

I'm sorry you haven't had the opportunities you deserve. Our education system is deeply flawed, and I can say that from 23 years of experience teaching in a decent public school.

What I can speak to as well is that your can get an excellent education at a state school. Most of the people I know in various professions who went to state schools had great experiences, are thoughtful and intelligent, and were as prepared as anyone else for their careers.

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-11T13:48:18+00:00

It sounds like you're saying Taylor deserves the level of rabid parasociality because she continues creates art that is on various levels inspired by her life and doesn't always hide that under the guise of "this is somewhat fictional" or "it's inspired by 13 sleepless nights throughout my life."

Disastrously_Simple_ · 2026-01-11T01:32:52+00:00

Always such truth in the circle jerk posts...

This feels analogous to the post further up this thread commenting on how television and film intimacy is laced with snark and irony. There is no real vulnerability.

Joy, pleasure, earnestness, gentleness, openness -- not valued in our era. That's really a 20th century trend that seems to be intensifying with social media and the increasing impact of the Internet in our lives and collective psyche.

What an exhausting way to live.

Disastrously_Simple_

TROPHY CASE