Taylor Swift and what she tells us about ourselves

They say you can tell a lot about a society by who its icons are. And, whether you can recite her every lyric or simply can’t stand the sound of her, you would be hard pushed to deny the fact that singer Taylor Swift is one such cultural icon.

Not convinced? Let me try and persuade you: this summer saw the beginning of Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ – a three-hour long concert extravaganza paying homage to her music catalogue. By the time it wraps up in November 2024, it will have spanned 146 dates across five continents. It is set to become the highest grossing tour of all time and has been dubbed this year’s most significant pop-culture phenomenon. Cities hosting the tour over the summer saw a significant boost in revenue, prompting multiple world leaders to openly request she bring the tour to their countries. In September, it was announced that the University of Melbourne will host an academic conference on the singer, and in October a film version of her Eras Tour was released in cinemas, rapidly becoming the most profitable concert film in history. And that’s only just scratching the surface: I could go on.

Markers of a cultural moment

So, why is any of this relevant to followers of Jesus? John Stott called us to the practice of triple listening – to be attentive to the word, the church, and the world. To listen to culture is to be attentive to the stories it is sharing through the lens of the story of God (found in Scripture). As Christians we shouldn’t make idols of cultural icons, but there is an underestimated power in simply noticing the markers of a cultural moment. The current cultural significance of Taylor Swift tells of a society that has mostly rejected the idea of God, but desperately clings to a longing for captivating storytelling. Simply put, that is Miss Swift’s appeal – her ability to tell captivating stories.

Harvard University’s literary critic and poet Stephanie Burt said this of Swift: ‘She has a lot of different gifts as a songwriter … [her lyrics] stick in your mind, and you spin stories out from them. That’s just being a good writer. She’s a celebrity with a complicated personal life, and so people speculate about the meanings of her songs, both because they are complex and meaningful works of art, and because some of them do speak to public facts about her life outside the songs’. The resonance and relatability of her work creates a strong shared identity within her fan base. Young adults – the majority of her fan base – form connections with each other around the stories her songs and personal life are spinning. It’s no wonder her concerts are marked by extensive friendship-bracelet wearing.

Let’s tell a captivating story

Now of course it would be naïve to say this popstar’s popularity is solely down to storytelling. Cynically, she is clearly a very good businesswoman with a talented team around her that know how to capitalise on the entertainment and music industry, while spinning the celebrity-gossip wheel in her favour. However, we can still find hope in a generation that, despite the ills of social media, are still captivated by good stories. Therefore, as the church, let’s learn a thing or two from the likes of artists like Swift – let’s tell a captivating story. One that prompts the deeper questions of meaning and significance. A story that engages people where they are at, but wants to be taken further because the current ones – from popstars to political movements to ideologies – although important, are stories that are fleeting and not grounded in goodness.

Thankfully, we don’t need another cultural icon to spin something for us, for we already have a good, true and beautiful story found in the pages of Scripture. A story that invites people into a community based not around a celebrity, but on a God who welcomes us into His reality. As a church, let’s be attentive to the big cultural moments – watch films, listen to music, read the news – to understand and empathise with the big questions people are asking today. But let’s not forget the story we have been given, and the power of creatively telling it and authentically living it.