Yes, this is a picture of the recent Hollywood fire. Yes, it is meant to be a depiction of the current state of Hollywood.
Think about it; white buildings sprinkled with bits of color with white smoke turning the sky dark. This is what happens in Hollywood when white privilege doesn’t get its way.
I don’t mean to be a “character assassinator” or ‘’include someone in this narrative who’s never asked to be a part of it,’’ but the thing is this - sometimes you never get control over the narrative that you are a part of.
So why does everything turn dark when white privilege doesn’t get its way?
Let’s go back to this “narrative one never asks to be a part of.”
On one side is the black hip-hop star. He runs on stage to defend a video by a black artist and does so while interrupting a white female accepting an awards. He mentions words like bitch in his songs and is looked down upon by women. He states his mind on Twitter with no barrier and is ripped apart by each and every word.
On the other is the white “protagonist.” She has a song about overcoming people being ‘’mean.’’ She rocketed to pop stardom for a song that preaches to just ‘’shake it off. She preaches feminism, like during her second album of the year Grammy speech, but is on stages with only male producers. She’s about “female empowerment’’ but has a hit song about having ‘’bad blood’’ with a female and problems that they “can’t solve.” Oh - and she is also known for parading around with a group of women, known as her “squad.”
This led me to ask ... What narrative does Taylor Swift want to be a part of?
Why not try to change that narrative for yourself and others along the way?
You don’t need a PR specialist, Google, or even a friend to tell you the magnitude that Hollywood plays in just about everything. You don’t ask for the attention, but it comes with the cost of performing on major stages and having your name known all across the world. You might ask to share your talent with everyone in the human race, but you might not ask to have their opinions shared to you in return. You can’t control that though. Being someone in Hollywood gives you power, and unlike many other people, it gives you a voice.
That’s what Kanye West does so well. That’s why people hate him. Kanye is not afraid to use his voice.
Taylor Swift, on the other hand, acknowledges that she has a voice, but only uses it on occasions.
Sure, I know that this will cause me to hear about “Oh she does so many things for her fans’’ or ‘’Oh she has a literacy center,’’ but when have you seen Taylor Swift use her voice to inform her audiences about the many ways the word “bitch” is used in hip hop culture? When have you seen Taylor Swift use her voice to inform her younger audience about the ways they can play a part in this election even if they are not old enough to vote? When have you seen Taylor Swift use her voice in a way that did not involve throwing money at an issue?
As a women who identifies as Latina, I feel just as upset with Selena Gomez. You’re the most followed celebrity on Instagram, Selena. Why not try doing what Gina Rodriguez does and start your own #MovementMondays and feature a person of color in Hollywood every Monday on your Instagram page? I hear you’re a UNICEF ambassador (with a bunch of great work from 2009 - 2014) and that’s great and all, but why not share more of what that is and the type of work that entails on social media? And aren’t you from Dallas? I’d love to know how you feel about the most recent incidents in your hometown. It doesn’t matter that you don’t know Spanish as a Latina, but why not try to encourage others to familiarize themselves more with their culture? And you were a part of a song for charity? Instead of just tweeting the link to purchase the song (that just makes you more money), why not explain the purpose of the song? Sure Twitter might not give you enough characters for that but you can always write two tweets instead of one. Oh and these videos of you talking about “the issues that matter” during your concerts? Why not share them with people? Not everyone goes to your concerts. And if you already forgot, you ARE the most followed celebrity on Instagram. I’m sure your followers won’t mind two Instagram posts instead of one.
Taylor Swift is right. You don’t ask to be part of a narrative. Most of the times that narrative is given to you without your permission. So why not try to change that narrative for yourself and others along the way?