#also the polaroid gimmick cannot be topped

[whiskeyswifty]

it might be just me but i feel like there's been this prevailing opinion in these parts for quite some time that 1989 being a fav makes you a basic taylor fan or you don't really "get" taylor or some shit like that. and maybe it's because so many people who have that opinion are like 17 years old right now, or didn't engage with her music prior to 1989, or something so they won't understand where i'm coming from here. and i'm not mad i just wanna yell about how much i love the 1989 era so here i go.

and if that's you, let me remind you, for older swifties, the 1989 era is oftentimes not just a fav for us because of the music (which is excellent) but because the entire era felt like a goddamn miracle. I don't think those young swifties understand that pre-1989, taylor wasn't anywhere near what she is now. it's hard to imagine given how fondly we wax about her early years, but she was not a superstar or an american sweetheart or whatever for the longest time. Even in the rep era, it was about a pop queen falling out of america's favor, but pre-1989 she hadn't ever been IN america's favor or a pop queen.

in the 4 albums leading up to 1989 the general perception of her writ large was one of an eye-roll. common portrayals of her were that she was overrated and didn't deserve her grammys or even that she could only make country music and would never break out in the fearless era. or made cheesy juvenile disney music and was a try hard in the speak now era. and the worst was the red era of borderline vilifying her for being a serial dater, crazy psycho ex, making feminism look bad, etc and also was made the butt of jokes ON LIVE TV at award shows with her IN THE AUDIENCE, which happened MULTIPLE TIMES. and don't even get me STARTED on the Harry Styles of it all. all the while, media and the public alike saying her music all these years is only popular because it's shallow gossip music. she was a waved-off industry fluke at best and a national joke at worst. and this went on for the entirety of her career for 8 years leading up to 1989. and to be someone who liked her was to apparently be an open invitation for others to constantly have people tell you how much they hated her?? which was like ok why do you feel the need to yell at me in a bar about how annoyed you are by her??? and how much of a national pastime it was to dunk on her for any reason they could find and most commonly blame her for "not knowing better" and being a desperate clingy gf in situations like John Mayer or Jake Gyllenhall (which we now know better as a society but it wasn't THAT LONG AGO THAT WE DIDN'T).

so come to find in the 1989 era where, after the endless emotional warfare of Red, she's all of a sudden beloved.... by.... everyone? like it truly was overnight. and it had NEVER been this far reaching before, in the media and among people i knew, such as my best friend who i lived with at the time, suddenly lauding her music and singing her praises. it made you feel insane to live through how quick that 180 was, and it was such a relief. i can't tell you how much of a relief it was to finally have a break in the mean, hatful bullshit that always came with a new taylor swift album. awards aside, it was the first time ever that she was universally beloved in a pop culture sense and what a halcyon summer that was. not to mention that when she started dating again, her and calvin were "music's hottest couple" or whatever and even that was a relief where she was celebrated for dating someone and not vilified. it was no surprise to us that the rep era followed given what we all knew she had gone through prior to 1989 and how quickly the pendulum would swing back, and frankly we're all shocked the golden age of taylor: america's darling pop princess lasted as long as it did.

and this folklore era feels a lot like what the 1989 era did, yes, but for me and my friends at least, it's nowhere near how much of a high 1989 was. Because sure, folklore came after 1-3 years of negative perception during rep and Lover being just ok, but 1989 was proceeded by 8 YEARS of cruelty for seemingly no reason at all, and that barrage of hate was all there had ever been and felt like all there ever would be. so yeah 1989 is full of certified bangers and on that merit alone is worthy of being a fav according to my subjective but entirely correct dumb bitch music taste, but for those of us old enough to have been media conscious for most of her career prior to it, 1989 more importantly holds this special place in our lives where for an unprecedented stretch of time, not only could we could finally enjoy her music in peace but also alongside everyone else enjoying her music with equal vigor and adoration. why was this so long idk i have 1989 feelings and feel like defending her today.