On October 12, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Movie was made available to the public in theaters. Swift has dominated the music industry these past couple of years: everyone is aware when a new album is released or when tickets to her concert go on sale. Though Swift’s biggest phenomenon of this year was undoubtedly The Eras Tour. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, the Eras Tour is her worldwide tour featuring several songs from every album Swift has ever released. Most artists go on tour to promote their latest album and perform almost exclusively from that album, so Swift’s idea to perform every record was jaw-dropping for fans.
The Eras Tour is finishing up its USA leg of the tour and is now in South America. Everyone remembers the day tickets dropped and classes halted to a stop as fans scrambled to get on the waitlist. All anyone could think about was being able to get tickets. The only issue was the extreme prices of these sought-after tickets. These hefty prices were one of the main reasons a lot of upset Swift fans were not able to attend her live tour. As a solution for this, Swift decided to come out with The Eras Tour Movie: A full concert experience of almost every song performed on the Eras Tour.
Swift has put out a few movies in the past; some went into heavy detail on the life of Swift and how she put together these albums (Miss Americana, Folklore – the Long Pond Studio Sessions, etc), while others, like the Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour Movie, were live concert experiences just like the Eras Tour Movie. Swift herself has claimed she wants this to be a fun, loud, experience for fans. Especially those who were not able to attend the actual tour. Junior Mackenzie Nolan said “I had the best experience when I went to see the movie! Everyone was dancing and singing, it was just like the concert.” On the other hand, many people are claiming that if everyone is singing and dancing, it will ruin the experience of actually watching the movie. Senior Alexa Zaino said “I never got to see the concert or the movie, but I did see videos of people dancing at the bottom of the theater. It looked fun, but I don’t know if I would want that noise at the movie theater.”
While this may be true for movies with crucial plotlines, this is not that type of film. This is a concert experience, and it deserves to be treated as such. Swift herself said on Instagram “Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged”. This film is a much cheaper option for people who did not have the opportunity to experience the Eras Tour. I had the fortune of attending both the Eras Tour and the Eras Tour Movie, and I can say both were some of the best experiences of my life. The movie was packed with people who wanted to sing, dance, and scream to Swift’s relatable music and this had no hindrance on my ability to enjoy the movie. At some point, my friends and I went down to the bottom of the theater and joined the crowd of people dancing.
While people may think this loud environment is the wrong way to behave at a movie theater, this movie is meant to be a concert experience. The movie was recently announced as available to rent at home starting December 13, and people who wish to watch in silence can do so from their couch! I think we should allow fans the opportunity to experience the Eras Tour the right way: dressed up, loud, and dancing!