📑 Why Taylor Swift’s Nostalgia Play Works

Bookmarked Why Taylor Swift’s Nostalgia Play Works by Shirley Li (theatlantic.com)

The re-recording, which has already topped the U.S. iTunes chart, certainly marks another instance of pop culture’s obsession with nostalgia paying off. Many similar industry efforts—TV reboots, extensions of film franchises, covers of childhood favorites—service fans through cameos and casual references without meaningfully considering the original work’s impact. But Swift, through her stronger vocals, engages with her younger self, scrutinizing her lyrics. She joins in on the act of being a Taylor Swift fan.

Shirley Li reflects upon Taylor Swift’s rerecording of Taylor Swift’s Love Story. She explains that this is more than just a like for like recreation, but instead it is an ode to a past self.