Behind-the-scenes concert docu with lots of celeb guests.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Products & Purchases
some
The show is a promotion of Taylor Swift and her music. There's also an almost endless display of other musical acts, actors, sports stars, Victoria's Secret models, and other celebrities. Swift also dresses up as Olaf, the snowman from Frozen, while Idina Menzel sings "Let It Go."
Sex, Romance & Nudity
a little
Swift performs in lots of cropped tops and booty shorts, and her male backup dancers are often shirtless. Some mildly suggestive dancing. Many of Swift's song lyrics talk about relationships. Swift discusses the media's portrayal of her as a serial seductress and how she decided to write "Blank Space" to spoof the idea that she's a "psycho" who has a trail of ex-lovers. Nelly and Swift perform "Hot in Herre," with lyrics such as, "It's gettin' hot in here, so take off all your clothes."
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Swift shoots at a backup dancer with her fingers. Also a brief clip of a performance of "Goodbye Earl," a Dixie Chicks' song about a plot to kill an abusive husband.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Swift is appreciative of fans, looks forward to thanking them at the show. Based on her experiences being critiqued by the media, the theme of her show is to ignore what others say about you and focus on being happy and yourself. She tells fans "being happy is better than being cool." Her friends also make an appearance and discuss their rejection of mean-girl clichés.
Positive Role Models
some
Although Swift has gotten negative attention in the past for her references to ex-boyfriends in her music, her strong work ethic, gracious attitude, and focus on showing girls that they're worthy and supportive of each other make her a strong role model.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour Live is a concert documentary that mostly focuses on Taylor Swift's performance in Sydney in front of over 70,000 fans, complete with an impressive light show and a string of celebrity guests. The film also features interviews with Swift discussing the planning of the show and her inspirations and motivations behind the album 1989. There are some semi-racy costumes (cropped tops, booty shorts, and shirtless male dancers), some sexy lyrics (many of Swift's songs talk about adult relationships, and Nelly performs "Hot in Herre"), and Swift addresses her reputation for being a serial dater. Guest Justin Timberlake drops a few swear words ("ass" and "s--t"). But parents will appreciate Swift's focus on self-acceptance and teaching girls to have strong, supportive relationships and reject mean-girl clichés. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
[Please consider my age and up rating as "no-opinion"]
Being an Australian, this is a proud moment with the Sydney large stadium featured. It reminds me of where I was at at the time, being 35, approaching summertime and the football seasons having finished a few weeks earlier. This was when football was a true sport of combatants - now it is becoming like basketball, with stoppages just because a flagrant foul was suspected. Times change, but it's nice to remember how things were sometimes - and the pop culture that existed around it.
Heard in the commentary that the Red album finishing behind Daft Punk's one inspired a change. I found that Red on its own was difficult to understand the meaning/context of some songs, but combined with the concerts, made the album way better - as good as 1989 in my opinion.
Taylor Swift is one of the biggest role models of today. From little boys to girls Taylor's music is truly universal for everyone. She tells the watchers to not be harmed by the opinion of people that don't matter to you and that shaking it off is the best thing you can do. Some language was used and there was scenes of shirtless men and Taylor in skin tight or revealing outfits but overall that isn't a problem.
What's the Story?
Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour Live mostly focuses on the Sydney leg of Swift's world tour, where she performed in front of over 70,000 fans, all wearing programmed glow bracelets that were choreographed with the show. Clips of the concert are also interspersed with interviews of Swift discussing the planning of the show and her inspiration for her 1989 album. There are also clips of celebrity appearances, ranging from Mick Jagger performing "Satisfaction" to Selena Williams waving on stage and behind-the-scenes glimpses of rehearsals.
Fans of Swift who weren't fortunate enough to catch her 1989 world tour will love seeing the wildly elaborate show. It boasts an impressive light show, great choreography, and a dizzying array of celebrity guests. Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour Live features most of Swift's 1989 album, plus some fan favorites from previous albums. Swift's performance is on point, and her celebrity guests are a treat, with every genre of music represented.
The behind-the-scenes glimpses are great, but it would have been nice to see even more of them and perhaps a few fewer celebrity cameos. But parents will appreciate Swift's heartfelt appreciation of her fans and her success and her message of self-acceptance.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Taylor Swift as a role model. Do you think she's a positive role model? Why, or why not?
Why do you think Taylor Swift is so popular? What is so appealing about her songs?
Do you enjoy watching recorded concerts? How is the experience different from watching a live performance?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Grace Montgomery
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
