Clara Bow and the Problem of Perfect

As I mentioned in last week's post, I am a big unreserved fan of Taylor Swift's music. For better or worse, whatever you think of her, I've been impressed with her ability to coin or turn a phrase just right to catch my attention. In her 2024 album, "The Tortured Poets Department," she really uses her lyrical wit to write some of the most poetic songs I've heard. It's easily a favorite album of mine.

In one song, "Clara Bow," she uses the example of celebrities and stars from recent history to paint a tragic picture under seemingly complimentary words. Clara Bow, the titular character was a famous silent film actress known for her unique style that epitomized the 1920's. She was the "It Girl." But aging and progress are relentless and by the 1930's she struggled to adapt to acting in movies that included sound. The other pressures that come with being a celebrity: lack of privacy, financial issues, poor mental health - eventually took their toll and she filmed her final movie in 1933 - a career spanning only 11 years.

The next character that Swift introduces is the infamous Stevie Nicks, both a solo artist and musician in the band "Fleetwood Mac." In the comparison, Stevie Nicks is also portrayed as a new "It Girl," popular and beautiful. Throughout her career, she struggled with relationships and drug addiction, eventually turning her life around and started a legendary comeback to fame and music - as well as dabbling in film and television. But the pressure of being a woman, scrutinized by the spotlight of fame made life difficult - far from the hopes and dreams that anyone might have.

In her bridge, Swift gives us a proverb to the hidden costs of beauty and fame:

Beauty is a beast that roars

Down on all fours

Demanding "more"

Only when your girlish glow

Flickers just so

Do they let you know

It's hell on earth to be heavenly

Them's the breaks

They don't come gently

It's tragic but it's also reality. This world is not kind or compassionate, though it might pretend to be under other pretenses. It's quid-pro-quo, "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine." At least until something or someone better comes along. And the sad thing is that people experience this not only in the entertainment or corporate worlds but even in the church. We are guilty of using people for their gifts and talents and frame that as the reason that they have value. This past week, Pope Leo XIV published an encyclical entitled: MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS - ON SAFEGUARDING THE HUMAN PERSON IN THE TIME OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. This substantial documents addresses growing concerns with AI technology and its risk to the value and the work of humanity. I highly recommend reading it if you get the opportunity. In his letter he writes:

“Human dignity does not depend on a person’s abilities, wealth, or position in life, nor on the right or wrong choices made; instead, it is a gift that precedes and transcends each person, endowed by God as an expression of his unfailing love.” (par. 50)

What Leo is saying here is not exactly new or unique, but it is important to name and rename, again and again. How do we assign value to others? Is it ethical or right to do so? Is there opportunity for the church to push back against a world that would assign dignity and value to us based on what we can and do contribute? Think about the people to which Jesus ministered most directly - the poor, the sick, the outcast, the differently abled, the sex workers and tax collectors. That's where God chooses to hang out the most. With people who can't contribute to society because they have already been kicked out of it. The "dazzle" that God sees reflected in each of us is not some feature like the shape of our nose, the pitch of our voice, or the clothes we wear. God values us because we are reflections of God. God values us simply because God created us. That's it. End of story. And what a different world it would be if that were our guiding principle.

Song: Clara Bow, The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift

Where to listen: Spotify, Apply Music, or available for purchase

YouTube official lyric video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcVUbmdQfaE

Peace!

-Pastor Tyler