Boulton, ChristopherRamirez, Andrea2021-12-162021-12-162021-12http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11868/2761This textual analysis examines the performance of authenticity displayed through “private” moments within two modern-day music documentaries. Historically, rock documentaries have differed from traditional documentaries by following their subjects through performances, backstage mischief, studio rehearsals, and encounters with fans. Drawing from examples within Taylor Swift's Miss Americana and Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, I argue that these more contemporary films add new layers of audience access by disclosing open discussions of how taboo topics affect the artists' public stage persona, studio, and home life. I conclude that this openness commodifies their vulnerability as a way to meet increasing expectations of full transparency during the age of cancel culture and consider how their performer identities extend beyond the camera and into social comparison amongst teens.en-USMusicCommunicationPopCapstone project