In The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift released a track chronicling the life of Clara Bow in relation to her own, leading many people to notice similarities between Swift’s recent aesthetic and Bow. But what many people aren’t sure of is who Bow is, and what she could symbolize on a deeper level.
Clara Bow was born at the turn of the twentieth century into a poverty stricken family in New York City. Bow’s mother struggled immensely with mental health. At a young age, Bow began trying her hand at acting. Her first role was landed in 1922, but her more serious films (the first of which being Mantrap) came later, in 1926. As she rose to stardom, tabloids gossipped about her relationships and anything else they could as long as her name was in the headline. Junior Evvy Adams says that high levels of fame are “harmful because it can detach you from reality. The more famous and rich you are, the less you have in common with the modern person, which is something a lot of celebrities don’t quite understand.” It’s possible that Bow felt this too.
Though most of Bow’s films were silent, she still had a profound effect on her viewers. In our modern, entertainment-driven world, this may be hard to imagine. As freshman Alex Elicker puts it, “I very much believe that silent films have a huge impact on the movie industry. The stories told in silent films influenced filmmakers for decades. I think it is really cool that even without any special effects, CGI, or sound, silent films can still tell a deep memorable storyline. It does what a movie is supposed to do, entertain and make the viewer imagine. I think that it’s a very unique way of storytelling and needs to be brought back.”
After her role in a movie called It, she earned herself the title of “The ‘It’ Girl”, becoming the first to bear the name. However, all of this popularity eventually drove her out. Bow was overworked, extremely stressed, and no longer able to joy her profession and the sacrifices needed to keep it. She retired from acting at a young age, but still secured her spot in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Many parallels can be drawn between Swift’s life and Bow’s, as they represent women with excessive fame and attention from a young age, especially attention in personal areas of their lives and added popularity based on looks. The high expectations and Bow’s response could represent Swift’s desire to step out of the spotlight, though her career seems nowhere close to allowing her this opportunity.
